SmilingBoognish

We had one of ours replaced for this issue while still under warranty. From what I understand it is a pretty widespread problem throughout the entire Toyota line.

A vehicle with low mileage giving such problems does not speak well of Lexus quality

I have been incredibly underwhelmed by the build quality of our 2008 RX350, as well as the 2007 ES350 which was recently given to me by a relative. Silly things like the doors not fitting properly in the RX and the wipers scratching paint off the hood in the ES. I would be hard pressed to be a repeat customer, quite honestly.

I'm very impressed with 27/24 on an '08 RX350 with AWD. We get around 24-25 on trips to Tahoe, with a roof mounted box and 7,000+ feet of elevation change. However, we are lucky to get more than 14 around town! I should note that the road to our house has an elevation gain of almost 400' in less than half a mile, which just kills the around town mileage.

I've used Lexol for the last five years with good results. Easily cleans off the blue jean transfer and the seats are still in excellent shape.

Also remember that fuel consumption is far more dependant on engine load than it is on RPM. So when you are accelerating at 1,700 rpm's, your instantaneous fuel consumption is probably in the single digits. Once you're at a steady state speed the instantaneous fuel mileage goes up dramatically.

Example: my little Mazdaspeed3 turns about 3,000 rpm doing 75 mph and yields a consistent 30mpg on the freeway.

BTW, I recently inherited an ES350, and am happy to hear that this kind of freeway mileage is possible.

James,

I hope this doesn't sound too harsh, but rotating tires should be common sense, particularly on an AWD vehicle.

We replaced the OEM tires on our '08 RX350 with Goodyear Assurance ComforTread Touring tires. The OEM Michelins needed to be replaced at around 20k miles, which should be expected on a high performance summer only tire but is a ridiculously short life span for an all-season. The Goodyear's are wearing much better and perform just fine.

As others have stated, it is unlikely any accelerated damage was done to your vehicle. If you're really worried about it, do a Blackstone analysis on the oil and post up the results. FWIW, I run synthetic oil in my turbo charged vehicles, but plain old Castrol in the Lexus. I change it every six months which has wound up being anywhere from 1,800 miles to just a hair over 5,000.

Toyota/Lexus V6 engines have had historical problems with sludging - hence the accelerated oil change interval of 5,000 vs. 7,500.

...Though I would have thought that the issue of tire pressures equalizing circumference would be more important, i.e. slightly higher front psi than rear on the AWD RXs, since the preponderance is in the front (and this visibly affects the set of the tires).

Tire pressure is important, too. On my 2002 Subaru WRX (which had a VC), if the front tires weren't 3-4 psi higher than the rears, you would hear a very pronounced and unpleasant noise when decelerating in 2nd or 3rd gear. It was probably making the racket in other gears, too, but there was enough road noise to drown it out. I always hypothesized that it was the VC. I keep our Lexus pumped up slightly more in the front than the rear out of habit for this reason. The engine weight does have a pronounced effect on the roundness of the tires.

Truth be told, it is for "Toyota's protection from frivolous US law suits".

I been saying it all along. If Toyota made thier cars so it can not accelarate, they would not have all these sudden accelaration law suits :)

WORD!

Although it might cause some marketing issues if they sold cars that didn't accelerate. ^_^ B)

Your left rear tire was spinning while none of the other three pulled the vehicle up the grade? This makes no sense to me, given that the RX is based on the front wheel drive Camry...

My understanding is that, except for the 2010RX, the (older) RXs have a viscous center (differential Torsen-type). I take this as meaning that the center differential will allow some slip; however, as slip increases the viscosity of the liquid increases and the differential become less accepting of slip, thus 'forcing' the rear wheels to drive (push) the car in addition to the fronts. -- The 'axle' differentials (front and rear) are both 'regular' differentials, i.e. they allow slip and the wheels with more grip gets less power. -- It would thus appear that if both a front and a rear wheel have no grip, the RX would be unable to drive forward.

I would be really interested to read a post from someone who knows for sure ....???

first - a viscous coupling is what you described, but is definitely not the same thing as a TorSen center differential. A VC has clutch packs floating in a liquid that responds to heat. When there are speed differences between the front and rear axles, the clutch packs slip, making friction and the liquid heats up causing the clutch packs to grab one another, essentially trying to match the axle speed between front and rear. This is why on vehicles equipped with a VC it is crucial to keep your tires rotated and replace all 4 at once, otherwise the VC is constantly getting hot and will burn up in a few thousand miles. A TorSen unit is a gear driven mechanical unit as used in most Audi Quattros, and does not rely on a VCD. You are correct that the front and rear differentials are open, so either the left or right side could spin freely; however if the rear was spinning then the VC should have already sensed that the front was spinning to send that much torque to the rear in a front biased setup like the RX has. I suppose it's possible that the hill was steep enough and that the rear tire spinning had so little traction that the VC could not transfer enough torque to the front. VC's do not "lock" like a traditional 4X4, and depending on the design there will always be some degree of slip.

edit: After reading my own post, I'm wondering if the original poster ran different diameter tires on his vehicle at some point, which caused premature wear on the VC?

Your left rear tire was spinning while none of the other three pulled the vehicle up the grade? This makes no sense to me, given that the RX is based on the front wheel drive Camry...

Once again she spews the script about how it is "for your protection that we disable the navigation".

Truth be told, it is for "Toyota's protection from frivolous US law suits".

Like others, I find my Garmin portable unit to be far superior to the built in Nav in my wife's Lexus. She likes it, though, and a happy wife makes a happy life!

Just put it in neutral if the engine starts racing without your control. Get the vehicle pulled over, then shut it down.

You have got to be kidding me!

Just to reset an idiot light about tire pressure, I have to essentially remove the spare tire?

Maybe the logic is to make user maintenance so difficult you will pay the dealer to do it.

No offense intended, but it goes with having the "SUV Image". You own a very nicely appointed Camry that looks like an SUV. Stuff like spare tires don't fit as nicely.

I think you need to check your tire pressure.

And don't forget your spare. Going to the mountains in the winter triggers my idiot light due to the spare being cold.

I don't believe in special "break in" oil. Show me one used oil analysis that supports this and I'll change my mind.

You should be OK if you lower the tire pressures, but personally I wouldn't do it without having a friend with me that had a real SUV with a proper transfer case.

You should change the oil in a vehicle at the earlier of the mileage limit or the time limit. Even if you don't run the engine much, the oil will break down due to condensation. It is cheap insurance.

well noise is commonly blamed on the direct injectors in the engines, sounds like ticking. ive always thought my car was louder than a luxury car should be but thats t he way it is.

The RX350 does not have a direct injection engine.

Ours is not noisy by any means unless you get the revs north of about 5k rpm, for whatever that is worth. On idle it does have a 4Runner type burble, which is not a very pretty engine note, but is by no means noisy.

There are two pieces to the aluminum housing. The 3/8 inch drive will sometimes take both off as one, or it may just take the bottom off which won't allow you to change out the filter element. Stupid design, imho.

I had to get a socket to fit on the oil filter wrench. My eye ball said it was 7/8's but my eye ball was wrong and I had to walk to the hardware store to buy the correct socket!

RMB350,

Do yourself a favor and order the oil filter tool and make sure you have a socket big enough for it (15/16", iirc). The first time I changed the oil on our vehicle, I didn't need the filter tool. The second time, I did. Last thing you want is to have a vehicle with no oil and need a tool to finish the job!

I've found that the brakes require more muscle from my leg for quick stops, but will work to the ability of the tires in a panic situation. Don't ask me how I know...

They will fade coming down a mountain if you're not careful though!!!

I just changed the oil in our rig for $30, not including the beer I drank while I was waiting for the oil to drain. The coolest thing is, I spent less time than if I would have taken it to a dealer for the same service AND I got to drink a beer in the front yard on a Sunday afternoon. :D

But yeah, I'd definitely take it to Toyota before Lexus if I was going to take it in for a service. Even better, I'd find an independent mechanic I trusted.

edit: After re-reading my post, I realize it probably came off as smug. For the record I completely understand NOT wanting to do your own oil changes and I also understand that some folks live under circumstances where it is impractical or even illegal!