pauljcl

I am usually against changing wheels (rims) in that the manufacturer's look as good as the ones that people change to, and are usually better suited. In this case, however, I must say that the rims look stunning on the white car. Very very cool!

There is a way to reset described in the manual, but the light should be 'out' if the tires and spare are at the proper psi.

I'm with mickey00 on this. The problems with the transmission seem to arise when the transmission has been stressed by a (too high?) load, which buckles the under-designed planetary gear (or its support for the gears) and thus forces self-destruction. I do not believe heat is the problem, and the RX300 has a 'heat warning light' for the transmission (or, at least, the AWD version has). I have never had it come on, nor have I heard of anyone mentioning that it did; and I assume that Toyota will have designed the sensor to trigger the light before the heat is so high that it causes damage. I do not remember reading even one of the stories about transmission failure that commented the 'overheat' warning light was on or had been on. The design of the transmission is flawed because the planetary gears were not built to carry the load the RX is built to carry. The later change to a steel (vs. aluminium) plate appears to resolve the issue, and no mention of temperature was made. [Thanks to Lenore and others for my education on the subject!!- Any mistakes are mine, though].

According to kbb, it's near the top of the range. Would be OK if it came CPO. Mileage is a touch high (5 years at 12K miles/yr = 60K miles, normally). But I am not an expert.

I can't comment on many aspects of your questions, but my 09RX came with the HID lights (and they swivel when you turn), and there is also a sensor on one of the rear suspension parts that controls the height of the lights, so that they do not blind oncoming drivers if the rear suspension 'squats' under load. The BMW comes with a similar automatic sensing/adjustment. If you need more light you can try the 9011-9012 bulbs instead of the regular 9005-6. They have the same consumption and the filaments are in the same position(s), but they are nearly twice as bright and last as long os the originals. I put them on my RX300 and could see (and appreciate) the difference.

Price?

Great! Good luck!

On my RX it is a ring near the end of the windshield wiper stalk. You turn it one way for less sensitivity, the other way for more. (The ring is a little like the ring on the lights' stalk, for the fog-lights.)

Alternator?

Yes, transmission does shift late when cold, and also does not engage O/D until the lower temp. reading on the dial is reached. Being paranoid does not mean no-one is out to get you, though! The general advice seems to run against a 'flush', because a number of transmissions failed after a 'flush'. Explanation seems to be that some metal pieces/shavings could have gotten dislodged and relodged where they shouldn't be. Oil change should be enough.

ditto homelink buttons light up and have the light pointing down... I believe the concept of the light is just to illuminate the center console area while driving at night, with out having to "turn on" the interior lights... kind of useless but I like it… allows my wife to fumble around a bit with out total darkness… I belive they are just ambient lights... There is a also a matching set in the "feet" area. I find it strange that some years of the RX has illuminated homelink buttons, and other years don't. In my case I have a 04 RX and it does, so it not like the older ones didn't and the newer ones do... Although now that I think about it perhaps where they are manufactured makes a different. Mines Japan (I think) I'll verify... So here is a question those of you that do have the homelink buttons that illuminate, where is your RX manufactured? My 2010 RX is manufactured in Japan and it has no Homelink illumination. My 2009 RX is manufactured in Canada. It has the 'premium luxury' package, which includes the illuminated door sills and the inside (foot area) lights that remain very softly on at night, get stronger when you stop. I have some difficulty in believing that the homelink buttons' illumination would only be part of the 'premium luxury' package..as well as having sifficulty in believeing they would not be illumated at all. Could it be anything to do with the dash lights' level setting?

My 09RX350 has both illuminated homelink controls and also a faint white light shining down (from the top) onto the shifter and that area.

I had had the same issue. "Lenore" of this forum convinced me that the battery needed changing, which I doubted since it started the car easily. But he was right. The "1:00 am" re-setting is a sign you need a new battery. Good luck!

Good luck! I wish you happy ownership! Welcome to te Lexus family!

Thanks for your comments.... I cannot personally advise on the (long?) life of the RX350, but looking through the forum it would seem that the problems are generally few and not of substance. I had a 99RX300 and some of the problems on that car were serious: back engine seal, transmission etc..., but - to date - these problems do not seem to occur on the second series RXs. Also, if you are getting a new RX (presumably the 2010 model), the history is not yet written. Re: the warranty. I would suggest you write or speak to this TobyToyota individual. He answered me very promptly and a friend spoke to him over the tel. and was impressed... I don't know if he can speak for Canadian Lexus, though. In my case, I did not see the point of committing to a warranty before I needed to do so, and there is a (small) risk that I would not even own the car when the extended warranty would start. Dealers always want to make immediate sales.... I would check to see if the extended warranty in Canada is available to the end of the original warranty before committing. Best of luck!

If I can ask - are you in Toronto? How are the Lexus dealers and service in Toronto? [i may move in the next year or so, and will have to decide whether to keep or sell my RX350. In the event, I would prefer to keep it because I drive about 5K miles a year on it, and the car is like new. But unless the service tis topnotch, I'll move to another brand.]

I had enquired about the cost etc... of an extended warranty. My understanding is that you have until the end of your current warranty (in the US) to decide whether or not to purchase the extended warranty. [i had enquired from the following post, and the person's price was well below the 'list price': http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...t=0#entry371423 ] so I believe you have lots of time to see where you stand before making the decision. Good luck!

Congratulations on your purchase! I have an 09RX350, and the words 'steering' and 'feel' should probably not be in the same sentence when speaking of the car. The steering as effortless as any, and there is practically no 'feel'. If that is what you define as 'soft', then your car is 100% 'normal'. Re: The weathering of the rack, other than repainting (which I woudl not advise), an application of a product such as "Armorall" could temporarily make it look better. Certainly worth a try, anyway! Thank you! Also, does anyone feel that the seats on their 07 are a bit short? I noticed that it seems like the seats don't support my legs well. I wonder how it will feel on long trips? b Boy, you are very observant. Yes, I too found the seats to be a touch shorter than the ones I had in the older RX300. Also a touch less comfortable and the elbow-rest less convenient. Sic transit gloria! You will adapt to them....

Congratulations on your purchase! I have an 09RX350, and the words 'steering' and 'feel' should probably not be in the same sentence when speaking of the car. The steering as effortless as any, and there is practically no 'feel'. If that is what you define as 'soft', then your car is 100% 'normal'. Re: The weathering of the rack, other than repainting (which I woudl not advise), an application of a product such as "Armorall" could temporarily make it look better. Certainly worth a try, anyway!

Aawahaha thats funny I kept the Rx300 on a hi octane and synthetic diet, but it was setup for failure The rx300 was born with The Tranny Failure Disease and with all rx300's it was just a matter of time. Initially it was a P0768 Malfunction in solenoid D, that trigger the TFD We rushed the rx300 to a mechanic to perform Open tranny surgery and the bad solenoid was replaced, After a few days complications followed a block in one of the valve bodies so bypass surgery was required after intense week of work all seemed to be good and the Rx300 was recovering well 2 months later the tranny failed ;) The operation was successful, but the patient died.... I remember a thread (was it on this forum?) of someone replacing a dead RX300 transmission with a (only very slightly) used (2002?) Toyota Highlander transmission... said it was a perfect fit and cost in the $2Ks. There might yet be life after death. Yep I initially post the P0768 Malfunction here but I guess getting the tranny rebuilt was inevitable. The shop asking 4000 to rebuild the dealer says they want to look at it first but somewere around 5000 to 6000. Right now with work cutting back 4000 to 6000 in repairs is a bit much but 2k would be more manageable. Were would I start looking for a Highlander Tranny ??? Sorry - cannot advise on where to find one. But I remember the post from a while ago, and thought the info. may be of use. Maybe some other member of the forum could assist?

Tirerack.com had some reviews... I had checked out the size for the BMW, i.e. 205/50-17 inch rims.

What did you have on before? I had the stock Michelins. Jeff That's what I have on the 18" rims. Do you prefer the Bridgestones?

We had the same problem on a 99RX300. The rep. at Lexus was very very helpful. Among the fixes he tried was securing the tray far down under the windshield wipers (outside of cabin) and some other 'fixes'. None were perfect. It finally proved to be simply a need to tighten (very much) the nuts holding the top of the front struts under the hood. If the rubber dampers are in good condition, try, as a first attempt, to tighten the nut holding the top of the struts before changing the struts. Good luck!

9005/HB3 bulbs can be replaced with HIR 9011 bulbs. 9006/HB4 blubs can be replaced with HIR 9012 bulbs. "HIR" stands for "Halogen Infrared". Google and find threads that discuss HIR technology. The bases of HIR bulbs have to be trimmed to allow them to be used in place of 9005 and 9006 bulbs -- see the attached instructions. HIR 9012 bulbs are used on John Deere 9000 series equipment such as combines. The John Deere part number for HIR 9012 bulbs is AH211917. I too replaced the 9005-6 with 9011-12 bulbs on a 99RX300 about eighteen months ago. Results are great. Much more light ouptut with the same consumption of energy. Excellent choice. You should search for the bulbs (Google), since the JDeere ones are not the least expensive. When replacing the bulb types, you will need to partly cut out the flanges of the new bulbs because they are too wide. It is easy to do (or to file down) since you have the original bulbs to 'copy'. Over here driveing at night is a nightmare..i ran over 4 cats and hit 2 dogs in a 1 month period of driveing at night SAD!!...completely different roads compared to north america...i really appriciate your help guys!!thanks This is where I purchased my 9011-9012 bulbs. The site contains a persuasive description of their benefits. http://www.finemotoring.com/ Good luck!

What did you have on before?