ZAPP

Reading the Wiki, and looking at CarComplaints.com and Edmunds, KBB, Cars.com reading extensively on owner experiences with the 09 and earlier LS460 it seems the smarter move is to buy the 2010-2012 iteration. Is that true? The changes seemed more than mere cosmetic with the 2010 refresh - paint changed, electronics [some], lighting, etc. And are the notorious "control arm" bushings, parts, etc still in play from 2010 ownward? I do not want to be chasing driveability issues ad infinitum.... your wisdom is greatly appreciated!

Gang I'm not sure this is the best forum for such a topic; 2008 or 2009 GX470, as of now what is the recommended path for converting to a hard metal suspension system, all 4 ? This will get mild offroad use on trips to remote areas, but 95% typical town & highway use, with quite a bit of rough 2-lane paved backroads. If I need to inquire elsewhere, links appreciated!

I would document everything, dated, even your observations and those of others. the most likely scenario is the dealer did not check the work. they could have picked up a 4 quart container of oil thinking it was a five. could have switched techs midstream and one assumed something about the others work. lots of things could happen. if it really is burning instead of blowing out around the filter, your cats are probably ruined, and its amazing the o2' sensors are not giving errors. the spark plugs should be replaced. I would have the dealer, or maybe a different dealer, run a compression check on each cyl.

34 would be a world beater from all I've heard. I'm suspicious that a number like that is truly "computer generated". on my last actual/real calculation, I was getting MAYBE 20mpg, but the computer showed about 22.9....

Thx! 'sounds' good.....

were they quiet? I have over 79K on the original equip tires..... which is why i'm on this thread!! Quiet is my Numero Uno criterion

that link has a really good... GREAT writeup. I wonder how many miles Lexmex has gotten on his '99 tranny? I note he uses Amsoil ATF. knowledgable chap..... I can't imagine racing one of these but he does and has no gripes. When mine failed their was a very slight wine sound and I lost overdrive. The engine rpms went up to indicate this and then I got a CEL light. I cant remember the code that was present with the failure but I believe it was something with the shift solenoids. If you have that many miles do not do a flush, Only do a drain and fill and repeat it with a two week period. It is real easy to do. Here is a great post with pictures. Make sure you use Toyota Type IV fluid, no substitute. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/showthread.php?t=220061

that tracks with mine I think. I do believe however there is about a 1mpg gain in using super, but doing the math, it does not pay. I am getting my 22 in mixed driving ... that's an average. I do not fun and gun with this car......

This post was helpful to me because I have been wondering: "What is the QUIETEST Tire I can put on the RX300?". So, with the below in mind I started websurfing for tires. Tirerack.com has a lot of survey and test info. Oddly, they did not recommend the Solus KR21, but they do recommend [the auto-match database] the KH16 for the RX300. The survey numbers on that one are impressive - by a gnat's hair it ranks second in "Noise Comfort" and overall is also second, with a price tag of $69. The reports suggest it gets excellent wet traction.... which can sure help me since mine is not AWD. Anyone know the diff between the KH16 and the KR21??? tread design? And a tip - I called Discount Tire locally on another issue but while talking, I told the guy this was the tire I was considering and asked if he had. He said "we can get it". I mentioned what I had seen on tirerack.com and that the price was $69 per and he said "we guarantee we will beat ANY price".... so.... Sorry for the delay in posting, but it's been a while since I've visited, and this jumped out at me, being I was just here for my wife's RX. I heartily second this tire choice. I've been a fan of Kumho's since putting a set of KH-11's on a '95 Intrepid ES we used to own. On the side was molded, "FOR SUMMER USE ONLY". Yeah, whatever. I had a dedicated set of snows on a separate set of wheels, which I'd gotten for the mountains west of Denver, but in Portland, OR, there was no way I was swapping tires for the one or two snow days per year. Just not gonna happen. I was one of three people, and the only one w/2wd who showed up at work the one day it snowed. Granted, it took 20 minutes to get into the parking lot, but that was because of the inclines and angles involved. I've recently replaced the positively horrible OEM Headstones on the RX with a set of 5 Kumhos, and I'm quite happy. Only about 300 miles on 'em, but they're quieter and the hum tone they generate is of a lower frequency than the Bridgestones. Treadwear is 680, which gave me pause, as I don't want tires like iron, but they hold the ground better than the OEM heaps. I had a set of Michelin X-Ones on the above-mentioned Intrepid, and positively hated them from day one. The Kumho KR-21's almost impossible to find online right now, backordered until September, but a guy here in Austin, TX, managed to find a set of five, locally. Had 'em on the next day. $470 for all five, mounted, balanced, new stems, w/8.25% tax. It was the same price as me going mail-order then having to pay for all of the above, plus I'd have had to cart the new ones around. No thanks. Sometimes, the corrugated tin roof tire shack ain't a bad place to shop, if you know exactly what you're lookin' for. Discount Tire it wasn't, but Discount was absolutely -0- help this time around.

This should be enlightening. Lexus claims 17 to 23mpg for the 2001 version of RX300. For awhile my 'info panel' in the car was showing close to 24mpg rolling average.... 23.9, then it began to slip downhill. I used 87 octane for a tank and it hit the skids, then I went back to high test just to see. According to the computer, it has never quite recovered - its currently showing 22.9. But I started wondering if Lexus would build-in a lie, so I have been manually doing the MPG calculation for the past month or so, and I'm showing about 22MPG - maybe 21.8 or so - its hard to know if the idiot-light comes on at the same point each time. From what I have read here and there, I'm getting good MPG. What MPG are you realizing, and have you checked up on your computer to see if its telling the truth? Does anyone know what routine Lexus built in the firmware for arriving at that displayed number?? Also, what's your MPG experience with various grades of gasoline?

in the spirit of "Misery loves Company", this saga will make ALL of you feel all warm and fuzzy: Bought the "utterly bulletproof" Toyota Corolla, 2003 model, had about 50K on it when I bought it. I did not know that the previous owner had bought the car 'certified' thus with extended warranty: he did not mention it and I would have never thought to inquire. so no transfer. Let my son drive it to College for first semester. Hindsight reports from his brother was that he was prone to "peel out of the parking lots" - Though I warned him again and again about staying on top of maintenance, and forced him to do an oil change [i watched and assisted] at about 63K miles, at about 67K the motor "spun a rod bearing". Being that it was in another town where I had no connections, and would have cost a small fortune to flatbed back to my town, I heard the Toy dealer there say he could get it done for 3K+ something..... But it turns out that isn't what he meant. He meant he could get the short block, new in a crate, for that price. The bill came in at just shy of $6,000. So we now have the world's most expensive Corolla. I never put an engine in a GM car and I have had many. I put a short block in a Toyota 4Runner at 97K miles. I never put an engine in ANY other auto I have had [except a VW dune buggy project that we built from virtual scratch.....]. I could never get wheels balanced on the 4Runner - it rolled rough from day one to day N no matter what tires I bought: I had 4-wheel alignments, re-alignments, re-balances til the Tire store was scared to see me pull in. I never got good MPG from the 4Runner either - about the same as my V8 GMC truck. I put 116K miles on my GMC Sierra and it was still running the original brakes - smooth as silk. It was ultra-quiet riding - like magic. I spent a total of about 900 buck on parts on that truck: a switch, one wheel bearing assembly, and some otehr thing I can't remember .... oh and the emergency brake release cable wore out..... That was it. That and tires. I will say the world's most expensive corolla does get good MPG.... 30 to 36 consistently and we're still breaking in the world's most expensive engine.....

interesting. I just got off the phone with Lexus of Melbourne, which did nearly all service on the vehicle in its life. They did the 30, the 60K, the 75K. He said no transmission service is called for on the vehicle prior to 100,000 miles. Just to be sure he looked up the 'typical' items that are checked at each service interval, and basically said unless there is reason, they do not mess with it. I asked if he thought it would be a "good idea given the history" and he said kina like "sure, why not".... and did advise pulling the filter basket, clean it, put it back in. I didn't think to ask this... maybe you guys would know. Does Lexus sell any extended warranty that would cover the whole train? The motor is already under the "sludge" warranty..... Who knows if he's smoking me.. seeemed honest and I was not complaining at all about anything, but the guy says he has worked first Toyota, then Lexus, for almost 20 years and he has seen maybe 3 transmssions fail, only one of them on a lexus. do I need a lift to do the transmission job?

Friends, I have an 01 RX300 w/79000 miles. about 77K of that was first owner, and elder lady who took it to Lexus dealer for every hiccup. I have been involved in another vehicle forum very similar to this one in the past, and the action of that group resulted in a recall of ALL vehicles: the good/bad/ugly for a transmission Circlip re-do ... well, there was another component involved, but basically it was a couple of cheap parts that would 'let go' with wear, and grenade the transmission. That recall happened this way: - the unhappy owners, which were fewer than on this thread, ganged up on NHTSA and begged for an investigation to be opened - a few of the activist owners wrote letters to their US Senators and congressmen, and complained to the State Attorneys General - my brother, a highly respected Trial Lawyer [i know... oxym....] wrote a letter on his letterhead to a U.S. Senator for his state, and that Senator happend to sit on the Transportation committee [whatever its formal name][. That Senator sent a letter to the bureau head suggesting that the interests of the owners needed to come first. Within a week, an official investigation was opened, and the Investigator was put on the job. That investigator was an ace who had very deep knowledge of automotive matters. The whole thing was wrapped up in about one month of real work, which involved him documenting in a prescribed way all the complaints, and then interviewing a number of owners who had incurred the issue. The company recall came out about two months after they agreed with the investigator that 'action was warranted' or words to that effect. This group is plenty big enough, and the data, though informal, is persuasive-enough to make this happen. I suggest that someone here who has spent the big bucks on a tranny overhaul serve as the Lead on this project, sharing an email address and/or phone, and that we methodically continue to collect the data, and that we all write our US Senators for our states, and complain. My reading of this is that they have a serious issue, they know it [there's enough evidence from owner experiences to indict Lexus mgmt for KNOWING there is a problem, implicitly acknowledging such, and yet failing to act responsibly. I"m amazed that someone has not incurred a Wreck due to this issue. If this were a motorcycle, there would be obituaries. And - everyone needs to be aware that Lexus has shown evidence via the engine special-settlement that they do regard their responsibility [if they accept responsibility] as being associated with the VIN - not with the owner. There is firm precedent for it. And their maintenance requirements on the tranny are vague, in my view. That does not excuse the owner, but if the owner [like the PO in my case] takes the vehicle in on time for every oil change, for the timing and serpentine belts at 75K, and Lexus does NOT service the transmission [like the elderly lady is supposed to be a maintenance wiz....], then shame on them. I say we go after them... They are the biggest auto corp IN THE WORLD. 'big car'....

good question as to 'what maintenance SHOULD be done, given the history"... I bought mine used, and so asked the dealer to research the records and we went through the pile for all maintenance. so far, no evidence of the tranny being serviced [it has 79,000 miles]. So I asked him what it needs, and he [the Lexus Svc writer] said "DONT let anyone flush the transmission fluid, given the history of this model" [very comforting, eh?]. He said he would do regular drain/refill, like every 15,000 miles or so. But that's not what the book calls for.......

Friends This concerns my 01 RX300 2WD, 78,000 miles. Awhile back 'outta the blue' while driving one sunday evening I got the Check Engine Light & the other two all 'on' suddenly, and subsequent checks showed one error, P1135, heater element of A/F Ratio/O2 Sensor 1 Bank 1. Both O2 Sensors are new, having been replaced in the past year. No code up to that point. I pulled the code with my OBDII and cleared a couple of times but it came right back. I tried unsuccesfully to get to the Connector [how DO you guys get to that thing????] to see if cleaning the contacts would help anything. Well, two days ago, while driving about 5 miles from my home, the lights suddenly went away. No code left. Later, it all came back again [same day], and then just as strangely went away again. Since that time the condition has not recurred. WHAT set of circumstances can cause the correction, especially while the engine is running... sorta "on the fly" ? I could maybe theorize it if the OK came at startup - but I'm baffled by what happened. Any help would be greatly appreciated. I must say I am suspicious of the ECU or whatever device it is that first collects/parses the inputs from all over the vehicle. zapp