BachelorDays

I've heard good things about Delphi products including coils, but no personal experience.

Thought I'd close this discussion by giving my findings. I took the coil out and wished I had examined it myself when the mechanic switched it. The sleeve shows heat damage (picture attached). Also, I went ahead with getting hold of a used 90919-02255. Been using it ever since. Works great. I don't drive much but on occasion I do long drives. Went to Amsterdam and back without any issues. I like the 90919-02255 construction better, the sleeve feels stronger. Anyway, worth the mention. Cheers. PS Checked with the garage I'm using for the Lexus and they say they use aftermarket coils and not had a problem with them. They are trade only so I can't buy them directly, but they did quote circa £40 for one.

I had a chat with a mechanic today (my car was already booked for a parking brake service/adjustment). He didn't find anything wrong with the colour of the coil, so it's not burnt. We switched bank 6 (the suspect coil) with bank 2 - now we wait for the next time there is a misfire. The connector on bank 4 has a tightening clip on it, so it's pretty obvious these coils have caused issues in the past. I asked the guy about aftermarket coils and he said Denso or Toyota and nothing else. In the absence of any other recommendations in these forums or on net generally, I'll probably run with this for the time being. However, in looking into this a bit more the one thing I've found is that the RX350 coil code 90919-02251, when referenced in the other aftermarket coils (including the Denso 673-1309), cross-references to 90919-02255. In other words, the ignition coils for the RX350, RX450h and ES350 are the same spec. Would you guys agree? @GrahamG I'm going to do the same - put a spare in the car. I hope any trouble I have stays to the front 3. But I want to try the 02255. @Delphius1 There are some European manufacturers in the list as well. Unfortunately my annual mileage is very low so I won't prove anything even if I have one installed.

Finally took a look at it. This one (6th cylinder) looks burnt on the top! I took it out and checked it was an original. The sleeve itself has no discolouration nor does it have any cracks, but the top colour indicates it's burnt, doesn't it? Is this just a coil gone/going south or is there more to it in your experience with these cars? Started the car and it's still running fine (no EML). Mileage is 81k. Anyone on aftermarket coils?

I had a rough idle on my car about a month ago at the end of the MOT test. The guy there read the code and suggested a coil pack (but he didn't know which one). I thought it was just a hiccup because of all that lifting of the car so got home and disconnected the battery to clear the code. All was well after that. I've driven maybe 250 miles since then (lots of short city trips), but yesterday, in the middle of crawling traffic, the engine suddenly started running rough (EML and VSC lights came on). I wanted to get home so kept going - slow traffic - and would shift into Neutral when stationary to keep the car from shaking. About 10 minutes later, though, the idle suddenly cleared and I came home fine. Checked the code and I had a Pending P0356 (coil pack F). Started/ switched off a couple of times and the Pending became Current. With the rain and all, I haven't done anything today - I will take out coil pack 6, examine/clean and switch with 4 - see how that goes. I've noticed lots of aftermarket coil packs around. Denso seems to be available only from USA, but these others being sold - STARK, Lemark, Kerr Nelson, Delphi... Anyone tried any of these? I think I'll keep a spare with me even if the cleaning exercise works. Cheers PS I did clear the code and the lights stayed off on next engine start.

Could you reset the drive by restarting the car?

Must be me, but I had no luck finding the micro fuses online. Every time I tried I got ones which were ever so slightly longer than the ones in my car (under the console box). The ones I need are 8.8mm in height and the ones that are available are 10mm. The picture shows the difference. I know Halfords do them (although I am loathed to pay those prices for fuses).

There's stacks of stuff on the net on stuck wheel locking nuts. Happens a lot and can be a nightmare to remove. It's likely to be more than just over-tightening. Probably rusted in. Next step would be to hit the nut hard to try and dislodge the rust. A good sized hammer, but be careful not to hit it at an angle. You could also try spraying some WD-40 or the likes around the stem before hitting it. Heating it with a blow torch is also an option in some cases. The last resort is to cut into the locking nut and then screw it open with force. There are people out there who specialise in this type of work. I hope the hammer works.

I meant dry rot. Cracking in the rubber.

Happens once every two years. Bravo! I'm sure if it was an ECU issue it would surface more often and for more people. So probably not this. Problem with the pedal/pedal assembly/wire? No harm in a visual around the pedal and under the bonnet. Cruise control switch et al. The "et al" includes the clock spring. Biggest issue is - how will you know you've fixed it, except if you find something obviously out of place?

Just been discussing them in my post So how bad were yours?

May well be, but in my experience a tyre gone dry will eventually start losing pressure. That's a sure shot sign for me to replace it - but that's not saying I'll necessarily wait for this to happen before changing the tyre.

On tyre life I go more for 10 years, but it depends on the manufacturer. Mind you, this is my experience with cars and maybe with SUVs it's different. That's why I posted the Michelin picture, since in my experience of Michelins (but on cars), at 5 years with 6mm tread the edges still look polished. Thanks for the Toyotec reference. I've seen them recommended before as well. There's another recommendation for a garage in Sidcup but I think it'll be a better drive to Redhill. Any experience of Toyotatech in Guildford? Google maps shows it as a very small operation but the chap has been recommended in our forums in the past.

Brilliant! I saw the post about Orchard Engineering and discussed this process with a garage about a week ago. I thought this would be possible and therefore not have to go to the place with the car. You've just confirmed it.

Near Side Rear (this one doesn't maintain tyre pressure over time). Off Side Rear (retains tyre pressure fine but I think the dry rot - cracks - are getting serious now) Now, what's this Michelin (dated 1214) doing beginning to crack up at 5 years?! 6mm tread left on this too!

Got back to the UK early June after a few months away and of many things pending, one was to revive the parked RX350 and get it in for an MOT. I bought the car last year with a new MOT so was a bit apprehensive about it. Good news is that I got a pass but it wasn't all plain sailing. 1. I was expecting an advisory on the rear tyres. In fact, I left them on just to see how they would fare. I always have problems with the tyres getting dry and cracking up before the tread is run down since I don't drive much, so this was like a benchmark test. Would I get an advisory or a fail? I got advisories. My own take on these - one is definitely dead since it doesn't maintain its pressure. The other looks equally bad but doesn't loose pressure. They are both dated 3612 (36th week of year 2012) so 7 years old. They are made by Sonar. 6mm tread on both but I don't think they should be put through the paces any further. (I'll try posting pictures later). 2. My drive is on an incline. When I park facing up, the car rolls back on the parking brake (in neutral). When I park facing down, it locks in like concrete. I was so sure this would need adjustment I had that on the agenda as a fix before the MOT, but had an interesting discussion with the manager of the garage I found online as a Toyota Specialist. He said it probably wouldn't be a fail since the test does an average of the front and rear (directional?) holds. So I took his advice and.. not even an advisory! (No, it wasn't him doing the MOT). I asked the MOT tester about it afterwards and he said he had noticed it was a bit slack but not enough for an advisory. 3. The not so good news is an advisory on a minor oil leak. I haven't noticed any drops on the drive but I have had my doubts about the colour of some of the water stains after rains (unfortunately my drive has some old stains so it's not as if I can notice a light smear). Another discussion with the garage guys - they were of the view that it's not serious and I shouldn't worry about it. Well! Now I know it's there I will need to know it's origin. So that was that. Except that I was informed that the CEL was now on in my car. Hmmm. A restart didn't help. The engine was also running very rough (a cylinder or bank off). They read the codes and suggested something wrong with one of the coils. I was pretty sure it was because of all that lifting that goes on during the MOT test. Drove home and disconnected the battery for about 90 minutes. All well after restart. So much for this particular Toyota Specialist! So now I want someone to check the oil leak and adjust/clean the park brake. (Any recommendations of a garage? I'm in Wandsworth SW London). For tyres I'm thinking a full set of Avon ZX7s.

If the mechanic can't see it, they can't diagnose it. We've all been here. I can understand your frustration. The way you've described it I'm thinking it's quite likely a transmission issue. Have you tried driving in different gears? Just put it in 2 (or it's equivalent in your car) and then drive around. See if you can replicate it. Down another avenue, does the car also lose any power when this happens?

Changing a bulb that doesn't exist will definitely be a challenge 😁 Glad you saw it in time. I'd've had the entire beam assembly out before realising it was a reflection.

There r the basics.. engine should be hot (good half an hour run at least) and still running (transmission in Park) when u take the reading. Normally takes two or three readings to confirm the fluid level. Brown fluid (chocolate milk brown) or darker is not good. If it smells burnt that's even worse. A smooth texture with some red colour still showing is fine.

Rule out any transmission issues for a start. Fluid level and condition. Any slipping in the transmission?

Can they not reproduce these symptoms when testing it? If they can but still maintain its normal then they should show it to you in a similar car.

The hunting may well be because of wrong signals from a part of the throttle system. I'd check around the throttle body/associated sensors for loose/broken connections. Probably check the earth points too.

On an MB you wouldn't think twice and change the Crankshaft Position Sensor (CPS). But you don't see it mentioned as an issue with the RX. You could check the connector on it. I don't know it's exact location in the RX and I'm not near my car these days. Flooring the throttle doesn't do anything since the starting mixture is controlled directly by the ECU.

It's the other side of the light so access through the wheel arch is probably not relevant. I'd post again in the RX forum. You might get a better response. I'm not near my car these days otherwise I'd take a look. I had to do the rear light bulb and it's not the most intuitive of procedures.

So is the vibration only felt when applying the brakes and is it more if braking hard? Were the old discs and pads in a poor condition? I'd get the wheel balancing done since that needs doing anyway.