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

thanks! I think you've answered your own question - and I think you made the right choice. I'm far from a mechanic too...just try to do what I can (since I despise paying those labor rates) if there's the slightest confidence I can do it myself. The aforementioned '63 Falcon Sprint - blew a brake line a few weeks ago on the way home from our "cruise in" here in Somerset. I (at my wife's urging) sprang for all new stainless pre-bent lines...just finished installing them a few minutes ago...a bit challenging (routing and length-wise), but I got it done. Now to bleed them and should be good until something else breaks. (the norm with a 52 y/o car :D

just to give you an idea of what may go wrong...I recently bought a Pertronix Ignitor, from Summit Racing, to replace the points/condensor in my '63 Falcon Sprint - installed it correctly (I installed on in my wife's '68 Mustang coupe) - cranked and cranked...wouldn't start. I reinstalled the points/condensor and it fired up on the first key-turn instantly...which led me to believe the Ignitor was bad from the start. Pertronix Ignitor is a HIGHLY successful product...I just happened to get a bad one. It happens. Though, in your case, if it's bad from the start, it will be discovered right away, under that first labor expense...so you can just get another one, but if you're ordering it online, what's the ETA on a new part? Chances are, you'll be fine...I'm sure failures (hopefully) are the exception, not the rule. Not trying to make you doubt your decisions...just offering up my experiences. Off to go get a 12pt 30mm socket...my six point will not remove the axle nut...it's ALWAYS something! :)

is there a huge difference in price between the shop-supplied parts and those you supply? If not, I'd take that into consideration, as well as the 2nd charge of labor, if your parts turn out to be defective.

Are you doing the work yourself? You mention 3-4 hours worth of labor rates...this leads me to believe you're paying someone else to do it...is that correct? Is it an "indy" shop? So, if I understand correctly, you're having an indy shop do the work, but you're supplying the parts? Is that right? Denso is the OEM for the air/fuel ratio sensors...so if Lexus/Toyota allowed them to supply those parts, I'm guessing their coils would be acceptable as well....unless they just went with the "lowest bidder" as I'm sure many vehicle manufacturers do. Parts are always a crap-shoot - a bad one gets produced for every so many good ones. I'm getting ready to replace both front hubs/bearings on my wife's '09...the left one is noisy but I figured I'd be pre-emptive, as you said...that may change once I've done the left side, depending on busted knuckles/frustration/etc. :) I ordered (what I thought to be) complete assemblies from Rock Auto. The instructions in my downloaded "shop manual" suggest the bearings/races need to be pressed off and the new ones pressed on...but the new bearings are one-piece sealed units provided by "Dura International" and include a 1 year/12k mile warranty....so we'll see how that goes. Regards, Scott

Don't be led to believe that if it's not a genuine Lexus/Toyota replacement part that it's inferior in quality. That's the trap that dealerships/OEMs want you to fall into. Side note - I had to replace an air/fuel ratio sensor on my wife's '09 RX350 and ordered an OEM Denso sensor on Amazon for WAY less than even Advance Auto Parts could get it for ... ~$50 vs $185 at Advance. Amazon.com is definitely my "go to" source for just about everything..them and Rock Auto

yes...a lack of coolant would cause overheating, after all, it's the coolant that carries the heat away from the engine. There may also have been air pockets that had to work themselves out after replacing the filler neck. Just keep an eye on it.

WOW!!!! That's phenomenal!!! I thought 57k miles was good for a set of pads, of course they're semi-metallic, not ceramic. Personally, I can't see the huge deal with ceramics up front and semi-metallic out back, at least until the rears wear out. This isn't a performance/track vehicle and it doesn't get driven aggressively. When the rears have reached the end of their service life, I'll switch to ceramics at that point. I also don't see paying OEM prices if I don't have to...they're ridiculous (usually), compared to parts store prices.

Yeah...the "Duralast Gold"...funny thing...the clerk at Autozone told me the same thing...surprised me, but it's good to know. (that they'll replace the pads when they wear out). I hadn't heard/read that about the "biting differently"...does kinda make sense. Guess we'll keep an eye on it and see how it does. May just go ahead and put ceramics on the back as well. What really surprised me about her Lexus...we haven't had a single issue with it, except it seems to need a new LF wheel bearing. I ordered a complete hub assembly from Rock Auto for ~$42 - went ahead and got two - one for each side. I wouldn't think a wheel bearing would go bad with such low mileage (~50k when her father noticed the noise and said it's probably a wheel bearing). The new hubs are supposed to be here tomorrow.

Interesting question - I just replaced the front pads yesterday on my wife's '09 RX350 @57k miles (the original pads). I went to Autozone and their computer screen suggested that the OEM pads were semi-metallic and offered those as a direct replacement but offered ceramic as an alternative. I decided to go with the ceramics...probably the last set of pads we'll need to put on it because she's getting a bit tired of the Lexus since we bought it in 2008...she's just ready for something "new", though the Lexus has been the best vehicle we've ever owned. I didn't hesitate to put ceramics on the front with semi-metallic on the back...why would you? Having mismatched materials on the same axle would not be good, but front to back I can't see it being an issue.

Unfortunately I don't have any experience doing it on the Lexus...all I've had to do on my wife's is oil/filter and cabin air filter and engine air filter changes. Though the last trip we took it on, it did sound like it may have a wheel bearing starting to whine a bit. It only has 53k miles on it, so I'm a bit surprised but I've heard of them failing on other vehicles with less miles.