OzAristoV300

I had exactly the same problem on an Audi fitted with after market wheels. As Andy says, the centre hole in the wheel - the Boss - centres the wheel in line with the axle, not the studs. Many after market wheel manufacturers make the Boss big enough for the largest car the wheels might go on. They then supply different spacer rings with an outside diameter equal to the Boss size and the inside diameter to suit various cars. If the installer forgets to fit the spacer, or uses the wrong spacer, the wheel rotates in a elliptical orbit that manifests itself as a nasty vibration at certain speeds.

Even if you were able to achieve factory bluetooth (like my 2006 SC430), you would still be wishing for a better bluetooth solution. Hence my post on the Parrot MKi and Aquanuke's comment. Cheers

Hi I've just returned to the Lexus fold with a 2006 SC430 after a few years living in sin (BMW E39 M5, Mazda MX5, Audi A3 2.0T). Nice to be home with Lexus number 5 by the way. I'm planning to fit a Parrot MKi9100 with the HFVT harness (http://www.hfvt.com/content/page/catalog_product/id/339/faction/42/cartadd/1284/HF_TOY_JBL2_AMP.html) to achieve a better iPhone experience than the rudimentary standard bluetooth system and add iPod playback. I am leaning towards the MKi9100 over the MKi9200 so I can hide the screen component in the ashtray compartment. There is no logical place I can see to fit the 9200 screen without obstruction/glare/theft issues. Do any members have this combo and if so, what are the traps for young players or gotchas. Alternative product recommendations also welcome. Regards Wayne

The LSD is the IS200 is called a Torson LSD. My (limited) understanding of this technology is that the test performed above (turning one wheel and expecting the other to bind), is only valid for traditional clutch operated LSDs. Toyota also uses this technology in FWD cars. Where are our technical gurus hiding?

My JZS161 V300 had the same symptom but the fault turned out to be the sensor on the throttle body, not the pedal sensor. Exchanged hard-earned AUS$600 for a new $10 part from the Lexus "how much you got?" dealer and the problem went away. I've had the dud one gold plated and mounted to symbolise the experience.

Have you checked the real wheel alignment recently? My experience (over 5 years and 80,000 km) is that rear toe angle needs to be regularly adjusted. The toe should be set at 0 (not +1mm like the GS300) but I have had it move as far as 9mm of toe out, causing the the car to "tramline" on uneven roads and bump steer at higher speeds. This is a lot cheaper fix than the TOMS device.

It took some doing but I finally tracked down a reasonably priced windscreen replacement for the RX300. Apologies to the 99.99% of club members who don't reside in Australia to whom this info is useless, but: 1. O'Brien Glass: AUD$1,260, comes with lifetime replacement warranty. Gee. 2. Lexus Parts: AUD$1,630 + tax + install 3. Protector Glass Industries: $128 + $75 freight from Sydney + $100 install. 4. Moorabbin Windscreens: $250, supplied and fitted. So why did I chose option 3? Option 4 called backed just after I hung up from ordering and paying for Option 3!

The TOMS ARS Cancellor isn't electronic. It is a steel bar that replaces the rear steer rack and a jumper for the wiring harness plug to make it think the old rack is still there. Unfortunately the local distributor thinks a 100% mark up on the Japanese price is fair, making it a AUS$800 proposition. (He also wants AUS$140 for the low temp thermostat that apparently fixes the power loss problem in warm weather. JY7000 on the http://www.tomsracing.co.jp web site) As for alignment specs, I can confirm from a contact at Toyota Australia that the correct toe setting for the rear of the V300 is 0mm, not -1mm as applies to the GS300. Given the +/- 2mm tolerance, this makes the difference a moot point. The problem is, I don't know the correct procedure to either disable the rear steering computer while the manual adjustment is done, or reset the computer after the manual adjustment. If I can find this out, I can save myself $800.

Is the windscreen in the RX330 the same as in the RX300/Harrier? The RX330 is commercially available through Lexus in Australia. The Harrier WAS only available as a grey import so parts are a bitch. The windscreen folk only carry a listing for the RX330. Some months ago a member asked if the windscreen design on the RX was faulty as he had 2 broken screens in a short period. I'm tipping the sheer size of the damn thing increases your chances of debris impact by 400%!

4 out of 5 times the clock on my Harrier resets to 1:00 when I start the engine. Other than only starting the engine at 1:00, does anybody have any suggestions

If the light continually slow flashes, then you probably have the same fault as mine. The Toyota Intelli Tester says there is a fault in the air bag in the passenger seat (LHS). You will find a plug under the seat that connects the air bag to the wiring loom. Try disconnecting it (with the keys removed from the ignition) then reconnecting it. This worked temporarily for me for a while before the problem came hard on.

This sounds like the ultimate solution. Do you have a web site, phone number or address to obtain the TOMS ARS canceller? I am in Australia but most places will freight to here.

I am in Australia but the places I went to (Bob Jane and Bridgestone Tyres) are both reputable places with high end aligners. A friend of mine who works for Toyota is attempting to get hold of a translation of the Japanese workshop manual for the alignment procedure. He said on other vehicles with this system you normally have to reset the steering wheel positioning sensor once you adjust the front alignment, which could also be causing the rear problem. Hopefully the manual will advise how to do this!

Three times now I have tried to have the wheel alignment done on the '99 Aristo V300 (at two different places) with interesting results. Each time the alignment machine says all is within specification for front and rear but when re-testing (due to abnormal rear tyre wear) a few months later the same machine shows the rear toe and camber are completely out of whack. Has anyone attempted this procedure or had similar problems? I am suspicious of the active rear steering. Either it is faulty or possibly needs to be disabled during the alignment process to stop it "correcting" the adjustments made. cheers

I have three friends in various technical roles with Toyota and Lexus. One is the head diagnostic technician supporting all Australian dealerships. They all strongly recommend turning off the overdrive when towing anything except a small box trailer (on all Toyota/Lexus, not just the RX300). Each has been involved with expensive repairs caused by overheated transmissions when towing at highway speeds in fourth gear. As mentioned in my previous despatch, I also run an after market transmission cooler that bolts in front of the radiator in sequence with the standard cooler in the bottom of the radiator. What I forgot to mention is I bought this cooler after cooking the transmission in my Soarer towing a van across a mountain range. Cooler=<BP100. Tranny Repair=>BP1000 (BP = British Pounds.)

The left side wiper on the RX300 (RHD model) has 2 pivot points, not just 1 like most wipers. So instead of tracing a circular arc when sweeping, it traces an elliptical shape, covering a larger swept area. This is probably because the height to width ratio of the RX300 windscreen is greater than normal passenger cars.

After 60,000km of general driving in Australia with a reasonable amount of towing (boat, camper trailer, caravan), the RX300 has performed very well. I use the tiptronic gearbox to control gearchanges and almost always tow with the overdrive (4th gear) disabled. I also fitted an after market transmission cooler which I recommend. I don't think I'd tackle the Rockies or the Scottish highlands with it but most other applications are fine. The load leveller is a great idea as too much weight on the towball will cause the back of the vehicle to droop and the headlights to point skyward. Great for hunting squirrels or possums at night but other road users get a bit annoyed. Also upsets the stablility and braking quite a bit. Recently one of the rear CV joints starting making a few noises intermittently which may have been aggravated by towing, so I'd get these checked regularly.

Just an update on the heat related performance problem identified in my original post. Along the back edge of the engine bay is a rubber seal (looks like a door seal) that seals the engine bay when the bonnet is closed. Remove the rubber seal (carefully, it tears easily as I found out) and hey presto. Trapped heat in the engine compartment can now escape, reducing heat soak that translates into more sustained performance. The only down side is a very marginal increase in engine noise. And hey, that ain't a bad noise.

Wheels, Australia's highest selling car magazine, today declared the Lexus LS400 as the car of the decade for the 1990s. The 2002 car of the year is announced in 2 hours time. Here's the link to the magazine's car of the year story. http://carpoint.ninemsn.com.au/news/blanks...yls.asp?ID=4388 The new ES300 is in the running but doesn't stand a chance. My tip is the Holden Monaro, purely because of the parochial bias of the magazine. 300KW is nice, but it still has all the finesse of a Massey Ferguson tractor.

I went the other direction (less 4WD aggressive) with the Bridgestone Dueler H/P (215/70/16). They may be called something different in the UK or US. They are a great improvement on the Yokohama Geolanders that came with the car. Quieter, more direct steering and better grip.

My wife's Harrier/RX300 has the factory trip computer. It says she averages 7.2km/litre for mostly city driving. I've recorded close to 10km/litre on a country trip (1,000km), but it plunges to 5.2km/litre (country) when towing our 1500kg boat. We always run the car on 98RON premium unleaded. It's thirstier on normal 91RON unleaded by about 10%. Towing ability takes a dive on normal unleaded. Hope this helps.

Why an Aussie would want to weigh into this debate is pretty bizarre but, hey: -I drive a Lexus -I'm a member of this club -I've drunk Belgian Beer -I've been to England, Spain, Italy, Switzerland and Malta -Australia is kickin' England's butt in the cricket Oh yeah, I'm also doing my MBA and just got a HD for a paper on the Euro and the EMU in macroeconomics. Woohoo. Short Version: It's not the Euro. It's the loss of control of monetary policy that's the problem. That and deflationary effects. Ala Germany. Long version: Email me for a copy of my paper. Warning: Do not operate machinery when reading. Can cause extreme drowsiness.

The oxygen (or Lambda?) sensor is usually located in the exhaust manifold. On a V6 it may have one in each manifold. The RX300 has one in each and were the subject of a factory recall last year. Typically it has one wire going to the sensor. It senses the quantity of unburnt fuel in the exhaust and adjusts the air/fuel mix accordingly. The typical symptom of a broken sensor is excessive fuel consumption.

The in-glass aerial is useless outside Japan. The best solution is to fit an external aerial. I used one from a 2001 Camry on my 1999 Aristo, which mounts on the right rear quarter panel. In isn't quite the right angle and pokes out to the right a bit when extended. Ideally, use one from a GS300. 1. Using tracing paper placed on a local GS300, first outline the exact location and shape of the hole. Use the bottom corner of the rear window and the tail light as reference points. You will achieve best results if you remove the aerial first, but this is not always possible. 2. Find a friend with a drill and metal "nibbler" to cut the tear-drop shape hole in your quarter panel. Ensure he/she is a good friend who will repair any damage caused! 3. Bolt the unit in place through the hole, adding a metal strap to secure the bottom of the unit. Make sure you position the spacers in the right order to ensure the aerial sits at the correct angle. 4.Wire the "power in", "ignition" and "radio on"wires to a common power source that activates only on ignition. There is such a feed around the Sat Nav and stereo boxes in the right corner of the boot. Use a test light probe to find it. Attach the negative to a good ground point. (Warning: NEVER PROBE YELLOW WIRES. These are usually for the airbag system and may cause it to fire) 5. The radio unit is a non-descript silver metal box mounted on a panel inside the boot above the right rear wheel well. Disconnect the co-ax plug from the in-glass aerial and replace it with the one from your external aerial. Note: you will be working by feel in a confined space. I found it easier to remove the box by undoing the 2 * 10mm bolts that hold it in place. And presto, you have a reasonable radio signal. I also added a booster (available from auto accessory places) which fits sequentially on the coax wire and ampifies the signal for even better reception. The only minor inconvenience is that the aerial extends as soon as the key is switched to Accessories (or ON), even if the radio is off. Good luck. Wayne

Pete Thank you for your extensive reply. I'll see what I can do about improving airflow to the intercooler. It's pretty well hidden away under the right headlight with no direct air path. I always run 98RON fuel (Shell Optimax or Mobil 8000). As mentioned above, I even added octane booster to every tank to increase the RON to 101. Unfortunately it fouled the spark plugs pretty quickly and didn't resolve the pre-detonation problem. In Japan, premium unleaded is 100RON, which is the diet recommended for the 2JZ-GTE. On the Japanese Aristo Club website I stumbled onto an entry that talked about high ambient temperature build-up (80C/178F) towards the rear of the engine bay on the turbo side after extended driving. I assumed this exacerbated the problem of intake air being heated by the turbo. Toyota has added a 2" square plastic duct into the undertray (looks like an afterthought) that directs air onto the turbos. My thought was to increase the air flow onto the turbos with a bigger duct, then replace the undertray. The Australian HKS site lists 2 models of front-mount intercooler kits at AUD$3,000 or AUD$4,000. (There are approx 3 Aussie pasos to the British pound). Water injection kits are about AUD$2,500. Does this sound about right to you? If I fix the predetonation problem I will look at buying the boost controller and FCD from you. Can you tell me a little more about the DCX Infinity. Also will the SLD allow the cruise control to be set above 110KMH? The Japanese Aristo owners seem to change the 2 rear mufflers as a few effort. I don't know if this is for show, noise or performance. How many heat ranges cooler would you go with the plugs? The standard plugs are NGK R BKR6EKPB 11's. Again, thank you for help.