monarch

The ultimate authorities are the Lexus/Toyota engineers. They designed a dino oil just for Toyotas http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoilc.jpg You can get it at any Toyota dealer for $1.40 - $2.00 a quart. Toyota also offers a synthetic oil, but only for sale in Canada since the engine wear benefits of synthetics are largely limited to cold climates. In any case, the Lexus/Toyota engineers say switching to synthetic is OK as long as you stick with it and do not switch back to dino oil. The bottom line is: If you don't want to take any risks, stick with dino oil and use genuine Toyota dino oil if practical. If you don't mind taking a small risk of future oil leaks, switch to synthetic and stick with it for the life of the engine.

Lexus does not make a synthetic in the USA and in fact the owners manuals of all late model Lexus's and Toyota's recommend genuine Toyota 5W-30 Motor Oil and to change it every 5000 miles or 6 months. The Toyota Oil is a dinosaur oil and Toyota dealers sell it cheaply at between $1.39 and $1.99 a quart. Owners who use synthetic oil and stretch out the oil change intervals have gotten into big trouble. JPI on this forum mentioned one case where a Lexus V6 engine was ruined when the owner ran Mobil 1 for 10,000 miles. Here's some info from the 2004 Lexus and Toyota owners manual and maintenance guides: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil1.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil3.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil2.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoilc.jpg

V6 owners who change their oil at least every 5,000 miles or 6 months don't have any sludge problems and for 2004, Lexus and Toyota have made the 5,000 mile / 6 month rule mandatory for the entire product line. Between 1974-1985 Toyota developed a reputation of building bulletproof "beater" cars that could windstand an enormous amount of maintenance neglect and driver abuse. Since the late 1980's however, Toyota owners that treat their vehicles like ghetto cars are learning the hard way there is a a big price to pay. The 1997- early '02 V6's, in particular ,are the most sensitive to consequences of maintenance neglect. If V6 owners will simply change the oil on time and keep up with the required cooling system and tune up service, their engines will last as long as any other Toyota engine (decades and hundreds of thousands of miles).

Yes the 10% off rule works good in southern Calif. Example: if the factory sticker (MSRP) price is $46,000 multiply that by 0.90 = $41,400 = selling price. Longo Lexus has an excellent selection and inventory, but is the least likely dealer to give a good discount compared to dealers out toward the western end of LA and up towards Valencia or southward down towards Torrance. As a starting point, get a quote from autobytel.com or carsdirect.com so you know what a decent price is then spend a day or two visiting dealers until you find the exact car and color you want and ask them to match the autobytel.com or carsdirect.com price which is typically 10% off factory sticker.

The brake fluid cap on every late model Lexus and Toyota says "use DOT 3 fluid only" and the official 1997 Toyota Technician Brake Systems training manual, Course 552 says: "Toyota recommends the exclusive use of Polyglycol DOT 3 brake fluid in all it's products." Also, on the bottles of genuine Toyota Brake Fluid it says: "Genuine Toyota Brake Fluid is a Super Heavy Duty Hi -temp brake fluid specially forumulated by Toyota engineers to give superior performance in all Toyota brake systems where DOT 3 brake fluid is recommended."

This forum is full of owner horror stories about failed transmissions, power steering systems and blown engiine head gaskets when the cars are only 75-150K miles old. If you don't want horrible things like this to happen to you then an inexpensive solution is to simply keep all the fluids and lubes in your car in reasonably clean / fresh condition and use only factory original fluids and lubes. The fluids and lubes need not be totally replaced, just partially renewed periodically. So like when the owners manual says use Type T-IV only, don't question it. When the manual says use DOT 3 brake fluid, don't put in a DOT 4 approved fluid. When the manual says use genuine Toyota antifreeze and distilled water don't put in Prestone Green or Havoline Extended Life. When the manual says use a Dexron II or III automatic transmission fluid in the power steering system, don't put in a product labeled just power steering fluid. You can further reduce your risks of mechanical problems by using factory original fluids, lubes and filters These can be purchased inexpensively at Toyota dealers; e.g. genuine Toyota Type T-IV fluid, genuine Toyota Dexron II & III fluid, genuine Toyota brake fluid and genuine Toyota antifreeze. All this is easier said than done because an owner is constantly being pulled and lured by marketing interests into using specialty lubes, fluids and filters and doing more complicated, expensive and risky servicing procedures like "total fluid replacements" "fluid flushes" etc. Worse, if you follow their advice and end up with mechanical problems and failures at between 75-150K miles, then they will explain them away with the comments like "they all do that" "that's the maximum life you can expect."

You definately want to follow the severe service schedule (oil changes every 5000 miles or more frequently) for long, troublefree life. In fact, for 2004, Toyota / Lexus made 5000 miles mandatory http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil3.jpg to maintain the new car warranties. You can buy genuine Toyota motor oil and oil filters cheaply at Toyota dealers that will fit the RX300 since the RX300 takes the same filters and all the Camry V6 models. Indeed, Toyota dealers can do nearly all the service work on the RX300. You can also use synthetic motor oils IF you plan to stick with them. Toyota and Lexus say switching back and forth is not advisable. There are some inexpensive preventive maintance things you can do to assure long engine / transmission / brake system reliability: 1. Every 30,000 miles / 2 years buy 3 quarts of Toyota Type T-IV transmission fluid from a Toyota dealer and then tell the Toyota dealer to drain the transmission oil pan and refill it with the fluid you bought. 2. Every 30,000 miles / 2 years buy 2 gallons of Toyota Super Long Life Antifreeze and tell the dealer to just drain and refill the radiator with it. 3. Every 2 years / 30,000 miles buy 5 pints of genuine Toyota brake fluid and tell the dealer to use the fluid you bought to flush the old brake fluid out and replace it with fresh fluid. The dealer may balk at first because these servicing procedures are so quick and simple and don't involved total fluid replacements and therefore aren't very profitable. But they are some of the simple key things that you can do to avoid expensive repairs for many decades and hundreds of thousands of miles.

you can buy this motor oil at Toyota dealers. It's the oil recommended in the 2003 & 2004 lexus owners manuals http://www.saber.net/~monarch/lexoil2.jpg

I'd say they screwed up either when the changed the brake fluid or the transmission fluid. But I can't say specifically what they did wrong. If it was my car I'd get another diagnosis from another Lexus dealer and when the fault is determined, the first dealer should be held financially responsible.

If you are a relaxed, go with the flow kind of driver that wants super quiet, bump smothering ride I would suggest you buy Goodyear Invicta GA tires that are still available at tirerack.com The performance enthusiast drivers here would likely laugh at these tires because they are an old design and aren't the best choice for high speed cornering. Another advantage of the Invicta GA tires is that the smooth, quiet ride lasts the life of the tire whereas most tires are quiet and smooth only when they are new or less than half worn.

You would have to tell us what the dealer or shop did. Look at the service receipt and tell us what work the dealer or shop did and what parts and fluids were replaced or changed.

The K&N rep is offering only generic advice, not Lexus / Toyota specific advice. What Lexus or Toyota suffers from "backfiring, blowby, leaking airbox or leaking intake duct" ?? Answer: None of them. By contrast, many Lexus / Toyota owners who used factory filters have accumulated many hundreds of thousands of miles without MAF or other sensor problems.

At www.toyota.com there is an owner FAQ that says Toyota owners should not switch back and forth between synthetic and natural petroleum based engine oil. Here is what the FAQ says: Can I use synthetic oil in my Toyota? Answer: All Toyota vehicles come from the factory with natural petroleum-based engine oil. Toyota is currently recommending API1 grade SJ or SL, or ILSAC2 multigrade petroleum-based engine oil3 for our current model year vehicles. In moderate climates, this oil should have a Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE) viscosity rating of 5W-30. In our high mileage tests with preventative maintenance performed at the recommended intervals, the recommended natural petroleum-based oil has provided excellent service. If you decide to use synthetic oil for the engine, it is best not to switch until the first scheduled oil change. Synthetic oil should meet or exceed the specifications provided in your Owner's Manual. Even if synthetic oil is used, we do not recommend a longer oil change interval. Also, once synthetic oil is used, you should keep using it and not switch back and forth with natural petroleum-based oil.

i studied the GX and the 4-runner pretty closely at a recent auto show. They were pretty much different in numerous ways. I mean practically evey piece and part of the GX interior is different just like the exterior is. I was also surprized at how different the interior and some mechanicals of the ES330 were compared to the Toyota Camry XLE V6. About the only things that were the same were small details like the levers for the power seats. Dash or door trim designs were all different as was the stiching on the leather. Opening and closing the doors, hood and trunk of the ES330 revealed how the ES was more accoustically and mechanically refined than the Camry and worth (in my opinion) the approx 5,000 price premium (part of which is recovered at resale time).

I remember reading an auto road test magazine that mentioned there is some noticable wind noise in the GX above 60 mph. To determine whether the amount of noise in your particular GX is abnormal, you could tape record the noise your vehicle makes at 65 mph and then amount of the another GX470 makes if you wanted to make a case for the dealer or for a third party arbitrator. If the wind noise is present and excessive in all GX's, chances are high Lexus is working on an official fix. I think it is important to bear in mind that while Toyota / Lexus do not sweat all the cosemetic details as well as they could, before introducting a totally new model like the GX, they still get the mechanicals right. I mean it's very rare for a Toyota / Lexus to have a major drivetrain defect that seriously compromises reliability and durability.

TypeT-IV is for the transmission only (just like it says on the tranmission dipstick and in the owners manual) Dexron is for the power steering only (just like it says on the power steering filler cap and in the owners manual) DOT 3 brake fluid is for the brake master cylinder ((just like it says on the brake fluid filler cap and in the owners manual) Genuine toyota brake fluid is DOT 3.

Over the past 18 years I've driven 4 Toyotas a total of over 1,000,000 miles and one of them now has 435,400 miles without needing any major repairs. Still runs great. I've learned the secret to making Toyotas last this long is to simply respect and follow the maintenance advice of the factory engineers and use the parts and fluids they recommend instead of what dealers and other sources recommend. The factory original PS fluid is undyed Dexron fluid so that's why it looks like brake fluid. A great replacement fluid is genuine Toyota Dexron fluid http://www.saber.net/~monarch/gtatf.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/gtatf2.jpg available from Toyota dealers for $3.40 a quart and that's more than you need to change the fluid. The idiotproof way to change the fluid is to suck the old fluid out of the reservoir, measure the amount removed and add back the same amount of new fluid. Then drive the car a bit and repeat - a total of about 5 times. Since your car is only 4 years old the cooling system should still be very clean, especially if the factory original red Toyota antifreeze is still in the system. The cheap and idiotproof to change the antifreeze is to just drain the radiator, meausre amount drained and refill with a premixed 50/50 mix of genuineToyota red antifreeze and distilled water. This won't change all the fluid, but if done annually, will keep your cooling system looking like new for decades. With regard to brake fluid, once again a great choice is genuine Toyota Brake fluid available from Toyota dealers for $3-4 a pint. I have no experience changing brake fluid on Toyotas with anti-lock brakes so I would consult the Lexus factory manual before attempting to change the fluid the traditional way (cracking open the brake bleeder plug 1/2 of a turn while another person slowly depresses and releases the brake pedal slowly many times). Keeping fresh antifreeze, brake fluid and power steering fluids in any Toyota / Lexus WILL, in my experience, prevent leaks and other problems from developing for decades and hundreds of thousands of miles. Fluids are dirt cheap compared to the cost of repairing leaks and failed components.

California vehicles do not have smelly sulfur exhausts because our gasoline is practically sulfur free. (but we also pay 30 - 50 cents more for gallon for it). The AC recirculation setting on any make of car will never totally block out all outside air, just most of it.

Shims. But the first task is to measure the clearances. It's possible they are still all within factory specs and that no replacement shims are needed. Owners often mistake valve noise for other noises like a small exhaust manifold leak or fuel injector ticking.

Since you live in an area with an abundance of Lexus dealers and Lexus specialty repair shops, I'd take the car to another shop for a second opinion. The throttle position sensor on early-mid 1990's Lexus models was adjustable and durable - could last the life of the car. However, I'm not sure if this is still the case in 2000 models. Engine decarbonization sounds highly suspicious. If any parts of the throttle body become dirty, they can be manually cleaned in about 10 minutes with a small amount of throttle body cleaner, a toothbrush and some old rags. The dealer probably has something more sophisticated in mind in order to be able to charge you big bucks. Nothing in the brake, power steering or tranmission needs "flushing". Partial fluid replacements is helpful for long term component durability, if genuine Toyota (factory original) fluids are used. though they are not absolutely mandatory at such a low mileage. Example: the dealer will probably want to hook up some kind of expensive power steering flush machine and then install aftermarket fluid. Your system, however, would be better served by just sucking out the existing fluid that's in the power steering reservoir, measuring the amount removed, then adding the same amount of new genuine Toyota Dexron automatic transmission fluid (available in 1 quart bottled from Toyota dealers for about $3.40 and one quart is all you need). Same thing with the transmission. Draining and refilling the transmission oil pan with genuine toyota auto trans fluid would be adequate and far less costly and complicated compared to the "total flush" your dealer would do - especially since the dealer might install aftermarket fluid (dealers like to install aftermarket fluid because it is cheaper to buy and thus more profitable for them) I'd let the dealer do the brake flush (fluid change) only if the dealer will install genuine Toyota brake fluid. You can buy it in one pint bottles from Toyota dealers for $3-4 a bottle. You might need about 5 bottles. A Lexus dealer might charge $15 a pint (and that might be for an aftermarket brand!) The bottom line is to try to keep your Lexus 100% Toyota by using genuine Toyota parts, filters and fluids and not let anyone, including (ironically) a Lexus dealer try to talk you into aftermarket parts, filters and fluids. In other words, you want to try and maintain the car the way the Toyota/Lexus engineers would like to see it maintained, not the way the profit minded dealer would like to see it maintained.

You can never go wrong using the factory original filters and fluids like these: http://www.freemanmotors.com/toyota/part0004.html http://www.freemanmotors.com/toyota/part0005.html http://www.freemanmotors.com/toyota/part0003.html and Toyota transmission fluid and brake fluid.

When you buy a used car you must insist on seeing service receipts. They are your best assurance the car does not have serious mechanical wear and tear. Just say no to sellers that cannot provide proof that all or most of the required scheduled maintenance was performed on time.

This stuff is available from Toyota dealers for about $3.40 per quart and is a Dexron II and Dexron III approved fluid: http://www.saber.net/~monarch/gtatf.jpg http://www.saber.net/~monarch/gtatf2.jpg Your SC400 transmission probably requires Toyota Type T-IV fluid which is also available from Toyota dealers in 1 quart bottles for about $3.40 a quart

For best smoothness and quietness stick with the standard 17" wheels and tires. Some LS430's come with Dunlop SP Sport 5000M tires and some with Bridgestone Turanza ER33 tires. The Dunlops got top marks for smoothness and quietness in the Nov. 2003 issue of Consumer Reports.

Depends on the preventive maintenance history of the car. If the service records reveal the former owners just changed the engine oil on schedule but not the coolant, transmission oil, air filter and spark plugs then the car could have moderate to severe mechanical wear by now. Also, if the car has been outfitted with aftermarket wheels and tires then it could be a sign that the car has been driven hard and aggressively which is also bad from a mechanical wear standpoint.