PhilGV8

Lexus quoted £350 each with 5% discount, ebay was £230 each, Amayama £158 each plus duty / VAT? with 2 weeks delivery. TBH we don't use the Lexus much now, but it serves as our most dependable vehicle and we are far too attached to it to sell it. The irony is the handbrake only gets operated once a year for the MOT.............

Just wanted to say 'thanks' for this thread. Just had the same on my 2004 RX300 with my mechanic quoted £350 each side from Lexus for new covers. I was just sourcing cheaper prices and came across this thread, so appreciate the fix of removing them. My mechanic does the MOT himself so he is happy to remove the covers and pass it, just leaving new cables being fitted for the MOT pass.

My SE-L came with Goodyear Fortura on the front and Dunlop SP Sport on the back. I eventually decided to put some more Dunlops on the front. I then tried a complete set of Maxxis MAS2, as I had been quite impressed with them on a Landcruiser we had. Nothing cured the incessent tyre noise until I went for the Scorpions. My tyre fitters (a Land Rover dealer) said it was often a problem with air suspension, and causes them problems with Range Rovers. I have had some uneven tyre wear on the rear, and would anticipate the noise may return as the tyres wear.

Hi, A little feedback from recent experiance... My 2004 RX300 SEL has always suffered from considerable road noise since I purchased it 4 years ago. I have gone through several makes of tyres without effect. I even had some wheel bearings replaced at one point. I have just fitted the last pair of Pirelli SC Verde AS to make a set, and all noise is gone! It is a different car, I am just so pleased, it now sounds like a Lexus should, silent. I have the three button fob with the remote built in to the key 'handle' itself. My main key case cracked last year and pretty much fell apart, I glued it but without much success, so I started using the valet key. Monday my partner came home with her key in bits, the key pretty much having parted company with the remote fob. Now I know Lexus are expensive, and i was bracing myself that I might get one new key for a few hundred pounds. Taking it apart and searching the web it appears key blanks with the case are fairly easy to come by on eBay, but getting the blank cut is another matter. At this point I came across a guy called Jim Mann in Cheshire who supplies cased blanks cut to the key number or / and a photograph. His eBay listing is here: eBay item number: 371256360980 / his user name is telecommann I ordered two for the princely sum of £26.50 and they came next day. Just fitted them and perfect. So nice when you get the surprise these days of genuine good service. So generally pretty chuffed at the moment. Mind you, the other side of the coin is that my old classic Range Rover has been with my mechanic nearly a year now, so I guess life evens itself out!

Just wanted to say thanks for this post. I had VSC and check engine lights up with no clue as to what it was. Got my mechanic to interrogate it and found the fault code P1155 on here. Bought an O2 sensor off Spark Plugs Ltd for £78.80 delivered (my mechanic couldn't find the same part for less than £100 locally). Had my guy fit it and reset the ECU, 10 minute job. Been clear ever since, plus now hitting 28mpg driven carefully. So thanks for all the info on this post, well chuffed!

Further to an earlier post and unresolved issue with fan belt squeal on start-up, my A/C compressor clutch has now failed, and has seized up I think. Mine is a UK 2001 RX300. My mechanic has been unable to source a new or re-conditioned clutch, and is currently trying to find an exchange compressor, but is struggling. Does anyone know if the compressor is the same as other models, eg: V6 Colorado, or any suppliers in the UK. I am assuming Toyota will be expensive. Thanks

Yes, I am favouring this scenario. Nothing coming up on here as a common problem, so I am thinking something specific to my vehicle.

My RX300 has a squealing fan belt for a few seconds on start up from cold, been doing it for some time. My mechanic fitted a non-lexus new belt, and checked the tension, which did not cure the problem. I got him to get a genuine belt and fit that, but still the same. Recently got him to tighten the belt some more, but still the same. Mine is an 02 UK car with 82,000 miles. Anyone else have the same problem, or know the cure? Only thing I can think to check next is that the water pump or A/C are not hard to turn. Usually start with the A/C off, so shouldn't be this dragging. Not a problem when warm.

Four wheel drive in isolation in snow I have found to be a bit of a misconception. A few years ago I chose to take my old Range Rover to work in the snow, it had A/T tyres & obviously 4WD. After a mile I turned back and took the Shuttle I had at the time. Despite the road tyres, I found the ABS far more useful than the 4WD. Last winter I had a 110 Defender as well as the P38 Range Rover, so I tried them both back to back in the snow. Floored the accelerator on both, and panic braked on both. The P38 just accelerated and stopped as usual, the Defender just headed for the nearest ditch in both situations. The Defender had A/T tyres, the P38 Pirelli Scorpion M&S. The contrast was amazing. Importance is ABS, FWD, Traction Control, then 4WD in that order IMHO. My paint seems resistant to everything, certainly almost free of stone chips - maybe the silver is better? I can get 30 on a 40 mile run in traffic on a particular slow country road with no opportunity to overtake. Overall on a run to work using A12 & M25 daytime with traffic will return 27-28, but a night run drops to 25 given clearer (faster) roads. Usually sit around 80, give or take a bit, but have got a light foot 98% of the time.

I have been meaning to put a few lines on here for quite some time now. After last Christmas I was looking for another car, as I frequently do. The target was to replace a 540 BMW used for work, a P38 Range Rover used in snow, and be as reliable as a Honda Shuttle, used as a general runabout. I know, there is no such vehicle, so compromises would be made! The shortlist included the Landcruiser, X5, XC90, ML270 and the RX300, with the Touareg as an expensive outsider. Major mechanical problems ruled out the X5 and XC90, American build quality issues spoiled the ML270 (as well as the X5), and the Touareg was just too complicated and expensive, with reliability issues. Having had a Landcruiser, it is an impressive vehicle, but better suited to an overland trek to Casablanca than a trip to Tesco’s. So we looked at a couple of RX300’s. One was a one owner dealer serviced immaculate SE with 59,000 miles at a reasonable price (in fact just 20% of its retail price when new), so in early February we became Lexus drivers. Having researched the model beforehand, I had found out about all its faults and weaknesses – the alloy wheels corrode and the front passenger’s seat can vibrate when unoccupied. That is it! On an X5 you will probably need a new gearbox, on the XC90 you might need a new engine, but on a RX300 you will just need to get the wheels refurbished. True to form, after 10,000 miles, I can report the passenger’s seat can vibrate, and I am looking to get the wheels refurbished. One service, one set of wiper blades, one set of rear pads, that is it. Oh, and she came with a new battery on purchase. Usually after 6 months I get bored with a car, but after 8 months the RX is still very much a keeper. Soon after she arrived a trip home up the M11 in a blizzard confirmed her abilities in snow, certainly as capable on-road as the P38 Range Rover, which meanwhile was sold to a new owner to live with its reliability issues. The BMW had been sold some months before, but the RX compares surprisingly well in real world driving. OK, the BM has supercar performance, but it was also twitchy over poor road surfaces, and the auto gearbox would get confused if you drove it hard and revert to failsafe mode. The Honda only went a few weeks ago, such a good vehicle at everything, albeit with bland efficiency. The Lexus has much of its qualities, but does it all in a much more luxurious way, with the exception of the Honda’s MPV role. So the RX has fulfilled its intended role in broad terms, there are just a couple of things we did not contemplate. The reason behind buying a hatchback was to accommodate our German Shepherd. So far she has been allowed in the back once, and the rear seat well twice – white hairs and black interiors do not go together. In fact I have become quite anal about the RX, and spend the hour it needs with the Hoover removing every last hair after her trips, so we almost always use the Discovery (we still need a true off-roader) when she comes along. I find myself picking up individual stray hairs and putting them out of the window. I have also developed the worrying habit of walking around the car checking for scratches (there still aren’t any!). My partner has also developed a habit of taking the RX everywhere, leaving me the Discovery, which is much better suited to the roads around here, and can be left without worry about trolley damage in Tesco’s car park. The RX also has to go to visit her Mum, a 150 mile cross country round trip. On her last return late one evening she exclaimed she had managed to get back ‘in less than an hour’. I spent the next day removing the 5 million bugs from the front of the car! Road tests when the car was new found no real purpose to the vehicle, and to some degree criticised the handling and fuel consumption. We use the 4 wheel drive every day in pulling off the tarmac to pass other cars on our single track roads, as well as keeping us mobile in the snow. The Disco covers the serious off-road stuff, but the RX leaves it for dead in snow. I have found the handling exemplary, and on a par with conventional cars. It is in a different league to both off-roaders and soft-roaders. A slight roll on sharp low speed junctions transforms itself into stable surefooted handling on corners at speed. I am still exploring its limits, but have not found them yet. You enter a bend thinking you are going too fast, to come out wondering why you did not go faster. Ride is also excellent, coping admirably with our country roads around here, always remaining composed and comfortable. Fuel consumption ranges from 22mpg on fast hard runs, to 30mpg given heavy traffic, with an overall 26mpg. My choice for a Trans continental trip would still be a 7 series, but the RX would be a very close 2nd. Dislikes: The lack of memory seats, more functions on the computer, the ridicules speed limiter at 112mph (120mph on the clock, true 110mph). Likes: Build quality, design, function, discreet image, feel good factor, a fine blend of attributes. You find yourself using switches for the satisfaction of their operation and shutting doors just to listen to the satisfying clunk – there I go getting anal again! So sorry this few lines have turned into war and peace. But there are few cars that combine such a broad range of qualities.