monarch

RX in NC, to my way of thinking, the fact that some 1999 RX300 owners are getting 200,000+ miles of transmission life means the transmission is capable of a long service life, just like any other Toyota automatic if it is operated in a certain manner and receives a certain level of preventive maintenance. My guess, at this point, is that a relaxed, unhurried driving style where the owner avoids violent full throttle downshifts helps prevent the production of wear particles that can eventually clog the transmission filter or foul up the valve body. 15,000 mile pan only drain and refill should keep the fluid looking fresh. Lastly, locking the transmission out of overdrive when driving around town in heavy traffic should help avoid transmission fluid overheating. Overdrive should also be locked out when driving in mountainous terrain. To my way to thinking, just because the RX300 transmission cannot withstand much leadfoot driving and delayed fluid changes as well as the transmission in the LS400 can does not mean the RX300 transmission is defectively designed or should be recalled.

Did everyone see this owner comment: "I am the original owner of a 1999 Lexus RX300 with 232,000 miles on it. The transmission just died."

The owners manuals of all 2007 models and some 2006 models recommend 0W-20 and 5W-20 motor oils and they can be purchased at the Parts Dept's of Toyota dealers http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y189/mastertech/oil.jpg

Of the dozen + Toyota owners I've become acquainted with over the years that drove over 400,000 miles without needing an engine overhaul, none spent time or money on oil analysis. They spent time and money on preventive maintenance so their engines would never suffer from excessive wear caused by running too hot, running with worn out filters, worn out spark plugs, etc. However, if you want a way of evaluating the running condition of your engine, the simple, no cost method is to simply keep track of your fuel economy. High and consistent fuel economy = an engine delivering peak power and lowest emissions. Deteriorating fuel economy = deteriorating power and emissions = some parts(s) are getting old or dirty and require attention (e.g. the oxygen sensor is getting lazy or the throttle plate is accumulating gummy deposits). In States that have annual or biannual tailpipe emission tests, the test results are also a good way of keeping track of the running condition of your engine. A Toyota engine with barely detectable levels of hydrocarbons and carbon monoxide is an engine running at peak efficiency and is an engine in like new mechanical condition.

No. See Your owners manual for detailed info.

Lexus's hoses are made of special, extra durable grades of rubber and come in precise fitting metric inside and outside diameters. If you don't plan on keeping the car very long or don't plan on selling it to a friend or family member then maybe the non-metric auto parts store hose will be adequate.

The Owner FAQ's at lexus.com and toyota.com warn owners not to extend oil changes when using synthetic oil. Jason, owner of JPImportz has told us he had seen '97 on up ES engines like yours ruined by sludge when some owners extended oil change intervals after switching to Mobil 1

E85 is rather widely available in the Corn Belt of the upper Midwest, but it's only suitable for use in Flexible Fuel Vehicles - vehicles specifically designed by the car makers to run on E85. I wouldn't trust any aftermarket company conversion kit unless Toyota someday approves one. There is speculation the price of conventional gasoline could plumment to $2.00 a gallon in the years ahead because of competition from alcohol fuels. Brazil doesn't need Middle East oil anymore because alcohol fuels have been working out so well.

In January your RX's odometer had somewhere between 70,000 - 75,000 miles. If your RX didn't have it's first transmission oil change until 70,000 miles then the fluid could have deteriorated back around 30,000 miles meaning that for the past 40,000-45,000 miles you were driving around on deteriorated fluid. No transmission in the world can survive very long if it is lubricated by deteriorated fluid. If you want to convince everyone here the transmission has a design defect - in other words convince everyone the transmission would have failed even if you had changed the fluid every 15,000 or 30,000 miles - then please provide the proof the fluid was changed back around 15-30,000 miles. One way you can get the proof for free is to give your Lexus dealer your Vehicle ID number and request a printout of your RX's service history. Then post a photo here of the service receipt that shows transmission fluid was changed every 15,000 - 30,000 miles and if it was just a partial or complete fluid change (the receipt would show the number of quarts of new fluid you paid for) With regard to your new transmission, how do you plan to care for it? The same failure could happen all over again if you don't change at least part of the fluid every 15-30,000 miles, personally verify the shop uses only Toyota Type T-IV fluid and personally verify the transmission fluid level is correct after the shop changes the fluid. I agree with Bluestu when he wrote: "It's not a design flaw, but a service flaw. Just because it says Lexus, made by Toyota, doesn't mean it is maintenance free. Most transmissions will fail if you don't replace all the fluid on a regular basis." An additional problem is that many owners fail to realize the service intervals prescribed in the Scheduled Maintenance Guide of ALL carmakers are merely the minimum frequency intervals required to keep the 70,000 mile powertrain warranty in effect. But for optimum mechanical component life, more frequent service intervals are necessary.

So j.barleycorn, do you think the PS pump groaning and uneven power assist were caused by a partially blocked pump reservoir screen? If so, I'm a bit confused because I thought you had once said your PS system was behaving normally prior to your first attempt to clean the steering rack solenoid filter screen. In other words, was your PS system behaving normally several months ago despite a partially blocked pump reservoir and steering rack solenoid filter screens?

When you changed the compressor last year, what kind of refrigerant did you use to recharge the AC system? Freon R12 or R134a? Or something else like Hotshot? R134a and Hotshot are prone to leaking out of a system originally designed for R12. After a certain amount of refrigerant has leaked out, the compressor won't turn on anymore until the system is recharged again. So if you are lucky the system is just low on refrigerant and the leaks need to be found and repaired and then the system recharged.

On page 318 of your 2003 owners manual It says "use only Toyota genuine ATF Type T-IV" . Msnual also says using other fluids could "ultimately damage the transmission" . The lower middle part of the transmission oil dipstick also says: "use Type T-IV". Since you cannot reasonably expect Lexus to cover the cost of damage resulting from using the wrong type of transmission oil, maybe your best bet now is to take your car to another dealer or independent shops to see if any of them think the seals that are leaking could be replaced without needing to replace the whole transmission

Some fluid would rush out even if you changed your brand new filter. That's normal and not proof the filter was clogged. If the filter was clogged there would be a fluid pressure drop that would cause a delay in gear engagement when you shift from Park to Reverse or Park to Drive. The filter element is made of metal so it never wears out. The element can be cleaned up using brake cleaner and reused. Toyota has been using metal element filters since the 1960's including some of its transmissions that have a reputation of lasting over 400,000 miles.

What do you guys think of the Infiniti M45? The M45 wins in most of the car magazine test comparisons, including Consumer Reports. The articles also praise the improvements Infiniti has made to create a rich and luxurious feeling interior. Here in California the M45 has been a hot seller.

I asked a retired owner of a major auto service shop about maniek_LS's 'remove one cooler line' trick to flush the transmission and here is what he said: "I would not try that 'remove one cooler line' trick myself, because I'll bet they route the fluid returning from the cooler to something vital like some of the bearings. This is precisely why the commercial tranny flushing machines have a two-way pump inside, and are hooked to the cooler AND the return lines - and for ever quart of dirty fluid coming out, it pumps a matching quart of clean fluid back in through the return line to replace it. The other 'risk' I can see is that it's going to waste a lot of good ATF waiting "for it to run clear" for no particularly good reason. It would be dumb to start the 'transmission flush' process without draining the transmission pan and filling it with fresh fluid first, because then you have to wait as the returning fluid slowly dilutes the dirty stuff in the sump before getting pumped through the transmission circuits. You'll waste several more quarts waiting for the clean fluid to come through. You need never flush out the transmission at all if you regularly (every 20-30K service or so) drain the transmission pan and change roughly half of the total fluid volume. That simple and easy process should keep the transmission trouble free for many years. The only time you really need to flush out all the old ATF is if someone has seriously abused the transmission and the fluid is burnt. Pull out the dipstick and look and sniff - if it's burnt, believe me you'll know. It'll be brown to black and smell like wood rosin and other nasty toasted chemicals. Good ATF really doesn't have much of a smell."

You say reliability is your number one priority, but don't say whether you bought your RX new or used or what type and frequency of preventive maintainance service the transmission received.

Yes the kitty knows her way home, but she might stay away for up to two days, especially if the weather is hot. BUT bad things can sometimes happen (kitty could get hurt by a car, get injured in a cat fight, get trapped in a garage, etc.). For these reasons you should considering getting an electronic tracking device for the kitty. It's a tiny thing that attaches to a flea collar. Then if kitty ever dissappears you can track her.

maniek_LS, your method sounds safe because you never let the fluid level get more than 1 quart (=1 liter) low at a time so hopefully no moving parts inside the transmission are ever starved of transmission oil.

rx300leo, for 35 years Toyota differentials have been lasting over 500,000 miles when lubricated with coonventional gear oil (and changing it roughly every 50,000 miles). But if you want to use a synthetic anyway, Toyota dealers carry a fully synthetic "Toyota Genuine Differential Gear Oil" Toyota part number 00289-75140 that is, according to the label "Specially formulated by Toyota for Toyota Vehicles"

Yep. Take off reservoir. Turn it upside down and spray into the botton opening of the reservoir. Air dry then rinse with Dexron auto trans fluid. The screen is somewhat fragile and can TEAR so don't poke it accidentally with any object.

Flushing is risky. Especially for someone young and inexperienced. Simply draining the pan, measuring the amount drained and refilling with the same amount is a risk free way to change the fluid. Do this 3-4 times over a few thousand mile period to change approx. half the fluid. Changing half is all that needs to be changed to enable the transmission to last hundreds of thousands of miles.

Mechanic is right IF (and that's a big IF), you buy genuine Toyota PQ20R spark plugs from a Toyota or Lexus dealer. They are cheaply priced at 1sttoyotaparts.com. If you order from 1sttoyotaparts.com or your neighborhood Toyota dealer, just tell the salesperson you have a '93 Camry V6 and want Toyota part# 90919-01127 spark plugs You can also order genuine Toyota spark plug wires cheaply at 1sttoyotaparts.com for your '93 3VZ-FE V6. They are Toyota part#90919-21519. The distributor cap part# is 19101-62050 and the distributor rotor part# is19102-62030. Your mechanic likely only carrys Ford and Chevy quality aftermarket parts. If that's all you want then let the mechanic use his parts. If you let the mechanic use his own parts you may notice engine power seems softer and mushier than before and fuel economy is off a bit.

The break in instructions for a 2006 Toyota are the same as for a 1976 Toyota: For the first 600-1000 miles: 1. Drive gently, avoiding fast starts and stops. 2. Limit top speed to 65 MPH. 3. Maintain engine speed mostly between 2000-4000 RPM. 4. On the open highway, vary speeds every 5-10 minutes instead of driving continuously for a long time at one constant speed. 5. Brake gently for the first 200 miles. That said, owners who routinely drive in a hurried, aggressive manner after the break in period will wear out the mechanical components of their car fast anyway.

I disagree. Toyota has been using electronic shift control solenoids to control the shifting.in some of its transmissions (including all Lexus transmissions) for the past 20-25 years. So virtually every Toyota / Lexus dealer technician has long been aware of the solenoids and knows they are a normal wear item that can fail anytime after about 80,000 miles (but more usually up around 140,000+ miles). To date, no RX AWD owner on this forum who has experienced a transmission failure has found the shift control solenoids were to blame.

Yank it out with needle nose pliers or vice grips and throw it away. Get an new genuine Toyota gasket and genuine thermostat gasket for that particular thermostat. The only reason it is leaking now is probably because the prior owner installed an aftermarket thermostat or aftermarket thermostat gasket or didn't use the correct gasket or installed it wrong.