Lexmexico

I happen to live in Mexico with my 1999 RX300. I brought mine down from the U.S. Here, we have no Lexus but we do have Toyota, yet they are surprisingly incompetent, necessitating my own repairs to my own vehicle. With regard to the oil filter problems, I know a few friends in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions of the US that have had sludge in their RX300s. Part of the problem is that unless you request otherwise, most dealerships use Quaker State or another non-synthetic oil. Moreover, their have been occasions where no oil change was performed, yet the people were charged. Quite sad and illegal. However, the average consumer does not know. I do my own oil changes using Mobil 1 15W-50. I am not sure what they have in Europe or the UK as far as weights, but in Mexico that is the only weight of Mobil1. In the states we have 0W-30 (flows 7 times faster than water), 5W-30, 10W-30 and 15W-50. I still used 15W-50 in the states even though it was not recommended. The reason is there is a high amount of shearing of oil given the engine design (the one that causes sludge, too). Thus, it can go from 50 to 30 or 20 after 5,000 miles. I have had no sludge build up as far as I and my mechanics know. I also recommend using a K&N oil filter and definitely the air filter. I am pretty sure these products are available in the U.K.