Pho_Tai

I found this very useful instruction, with pictures, on changing the oil filter for an '06 Avalon. The '09 RX350 uses the same oil filter. All you have to do is find the location of the oil filter and the process of removing the filter housing and cartridge should be the same. Hope this helps. Refer to the first post. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141459

Thanks, the pictures makes it clearer. Does that mean a filter change means changing the filter element and not the housing and filter? This is a first for me.

Yes, the filter element is the item that you change. If you follow all the steps in the pdf document, than be sure to change the small and large O-rings as well.

I found this very useful instruction, with pictures, on changing the oil filter for an '06 Avalon. The '09 RX350 uses the same oil filter. All you have to do is find the location of the oil filter and the process of removing the filter housing and cartridge should be the same. Hope this helps. Refer to the first post. http://www.toyotanation.com/forum/showthread.php?t=141459

We own a 09 RX350 and I'll be attempting my first DIY oil/filter change on this vehicle soon. The 1st oil change was compliments of the dealership. And a big thanks for the informative write-ups from those of you who have done this yourself. For our other 2 vehicles(00 Grand Prix & 03 Maxima), I've been using both Fram and Supertech(from Walmart) for the oil filters. My question here is what brand of oil filter do you use for your RX350? I found this filter from AutoAnything: http://www.autoanything.com/filters/201A3689.aspx. Have anyone has any experience with this filter? Any other recommendations?

Thanks.

Also, just in case you are willing to spend $$$ and go for the UPGP, you might want to check out DetailCity.com. The Ultima product line is on sale and you also get 10% off on top of that.

Hi all,

Recently I just purchased my very first Lexus.... more specifically, my very first car! And my head is spinning over what to do with it, as far as maintenance goes. Pretty much everything I read online contradicts something else I read a few minutes ago, and I'm not sure where to even start!

Now, for some quickie information, I'm a college student, and as such, will not have the luxury of housing my IS250 in a garage for the duration of a harsh Wisconsin winter, and therefore need urgent advice on just how to best take car of it before a self wash and wax is out of the question!

So far, I've only given it three car washes, which probably did more harm than good since now the car has scratches that I never noticed before. At first, I tried to rinse, soap, and rinse the whole car in one go, but that left water spots all over. On my third and most recent try, I've decided to wash the car in sections (roof of car, boot, left side, front side, hood), and dry each section right after I soap and rinse. It takes a while, but the water spots went away.

The way I soap the car is in a circular pattern covering about a square foot, and that's the way I dry it too.

For the wash, I used Turtle ICE car wash soap, and went over it with microfiber towels. I also used a microfiber sponge to soap the car with.

On my third and last car wash, I tried waxing the car with Mother's Cleaner Wax, which looked great and caused noticable rain beading the very next day. Even though I tried buffing it as well as I could, I noticed that in direct sunlight, swirls could be seen (presumably from the wax), and when the temperature dropped at night, causing the car to condense, you could see circular patterns around the paint.

My main question is this:

Is there ANY wax/sealant/whatever that you would recommend for putting on the car? Remember that I need something with the absolute best durability, since I won't have the means to wax the car again once the snow gets here. I basically need something that will be able to survive Oct/Nov-March/April with just a single layer. Glossiness is a definite plus!

Also, is there anything that I'm doing wrong with my routine so far? I've noticed that there are bug 'splats' across the hood and front bumper, and even on the license plate that just refuses to come off. I've tried scrubbing with the sponge, with the wax, and even with a bug remover car spray, but there are still a few stubborn "splats" that refuse to come out!

And finally, is there a better way to clean the sponges? They are getting dark spots, and also tend to collect tiny leafs/seeds/other-plant-matter during the wash, and those things manage to embed themselves deep within the sponge, refusing to come out.

I know this is a tall order, and any and all help is very much appreciated!

Welcome aboard! And congrats on your first car. If you are on a limited budget, than I would recommend the Klasse High Gloss Sealant Glaze over the Ultima Paint Guard Plus; not because the Klasse is better than the Ultima, but because the Klasse is cheaper. Whether you decide to use UPGP or Klasse sealant, apply them sparingly; especially for the Klasse because it is hard to buff off once it is dried. And the Klasse also has a 12hr cure time before the next coat of Klasse. Just like "rjt65" have replied, I would also recommend DWG. So, for the harsh Wisconsin winter, this is what I would do: 2 coats of DWG(30min. cure time between coats and before applying sealant) and then 2 coats of either UPGP or Klasse sealant(12hr. cure time between coats).

For your stubborn bug "splats", apply whatever bug & tar remover you use and let it soak the splats for about 1min. or more and then scrub off. In this way the splats will be softened and can be scrubbed off easily with very little pressure. Good luck.

Have anyone used this duster before and how well does it work? I know that quite a few members from this forum seem to say to avoid dusters in general because they will cause scratches. I have done dusting at home and the amount of pressure I apply is dependent on the surface that I am dusting. If the surface that I am dusting is prone to scratches, than obviously I don't want to apply too much pressure or none at all. In this case, I will be using this duster on my nicely detailed paint surface and I'll just be gliding the duster across the surface to get rid of the dust. Obviously, I will have to shake the duster to remove the dust before gliding across a different section of the surface. My question is basically how well does this duster picks up the dust?

So, I just went to Longo Lexus -- the #1 Lexus Dealership in the U.S.A. -- to get a price on my new 2008 IS250.

*No exaggeration, I promise*

I was greeted in a friendly manner, starting with "Would you like something to drink? :D "

Well, anyway, so the guy I spoke to was Asian and he spoke the Asian-English, which wasn't a problem.

The problem was, he spoke so fast, and was repetitive, I literally began to have a headache after 30 minutes.

Yeah, I was there for about five hours...... MIGRAINE :cries:

Anyway, so they were trying to get me the best deal on it, and you know: "No one beats Longo's prices"

However, I had a quote from a different dealership, and they said that the quote was already "agressive" for them.

The sales manager comes out and slightly lowers the number and says that that's the best they can do -- and that they'll be making $500 from this.

I get a voicemail and it's from the other dealeship. They brought the price down even more!!!

I told them that I need a better price than this and THEN, they started to become frustrated.

It was so obvious that I was giving them a hard time, because they began sweating at their foreheads *lol*

The sales guy's voice became louder, and he spoke even faster, and I was DONE.

The Persian manager, started becoming upset and DEMANDED my "final price."

He explained that I am dealing with the "largest dealership with the BEST SERVICE

in all of the United States." He guaranteed that I would be happy with them.

Since I was so tired and ready to leave their ugly desparation, I gave them the most

ridiculous price that even LONGO can't beat -- Yup, they couldn't beat it *lol*

The manager slammed his file together and yelled, "I can't beat that price, it's a $2000 loss!!!

Thank you for coming and please GO HOME!!!!" and stomped away from the desk, leaving us stranded.

This was heard throughout the sales floor and of course, EVERYONE turned around.

In a cool fashion, I thanked the sales rep for his time, who didn't shake my hand and rolled his eyes.

As I walked out the automatic sliding doors of the dealership, I purposely said to my boyfriend

(who was next to me the whole time) loud and clear, "WOW, what was with THAT attitude??"

30 minutes later, the sales rep calls me and leave me a message:

"Hey, it's me again! I have GREAT NEWS for you Call me back!!!"

HA!!!!! F K U!!!!!!

Now, I cruise around in my hot Lexus IS250 which I leased from Lexus Santa Monica

I couldn't stay away from them. They are SO professional and close to my house.

If you want the "BEST SERVICE" on the Westside, don't go anywhere else :chairshot:

After all, as a Lexus owner, you deserve the best, right?? ;)

** And if you DO want to go to Lexus Santa Monica, e-mail me and I'll refer you to an awesome sales rep!!!!

To me, there is no such thing as a #1 Dealership. A dealership is just like any other business; they are there to make a profit or else they wouldn't be in that business. And the selling price of almost everything in the market today is highly marked up(of course for a purpose: to pay stockholders, pay employees, etc.); especially the automotive industry.

Sexxyy, may I ask in what city was the Longo Lexus you went to? We almost bought our RX350 at the Longo in El Monte. I didn't have a bad experience with them; they just didn't meet my price. I actually didn't even go to the dealership, I just gave them a few phone calls to see if they had any RX with the exact options that we wanted and to negotiate the price.

Got a hold of my brothers camera, trying to get into photography. He has a Nikon D40x. I just ordered a Nikon D80 (I still have a lot to learn)...just waiting for that to come in. Enjoy the pics.........comments are welcome!

a little bit of photoshopping.....

Cool rides. In the 5th pix from top to bottom, are those aftermarket bulbs you are using for the foglights? If so, where did you get them? I was thinking of getting aftermarket zenon bulbs for my foglights, if possible.

One of my BMW places called Bavarian Motorsport has the langka stuff and after reading a 'detailing issue' of their one flyer I was interested in using it.

In case anyone is not familiar with how you use it here are the steps to take accoding to the article:

Using touch-up paint, apply a blob to the desired chip and let it dry to a sticky touch then using the langka stuff and a card (provided) begin to rub down the blob. With the card and langka you are suppose to use a detailers rag which I am guessing a nicer version of a shop rag. A guy from my BMW board has used it before and said it is hard to do and takes awhile. I said I would email him on it before I purchaed anything. For the price I thought I would give it a shot. WHo knows, maybe I'll like it. After that it is heading off to the shop for a new coat on the hood. I am hoping the langka does most of the job though!

Good luck with all your detailing stuff. I just got into this myself over the past year and here and there buy new products and test them out.

ED, thanks for the reply. Please let me know how well the langka stuff works after you try it. I haven't even purchased mine yet. I still need to get my touch-up paint. I wonder if I should just pay the high price the dealer charges instead of wasting too much time searching the internet for the touch-up. From my reading of this langka stuff, I am assuming that it is to be used to repair paint chip on the main car panel instead of other pieces such as the door trim which is plastic. I also have quite a few chips/scratches on the driver side door trim, which is very noticable. I wonder how well the touch-up paint will adhere to plastic. I guess it doesn't hurt to try since it is only plastic and won't rust.

You should polish as needed. If you adopt a proper washing tecnique you shouldn't have to polish much at all.

Thanks Steve for the reply. That is what I thought, polish on an as needed basis; since it is an abbrasive. Another question if you don't mind about whether I should wax or not wax my new RX? Since wax doesn't last that long and my RX hardly have any swirls or scratches, instead of waxing, I am thinking of apply more than 2 coats of the Klasse sealant; especially when the PC I ordered this morning is on its way to my doorstep. I've read somewhere that the more coats you apply the more glossy the paint looks. From your experience of using sealant is that correct?

thank you,

Pho

I am new to the detailing world and this and the Autopia forums have helped me a lot in learning how to detail a vehicle. I have just placed an order for a detailing kit from Autopia which includes: 1 Porter Cable 7424, 1 4.75" velcro backing plate, 1 of each Sonus SFX-1,2,3 polishing pads, 1 of each Sonus SFX-1,2,3 car polishes, 2 Sonus microfiber buffing bonnets, and 2 Sonus detailing towels. I will start to use this kit to restore my wife's neglected white Nissan Maxima. The car is in decent shape, but if you take a closer look, you'll see a lot of "spiderweb" scratches. The car also has a few paint chips on the hood area, which I will need to take care of ASAP before I start the polishing process.

Before I start repairing the paint chips, obviously I have to wash and clay the car first. A collegue of mine refer me to langka.com and to get the Langka Paint Chip repair kit and use it with the touch-up paint. Have anyone used this Langka kit and does it work? Are there other methods to repair the paint chips? After repairing the paint chips, I will then polish and probably use the Klasse products. Are there any tips for bringing the Maxima back to its glossy look?

After reading about what a polish is and it's purpose, how often should you polish(since polish is an basically an abbrasive)? When should I start polishing a new car(09 RX350)? For now, all I do for the RX is wash and clay, then use the Klasse all-in-one and sealant glaze(2 coats). When the porter cable comes in I hope that the time for glazing will be cut in half if not more.

Thanks for your help,

Pho

Hello all,

We just bought our first Lexus vehicle not too long ago. I am just browsing the internet to find the cost for general maintenance parts such as oil and air filters and ran across a brand called K&N. I have always used Fram on my other 2 vehicles. K&N is more expensive than Fram, but is the quality of the product better? Are there any other brands to consider?

thanks,

Pho_Tai

I have done very basic cleaning both exterior and interior for my vehicles in the past, but now we added our very first Lexus vehicle.

With the price we paid for this vehicle, I want to make sure I learn how to clean this car "better" than my basic cleaning in the past.

My question here is for the interior. What solutions do the collective/pros use for cleaning the following items:

1. plastic modings around entertainment/Nav system

2. Nav touch screen

3. plastic(or rubber?) insulation around the doors

4. windows

Thank you for all your help.

Pho_Tai, if you don't mind I'm asking, how much did you get for your RX350? Which location?

Hey ilovelexus2007,

I was able to get the RX350 for slightly under $46k out-the-door in Indiana; still pricey though.

Pho_Tai, thanks for the info. So you were able to get around 1K off the MSRP? I got about 2.3K off the MSRP from Minnesota, but I heard people on this board was able to get 3-5K off their MSRP, I wonder how they did it. (sigh)

ilovelexus,

I am just curious. Was the price you got an out-the-door price? And is your vehicle is an '08 RX400h?

If you meant the "out-the-door price" is the total price excluding tax + license, then yes. I got '08 RX400h for 48K, MSRP was $50,420.

ilovelexus,

The "out-the-door" price I am mentioning is tax, doc fees, temp plate, etc.. all included.

Pho_Tai, if you don't mind I'm asking, how much did you get for your RX350? Which location?

Hey ilovelexus2007,

I was able to get the RX350 for slightly under $46k out-the-door in Indiana; still pricey though.

Pho_Tai, thanks for the info. So you were able to get around 1K off the MSRP? I got about 2.3K off the MSRP from Minnesota, but I heard people on this board was able to get 3-5K off their MSRP, I wonder how they did it. (sigh)

ilovelexus,

I am just curious. Was the price you got an out-the-door price? And is your vehicle is an '08 RX400h?

Hey Toyotafan,

To make my wife happy, we just got our 09 RX350 this past Saturday 3/29/08. And since this is an 09 model, I am crossing my fingers that Toyota has fixed most if not all of the problems(relating to RX350) that are posted on this forum. I did the same research/comparison between the 08 MDX and 08/09 RX350. The RX350 we have is not fully loaded; it has Nav w/ the premium plus package(MSRP around $46396.00). So far it is a very comfortable car when driven on paved road. We had to purchase an 09 since the 08's are pretty much sold out and my wife only likes Silver for exterior color. Anyway, happy hunting.

Pho_Tai, if you don't mind I'm asking, how much did you get for your RX350? Which location?

Hey ilovelexus2007,

I was able to get the RX350 for slightly under $46k out-the-door in Indiana; still pricey though.

Hello All,

I am trying to buy a custom fit dashboard cover for my 09 RX350. On all the online retailers that I looked at, you can only configure the dashboard cover for 08 model year(09 model option not available yet). According to this forum and the Lexus dealership, the 08 and 09 RX350 are identically with no changes what so ever for exterior/interior design. So would it be fine to configure the dashboard cover for an 08 model and will fit perfectly on my 09 RX350? Don't mean to be cheap, but once I purchase this cover, I can't return them. Thanks for any advise/replies.

Hello all!

I'm looking at purchasing a 2009 Lexus RX350 and have been doing some research, hence finding this board!

Currently I have a 2000 Toyota 4Runner LTD which I absolutely LOVE! But, she's now 8 years old and just

over 100,000 kms and I would like a new vehicle. I had been looking at the Acura MDX and the RX350.

Looking at reviews etc, I think the 350 is a far better vehicle.

I want to get it fully loaded (every option available). Does anybody own one with all the extras? Any reviews?

I noticed on the US site (I'm in Canada) that 'laser cruise control' is an option but I don't see that in Canada.

I have yet to go on a test drive (will be doing that soon), so I'm still at the 'research' stage.

Thanks for any feedback :)

Hey Toyotafan,

To make my wife happy, we just got our 09 RX350 this past Saturday 3/29/08. And since this is an 09 model, I am crossing my fingers that Toyota has fixed most if not all of the problems(relating to RX350) that are posted on this forum. I did the same research/comparison between the 08 MDX and 08/09 RX350. The RX350 we have is not fully loaded; it has Nav w/ the premium plus package(MSRP around $46396.00). So far it is a very comfortable car when driven on paved road. We had to purchase an 09 since the 08's are pretty much sold out and my wife only likes Silver for exterior color. Anyway, happy hunting.