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I believe most factory tow package equipped vehicles use a relay in the fuse box that is normally supplied (but in the glove box along with a plug and pig tail). I'm not sure about a Lexus but the package is normally in the car somewhere when delivered new. Did you buy the car new? Most people don't know what that package is for even and it soon gets lost. They don't install the relay because then that outlet is hot and a lot of people never use the vehicle to tow, hence no reason to have the plug outlet hot.

First thing that comes to mind is the brakelight switch is faulty or out of adjustment. Daryl has the most logical solution- that's your next step.

cfiiman- What you see is unfortunately quite common in the Toyota/Lexus V-6 engines. I personally believe it is because the crankcases run very hot on these engines. I have changed my own oil all my life (a very long time-LOL) and I have NEVER seen anything like that in any of my many vehicles. I am the mechanic for my DIL's 99RX and hers had the same thing though the filter and oil have always been changed at least every 5k mi. It concerned me enough that at about 120k mi. I pulled the front valve cover and the lower engine oil pan to look things over. It had that same "cinderized oil" deposited around in the top end and the bottom end (where ever it decided to deposit it), but only about 5% of the area was covered with it. (Random, wherever it decided to deposit it) The only thing that can cause that is running very hot in the crankcase area and "coking" the oil in depositing it. It's definitely not "sludge" and I don't think it will actually hurt anything, I would just rather not see it there. When I had the valve cover off I cleaned the deposit out from where you have pictured and believe me it's cooked on. It took a considerable amount of scrubbing with steel wool and lacquer thinner to get it off- it thought it was part of the engine and it didn't want to go anywhere. I would say forget about it, and enjoy your new ride, IT'S NOT GOING ANYWHERE!

XLC- I understand what you're saying about the visibility. I don't own an RX (I'm on this forum because my DIL has 99RX and I'm the mechanic) and her mom bought a new RX about a year ago. I understand what I'm about to address is not specifically what you're talking about but I would like to share my experience. I purchased a used motorhome about 9 years ago and it had stick on convex mirrors on it. (not the round kind, these are the kind that fit down in the curve in the bottom corner). I absolutely fell in love with them because you never had to turn your head to see a car behind you or along side of you. You could absolutely see the car in the convex mirror until it came into your periferal vision without ever turning your head to the side. I found them so HIGHLY USEFUL that I have bought 3 new trucks since then and a new Camry for my wife and they have been installed on every 1 of them and I wouldn't be without them! Even though all new cars come with a R side convex mirror these take it all the way. Just food for thought. Obviously they are installed on both sides, in the lower outside corner.

Roger, did you pull the trans all by yourself? Did you need a special lift and/or hoist? How long did it take? Thanks. Artbuc- I had to be creative and was doing it at home. I have a 20' x 39' motorhome concrete pad in the back yard so I had plenty of room. The only way I could figure to do it was loosen everything that holds in or connects to the complete front drive unit. Then I removed the front bumper cover and used a heavy duty engine hoist with a chain around both front frame horns at the bumper reinforcement. I simply lifted the front of the body up about 4' in the air and left the complete drive unit on the ground, then put heavy duty stands under the frame rails at the cowl. I left everything together, the front sub frame, all suspension with struts, and complete engine with wiring loom attatched to the engine. (had to go inside and remove the computer to unplug the engine harness in order to leave it on the engine). I used a jack to bring the unit out from under the car which made it easy to work on. I changed the rear main seal (reason for the removal) and changed the torque converter seal while I had it apart. It wasn't leaking but the parts guy at Toyota suggested it and I'm glad he did. I had some other things I wanted to do at the time and it just made it easier for me to do it that way, working alone and no lift. (the guys in the dealership have it a lot easier) I removed the brake calipers and tied them up, removed the A/C comp. and tied it up, that way no brake bleeding and no A/C recharging. I only had to pull the transmission back far enough to get the rear main seal out and the TC out to replace the seal. Probably 12in. but I'm not sure exactly, then just shoved it back together and buttoned it up. The total time was more than the 10 hrs. but probably not 16 even under those adverse conditions. If I were doing it again I would do it the same way, given the circumstances.

The cost of the seal is $29. Toyota (there is no Lexus dealer in Traverse City - closest in Grand Rapids, some 2 1/2 - 3 hrs. away) says it took 16hrs @$91/hr, plus cost of new oil and filter. This ages me, but I remember when you could 'pull' a motor in 4hrs. or so in the '60s !!! That troubles me- The "book" may show 16hrs. to remove and replace the complete front drive unit but that is ridiculous to R&R the trans. I can GUARANTEE you it didn't take them 16hrs. to do the work-not even close. My understanding is the original seals were of a little different design and maybe made of a rubber that couldn't take the heat as well. I believe those things were dealt with in the later seals. When I changed my DIL's I was somewhat surprised at how "cooked" the seal was. It was hard as a rock and had worn a groove in the crankshaft, which really concerned me. I used some emery paper to clean and smooth the CS and there has been NO leak in the 25k mi. since I did it and it was leaking quite a bit before that. The crankcases seem to run hot on these engines and I personally wonder if it wasn't more the material the seal was made of because I couldn't really tell any difference in the design of the new seal. Regards, Roger

Great news - congratulations! What a relief! I feel for you and I also understand your trepidation regarding the transmission risk(s): my own '99RX causes me the same anxiety. I just had (at 68K miles) a leak at the rear engine seal - the repair cost $1,600 at Toyota in Traverse City, MI. I have asked Lexus to look at this (the car was always serviced at Lexus at full - max! - price), and see what they can do on this unusual failure. On none of my cars have I ever had a similar failure.... Sorry to hear about the "rear main seal wallet emptying experience". I do feel that $1600. is excessive though. It is almost all labor as the seal is quite inexpensive. Before I put the rear main seal in my DIL's RX I got a price of $750. to do it, from an independent shop. I would LOVE to do them all day for $1600. a pop.

The earlier RX's (especially with AWD) definitely had a problem. By '04 they had implemented quite a few changes to protect the transmission (thanks to drive by wire). I would go by what the fluid looks like- you know trans. fluid (most) is supposed to be nice and red/pink. If trans. fluid gets dark or dirty at all that means wear is occuring. That's when I would personally change it. If trans. fluid stays nice and pink and doesn't smell burnt at all, I wouldn't get real excited about it, especially if it is synthetic.

CitizenPete- On the forums it's a team effort and I know all the "team" rejoices when a problem is solved because we all benefit from it. Glad that it was that simple. I wouldn't be deterred by their comment about the brake cable. If you are able to get to the upper end (near the pedal) and put a little light oil in from time to time, I'm betting it will make it's way down the cable housing. You might even use the small tube of light oil that has a blunt needle to more easily get it into the end of the housing past the cable. Should be able to get that at an auto parts store. :) Regards, Roger

The problem with the Ford F-150 shudder was the emergency brake cable was hanging up when the emergency brake was released and not completely releasing the brake shoes. If the RX has the emergency brake shoes inside the rotors like the Ford, what I would do is find a rack that you can put it on and run it in gear just like you are doing at highway speeds. It will likely react the same way in a similar amount of time. You will probably be able to tell what the problem is just by having someone observe while you are in it running it on the rack. But i would make sure I had a infra-red temp gun handy to take the temp on the rotors. Since you have AWD it is imperative that you either have it on stands (all 4 wheels) or preferably on a lift rack. If you have some excessive heat going on on any of the rotors, there may well be your problem. The way you say it builds is very indicative of heat build-up, as in a piston (caliper) hanging up or the emergency dragging. I have never seen drum brakes (except emergency) cause the severe shudder that discs can with heat build-up.

They are a little pricey but I have never found a better or more trouble free tire than Bridgestone. I have Yokohama's on my truck and like them but I tried a set on my wife's car and after putting up with random vibration for 20k mi. and 3 rebalances (I'm a patient and busy guy), I said get 'em off of there! They were not cheap tires either. Looked like new after 20k mi. but I couldn't stand they imbalance. The Bridgestones that were the original tires were built so well that 1 of them took NO weight to balance and the other 3 took 1/2- 3/4 oz.! Smooth as silk at any speed too!

CitizenPete- the first place I would look is the brakes. I drive a '04 ford F-150 and though I haven't had the problem, quite a few guys have had. On the F-150 it is the parking brake not releasing completely. The parking brake shoes are inside the rear rotors where you can't see them. Don't know what kind of arrangement the RX has but I have had experience with brake shudder caused by DISK brake systems (because they don't retract like drum systems do)and the shudder can be VERY SEVERE. I wouldn't go any farther until I had absolutely ruled out ALL of the brake systems as the possible culprit! Good Luck!

Why do you say you can't see any sludge? Have you taken the valve cover off? There is no way to know if you have sludge unless you actually look inside the engine. Taking the front valve cover off to take a look is easy. That is the 1st. thing I would do. If no sludge, I would change from the Mobil 1 to regular dino oil and give that a try. It may not use it in city driving and yet use it in high speed highway driving. I still say for all the people that love Mobile 1, I don't trust it. I have read of too many people that have had problems with it when they didn't have any problems with dino oil.

Though I agree, these RX's don't seem to hardly ever need the filter changed, I would hardly consider it dangerous work. I have soldered many gas tanks (with a torch) and never had any problem, nor did I fear any problem. Probably the most dangerous part would be the chances of getting a hangnail while taking the seat out. Having said that, I probably wouldn't bother to change it if I wasn't having problems that would point to that. Does anyone have any idea why the filter in an RX doesn't seem to get clogged and some vehicles require frequent changing to keep from having problems? Just curious.

Keith- I assume that the light switch is on the MFS (multi function switch) on the column. You should be able to pick up the signal there. Those wires are generally so small they are only triggers for relays but that is all you need to trigger the DL (driving lights) relay. I generally preferred to use an amp clamp to pinpoint the correct wire but you can use a test light. In this day and age I often used a computer safe wireless test light since it likely went through the BCM and I didn't want to take any chance of damage to the computer. You should be able to pick up a pure high beam signal there without much problem.

Thomas- Guess you haven't done much reading about the engine and transmission problems have you? If you had I don't think you would have made that statement.

You may well have the dreaded sludge issue ( that's easy to check by pulling off the front valve cover) but the 1st. thing I would do is change to a regular dino oil and see what it does then. You would be far from the 1st. one that switched to Mobil-1 and had oil consumption problems. That has been the history of Mobil-1 since it came out. My partner used it in his nearly new Toyota pick-up almost 30 yrs. ago and at 1800 mi. he was driving down the street, the oil light came on and when he pulled over and checked it there was NOTHING on the dip stick. Most people love it- myself, I don't trust it. There are still cars today that simply drink it while most have no problems. When the Philadelphia police dept. tested it over 30 yrs. ago some of the cars used none while others drank it- I don't think they knew then what caused it and I don't think they do today. Good Luck!

The 1st. thing I would do is disconnect the battery for a few minutes and let the computers reset themselves. It's not that I necessarily think that's where your answer is but sometimes it may be and you don't want to "chase your tail" in other areas until that has been dealt with. It sounds like the the R.R. window ghost may be in the keyless entry/ body security module. As far as the windows not closing well, I would take the door panels off and lube the mechanism well with WD-40 or spray white grease. The next thing I would do is take the main window switch out and take it apart and clean all the contacts with some 0000 steel wool. I have found most of the time when a main window switch gets flakey it is just the contacts getting burned and dirty. All of this assumes that you are able to work on your own car. Good luck! If you will do a search on this forum or the "other Lexus forum" you will find rather complete instructions on taking the door panels off complete with pictures.

"it's been many years since there was ANYTHING that was not clear coated" is a generalization that is close to 100% true. However, Lexus does not clear coat all it's blacks along with some of the other colors. That's how they get that Lexus deep black look. This was common knowledge a few years back and discussed quite often over at CL. Just Google "lexus black no clear coat". You should find more than enough to convince yourself. Well, Mickey, that sure proves I don't know everything and there are still new things to learn. I frankly can't even imagine in this day and age ANY auto manufacturer not clear coating all of their cars. All of the complaints about the black Lexus's being scratched by their free car wash is evidence of why they clear coat pretty much everything today (and for a long time now). Base coat/ clear coat is a whole different paint than single stage. The base coat is like water because it applies ONLY the color- no body. The clear coat is a very hard urethane and is your protection. In fact, cars today have probably less than half the thickness of total paint that they had when they used only single stage. The clear is so hard (not brittle- there's a difference) that it doesn't wear off and also doesn't chip in the same way it did when they used single stage and had to put more total paint on. I personally wouldn't want to go back to single stage. I think Lexus had their head somewhere other than on their shoulders to use single stage in modern times. If you want to get sick about your black paint job, take a light (like a drop light or "trouble light") at night and hold it up to your paint. (in the dark with no other source of light) It looks like MUD!! To be fair most colors look pretty bad but black is pretty dramatic. I don't care how good it looks in the day- it's gonna show it's ugly side at night under those circumstances. :)

That is absolutely true about a dealer taking less at auction (considerably less) than they are willing to sell it to you for. It has to do with "keeping the market up". They're still in business and if they sell at anything even close to auction, they have to live with what that has done to the local market, even if only in a minor way. The local dealers (at least a few of them) are selling new pickups for 50% of retail. A $30k pickup for $15k because they are so loaded with them and they aren't selling. Do you think they are EVER going to be able to restore a RETAIL price market? Probably not! This is an extreme example but it is somewhat why they won't sell to you even a distressed vehicle like the RX that cfiiman is looking at for anything close to what it brings at auction. My bet is that they are not likely to get much more than what has already been bid at auction no matter how many times they run it and that they also aren't likely to come down much in price either.

I absolutely agree, I think you have been more than generous to offer them 10k- not absolutely sure that should be OTD. Depends on what tax, license and other costs in Ky. are. I disagree with the poster that said that black on an RX was not clear coated. I spent a lot of years in body work and can tell you for a fact that it's been many years since there was ANYTHING that was not clear coated- even the white trucks and cheap economy cars. I personally don't care for black (had 1 black truck and decided no more black vehicles for me), they're just too hard to keep looking nice, to say nothing of being HOT in the summer. Also, I don't think you will find as many trans. problems with the later RX's. Don't know what year they went to "drive by wire", but once they did they were able to do a lot of tricks through the computer that are subtle enough you don't realize they are even taking place. They let off of the throttle, !Removed! the timing and some other things that take the pressure off the transmission when it shifts. It is all subtle enough you don't know it's happening, but is enough to help the trans. They couldn't do those things (probably didn't know they needed to yet on the early years of the RX) with the cable throttle. I think that may have been in place by '02. My wife's '02 Camry has "drive by wire"- no throttle cable.

I absolutely agree, I think you have been more than generous to offer them 10k- not absolutely sure that should be OTD. Depends on what tax, license and other costs in Ky. are. I disagree with the poster that said that black on an RX was not clear coated. I spent a lot of years in body work and can tell you for a fact that it's been many years since there was ANYTHING that was not clear coated- even the white trucks and cheap economy cars. I personally don't care for black (had 1 black truck and decided no more black vehicles for me), they're just too hard to keep looking nice, to say nothing of being HOT in the summer.

There are 3 screws (actually round nuts with "Allen" opening in them) at the very front (towards you as you stand at the front of the vehicle). Don't remember what size they are. Then take the "L" Lexus logo on the center of the cover and twist like your unscrewing it- and, bingo, it's off. You're going to have a tough time finding spark plug wires under there though, because it doesn't have any. It uses COP's (coil on plug) so there are no plug wires. You're not likely to see anything under the cover that is either going to interest you or tell you much about the vehicle. It's not very fancy looking once you get that cover off.

Sounds like it could be the infamous IACV. Which is about as good a problem to have as you could get. How many miles do you nave on the RX? Do you do any of your own work? Has the IACV ever been addressed in the past? If you do any of your own work (if a scan for TC's does indicate that), I would personally suggest taking it off to clean it rather than doing it on the car, I think it will last longer. If you take it to the dealer, they will most likely just replace it and it will probably run you $450.- $500. Cleaning almost always fixes the problem. Good luck and let us know what you found out. Also, it may be the Maf sensor- in which case that can also be cleaned quite easily. If either one are the case do a search and you'll find a ton of info on dealing with them (or on the other Lexus forum). I have 120,000 miles and I took it to my mechanic today and it ended up being 3 engine coils wich cost me 670 dollars You learn something new every day- I have never heard of 3 COP's going bad at one time. Did the mechanic say what might have caused that? That is highly unusual!

I had apply throttle body cleaner liberally on the throttle but I did not open the black cap where the connector is. How do I check that the electronics have not been damaged? Would I need to replace the spark plug since I gap them? Thanks for the help. KBRX330 I have attached the picture of the part I cleaned. Are you referring to that plug on top when you say electronics or the black piece that attaches up front? Thanks. spenav- How did you clean the IACV? Did you remove it from the throttle body? Some people clean it without removing it from the throttle body but I'm not comfortable with that. You can't get in to where the dirt or carbon form. Let us know that and if the cylindrical valve moves freely and we'll try to help you from there.