Jaspersilus

Hi my new Goodyear Vector 4season have arrived, have got excellent reviews, gets very close to summer tyres and winter tyres in performance, will get them fitted and we shall see! Cost £93 each from Oponeo, the week before they were £83 each! Cheers Jason

Hi the treatment Ed China promotes is Terraclean, which requires a special machine, it removes carbon deposits and varnish in the engine, allegedly very effective, £105 plus vat for a RX400. Another option is Seafoam which is a similar ( but DIY ) treatment, can be put in tank or for much better effect sucked into engine ( hundreds of DIYs on Youtube, many on Lexus! ), I also find putting Redex Fuel system cleaner in restores my MPG if it starts to drop a little, I put a full bottle in a tank though, twice recommended amount, standard dose seems innefective! Octane boosters are proven to do nothing, see 5TH Gear test. Cheers Jason

Hi researching further coils seems unlikely, would cause a uneven idle too, Ive looked all over the net, cant find ANYTHING on any car that exactly matches your symptoms, some throttle position sensor faults cause similar problems but not the same, also found a couple of reports of faulty alternators causing pulsing on engines when driving along! I hope changing the sensors fixes your problem, cos if its not I wouldnt be sure where to go next! Cheers/ Good luck Jason

Hi Carl Does the problem happen when running on petrol also? Have you checked your coils? Have you tried an ecu reset? My RX300 did over a year with bank 1 and 2 sensor fail, I lost 2 mpg and had a CEL, if it wasnt an MOT fail I would have left it longer ( was looking at over £600 at Lexus main stealer) but it drove perfectly, I just cant see the sensors causing your symptoms, it would be under all driving conditions! Cheers Jason

Hi Normally if the sensors are not creating a CEL, they are transmitting the correct parameters to the ECU, I appreciate they are different part numbers, but different part numbers for same part between models not unheard of, my father in laws 200tdi Disco needed a new headlight, £240 from Land rover, £47 from Rover, shared part with Maestro! I MUST REPEAT, I am not saying Denso man is wrong, but at same time would nt be super surprised, let us know how you get on, so other people can benefit from your experience. Cheers Jason

Carl as a fellow Yorkshireman with short arms and deep pockets I would still call Lexus dealer and check part numbers, you can always return them if unopened, have you got a CEL ? Cheers Jason

Hi Carl mine is a 2001 model year, Denso also say dox 0243 is not suitable for RX300 Mark 1, it is! Now Im not saying that it is compatible with your car, but if I was you Id call your local Lexus Dealer, and ask for the part number for a Mk1 and a mk 2 oxygen sensor, if its different flog em, if its the same put em back in! Just my 2 penneth! Cheers Jason

Hi Ok, a warning from the stupid, when draining the engine oil, dont drain the transmission fluid instead, I did! Both sumps look very similar, transmission fluid is hex key, oil sump 14mm spanner, one would think I would have known this after replacing the transmission fluid earlier in the year! Luckily I drained into a clean dry container, so went straight back in, without the need for £60 of type iv. cheers Jason

Hi a week ago I drained and changed my power steering, suspect its first time being done in the cars 108500 miles, not really thought of doing it before, no leaks, no whining, just thought I would! Really glad I did, the fluid in the reservoir was brown, the fluid the pump pumped out of the return pipe was thick brown and muddy looking! Seriously, if I showed you a picture, you would be outside changing it tonight! Going to drain again tomorrow whilst servicing the car and refill with best Castrol Dexron III ! Oh and full service using 0w40 mobil 1, Bosch Oil filter, new air filter, and pollen filter ( not spark plugs ) £58. 64! Simples Cheers Jason

Thanks for the infor, Jason. It is extremely useful. Will go for synthetic one. cheers. I replaced my rear pads just few days ago. The pads are such a tight fit with the top and bottom "seating plates" in. I am worry that this might not let the pads glide that efficiently. Hi not bloody kidding, mine is a mark 1, and unbelievably tight getting the pads back in, maybe the toyota pads fit easier, might try those next and not pagid!

Hi, 85w90 from factory, all I mean is thats what toyota put in when they built the car, so any make will do, halfrauds, mobile 1 etc. It might be worth your while draining and refilling the diff as your car is 10 years old now, really simple, drain plug on bottom, fill plug near top, Ive done mine and the leak virtually stopped, new oil can revitalise seals a little. Have a look on clublexus.com, there are instructions with pictures to do almost anything on your car, you ll save a fortune! Also I priced the seal up at about £22 from Lexus dealer, obviously fitting will be the killer!, might have a go if it gets to be a problem! Oh, I checked mine today whilst checking brake pads, over 1500 miles since last checked and no noticeable drop in level! cheers Jason

Hi 85w 90 gear oil from factory, but if you drain and refill, 75w90 fully synthetic better. Are you leaking from diff plate seal or output seal? My RX is leaking from output seal, but only 100ml every 4 months, so just keep an eye on level, holds 1 US quart, or just under a litre.

Hi had grabbing rear brake on my RX300, had a local garage in lakes try and fix it, got a big bill but the useless wretches stripped and rebuilt the caliper, despite me saying check the handbrake cable for stretch, anyway the handbrake cable was stretched so ordered a new cable and was fixed. It is a dangerous fault and can lock the rear wheel, the parking brake on a RX holds the brakes off when released and allows the spring loaded parking brakes to engage when applied. I may be wrong, its happened before according to my wife! Also, as soon as poss get 5 litres of type4 transmission fluid from Toyota dealer, toyota type4 only NOTHING ELSE, do a drain end change on the gearbox, also get rear diff and transfer fluids changed, front diff shares type4 with gearbox on my mark 1, not sure on mark2. Obviously if you re wealthy get someone to do this for you, if not join clublexus.com and look at the instructionals on how to look after it yourself properly. Cheers Jason Also, only use fully synthetic for oil changes, the original recommended oil causes sludging of this engine, think its 10w 40, use a 0w-30 or 0w-40!

Hi, they rotted off on my 26 year old Volvo, MOT centre said they were not required, so just left them off!

Hi, Certainly worth trying fuel system/injector cleaner for the sake of a few quid, cannot hurt to try, but this wont help worn out o2 sensors, also not sure what hose and gasket set would be be required for? Is this a lexus stealers idea? Cheers Jason

Hi, sensors are available from sparkplugs.co.uk ( denso dox0243 ), about 75 pound each, takes about 1 hr to fit them both yourself, got to go to work now, will look back in later, any questions? Cheers Jason ps I did mine last summer, simples!

Hi more often than not its o2 sensors bank 1 and bank 2, maybe 1 maybe both, best thing to is buy a code reader of off ebay, less than £30 quid. It could be a number of other things also, but these sensors are the most common on MK1 and MK2 rx300. So need to get the codes first, when you have them come back to the forum, ! This fix is almost £700 at Lexus, or a £150 DIY through the forum Cheers Jason

Hi, all cars have problems, my RX300 had a transfer problem at 45K, Lexus Sheffield quoted around 2k to fix, gearbox specialist in Doncaster did same job for £479. I would wager if Lexus has quoted £350 for fix you wouldnt have even turned your PC on, its just that its always 1k plus at Lexus, thats why they can afford beautiful showrooms, excellent coffee and service, and why you always get a luuurvly courtesy car. Like all main dealers not just Lexus they just change out probable parts until its fixed, do your best to stay clear of them when possible, Do some deep research on clublexus, over 400 000 RX300 sold in the US, so if it can go wrong it has gone wrong and chances are its on clublexus, the Americans do use some slightly different terms to describe certain things but its very self explanatory, also you can just join the club its free and post your exact problem! Cheers Jason

Hi, surely the point of this ( quite excellent ) forum is to offer HELP and ADVICE with the running of our Lexi, regardless of how much money one has, if I could afford a new RX450H I would certainly buy a Range Rover Sport ,alas I can only afford an old car and afford to run and holiday a wife a 2 daughters! Also bear in mind that a low mileage rx400h will cost more in depreciation alone than your 2003 Rx300 will cost in depreciation, repairs and half your annual fuel! oh and you dont have to live with a CVT! HA HA I am a bitch :ooh-ducky:

Hi Paul, Junction Block Relay I would buy from Lexus and have a auto electrician fit, and if that doesn t fix it , get a ABS unit from breaker, also important is NEVER take heed of anything Duncan Roberts types, he is ALWAYS negative, he is the devil on your shoulder telling you you are too ugly and your ***** is too small! Also as boxbrownie pointed out join club Lexus US, best thing I ever did, and I run my RX300 on Fiesta money ( not petrol obviously ), every problem is covered, every DIY job has a picture guide so even the worst home mechanic ( me ) can do it. Lexus parts are very expensive ( more than Mercedes ) and their hourly rate is huge, You really do have to be relatively wealthy to have repairs done with them ( their Essential Care Servicing for vehicles over 5 years old isn t too bad if you wish to keep your MDSH ) Good Luck Jason

Hi, the Mk 1 RX300 does need beam deflectors, the generic ones work fine on a Mk1, get them as part of a euro driving pack from ebay, includes stuff like breathalysers, warning triangle etc. As to cleaning the headlamp plastic ( it tends to go opaque anyway ) toothpaste and a damp cloth, 30 minutes graft and they are like new, really brightens the front of your Rex up. Look on youtube theres loads of vids showing you how! Also as a Mk1 owner take a look on clublexus.com, its an international forum ( mainly american though), incredible amounts of info on Mk1s, DIYs, problem solving etc! Cheers Jason

Hi John, K Seal is regarded as pretty much the be all and end all of coolant system leak repair, I always carry a bottle in the boot, but have never used it. I do however know people that have used it to fix a cylinder head crack, have a read up on it, see what you think. Option 2 if the above fails get it plastic welded Option 3 get a new radiator, from £120 delivered, 2 yr warranty ebay uk and fit it thi sen as we say in Rotherham! I would go straight to option 3 personally Option 4 Take it to Lexus £1 000 000 gone!

Hi, Just to clarify, toyota does sell type iv to the public, qouted me £62.80 on phone for 5 litres, only charged me £50 when I went to collect from burrells rotherham. 15000 mile drain and change for mk1 rx300 transmissions are essential, and very easy for the home mechanic.DO NOT FLUSH/POWER FLUSH YOUR RX300 TRANSMISSION. Also simple to change diff and transfer box fluid and cheap. Also quality discs and pads quite cheap off of ebay. Cheers Jason

Hi, in reply to Duncan, I agree up to 5 years old Lexus is the way to go, and yes they are in general very reliable, but quite minor things are incredibly expensive to repair at a Lexus main dealer, I would like to say Lexus spares are comparable in price to BMW spares, but in my experience they are considerably more expensive, and lack a network of non main dealer specialists that are available to BMW, Jaguar and Audi owners. The forums are essential to keep down the cost of running an older premium car. As for Lexus Dealers giving a higher quality maintenance, and Im not talking of a nice courtesy car and a Lexus branded tin of travel sweets, I had a major service at my local main dealer last year including a drain and refill of the transmission, they overfilled the transmission and the engine oil, both stupid, careless mistakes that should not happen at a main dealer. I didnt complain because I was silly enough to trust their workmanship, and only noticed a few months later doing a routine check. As for the reliability,if your inverter fails, or your battery pack, you can buy a new Dacia for less than the repair cost! regards Jason

Hi Mike, I had 2 stuck calipers a couple of months ago, usually caused by seized slide pins, got 2 sets from Lexus parts for £25 a set, then got mobile mechanic fit new pins, £30. Disc edge corrosion is just where a lip builds due to wear caused by break pads, if it gets too high and rusty it binds on the edge of the pads, take a wheel off and gently tap the edge of the disc, inside and outside and the corroded lip should break off, do the same on the inner lip and repeat on all 4 wheels. A set of front pads of decent quality are about £30 from a local motor factor, a decent quality set of Front Discs and Pads are less than £80 off ebay ( mintex, ferodo). Sticking handbrake cable usually caused by stretched cable, again Lexus Parts about £80 depending which cable is stretched, whichever brake is sticking its that side! I get my car serviced by Lexus, thats all, I appreciate many people who drive Lexus are quite well off, I AM NOT, I run a nice car, properly maintained and looked after for considerably less than many people who run Fords, and Vauxhalls and have them repaired at dealers. And one last thing Mike, thas a Yorkshireman, have more care for your cash! Im not saying do the work yourself but there a FAR cheaper labour rates than Lexus. Cheers Jason