rozrx300

Hi Keith; Success! I have ice-cold air in my trusty Toyota once again - most welcome on a muggy day like today. My local friendly mechanic did the swap and re-gas for just £100, and the new compressor is as unobtrusive and effective as any Lexus part - even though it came off a Toyota Highlander! I understand that I took a risk with a used part from a different vehicle of a later year imported from a different country, but it all seemed to add up, and I'm relieved that it has. Much of that is thanks to Toyota's sensible approach to parts - I bet you couldn't do this with many (non-Japanese) manufacturers! Your brand new installation will no doubt outlast my cheap fix, but it gets harder to justify dealer-level interventions on a car that has such a low market value as mine, but as the basic car is so damned good, it certainly deserves a bit of inventiveness along with the obligatory TLC! All the best Roz.

Hi Keith; Please excuse the late reply - work is nuts at the mo! I'm glad to hear you got your RX sorted - they are so well worth it, aren't they? The eBay.com compressor arrived from the USA just over a week ago - shipping took longer than estimated. My car has an appointment with my local friendly mechanic next Wednesday, so all will become clear then. I am very pleased with the compressor - firstly, it's clearly not seized! There seems to be no excess play in the pulley, and whilst it has the usual under-bonnet detritus on it, it seems in fine condition. It appears to be exactly right physically, even though it's a younger model than the original on my Harrier. If it works, I'll be very happy. All being well, I'll update on Wednesday afternoon. All the best Roz.

Hi Keith; I've just bought a used Toyota Highlander aircon compressor, one of several for 2004-2007 vehicles, so, as I wanted, it'll be a few years younger than my car! The first 6 digits of the part number 447220-xxxx seem consistent with 1MZ-FE and 3MZ-FE engines, with the second 4 digits changing by year of manufacturer and intended vehicle, (RX300, RX330, Toyota Highlander, Toyota Camry), but all physical aspects seem identical, right down to the wiring plug and where it's positioned. The ebay.com item number for the compressor I've bought is 150601435511 - just paste this into ebay.com's search field. The seller seems decent, and offers a 30-day warranty from delivery. It'll arrive with me between 8th and 14th August. Total cost, including shipping and import duties pre-paid, has come to $172, which is about £102 today. I've seen a few non-OEM compressors for sale, but I'd rather have a warranted used part than a completely unknown non-Denso one. If you can wait a couple more weeks, I'll let you know the outcome of my cheapo fix! I hope this helps. All the best Roz.

Hi Keith; I just had the same thing happen to my 2000 Harrier 3.0 - after a cambelt change, things were a bit rattly and I was really worried! A couple of weeks later, however, as the weather began warming up (Sod's law!), the aircon wouldn't work - there was a brief drop in engine revs, then the light on the aircon switch started flashing, and no cold air. I also tried a re-gas, but this made no difference. Turns out the aircon compressor is siezed; at least it wasn't the VVTI, or something REALLY expensive rattling! I think a replacement is about £350-ish, plus fitting... However, starting at about £85 including shipping and import duties, there are lots of used aircon compressors available on ebay.com in the USA - depending in the year of your RX, there are several part numbers; my Harrier needs a 447220-3271, which is apparently the same as an early RX300 for the US market, as well as the Toyota Highlander 4x4 and Toyota Camry, which both use the same engine. I'd like to try a more recent part, from an RX330 perhaps, but as Mine is a Harrier, I need to be careful about any minor differences (there are differences between the Harrier and the RX engine, such as more BHP, but cam belt changes every 62,000 miles). Eventually, with a little more research, I'm sure I'll find something suitable on ebay. I hope this helps - best of luck sorting things out! Roz.

Hi; According to www.japanvehicles.com/newcars/toyota/HarrierMC/main.htm you can't have the rear "Torsion" differential with VSC fitted. However, both are extra-cost options, so you may have one, ot the other, or even neither! ...but not both... I'm waiting for a manual, so I can't help with VSC yet, but if you can determine whether it's fitted to your car, then you can be sure you won't have a "rear Torsion LSD". I hope this helps.

Hi; I have been thinking about this, too! There is an excellent German wheel company called Autec (www.autec-wheels.de) who have a configurator that shows the offset and PCD for the wheels you select for your car. There are more wheels available for the IS range, but for the styles that are common to both the IS and RX ranges, the figures are identical. In short, according to Autec's figures, the IS200 17" wheels should fit the RX300. The settings are an offset (ET) of 35mm and a PCD of 114.3mm. As regards tyres, the ones that are fitted to the RX 17" wheels would seem ideal - 225/60R17. I hope this helps.