code58

Take the cover off below the glove box and then take the glove box (and door) assy. off. Then you should be able to see all 3 of the actuator motors that control the heat, AC, position the heat or AC comes out of and the blend of the temps to provide what you've set it at. Go through all the modes and temp changes and watch the different arms for movement. The glove box and lower cover are easy to get off.

I've never had a problem with Toyota/Lexus OEM parts - they fit and work. One caveat - all sellers of OEM parts have asked for the VIN # of my vehicle. If the ebay seller does not, I'd be a little skeptical.

Tom

Tom- I have ordered OEM parts from independent parts suppliers such as the one I noted, both online and on e-bay and have never once been asked for a vin#. And have always received the right parts. Anyone who has worked on a T/L much at all knows the brands of parts that they use to build the car. I can assure you that ALL the parts that seller sells are OEM T/L parts. The W/P is made by Aisin and came in an Aisin box, just like it shows in the picture. It had the "Toyota" milled off because Aisin can sell the W/P with the Aisin still on it (which it had) but not with the Toyota without paying Toyota a royalty for use of their name and it being in a Toyota box. You will find the same timing belt with MBL, Mitsuboshi or Toyota on it. All the same belt but cheapest with MBL (not even identified as Mitsuboshi) on it, a little higher with "Mitsuboshi" on it and most expensive with "Toyota" on it because of the royalty to Toyota for using their name, but all the same belt made by Mitsuboshi. The parts in the site on e-bay that the OP posted are definitely not OEM.

Hi, new to the forum here. my wife has a 1999 RX300 125k miles. i am going to do the timing belt and waterpump and i found this complete kit on an auction site. i am VERY nervous about trusting this parts. anybody ever bought this kit or any aftermarket waterpump and belt?..thanks, mike

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300332978490&viewitem=&sspagename=STRK%3AMEWAX%3AIT

NCM- You do what you want with the info, but I have spent my life in automotive work, and have an appreciation for good work and good parts. They don't come any finer than what Toyota and Lexus build the cars with originally. I have even cut these parts apart with a die grinder and cut-off blade after removal (curious type) and found the OEM parts to be some of the finest parts I've ever seen. My suggestion is go with ONLY OEM parts (and sleep well at night). Here is a source that sells ONLY OEM parts at some of the best prices I've ever seen. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&_trksid=p4340.m748&item=350324088008&viewitem=&_trkparms=clkid%3D5313213877727711886#ht_2324wt_941 With a 99.9 e-bay rating he must treat his customers right too! That is only about 15 mi. from where I live and about 3-4 from where our son lives. Spend the extra money for the VERY BEST OEM parts. And I can assure you they are ALL OEM. He sells different packages, so you can get whatever your needs are.

Well thanks for your help code58 I've now reset the fault codes P0171+P0174 and driven it 10 miles and the codes appear to be gone. :)

I reckon the greased lightning fuel cleaner had blocked a valve or something similar.

But for anybodys future information the Denso DOX-0243 air/fuel sensors do work on a mark 1 RX300. They cost me £75 each which is a big saving from dealer prices.

Cleaners run through the intake (and even sometimes through the fuel tank) can and do affect the sensors. Most of the time temporarily and there are contaminates that can do permanent damage. A good chance that was it, since BOTH sensors were affected. (lean on BOTH banks) Glad it's fixed.

I seem to have lost my key for the car and am curious if it is possible to have locked the doors ( via the remote ) with the rear hatch open and then to have locked the key in the car?

Won't lock with remote if ANY of the doors are open.

I've just done some double checking and just to clarify some terminology here air/fuel sensors are the pre-cat oxygen sensors and then there is the heated oxygen sensor(I think there is just one of these) which is post-cat.

I checked the resistance of the DOX-0243 with an ohmmeter and it gave the correct reading of 0.8 ohms so it definitely is an air/fuel sensor.

Apparantly the resistance of the "oxygen sensor"(bank 1, sensor 2) should be 11-16 ohms.

Do you know if the RX300 has 1 or 2 of these post-cat oxygen sensors BTW?

UKL- I'm not familiar with the the term "02/lambda" sensors. Both the A/F ratio sensors (2) and the oxygen sensor (normally 1) are heated. When you checked the resistance on the 2 sensors I am assuming you tested the 2 black wires (which are the heater wires) on the A/F RS. You are correct that the Ohms of resistance should be .8 to 1.4. There is only 1 oxy. sensor which is the one after the C.C. IF the car had dual exhaust, it would have 2 C.C.'s and then would have 2 OX sensors, one after each C.C. The front sensors are definitely TECHNICALLY A/F ratio sensors and the 1 behind the C.C. is an Oxy. sensor. The front and rear sensors are often referred to as Oxygen sensors, very confusing, and incorrect.

I saw this post on the UK site so decided to give the sensors a go.

And yes they are the air fuel sensors both sensor 1 pre cat sensors(bank 1 + bank 2).

After doing some more internet research, I found that on the U.S. lexus forums and parts sites, Denso part No 234-9009 is often mentioned as the replacement for Lexus part 89467-48011 (which is stamped on the part in my car) along with Toyota part 89467-41011 and 89467- 41021, however, again I could not find a reference to Denso part 234-9009 anywhere in the UK or Europe. What I did discover was that Denso part DOX-0243 was cited on some UK parts sites as a replacement for Toyota part 89467-41011 and 89467- 41021. In essence then DOX-0243 seems to be the Euro equivalent of 234-9009.

I don't know UKL, but the very presence of the OX in DOX-0243 would lead me to believe that they are oxygen sensors, rather than A/F ratio sensors. I wouldn't count on the fact that "some UK parts sources" site the DOX as a replacement for the 234 because I bought 2 new sensors (Denso) that were definitely supposed to be A/F ratio sensors according to the online seller even when I e-mailed the question. I installed them and they were indeed the wrong thing. I discovered they were oxygen sensors, not A/F ratio sensors and that their listing was wrong, but I was still stuck with them because they were "electrical" and wouldn't take them back. I still say that's the 1st place I would concentrate on. I also don't know where the # 89467-41021 comes from. I believe the original A/F ratio sensors were 89467-48010 which later changed to 89467-48011 when they lengthened the wires a little. You should be able to tell by looking at them. If they are the correct ones they should look EXACTLY LIKE the ones you took out. The oxygen sensor looks very similar but the holes are different in it.

Hi Folks,

The story so far on my 2001 RX300: Had codes P1135 and P1155 come up(air fuel sensors) so removed the sensors checked their resistance and they were both toast so replaced with Denso DOX-0243 sensors and codes were gone.

Then I drove car for about 10 miles and CEL came on again this time with codes P0174(bank 2) and P0171(bank1).

Now before I managed to get my own OBD-II scanner I thought it was a fuel problem as the car was missing so I put some Greased Lightning fuel system cleaner in it - would this be related?

Any suggestions???

UKL- Where did you get the part # for the A/F ratio sensors? I am not familiar with that part # but it's not the right # for an RX 300 w/ 1MZFE engine. Are you sure you didn't get Oxygen sensors rather than A/F ratio sensors? Very BIG difference between them.

Thanks for the responses! So make sure I have this right...

Get a couple of 9006 harnesses (presumably the ones available are to allow for higher wattage bulbs - not that I'm going to use them), cut off the end opposite the connector and splice the wires to what I have left, correct?

Also, should I do the same for the 9005 hi-beams I have installed? No problems with them, but I'm guessing you shouldn't mix different types of bulbs on the same system?

No, I don't think they'll have heavier wires. They will most likely have the same size wires as your original connectors have, no matter where you get 'em. Cduluk is correct, your high and low are on 2 different circuits. Almost all cars have the high beams on 1 circuit and the low beams on 2 different circuits with a fuse for each headlight. The plug and wiring doesn't know what bulbs you put in 'em, they only know if you've overloaded 'em.... and then they look like the plug that you posted the pic of.

You were exactly right. It actually came out really easy. Well this was my hope, but I didn't want to screw it up worse! In the manual it lists the "water pump bolt" as 69 ft-lbs. They are clearly talking about some other bolt!!!

Usually I buy OEM parts, but this happens to be an AC Delco water pump. My other one looks fine, but it has 180k on it and the dealership said it was making noise. It's going to be funny if it was fine all along and it's my oil pump that's making noise!

THANK YOU for your help!

Hey IHD, I think what you were looking at was the "water inlet housing x Cylinder block" which calls for 69IN. LBS., NOT FT. LBS. I believe that is the wrong part anyway, I believe what you want is the "Water seal plate x Cylinder block" which calls for 13 FT. LBS. I knew that was way too much torque for that seal plate. It's a really excellent seal plate and doesn't take a lot of torque to do the job. As i said, the seal plate (called gasket) from my DIL's RX looked like new at 130K mi. or so. The rubber gasket that is fused to it wasn't even crushed. If you got a AC Delco W/P, ALL bets are off. What kind of seal does it have? (gasket) I can virtually GUARANTEE that it won't last NEAR as long as the OEM AISIN.

I'm getting ready to start this project today. I'm getting an oil leak from the belt tensioner area. My guess is that I will uncover from where after I tear all the covers off. Maybe that's a sign that the water pump is going bad? Although, I would have expected to have coolant leaking instead.

When swapping the water pump, do you need to use any sort of silicone on the gasket? The video doesn't show that, but I think my water pump came with a small tube.

Nope, no silicone required. That is if you got an OEM (Aisin) W/P. I hope that is what you got. T/L uses very high quality parts and you can buy them very reasonable on E-Bay and the net. I would never consider using ANYTHING else on a Toyota or Lexus. When I replaced my DIL's on her '99RX at about 125k mi. the W/P looked absolutely new and even the gasket (beautiful steel gasket with the rubber lip molded on it) looked NEW. I could have easily reused it.

I made a huge mistake tonight on my 99 RX300. I had removed my water pump and just put the new one back on. I was torquing the bolts per some WRONG info. The water pump has 2 studs, a bunch of bolts and 2 nuts that go on two small studs. So one of the small studs is the problem here. See the attached photo. The upper one snapped off. I don't think I can remove this stud like I did the others. I think it has to be pulled back through, which is impossible (or I have to rip the whole motor block apart). Just curious if anyone has any ideas?

I do have stud extractor tools, but I'm afraid to try it on one of these for fear that I may break something else.

Who is Duke, and why do you hate him? Duke probably caused it to break because he knows you hate him. Just trying to lighten the mood a little. I don't think it's even possible to put a bolt in through the back. It would have to be cast into the block and I'm sure that's not the case! How much torque did you put on that bolt? Had to be quite a bit for that thing to break. I'm sure the W/P calls for probably in. lbs. instead of ft. lbs. Not a very high torque. You SHOULD be able to simply use a vice grip and unscrew the broken piece. It should come right out, but remember you have a steel bolt into aluminum block so sometimes there is a little bit of seizing with "dissimilar" metals. If it doesn't come easily (may come loose with a "Pop"), don't continue to turn once it's started. Put some penetrating oil on it and let it set a little and then work it back and forth slightly to get the threads freed up before you remove it. But my guess is it will come freely once you break it loose.

Thanks for the info. I wonder why just that location had the problem twice?? Oh, well. The dealer has the connector but not the little aluminum clip that inserts into the connector and holds the wire. I guess I'll be searching junkyards...unless it's something generic I can get at an auto parts store?? Could be a bit of a pain to fix. Any ideas about that piece?? Thanks again.

BTW - Who manufactures the OEM bulb for Lexus?? Could I use a Toyota bulb for the Highlander? I have a friend at a Toyota dealer.

The connector that is damaged is easily obtainable from a parts house. It is a standard connector that has been used for MANY years on MOST cars. You can probably buy it for a fraction of what Lexus sold it to you for. if you lived close enough to me I'd give you one. Should be in the "Help" section of the parts store. (where they have all the spare parts that are often hard to get even at the dealer) You can also get the bulbs easily even at stores like Wal-Mart. Sylvania is a very common bulb that you can find just about anywhere. I'd also be glad to give you a couple of those if you were anywhere within driving distance.

My 2006 RX330 is five years old, and I want to replace the battery in the key (wireless remote). The problem is that I cannot remove the screw that attaches the cover to the key. The screw is "frozen" and the head is so small that it is impossible to apply much torque. I tried using "Liquid Wrench" but that did not help. Does anyone have any suggestions?

Doesn't that screw go into plastic rather than metal? If so, I don't see how it could "freeze". It takes either a #1 or maybe an "0" screw driver, really small but normally those small screw drivers fit well into those small screws. I have never had ANY trouble getting the screw out of those. Are you SURE you have the right size screw driver?

Yes IHD, you need to remove the starter to work on it on the bench. It's quite easy to remove and the directions are good, though not totally correct. You will need to remove the 2 starter mounting bolts and then turn the starter around to easily get to the hot cable nut on the starter. I think it is either 12 or 13 MM, not 10MM. You can more easily get to the plug to release it also. Make sure when you pull it apart to replace the contacts that you don't drop the ball bearing out that is behind the long spring. My suggestion would be to leave the spring in and you don't have to worry about that. Sand the burned contact ring where it contacts the 2 contact surfaces. It's really not bad at all. Make sure you put ALL the parts back in the order they came out, including the small rubber "O" rings on the copper bolts.

You guys are life savers! I believe you're exactly right. Just to think that this could end up being repaired by a $5 part, which probably only cost a penny to make!

I did change the contacts today and the # I posted was the correct contacts. T/L used solenoids that were centered on the incoming (hot) contact, leg left and leg right. If you have a '99 it should be leg left. That's what my DIL's was and I used the part # off the starter to determine the correct contacts from the linked listings from the off site catalog. The $4.95 is for both contacts and the shipping is $5.25 and they shipped it in a small flat rate box. Super deal I'd say.

One other note. I did test with multiple keys and that had no effect. Also, when I turn the key to START there is a clicking sound that comes from the motor area. That makes me wonder if the ignition switch is fine but maybe the starter is failing.

I'm with Filehorse on this one. I just ordered a set of contacts for my DIL's RX and am putting them in tomorrow as a matter of fact. I have repaired them about 50k mi ago, now that they're easy to get, I'll replace them. This is where I got mine. Really nice quality and an outstanding price. Both contacts were $4.95 for the pair and $5.25 shipping. Can't come close to that anywhere else. I'll try and post the link. http://www.iowamotorparts.com/denso_starter_solenoid_parts.htm The part # should be DSSCS-12

One way to tell if it's the starter solenoid contacts is have someone HOLD the key in START position while you take a hammer handle or similar and give a good "rap" on the starter solenoid. If the starter works then, you know it's the burned contacts. The starter is easy to take off, and the contacts are easy to change.

No matter what brand of rotors are used, proper torquing of the wheel bolts is essential in preventing warping of rotors. Personally, I would go with the high-line rotors from Autozone, OEM pads from an on-line Lexus parts source and, a Harbor Freight 1/2" clicker torque wrench. :)

Tom

I seriously question ANYTHING high-line from Autozone would come close to the quality of OEM Toyota/Lexus parts. Not in my book anyway. I AM a strong believer in torquing pretty much everything, certainly including the wheels. I also agree with the OEM pads suggestion.

You must have the European model. The RX300 built for the U.S. market only has 6 coils; one for each cylinder.

Coil pac # 7 ??? Do the europeans start counting at 2 ? Never heard of an RX with more than 6 cyl.

X2 Toyota/Lexus puts excellent rotors on their cars, probably better than most any aftermarket rotor you're going to find, and with an unknown quality, no matter what the salesman says!

I don't think so. My DIL's came off pretty easy too, but it fit snug, no play at all.

I think Filehorse is pretty much right on in his analysis. There isn't much of any possibility the belt could slip.

I'm about to change my belt as well and I need to replace my waterpump. The last time I tried, I need a special tool to remove the waterpump (it was the pulley I believe). Does anyone know where I can get that tool?

Couldn't have been the pulley on a Lexus W/P because the pulley on the W/P can't be removed. The only special tool I can think of would be one to hold the crankshaft pulley while you loosen the C/S bolt. Either that or a 3/4 in. impact wrench because a 1/2 won't normally loosen it. I made a tool to hold the C/S with a piece of 1/4X 2in. strap iron about a foot long. Drilled 2 holes for the 2 C/S bolts and hole sawed a 1&1/8 hole in the center for the socket and ext. to pass through. The end of the tool rested against the front crossmember so it couldn't turn and then I used an 18 in. breaker bar to loosen the bolt. You need to stack washers so that you can tighten the 2 bolts tight against the crankshaft pulley or it will twist the bolts off. Worked great. You don't need to take the timing gears off. You can get the W/P out and install the new one by taking the 2 long bolts out with the outside "Torx" on them and maybe jacking the engine up a little. Takes a 150+ lbs of torque on the C/S bolt and I put some med. strength "lock-tite" on the bolt also. It's standard thread, comes of left.

Since it is indeed a recall, there is no charge to you. So don't let any unscrupulous dealer steal from you....

NAAAHHH! Never happen.... would it?...nah, probably not....well maybe...Yeh, I guess it could....probably would, now that I think about it....yeh, pretty sure it could (and would)!

80 miles is BS, how many miles have you driven since it was repaired? It just takes a few trips and probably less than 10 miles to be ready for testing.

Carguy, I'm assuming different manufacturers have different protocol but I know some definitely take longer than that. I drive an F-150 P.U. and you should see the steps you have to go through to satisfy the drive cycles on that. And the different things that the computer is looking for IN THOSE drive cycles. Probably not 80 mi., but definitely more than 10.