PK_3

Having put my self through college fixing up & flipping distressed cars (starving college student thing), find someone like I was...cheap. In lieu of that, It really depends a good deal on the exact damage and how particular you are and where you live. Allot of body shops have a computerized system which gives them all the same inflated time estimate. Make sure you tell them it out of your pocket, look forlorn, sometimes helps There is a also a freewheeling cottage industry of mobile dent and bumper repair outfits. I would only use them if they are refereed to you from a high end reputable detailing shop. Yo are probably looking at $200-$500 (unless they can be polished out).Remember that Lexus badge on your car extends to your forehead. Your marked. Regards, PK

To be blunt any semi skilled mechanic can absolutely do all those things. I'm pretty much in the same boat as your first responder. I have a Porsche, BMW & Lexus. I've never gone to the dealers when warranties run out. What I can't or don't want to do I use an indi. I've found in general indies are half the price and can often be better than the dealer. Case and point 4 years ago my BMW dealer wanted $3-4k to do my transmission with a whopping 1 yr. 6,000 mile warranty! An indi BMW shop recommended to me did it for $1,300 with a 2 yr. 24,000 mile warranty. It still works flawlessly. You don't even need a Lexus indi/specialist or Toyota dealer for that matter. Regards, PK

Hello again Of course, and all I am looking for is some broad direction and possible Lexus specific idiosyncrasies which you have given me and more. I know ziltch about these cars and their quirks. That's why I keep piling it on. It's not because I don't trust experience and judgment at all, I only want to give as much to work with as I can. I think I've done that and am content with your advice. Thank you. Then I'll run with that. Regards, PK

O.K That makes sense. So the “bank 1” could indeed be a systemic air leak. An odd thing is that the numbers on the smog report were far below the max, but were pretty far above the mean (rich ?). Thanks for the other tips. It would seem most likely a sensor problem (no?) MAF or 02 senor. The car runs absolutely fine and the temp gage doesn't indicate anything weird and at 80k in the suburbs, I wouldn't expect major blockage in the PVC or air intake but I'll check it out. Thanks again, PK

Hmm, Getting power and a ground to it is no big feat, but I see your point, how much voltage or impedance for how much airflow and on which leads etc. is a lot of messing around. I agree with you, turning it over to a $1xx.xx trade “tech” to twiddle around with is probably far more expensive than all the potential problem parts combined. The car has 80k on it. Is this the normal life of a MAF? Are you fairly confident that all the error codes could just point to the MAF? thanks again, PK

Hi, Thanks again for your reply. I'll probably trust your analysis but, is there any way to check MAF? Impedance or voltage whatever.? Also, wouldn't I have “to lean” on both banks, “1” and “2” in that they share the MAF & the IAT? As for installation, the only thing not done by the book was replacing the O-ring, It seemed perfectly pliable with no deformation or nicks. As to electrical connections, I did what has always worked for me. I cleaned mail and female connectors with a soft, brass wire brush and rinsed thoroughly with contact cleaner. An as always, plugged, gently jiggle and unplugged it several times. The Icing on the cake was the electrical contact grease. Thanks again for your input, PK

Hello, Thanks. I did give the intake ducting a cursory once over, nothing obviouse. But didn't focus on it because of the “lean bank 1” descriptor which I interpreted to mean 1 row of cylinders. A leak in in central ducting I would have thought would give lean errors for both banks, 1 & 2. But, I will give it a twice over, spray some starting fluid around any areas of suspicion...see if I get a blip out of the motor. Regards, PK

Hi, Thanks for the reply. I used a spray MAF cleaner specifically for MAFs. I didn't actually touch the element at all with anything but the spray which I let drip dry. I did have some initial problems with the car “bucking” when I tried to drive it. I lubricated the MAF O-ring and the contacts contact grease...solved that problem. still have CEL. Regards, PK

I have the above trouble codes on 99 Rx300 My OBC reader identifies these as, I wondering if the indicate 3 problems or all point to one. Also, what that problem or problems might be P0071: System too lean bank 1 P0100: Mass or volume air flow circulation malfunction P0110: Intake air temp (AT) circuit malfunction Recently the smog test center had given me P0101 (I think), I cleaned MAF (which did not appear particularly dirty or damaged). The CEL came back on and I got the code above codes. (Don,'t know weather this has anything to do with anything but according to my OBCII software there are some zero voltages of “0v.” on 2 of 3 “sensor short term fuel) Regards, PK