eric618

Thanks guys.... It's not a tranny problem, from what I can tell. (although it's sad that people jump toward tranny problems on a LEXUS.... Shows where the flaws are, huh? Pathetic, IMO!) Naw, the click-noise is obviously something loose, like a heat shield, etc.. It's not coming from within a component. It's just that I don't wanna troubleshot it without guidance. As I said, it only does in on acceleration. Makes it hard to pinpoint when one is under the car! LOL. Definitely not an internal component. Hell, all I need is my tranny to go south. THEN, I'll have had EVERY Lexus malady mentioned happen to me!!! Please pardon my expressions, but these vehicles are high-priced garbage. I literally hate myself for buying in to their sales rhetoric. The simpe quote of "the relentless pursuit of perfection" sickens me. For those of you that disagree, you will change your tune soon enough. I will make any wager you'd like on that! For those that offered opinions, thank you.

Hi guys, On my RX300 (which I still have cause the Acura dealers wanted to rape me on a trade) has recently been making a strange high-pitched sharp clicking underneath on acclereration. It's pretty loud. It does it one or more times and then stops. Does not do it at speed unless the car downshifts/speeds up quickly. Does not do it in reverse. Does not do it as often in park. I have not been underneath it yet to look. I've been too disgusted to check recently. I do need to get to it soon though. It's annoying as all hell, especially when I combine THAT click with the front end click/knock on bumps/turns that I never fixed, despite checking everything out several times (myself and local garage) and replacing the strut mounts. I know this isn't a "Slander Lexus" forum, so I'll keep my exceptionally negative comments to myself! I do appreciate the help though!!! Thanks in advance!

Hi guys, On my RX300 (which I still have cause the Acura dealers wanted to rape me on a trade) has recently been making a strange high-pitched sharp clicking underneath on acclereration. It's pretty loud. It does it one or more times and then stops. Does not do it at speed unless the car downshifts/speeds up quickly. Does not do it in reverse. Does not do it as often in park. I have not been underneath it yet to look. I've been too disgusted to check recently. I do need to get to it soon though. It's annoying as all hell, especially when I combine THAT click with the front end click/knock on bumps/turns that I never fixed, despite checking everything out several times (myself and local garage) and replacing the strut mounts. I know this isn't a "Slander Lexus" forum, so I'll keep my exceptionally negative comments to myself! I do appreciate the help though!!! Thanks in advance!

First off, I owe RX an apology! My voltmeter was not working when I checked the juice to the pump. It WAS getting juice. Come to find out earlier today (when I tried to test something else), that there was a short in one of the voltmeter lines. I retested everything, and sure enough there is power reaching the pump. I tried RX's suggestion (sort of) and got the pump back to working order. I pulled it off the car, connected both output lines with a small section of clear hose (to seal the system, so to speak), and filled the pump area with WD-40. After warming it up as suggested, I kept working it in forward and reverse directions from the battery terminals for a second or 2 at a time. Withing 5 minutes or so, it freed up and circulated the WD-40 through the clear hose. I ran it for several seconds to lubricate everything, then fully cleaned it out and reinstalled it. It works perfectly again. Anywho, just wanted to throw out the update and also to thank RX for his suggestions. It's appreciated... Oh, and Happy 4th of July!!!

I personally will NEVER buy another Toyota product. My RX300 has had minor problems popping up more and more frequently. Luckily I haven't had any of the transmission probs (yet). I have decided to buy an Acura TL, possibly a Type S. I knew they had a history of transmission problems as well. After researching, I found that Honda is offering a 100k mile, unlimited year warranty on transmission failure. Full coverage, parts and labor included. Toyota will not even acknowledge a transmission issue. Honda has stepped to the plate and admitted their mistake. They are covering 100%. AND, from what I've read, trans problems are more prevalent in Lexus vehicles. Yet they STILL turn their heads to the issue. As far as I am concerned, as soon as I sell/trade/burn my RX, Toyota is dead to me. Consumer Reports continues to drool all over Lexus'. What they need to remember is that what works exemplary when new may be a rolling pile of attractive s**t at 60k+ mileage!!!! I wish nothing but the best of luck to all Lexus owners, but to me, they are high-priced garbage. And I have a RX and an ES to back that up.

The washer pump wiring (switch to pump) would be excellent! Thank you SO much. My email is Eric *at* KnuckleheadDesigns.com (The *at* instead of @ is to curb spam). THANKS!

Well, I checked everything I can regarding this and cannot find where the problem is. I'm assuming no one else has any tips? If so, share 'em now before it heads to the tech to get diagnosed/fixed. Thanks!!!

Hey RX, I checked the power with a meter right at the plug to the motor itself. Not even getting a hint of juice. As I had explained in my last post, the bizarre behavior from the switch where it automaticaly activates the front when I engage ONLY the back makes me think it's in the switch. I do admit I am merely guessing though. Does anyone know the voltage that goes to the pump? I can run a bypass line merely to test it, which I would like to do, just to verify. If anyone knows this please share. Thanks to everyone for their help thus far. Hope it keeps coming.

Hey RX in NC, thanks for playing, but try again. There is no power reaching the washer motor whatsoever. Checked it earlier. I checked right at the plug to the motor itself. Another interesting symptom is that when I engage the washer motor for the front, the blades go through a few rotations as normal (just without fluid)...... But when I try the same for the rear, the front blades again go through a few rotations, as well as the rear. I am not engaging the front washer at all, but yet it attempts to activate when I engage the rear. This certainly isn't normal behavior. Does that help anyone? I am assuming now that the problem is within the switch itself based on the above strange behavior. Thanks in advance!

Inside the bottle? As in, inside the reservoir? Hmmmm. I'll be checking into it later today. Thanks for the info.

Hey everyone.... About a week ago I ran out of wiper fluid. The "low fluid" light was on also. I know it was working well at the time, cause when it did finally run out it did the whole sputtering thing as it shot out the last drops of fluid. Well, today I *finally* got it refilled and now it's dead. The wipers themselves work fine, but the pump is not working at all. Cannot hear it running at all when I tug on the wiper lever. Same goes for front and back windows (which I assume are driven by the same pump). I checked for clogged lines and they are all okay. Just a crapped out pump. I also checked fuses, thinking maybe the pump and motor were on different circuits. No luck! Does anyone have ANY idea on this? Also, where is the pump located? Next to the wiper motor, or somewhere else? I don't wanna take off all the shrouding that covers the wiper motor just to find that the pump is elsewhere. Thanks in advance for any help you may be able to provide!

Does that agreement hold for main seals also? Damn it'd ROCK if it did!!! Thanks!

I certainly pondered that thought, but mine recently surpassed 105k. I can't see there being any way that Lexus will foot the bill for a vehicle with such serious mileage. Oh well. :(

Hey guys, My 99 RX300 has had a leaking mainseal ever since I changed to synthetic. I've since switched back to conventional, but the leak remains. I've read alot of good things regarding auto-rx and it's ability to bring life back to leaky seals. Anyone have any information or real first-hand info that may help me out? I certainly cannot afford to have it fixed the right way at this point, but I'd really like to curb the leaking. Any help would be appreciated and thanks in advance! :)

Yeah, there was an actual gasket on there. It was a rubberized one. I cleaned it up and took it to the parts store and we spent over an hour trying to match it up. Nothing even came CLOSE. Hell, I couldn't even get the fluid around here. NO ONE had it, even the Lexus/Toyota dealers. They only had it in a 55 gallon drum. I actually had to have a friend from Orlando buy it and ship it to me. :whistles: What a hassle! Oh well. Thanks for all the input, however.

Quite possible, but the ones we checked weren't even CLOSE. Oh well. At least it's back in one piece and the fluid is actually STAYING in the pan :D

Hi guys. I have a question. I changed my tranny fluid today. Well, I changed what came out, anyway. I got the pan gasket from a local auto parts store. Well, it didn't fit. I went back, and we checked every possible Toyota and Lexus with AWD in a 4 year radius. NONE of the gaskets were the same size. We tried for over an hour before I gave up, bought gasket material, and cut my own. Was I/he missing something? We checked several different catalogs, and their online database and nothing fit. I'm assuming we missed something, but I'll be damned if I know what. Any input? THANKS!

But no info on flat-out KNOCKS. Everything underneath looks fine. Myself, and a local mechanic checked it out. Strut mounts were replaced, no difference. It never "creaked", just knocked and popped, kinda. NO ONE has been able to help me on this, and I really don't wanna pay the trolls at the dealer to diagnosis the problem!

When you get a definitive answer as to what was wrong, please post it. I replaced my strut mounts and nothing changed. Same noises, in the same area, etc. I am at a loss!

I replaced both of my strut mounts and mount bearings after several people insisted that was the problem. The noise is exactly the same as prior. I thoroughly checked everything underneath. Also tried the wiper motor trick. I removed it and drove around the block. No difference. SO, now I'm completely perplexed. No one has any new suggestions either. Oh well. Live and learn.

Thanks to everyone for your input. I read elsewhere of the wiper bushing problem. It does *sound* crazy, but I'm willing to check whatever to fix it. I am doubtful becuse I can even feel the knock slightly through my left foot (which rests on the footrest....go figure! B) ), so I'm not too optimistic about the wiper bushing. But I will check and keep you all posted. SKperformance, I am also going to lube the beejesus outta all the components early next week. Guess we'll take it from there. In the meantime, keep the suggestions coming if anyone else has a guess. Thanks everyone!!!!

RX, thanks for the reply. I'm familiar with a CV joint clicking when they begin to go. This isn't the same. Beyond that, I'm clueless. Even the slightest movement can cause the knock.... And then sometimes the exact same movement causes NOTHING. I'm stumped. It's very sporadic. Someitmes quiet, other times very noticeable. All I DO know is I have to fix this. Any other advice?? THANKS in advance!!!

Well, after having a few days to really drive the truck, I was wrong. It isn't slightly better at all. It's exactly the same! So the money for strut mounts and a Saturday shot to hell didn't help. I am going to try SKPerformance's lubrication suggestion. Does ANYONE else have any input also? I need to fix this thing so I can dump it. No one is gonna buy it with the front end creaking/knocking/ clicking in most turns, during acceleration, deceleration, over bumps, when I sneeze (joking) etc! PLEASE HELP! Thanks!

I just yesterday went to the ONLY Toyota dealership in the area and asked for T-IV fluid so I could change mine. The guy tried to sell me Penzoil Dexron and said it's all they use. He claimed they didn't even have any T-IV there! and this is at the DEALERSHIP! Amazing!!! The next closest Toyota/Lexus dealership is like 50 miles away.

Okay, did the strut mounts last weekend. Pretty straightforward job. No surprises......Except ONE! The struts still make noise!!! It is noticeably better than before, but I am still getting the click/knock sound under various movements (steering, braking, accelerating, etc). Any way to fix this??? I fully lubricated the bearing surface areas, torqued everything to spec, and had no unforeseen problems in the fix. So what's the deal???? Any help would be VERY appreciated. As soon as I fix the truck's exhaust leak I am dumping this pink elephant and I need to fix the front end prior. The rear main seal leak will have to wait for the new owner!!! BMW or Acura here I come!