scottq60

You're very welcome! Thank you!

I couldn't agree more!

It all just depends on your "comfort level"...if you're not comfortable with it, do you have a local mechanic who does the routine maintenance on it, that you could have take a look at it, or do you normally take it to a dealership to have everything taken care of? My father taught me how to do oil changes and routine maintenance when I was 12 years old...the minor, easy stuff. While I'm FAR from an ASE certified mechanic, I've learned how to do things myself over the years (I'll be 56 next month). We just traded my wife's '09 RX 350 in on her '16 RX...otherwise, I'd go out to the garage and investigate what's involved in removing that seat from the floor...usually it's just 4 bolts or nuts, and you may have to remove some plastic covers to access them. There will also be an electrical plug for the power/heated seat. Otherwise, it should be pretty straightforward...but again, if you're not comfortable with it, I'd definitely suggest letting an experienced mechanic take a look at it. You're welcome! Wish I was there..I'd be happy to take a look at it.

This may require removing the seat and disassembly/reassembly or replacement of the seat track system. Not sure of the construction, but there may be a roll-pin or rivet or other piece of securing hardware that has failed, allowing this rail to move rearward from it's normal location. Personally, I'd unbolt the seat tracks from the floor, remove the seat and compare the broken side to the still-intact side to determine the point of failure and replace with a suitable replacement, whether it be rivet, roll-pin or bolt/nut. I'm guessing it's long past warranty, so I would try that...what have you got to lose, except saving yourself a repair bill if you take it to a garage/dealership.

Thanks, Trevor! She (my wife) absolutely LOVES IT! We're confident this one will give us as good as service as her '09 did.

Well...after 8+ years of near-flawless performance/reliability...we traded my wife's '09 RX350 in on a brand new 2016 RX 350 F-Sport at Lexus of Knoxville, Tuesday evening. The new ride is "ultra white" (pearl) with light gray leather interior. We LOVE IT!

and that's why I do all the maintenance on my vehicles that I'm confident in doing (that don't require specialized/expensive equipment)...I just can't bear the thought of paying Lexus maintenance rates at the dealership, or any other dealership for that matter. I just wonder what Lexus would've charged me to diagnose and replace the O2 sensor that I replaced myself...

Doing your own maintenance is not for everyone, and I agree...a hybrid would be much more technically complex than a straight gas-powered vehicle.

just a guess, but it sounds like maybe the bearings in the A/C compressor pulley or fan...not knowing the mileage or what all they replaced during the "super complete service"...it's difficult to say what was or wasn't really in need of replacement, but your RX is 10 years old and you took it to a Lexus dealership (I'm assuming), so (hopefully) the "super complete service" was necessary. It's as difficult as ever to find a mechanic/shop that you can trust 100% not to rip you off...I'm not implying that the dealership did that, but unless your Lexus has over 200k miles on it, having just spent $3000 on it last year, I wouldn't be in a hurry to get rid of it. Maybe check out some local garages and ask your friends if they have a mechanic or shop they can recommend to have the noise diagnosed and to get a repair estimate. I do ALL the maintenance on our Lexus and would only take it to a Lexus dealership (over an hour's drive from our house) if the problem appeared to be exceed my mechanical capabilities. Last year, a bunch of warning lights were illuminated on the dash...I let Advance Auto Parts scan the codes....turned out to be an 02 sensor - I ordered the sensor and a scanning tool (like they used) from Amazon.com for less than the price of just the tool at Advance, replaced it myself - problem solved. I realized not everyone has the desire or inclination to do their own maintenance on their vehicles, but I know that dealership-provided maintenance is usually VERY expensive, so I do what I can, myself. I'm sure if I had taken it to a dealership, they'd have probably charged me between $500-$1000 to do what I spent ~$250 on, including the scanning tool, which I now own for future diagnosis' on all my late-model vehicles.

Yep....same thing happened to our '09. We LOVE our Lexus, but I believe for this to not be covered by them is a load of BS! It's obviously a poor design/bad part choice/etc. I don't really have a suggestion for a remedy. I just removed what was left of the melted cover and left it as is. I, too, would be interested in a (reasonably priced) solution. - Scott

You should have no problem whatsoever getting this taken care of by the dealership...it's still under warranty and in their system. You don't need a warranty card or owners manual.

agree with jetfixer01 - no way should a timing chain need replacing at 90k miles. Most will last at least 200k miles. At that point, the engine may be ready for a total overhaul, to include the timing set. There seems to be many folks who take what their dealer tells them as gospel...HUGE mistake. Like he (jetfixer01) said - "The dealer is a ripoff artist". This, of course doesn't apply to all, but certainly a good portion of them. That's why I perform my own maintenance, especially the routine stuff (oil/filter changes, etc.) My wife's '09 was making a noise that was thought to be the left front wheel bearing going bad (per my father-in-law who owned/operated his own Shell service station for many years). His son also suspected the wheel bearing...so I ordered new bearings from Rock Auto...and replaced the LF bearing...no change. So, I pretty much wasted $43 for the bearing and another $40 to have the old pressed out and new pressed into the hub by a local machine shop. HOWEVER, that's STILL better than the $HUNDREDS that a dealer would've charged for the same thing. After replacing that bearing and the front brake pads (her RX has 57k miles on it), I've determined that it's tire noise, as the 2nd (current) set of tires installed are a more open tread pattern than the original (and crappy) Michelin tires. I realize there are people who, either due to time constraints, lack of tools/facility, or just so financially well-off that they don't think twice about taking their vehicles back to the dealership and paying whatever the service advisor says they need to in order to maintain their vehicle's reliability. I'm not one of those. I believe in saving $$ where I can. If the task is obviously above my perceived capabilities, I won't hesitate to pay someone else to do it...but I've learned a lot and SAVED a lot by taking on some of the purely "mechanical" tasks that didn't involve too many special tools or skills. My repertoire continues to expand. :)

Most likely you only need to perform a window reset - follow the instructions in this video - takes about 15 seconds. Most of the time, it's caused when you disconnect or replace your battery. My wife's '09 RX350 was only a "winter" vehicle for its first few years in service, so we disconnected the battery from eary Spring into late Fall and experienced this same problem. If I recall correctly, it's even discussed in the owners manual: https://search.yahoo.com/yhs/search?p=Lexus+RX350+rear+window+switches+not+functioning&ei=UTF-8&hspart=mozilla&hsimp=yhs-002

I think you answered your own question - "there seems to be no concensus"...I can tell you (as I've already stated) that Autozone showed the OE pads to be semi-metallic but ceramics as a suitable replacement.

I'd say the "OEM vs aftermarket" discussion rates right up there with the "which engine oil, how long between changes, what filter" debate :D