pauljcl

I'm trying to get a 'topic' started where the enquiries, comments and questions and answers regarding lighting can be concentrated. Bear with me - first time I try something like this. The origin of my interest are the 'new' (to me) 9011 and 9012 bulbs. They replace 9005 and 9006 bulbs, are made by Toshiba, and have several advantages (not in any particular order): 1. The filaments are said to be in the same place as the filaments of the original 9005 and 9006 bulbs, which means that the headlights' design and cut-offs should function perfectly. This should reducer any glaring or blinding of incoming drivers; 2. The wattage is the same as the original bulbs, i.e. 65W and 55W. This means that any original 'sensors' should have no problem 'sensing' the 9011/12 bulbs as they did the 9005/06 bulbs, and, not least, the same wattage means no greater load, nor any over-heating of the wiring. Color of the light should be similar to original; 3. Lumen (i.e 'light') output seems substantially (i.e 65% or more) higher than the original bulbs. This is said to be due to a reflective coating on the bulbs around the filament, which reflects heat onto the filament and thus,. for the same wattage, make it burn hotter, i.e. brighter. The 'glass' of the bulb is said to be no hotter than that of the original bulbs. The coating reflects infra-red (heat), thus the designation "HIR" (heat infrared reflective) for those bulbs; Otherwise: 1. The bulbs have a slightly different shape, being 'blown up' a little in the middle rather than 'straight' tube-looking 2. A number of posts on other web sites (some Volvo, some BMW, some Honda, some 'other' - can be found by Googling 9011 and 9012 bulbs - HIR - Toshiba...) seem to agree on the increased light output and advantages. It is said that the 'high beams' of the Viper and some BMW models use HIR bulbs from the factory. 3. A tab on each bulb needs to be cut/filed down. On one bulb, it is 1/2 the tab, on the other 3/4 of the tab. Not difficult. 4. All the leads I found on these bulbs seem to have www.finemotoring.com as their source, except for one separate 'analysis' site. That is where I bought my bulbs. - I just received them, but the car is in MI, and I will try them out at Thanksgiving. If the bulbs do work as described, they seem to be the answer to low-cost (+/-$25 per bulb) improvement in lighting, without the 'rice-rod' overly blue look, and without much trouble in installation. Has anyone else heard about these bulbs - Any comments? Thanks, everybody! Paul

I don't know how to do it !

I just received the bulbs I had mentioned. They are marked Toshiba 9011 and 9012, HIR1 and HIR2, and 65W and 55W. And they have the 'bulby' section with a faint iridescent sheen (the heat-reflective coating). The tabs to be cut/filed down were marked, one needs 1/2 the tab removed, the other 3/4 of the tab. I tackled the job over-enthusiastically with large toe-nail clippers, but the remnants look OK nonetheless. It's a good thing there are two other tabs (unaltered) to maintain guidance and control! The plastic files down easily. So, everything is as described, and I can't wait to try them!

Tks. for the info. - I had seen mentions of $800 to $1,300 on other posts.... But what was, was (or "is"), and one is in no poisiton to bargain them down.... I don't want to hijack this post (which started out with another issue, namely the Rx shudder) for a second time, but - Steve - if you know how to do these things..: I have just purchased HIR bulbs, Toshiba 9011/9012 to replace the 9005/9006 original ones. There are several postings on other websites, practically all favorable to the change (same wattage so no overheating nor confusing sensors, +/-65-80% more lumens, filament in the same position so the headlamps 'cutoffs' work correctly without blinding oncoming drivers, long life), and have yet to install them (at Thanksgiving, when we go to MI). Would it be worth setting up a 'thread' concerning lighting/bulbs? Thanks again to all -- Paul

Too often, 'book' spells 'rip-off'. I guess this is because it represents the time that a novice would take, knowing nothing and reading a procedures manual to do the job. However, arriving in a new place, one does what one can, and -- I have sent the bill on to Lexus asking for some assistance in paying it. Though I do not know what their answer will be, I assume it has a greater likelihood of being positive if the work is done at Lexus (or Toyota if no Lexus service is available) rather than Joe's Corner Garage. TKU, Roger, not only for your empathy but also your reassurance that the chances of another failure are small. It MUST be the material of the seal: the tolerances and abutting pieces design mean that the seal is probably the exact same shape and depth of the original. You'ld think that Toyota's experience at building engines and cars for decades would have prevented the use of unsuited material, but...... My car never overheated (water) nor A/T (it is an AWD, so there is an A/T temp. warning if the transmission overheats. Of course, one could argue that the oil temp. is not shown so 'maybe' one day it rose too high, but I strongly doubt it and there is no indication it ever happened... The problem is surely the mterail, as you pointed out. Tks. again! Best... Paul

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 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 !!! (and coolant, of course!)

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 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 !!!

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.

Yes. I had the 60K revision done and the dealer told me the seal was 'just humid'. Nothing more for about 6K miles, then I drove to Michigan from Miami and, after arrival, found that a small puddle would occur wherever I parked the car. Not a big puddle, but, over 12 hrs., would be about 3/4 the size of a dollar bill. No depth to it, of course. Took it in to check and, after wiping the seal area, you could see the welling of oil at the seal and begiining to spread outside in a couple of minutes. So: yes, it was an actual leak. I have never had a similar occurrence in any car, and the closest I know is the weeping/leaking seals of the early Range Rover steering box, due to lack of flatness/rigidity of the meeting parts. This is why I am a little concerned (beyond the cost of this repair) - what is to prevent this from happening again? Is it due to badly machined metal parts or failing seal? From all I have read, no-one seems to have had the problem twice, so I may be lucky.

Tks. for letting me know. The car isn't here, so I have a little difficulty remembering what the struts/links look like, but I'll print out your posting, and will surely recognize the parts when I go to install. Great!!!

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....

Thank you, blk_on_blk! Fortuitous timing for me: my '99RX's struts have been a touch sluggish in Miami. We took the car to Michigan, left it there - will return there at Thanksgiving. Since I assume the struts will be even more sluggish as the weather gets colder. I ordered a pair, and will install them on arrival.

A very uneducated guess is that you have a problem with the diff. This would be particularly true if your RX is AWD. Good luck!

I will do so with pleasure if I can still find the thread ... It will take a while, however, because the RX is now in Michigan (-- we are in Miami) and we will only be going there at Thanksgiving. My other car, the BMW, has original HIDs, so I cannot try them there. If - as I mentioned earlier - you Google those HIR bulbs, there are a number of car owners (owning different cars) who really like them. The interesting thing is that there were no negative comments, only some cautions (e.g. 'your headlights need to have well-defined cut-offs, you must be careful not to aim them too high because of the risk of blinding incoming drivers etc...).

I just (a few hours ago) mentioned this in another topic on this forum: I have ordered (but not yet received) HIR Toshiba 9011 and 9012 bulbs. They are said to have +/- 60-75% increase in lighting (lumens) while still sonsuming only the same wattage as the 9005 and 9006 bulbs they replace. A perusal of a number of articles, posts, blogs, club topics - various makes - appear to testify as to their effectiveness and also warn of 'fakes', or, at the very least, bulbs that can legitimately call themselves by the DOT designations of 9011 or 9012, but in fact do not have the infrared reflective properties of the 'real' HIRs. As far as I can tell - but, of course, no guarantee -, the bulbs discussed at www.finemotoring.com seem genuine, and those are the ones I just purchased. Three important points (in no specific order): 1. Wattage is the sane as 'regular' bulbs, so no effect on wiring or on automatic electronic sensors; 2. filaments are in the same positions as the 9005 and 9006 bulbs, so the cut-offs and design features of the headlights are maintained; 3. LIfe is about the same or a touch longer than 'regular' 9005s and 9006s. If you Google HIR - 9011 - 9012 bulbs you will see quite a bit of info., only some of which seems 'professionnel', the rest being 'aw dude these freak me out' style. After a very simple filing down of a plastic tab, they are perfect replacement size. It seems to me that this is a cost-effective, simple, reversible solution, with no downside.

For whatever it is worth, I just bought (have not received nor installed yet) HIR (note: are not HID) bulbs that fit into the standard headlights. They are Toshiba 9011 and 9012 (replace 9005 and 9006), said to be some 75% brighter without higher wattage. A Web site which sells them and contains quite a bit of info (but you should Google HIR - Toshiba 9011 and 9012 bulbs if you want more) is: www.finemotoring.com. A number of people on various cars (BMW - Volvo - Dodge - Corvette etc...) seem very happy with them. They (the hi-beam bulbs) also come standard on certain high-performance cars.

Its a 2000 model, with over 200K miles. Thanks for the info! Maybe Lexus would help in changing the engine? They have done that, and have 8 years warranty... This would make it a great deal..... Good luck!

Actually, I thought the new RX for 2010 looked more attractive (less 'swoopy' useless lines on the body), it cornered a lot flatter (reinforced torsion bars for less body roll?) and seemed a tighter design overall. I took my '99 to MI, where I left it, and will probably get a used '06 RX330 for use here in Miami. I would prefer to get the new 2010!

Steve: If you can actually find a nice '06 for less than $30K, with no more than 35K miles, you've got to go for it. Tan interior is OK, preferable to grey or black here in FL. -- I've found Carmax expensive. == Congrats!

Same thing happened to me one early morning - lights were on 'auto' and, depending on the clouds/environment brightness, the lights turned 'off' and 'on' a couple of times before deciding to stay 'off'. In that case the 'headlight' dashboard light is lit (or not) , and the cluster adjusts to the state of the lights. All was fine, and probably is with your car. Easy check is to not put the lights in 'auto' and see whether it still happens. Good luck!

Thanks, Karl. After some research I'll try the Kumho KR21, looks like a good tire with a resonable price. Many RX owners have no problem with it. Its likely better than the Intergrity I have on my car now. Hope for the best. I wish you good luck - let us know how they are... Anything is better than the Integritys, I believe - they are the worse tires I have driven on in forty-five years of driving and rallying.

Tks. for the good wishes. I hope they come true.. Actually, as I had noted higher up, these are the 'new' design ("Tour"): they are a touch rougher-looking than , say, the GYr Integrity's (which are 'car' tires), but much less so than the previous (i.e. pre-Spring 2008) BFG Long Trails. Sinc ethe car will probably now serve in Michigan, I thought a rougher tread would be better in case of some snow. Tks. again!

The change of the timing belt is an expensive process (much labor). I cannot believe that $189 gets it done. I got even more 'soaked' than the original writer: $1,400 from Kendall Lexus for the 60K maintenance, which included the timing belt change (because of the age of the car). I am sure that less expensive maintenance can be had, but if you want it done at Lexus (or Toyota), you have to pay the price. It might even pay dividends in the event you later have a problem/claim with Lexus, since you can show that you had all services done at dealership. So: no fun but not so bad, and there are worse things... Good luck!

I have a 99 RX300 AWD, 68000 miles and the car was doing OK - struts were replaced under extended warranty, and otherwise engine seems good (very little oil use). Mobil 1 5W30 every 5000 miles for the last two changes. Transmission oil changed at 60K (I don't know what the previous owner did before I owned the car). Then, last week, we drove from Miami to Michigan and - on arrival - found that the seal between the engine and the transmission was leaking - a little puddle everywhere I stopped. There is no Lexus in Traverse City, where I ended up, and the Toyota dealer quoted me $1,600 - 16 hours of work at $91 + miscell. for the repair. I thought it was heavy, but had no leverage to bargain There was no choice. I have called Lexus and asked for some assistance. We'll see what happens.... I was thinking of getting a Cert.pre-owned RX330 this coming month, as an additional car, and the outcome here will surely have an effect on my decision. If the three weak areas are 1. Transmission, 2. Engine sludge and 3. Engine seal, I believe that I may dodge #2, #1 is fully unknown and I will try to avoid by regular transmission oil changes and checks, and #3 was a hit. Other than the above, the remarks I read indicate that the RX is reliable and the odd car has the odd problem. Good luck!

I promised an update on the new BFG Long Trail T/A tour tires after the trip from Miami to Michigan. Here it is: the tires are not as quiet as I originally thought, but they beat tHe Goodyear Integrity's hands down. Very smooth and quite comfortable. Good on both dry and wet surfaces. I don't regret the purchase.