plastic orange

Here's my record of ownership and my opinion of my wife's Rx 300: Basically, my wife loved it - and still does, but it's very rusty underneath with the supports for the undertrays falling off and everything cable tied together for security. This and the constant water leaks are the main reason for moving it on. It is however immaculate inside, external bodywork has minimal rust and still looks and drives great - apart from a very annoying downshift on the slightest gradient. Average fuel consumption is around 21mpg, so we're trying a diesel this time. We are trading it in next week for a 3 year old Seat Ateca 190hp with 4wd. This drives nicer than the lexus, and handles very well and is totally rattle free unlike the RX. My daughter in law just traded her RX in for a Mitsubishi Outlander, so there will be no RX's in the family now. However, i still have my LS400, and my son has his Altezza. Here's my record of ownership, but not all costs shown: 2/3/2015 Purchased fully serviced including Cambelt – 101300 miles Wiper Blades New spare tyre and wheel powder coated 28/10/15 MOT 104137 miles 9/3/2016 Bonnet strut – SGS £48 - 106085 miles 2 year warranty 11/03/2016 – 106125 miles Oil and filter change – Mobil 3000 and K@N Filter Trans oil sump drain and refill – 5 litre Toyota T 4 fluid Transfer Box drain and refill - EP? Diff oil drain and refill GL5 Synthetic Rear handbrake shoes and pads, new caliper – O/S July? 2016 Front pads - pagid 25/10/16 109369 miles MOT O/S front wheel bearing O/S rear anti roll bar link bush £258.30 7/03/2017 110963 miles 2 new rear tailgate struts – SGS £97 2 year warranty Problems with struts not working as should – ongoing 2/04/2017 Front wiper blades – Costco (Bosch) 10/04/2017 Oil and filter change 111600 Mobil 3000 and Toyota filter 26/03/2018 2 x Michelin Lattitude sport tyres – front - 116236 miles 5/06/2018 Rear brake pads and free slides £80. - 117110 miles 8/08/2018 Oil and filter change – Mobil 1 0/40 and wix filter 5 litres Toyota T4 trans fluid change. 118115 miles 5/11/2018 MOT – 118,997 miles 20/2/19 120245 miles Replace noisy front wheel bearing - guessed as Offside – was wrong - £160 wasted 6/03/19 120675 miles Replace other (noisy) n/s front wheel bearing and new discs and pads - £389.23 8/08/2019 122781 miles Centre section of exhaust replaced by Pipe Dynamics, stainless steel lifetime warranty £250 30/08/2019 122867 miles Oil (0-40 Mobil 1), oil filter (Wix) , air filter change and cabin filter change (both Bosch) 5/11/2019 123920 miles £694.44 Mot Rear brake overhaul: 2 x handbrake cables 2 x discs Pads Hand brake shoes Hand brake fitting kit 5/03/2020 125614 miles – 6 x Denso Iridium spark plugs SK20R11 £150 Changed as I’d no idea of when last done, but as it turned out they were good. 29/06/2020 125880 miles – new nearside front calliper fitted. Stuck piston and perished dust seal on old one during lockdown and lack of use, so replaced - £203.76. Battery going soft , will monitor as car has had little use during lockdown. 9/09/2020 Saying goodbye

With the current lock down situation, I knew that the battery on my lexus was getting to the end of it's life as it wouldn't start after just 2 weeks. It took a while to recharge as it had gone flat enough to require the 6 minute reset. Once started I checked voltages and all seemed fine, but a day later it read 12 volts, then 11.8 the next day, so I searched ebay for a new one. I decided I would have to replace with the same as fitted - a Bosch S4026 as this fitted exactly the battery tray and the plastic cover that fits over the battery. If I had gone for a more powerful battery (95 amp), this would not have fitted, despite being listed as fitting my car. I paid just under £80 for the battery and it arrived today in less than 24 hours, so a great service. Hopefully it will last 6 years like the previous one, but batteries seem very fickle these days as my son's winter hack (Yaris T sport) goes through them every 2 years, and they are meant to be of good quality (yuasa). Pete

When I took the bumper off to do a similar job, the car looked like new once it was off with no signs of poor seams etc. I did tiger seal over all of them though just in case, but still got water in. My long term solution was to drill holes, leave bungs out and make a dam so water couldn't travel forward. I only had a problem when I started travelling to our daughter's new house In Banchory and used the very hilly Cairn O' Mount road - basically the dam burst lol. I can't see me keeping the car much longer (had it 5 years), and wouldn't buy another, but don't know what to get yet. Pete

This issue seems endemic on these models and very disappointing for a quality car. Drilling a few strategic holes does wonders though. Pete

Plenty threads on here about water leaks on RX's. I thought the leaky car syndrome was a thing of the past, but these things like to leak. Strategic holes drilled, bungs removed mitigates a flood though. Mine emanated from the rear, and despite sealing lights, body seams etc etc it still does, but it now has somewhere to go lol. Mine was literally soaked from front to rear from a reservoir of water in the boot and came to light on a trip over very hilly roads. I also constructed a small dam between boot and passenger area to stop water sloshing to the front. Pete

Economy has never been great on my wife's 2005 RX 300, but of late it is averaging 17mpg on mixed driving. It is also kicking down on the slightest gradient and generally seems a bit down on power, but if floored it actually goes ok. Car has relatively recently had a new centre exhaust (stainless steel) and a new airfilter, and the gearbox seemed to start it's nonsense after this. Maf was cleaned with correct cleaner (wasn't dirty), and gearbox gets a sump change and refill every year along with it's oil and filter change. Only thing I'm not sure of is when plugs were changed as car has done 125k, and I purchased it on 100k with a full service (cambelt etc, but not sure of plugs). I'm starting to get to the stage where I want to change it for something that drives a bit nicer and with better economy, but wife likes the size and feel of the RX, but we don't really fancy a later one with cvt. There are no warning lights on dash and car starts, idles and accelerates ok (if provoked), and brakes aren't sticking - any thoughts folks? Cheers, Pete

I'd suggest you have water ingress as these cars seem very prone to it. Plenty threads on this topic and finding the source is very difficult, but once sorted and carpets are dry, then condensation should be sorted. Pete

Mot'd my Lexus yesterday - 2 advisories, front discs showing rust on inside and a rear shock slightly damp. Discs have done 25k, so quite pleased as far better than previous blueprint and lexus ones, so I'll replace with same (pagid). Also got cambelt (didn't look worn) and accessory belt done (10 years and 55k) along with plugs and annual oil/filter change, so should be good for another year. It could do with paintwork at top of screen as it's starting to rust in this area, plus a small blister on rear n/s wheel arch, but all in all, not bad for 21 years old and 178,000 miles, and still looks good. Pete

All RX 300's must be the same as regards water leaks - had a deja vu moment when reading Stupot's experience lol. Since removing bungs, creating a dam between boot and pasasenger area and drilling some strategic drain holes, all is well. Took a while to get carpets dry though.. Shocking for what is meant to be a quality car though, and i don't think I'd have another. Pete

Has anyone seen the Tesla queue in the US for a fast recharge - no thanks. Pete

My current fleet age starting with the youngest - 2005 Lexus RX 300, 1999 Lexus LS400, 1955 Morris Minor, 1953 Chevrolet BelAir, 1950 Morris Minor, so I'm dong my bit for being environmentally viable. Batteries aren't exactly environmentally friendly what with child exploitation in mining cobalt and lithium, plus the damage to the evironment with the pollution caused in the mining process. However, as it's not being mined here, then out of sight, out of mind and it's politically expedient. I really can't see me buying a new vehicle as most seem either pretty bland, or problematic. Pete

Local car auction site can't move on ex council electric vehicles. Local council has the largest electric vehicle fleet in Scotland, and taxis monopolise the free charging points. Electric isn't exactly environmentally friendly when you look behind the hype. I'll stick with Petrol thankyou. Pete

When I asked my local Toyota dealer for type 4 over the phone they said they'd never sold it. I told them i'd already bought some previously, so i took up my old container and they said that they did have that, but no type 4. I actually had to explain what IV meant. Pete

As I replaced everything last time (10 years and 50k) I'm just doing the belts. Pete

Free postage only applies to orders over £100 unfortunately. Pete

I've just sent a similar enquiry, cheers, Pete

A friend of mine got £2200 for a mark 3 in similar condition, but sub 100,000 miles last month. Pete

I've no idea of origin of tyres. I bought 4 of them last year at what I thought was a very good price - around £35 a tyre less than I paid 8 years ago. Pete

I've used Falkens for almost all the 10 year ownership of my LS after replacing the pirellis it came with. i found that 235/55's on the dhp rims give reasonable speedo accuracy compared to originals. I value grip more than wear, noise, mpg etc and that's why I like the Falkens. Mileage, well that's another issue as I've mentioned in the past as they just wear out very quickly on the rear. I usually put the backs onto the front at around 3 - 4mm left which equates to around 8,000 miles use. Front tyre wear seems negligible so they last a while there. Note, I do not drive car hard and don't spin the tyres, and this wear rate is consistent throughout my ownership, but as I say, I value grip more than anything else - especially in the wet. I may try something else in future, but i've still got a pair of new Falkens to fit to the rear very soon. Pete

Car is all back together and whilst leak is less, it's still present. I've drilled some small drain holes strategically in the boot area, so water shouldn't reach the cabin now. I then sprayed Bilt Hamber clear underbody wax copiously in the boot, so shouldn't rust (wasn't rusty in any case). Not an ideal solution, but It will be getting moved on next year. I didn't change any light bulbs prior to leak commencing, but I think it's been present for a while and it was only with the Florida style rain we've had of late that highlighted the problem, Thanks for all comments. Pete

Yes, I've used it before with mixed results. It's not great if it gets on your paint though. I've still got leaks despite my best efforts, but so long as boot area doesn't fill up, and it doesn't reach carpets I'll be relatively happy. It shouldn't happen though and what a waste of my time. I'd thought better of lexus. Pete

Heavy rain last night and still leaking, although not as bad. Today I put tigerseal on the body seam just above the tailgate strut mounting as it looked to have a bit of a gap. One side was better than the other, but i did both. I'm just waiting for this to dry then i'll do the hose test. Pete

Managed to get bumper off before the rain - again. I was surprised how clean it was behind there and I couldn't see anything obvious. So, I removed both the clips that only seem to be there to hold the fog light wires, and tigersealed the mounting holes. i then ran tiger seal over every seam I could see, although they were all very clean. Now we'll wait and see what happens. If it leaks, then only thing I can think of is that the lights aren't sealed properly. Incidentally, the u tube vid I watched on bumper removal doesn't mention the 4 nuts holding on top of bumper which are accessed from inside the boot. Will report back on progress. Pete ps, Herbie, I don't think I need another large car, and I could do with something for my wife that does reasonable mpg. My mate is a manager at a Suzuki garage and he swears by them, so we'll see.

I removed rear lights and used tigerseal to put the gasket back in as it wasn't the best. There was a bit of water round the lights, but not a lot. Once put back in and left for a while, i hosed the rear of the car and water ingress again. It seems to be coming from behind the bumper area, so that's my next task. I did drill a few holes and took grommets out to at least prevent water entering the passenger compartment. i also made a small wall of tigerseal at rear of seat base to hopefully dam any water trying to get through. I think this car will be getting moved on and don't think I'll get another. On the other hand, my Lexus LS 400 managed the storms just fine. Dilemma is what to buy, as my wife likes the higher seating position of the RX. Modern cars just don't do anything for me and some are just shockingly unreliable. May look at a Suzuki Vitara as we don't need a large second car really. Pete

Thanks for replies folks. Torrential rain here again today and car is leaking like a sieve at rear. I've drilled a couple of holes in floor to let water out and stop it travelling forward. Hopefully get it stripped out and sorted next week. This shouldn't happen on any car nowadays. On the bright side, I had the front silencer replaced with a stainless one by Pipe Dynamics of Leven - another great job. Pete