paolo137

The cd has been requested, and is no longer available. Thanks.

The dreaded moment has come. I'm changing my car. The Lexy is still running fine, after 16 years and 157k kms, but I have to change it for fiscal reasons (and I'm gonna drive a Toyota Hilux for the next few years...) Just wanted to thank everyone here at LOC UK. Whenever in need I've always found good advice. As mentioned, I now have this cd that I bought back in the day on the bay, labeled "SERVICE MANUAL". It contains a bunch of pdf's with lots of useful information regarding the 2001 RX model (though I believe most of it would apply to all early models). For instance, I used it lately to pinpoint a problem with the AC, thanks to the diagnostic blinking codes of the unit. I'd thought about leaving it in the car for the next owner, but I guess that the dealer would remove it, so I'm offering it to you guys as a way to say thank you and goodbye. This will be absolutely free of charge: the first one to send me an address (via PM), will receive the cd via ordinary mail. Please notice that I'm due to deliver the car next week, and if I don't get any news form the forum, I'll leave the cd in the car. Once again, thanks everybody. Enjoy your cars and have safe trips!

Thanks, Colin. If the warning keeps on coming up, I'll have the the hoses ckecked (injector would be a major pain in the lower back. Let's hope it's something else)

Absolutely. That's why the man insists on changing them all. Business as usual... And the american denso coils at 35$ are gone; now starting from 55$ each. Guess I'll just put to use the obd reader and wipe out the alarms for a while: we're talking about 1 or 2 misfires out of hundreds per minute, once in a month. I think me and my Lexy can live with that.

Will do! (thanks a lot!) BTW, last week they had original Denso Coils on the American Bay at 35$ each...

Hi everybody, I've been having a minor issue with code error P0301 and P0302 coming up once in a month for a while now. That should be "misfire on cyl. 1 and 2". Car drives smoothly. Mech says to change the coils of the sparkplugs (of course, all of them ,not only 1 and 2...) I'm a little puzzled: coils can fail, of course, but why do I always get misfire on the same two cylinders, and always at the same time? My question is: is there anything that could cause both cyl. 1 and 2 to misfire simultaneously? Don't know: wiring, fuel line, whatever. Any input will be much appreciated as usual. :)

Actually, no. I have that button on the selector, though. According to the owner's manual, it is fitted only on the cars with the steering wheel on the left (EU/USA). It is required to go from 2 to 1, for instance, but not from N to D. I have also tried an Audi A6 with tiptronic: selector will not go from N to D unless you apply on the brake pedal.

I've done a quick search on the net, but could not find much about this topic. I did find a Honda owners manual that clearly stated to press the brake pedal when going from N to D/R. However, this might mean two different things: a) applying the brakes is advisable for a safety reason, as you are putting the car in motion b )if you don't apply the brakes, tranny won't go from N to D/R - period Also, as automatic transmission was extremely uncommon in Italy until a few years ago (something related to a real macho having control of his stick, I guess... ), maybe the inspector I met was familiar only with the most recent automatics, which are more electronic than mechanic and might behave in a different way than my old 3 gears + OD...

Hi everybody! This morning I had my baby through the Italian version of the MOT test, and the inspector drew my attention to something I'd never noticed before. He said that the Lexus is the only car he knows of that has no security check on the brake when shifting from N to D. As to say, if you have the car idling in N (possibly with the parking brake), you can move the gear stick to D and have the car start moving, even if you don't press the brake pedal, as you would do shifting from P to D, say. I pointed out that in 9 years I'd never left my car in N for a single second: when I have to stand still for a while I simply put the gear in P and let the engine idle. Of course, that's just the way the car is built, and mot test was passed with flying colours; anyway, I was wondering if this behaviour is really so unusual on cars with automatic tranny (of which I have little experience). Particularly, it strikes me that a car conceived for the american market would underestimate the importance of such a feature. Maybe, the "brake pedal check" became mandatory later on (my Lex is a mark 1, now 13 years old...) Just wanted to share this and get your thoughts about it ;)

I can confirm that on the awd RX 400H, power on the rear axle comes by a second electric engine, which is smaller than the front one. However, a few years ago they sold, here in Italy, a "cheaper" version of the 400H with 2WD only. I guess they just took the second electric engine out. Same 2WD version could be found in the US. Now, with the 450H, all the cars are AWD (at least, down here).

I This is also my understanding. However, I must say that I've read both here and in the US forum that the default setting of the central diff is 50-50%, like the Audi's, say. My RX sure handles as a front wheel drive in normal conditions (torque 90% front?), and that might confirm DanD's info. Furthermore, most of the people (including dealers) have difficulties grasping the difference between a full-time 4WD with 50-50% torque and 90-10% torque. Would be glad to hear a final word on this topic!

Absolutely! Thanks a lot, Ian!

Dear English friends, I would like to replace the small, black rubber band that is fixed to the bottom of the doors, but I'm having trouble finding it on the net, because I don't know how to call it! Would not know its name in Italian, let alone in English... I'm attaching a pic of a door, and I've added an arrow to point out the spare part I'm in need of (the pic is of a rear door, I need the front, rightside one) Thank you very much for your help!

Uhmm...Dunno. Sure enough the locksmith can cut the blade to match yours. I'm not really impressed by what I see in the pics, though. First of all the flip blade does not form a 90 degrees angle with the case, from what I can see. This might cause torques and stress when you turn the key, besides being disturbing to my own sense of aesthetic ( ); second, and foremost, we all know that the key of our Lexy is quite fragile. Again, judging from the photos, this case does not look much sturdier. Given the price, though, it might be worth giving it a try: I have the feeling you'll end up paying more for the cutting of the blade than for the flip case itself.

Engine + VSC can mean a lot of different things. You should try to connect the ECU of the car to one of those (cheap) readers, and get the exact error code. It's something like P1234; then you google the code (or search this site) and find a list o possible causes. O2 Sensors is both very likely and very expensive; consider that these elements have a lifespan: as they wotk, they wear out and finally are no longer operative. I had mine replaced at 9 years-60K miles, so if yours are 100k miles old, and they were never replaced, they might well be gone. Or maybe the decarb spread some dirt on the sensors, and you'll just need to clean the MAF sensor. Good luck ;)