mailrail

I'll try again next time I'm in. I agree with you, Bowtie, about the Certified Warrnany program. So far, it's reaped me a new engine, and most recently, a new air-flow sensor when the Check Engine light came on.

I would replace it with a LED, DIY and save $

D light DIY

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I'd rather THEM do --- for FREE!

My wife's Certified '00 RX's Drive Indicator Light on the dashboard has stopped working as is common, apparently, with other RXs of her year and the surrounding years. She took it in for service today for a Check Engine Light issue and while she had it there she asked them to fix the dashboard light also. They told her that bulb replacement is not covered under the certification program and it would cost $89 to fix it. I can understand why headlights, taillights, turn signals, brake lights and side indicator lights aren't covered, but these lights shouldn't fail after 5 years, should they? I never owned a car that had one of these bulbs burn out, except for maybe a 1970 AMC Javelin I owned as a kid. Think it's worth my while to write to Lexus about this???

My 2000 RX 300's security light (the red one to the left of the steering wheel) stays on constantly whether the system is set (with the doors locked) or not. It did this when I bought it last summer, so I removed the negative battery cable for about 15 minutes and it seemed to work normally after that. Now it's doing it again. Obviously, I know what to do to get it to work normally again but I'm curious if anyone has ever had this diagnosed at a dealer as to what is causing it to happen. ???

I had a 2001 Honda CR-V. I only had it for about 9 months before I traded it in on our 2000 RX300. The CR-V was so "tin-canny" and underpowered that I couldn't stand it any longer. I always wanted one but then after having it a little while, I began to like it less and less. It was a terrible road car; noisy and too light to withstand the wake of passing trucks or high crosswinds. The worse thing was that it was terrible on gas, which was probably the biggest disappointment of all. The RX is everything I had hoped the Honda would be -- and MUCH MUCH MORE!

Oh...and CONGRATS, jgr7, and your purchase!!!

It's not time yet for my first oil change since the 'de-sludging'. I've still got a couple of thousand miles yet before I go back for my FREE oil change. When I do, I plan on packing 5 gallons of 5W30 Mobil 1 with me and have them use that. From that point on, I'll do my own changes with syn oil.

I've had that problem with my Acura Legend. It's an older car (1992) and I've always suspected that it was mold and/or mildew somewhere between the air intake and the inside vents. Like wwest talked about, I've also done the "Lysol thing". Seems to work for a few days and then the smell's back. Kinda unusual to see or hear about this problem on such a new vehicle as yours. I read somewhere that another "fix" for this problem (if it persists) is to shut your A/C off a couple of miles from home, especially when parking it for the night. This gives the ventilation system a little headstart in evaporating the moisture on the inside of the system. That seems to have helped me a little. Keep us all posted as to what the dealer finds.

I agree that even with the low miles, the price is still high.  I also just purchased a 2001 (30k miles) with sludge.  I bought it last week, and this week it is in the shop while I am waiting for Lexus to decide if the clean out is covered because the previous owner did not change the oil at the dealership. 

Mailrail, I was wondering how difficult it was to get Lexus to replace your enginge since you purchased it used; and, if it had been serviced at a Lexus dealership.  Also, do you know how likely it is to return?

Thanks, William

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William: It wasn't difficult at all because mine was a Certified vehicle. Is yours? If so, they shouldn't give you any crap about it. I've also read that even without the complete service history and proof of oil changes, Toyota (Lexus) will usually still replace/clean the engine. I wasn't able to see the history of my vehicle and I really didn't care that much since it was Certified. And I didn't actually get a BRAND NEW engine, just a new head, new oil pump, new seals and gaskets and a couple of other new items that I can't remember since I don't have the service bill nearby. They completely and thoroughly cleaned the other parts. In fact, the oil looks like real light-colored honey on the stick; much lighter than if it had gone into a dirty engine. The tech told me that the engine is as good as new because it's actually already broken in. The problem would only return, he said, if I failed to maintain it as recommended. Toyota supposedly redesigned the engine in 2001; I've got to believe that the new head I've got is of THAT design, which lets the oil drain back down faster. Good luck with yours.

Noticed something when taking our new 330 out for a spin a couple months ago. While on the coast highway doing about 45, I let off the gas, put it in N, and turned on the cruise control. I was expecting that nothing would happen (due to interlock), but instead, the engine started racing. I shut the CC off before the revs got high, so no harm was done, but I just wanted to warn anyone who might like to cruise down a long hill in N to be careful when re-engaging the CC - it apparently doesn't check to see if you're in gear.

Seems like an enhancement request to me - with all the interlocks in place, that seems an unlikely omission.

Just curious...what possessed you to do this?

jgr7:

Follow this link: http://www.autonews.com/article.cms?articleId=38921 and read about engine oil jelling (or sludging) before going back to the dealer to negotiate. If they can't produce a complete service history for the RX, then you've definately got a huge negotiating tool in your pocket. While 17K doesn't seem like very many miles for a problem to rear its ugly head, time and neglect certainly could play a factor. I'm a "sludge victim" and when I bought my 2000 RX, the oil looked like fresh honey on my dipstick, too. 5 weeks later my RX was getting a new engine installed. Be careful.

Tetons:

Are you sure your head is clean in your cassette deck? Or it could be that the adapter isn't lining up correctly with the head in the deck. If you really think it's the Sony cassette (also very possible), get on Ebay and buy a cheapie there. I bought one on Ebay that I use to plug my portable DVD player into and it works great.

RX300 is very iPod friendly...

I use one of these IPOD skins made of injected rubber:

http://tinyurl.com/57nb6

And it fits great here:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index..._gallery&id=171

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index..._gallery&id=170

The grip is remarkable, it has never once budged from that position even during the sharpest of cornering. About the only thing that affects it is when the car gets inverted. :)

I also run a cigarette-socket charger for the iPod from the central consoles rear socket, under the drivers seat for in-car charging. Fairly invisible but very convenient.

I figured it would work there. I modified mine by lining it with foam-type insulation and it holds my cell phone perfectly.

Oil jelling/sludging and rear oil seal leaks...I'll bet the poor guy that designed this 3.0 liter engine committed hari-kari recently. :D

This is one contest that I don't want to win! :(

My brother uses a cassette adapter in his BMW instead of the hardwire method. When I rode with him it sounded great. Very little "hiss". I wouldn't waste any money trying to do the hardwire thing unless you just can't stand the sight of the wire running from the Ipod into the cassette deck. The cassette adapters are less than $10 most places; a dime a dozen on Ebay.

Hey Ky1980...what dealer do you take your RX to?

Things move a bit faster on the ClubLexus forum, it seems. Also, I believe that 330 owners are a bit more of a rarity here which may have been the reason for the slow/no responses. Us 300 owners don't know what you're talking about when you say "center speaker" as it's not even an option for us. And personally, I'd rather get NO response than a bunch of people saying, "I don't know". B)

Service records & driving style of the prior owner mean everything because extensive preventive maintenance service records + gentle one owner driver = little mechanical wear = car that could still be reliable for 100,000+ more miles. Usually such prime cars are sold by private parties, not dealers. Such cars don't need any warranty because nothing serious is likely to go wrong with them.

Unfortunately the typical used car buyer thinks a warranty is more important than service records so they fall into the "Certified Pre-Owned Lexus" trap and don't bother reviewing service records in great detail. Instead, they pay a premium price for a CPO Lexus that could actually have alot of mechanical wear and tear and be

extremely costly to keep running in the long run.

Guilty as charged...

Speaking of "connections", are you sure you don't have a wiring issue with the radio? Kinda unusual for it to do what you're describing otherwise.

Johnboy:

Rocketman's got the best advice...you can buy the high-mileage $14K RX and risk putting $7K toward a new tranny, or buy a CPO 99 or 00 with OVER half the miles for about that same price ($21K). Even then, service records are a must. I'm personally one of those on the forum who can attest to the "oil sludge" issue. My 00 developed it less than a month after I bought it this past July. Luckily, Lexus (through Toyota) will replace the engine up to 8 years after the car was originally bought; CPO or not. Still, you should tread lightly here...

oops...found them. www.madsenmotors.com

I don't know exactly what "invoice" is, but my local Lexus dealer is advertising their entire stock of 04 330s for 3% over invoice. Some other good advice is to shop on the last couple of days of the month, too. That's how I got a good deal.

RX in NC has some great advice, also. If you can find someone like the the dealer he mentioned that doesn't have a million dollar showroom and a $10K per month advertising budget (like most Lexus dealers) yet still sells clean, quality stuff, you'll get a far better deal in the long run. I'm with him --- I doubt I'll ever buy a brand new vehicle again.

Hey RX in NC: Does Madsen have a website? I searched but couldn't find them online.

Another thing to consider is this: You bought a REPO. If the former owners couldn't even afford to make the payments, you've gotta wonder if they had the spare cash laying around to have the regular maintenance performed. Take your car to the nearest Lexus or Toyota dealer and they should be able to run your VIN and print you out a maintenance history of items performed at their shops since the vehicle was first purchased. If it doesn't look like regular maintanance stuff was done, you probably should have ALL fluids and belts changed at the very minimum.

I only saw a recent inspection sticker. I didnt even get an owners manual, which by the way is available for free through the LEXUS web site. I didnt even get a key for the lug locks. I got one through Mcguard which is a top knotch company. I made an imprint of the lock faxed it over to them and had the lug lock key in 3 days for 10$ plus shipping. Im not worried about the maintenance though. Lexus seems to make cars that last 200K.

You and I think the same. Unfortunately, we're BOTH thinking wrong. As good as we both THINK Lexus' cars are, there are still issues to deal with like the aforementioned "sludge" problems. Also, some folks seem to have tranny probs, too. I bought a certified car and thought (because of the certification) that I wouldn't have to worry about mechanical problems except routine maintanance things. Wrong. Five weeks later, my RX is in the shop getting (essentially) a new engine installed. Keep a close watch on your oil dipstick for excessive oil usage. If you notice after a couple thousand miles that you're a quart or two low, and you're not smoking or leaking, take it to a dealer and have them check for gelling or sludging of oil. It's not a worry for you anyway, since Toyota and Lexus will take care of the problem up to eight years after manufacture. All in all, they ARE great vehicles, but it just goes to show that nobody (not even Lexus) is perfect. ;)