Rxowner

I am in the same position as you

i am in the south west good luck

4 hours ago, PCM said:

Good news!

The MPG will probably 'settle'.

I assume the battery was disconnected for the work, which, I think, forgets your driving style, average mpg etc, and then 're-learns' it...?

 

Ah didn’t know that would be the cause. Hopefully it is and it will settle

50 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

What sort of mileage would you be putting on car in next 2 years and apart from accepting depreciation due to age and mileage, would you be able to fund repairs and wear and tear, the cost of which is rather unquantifyable?  The present issues don't seem to be major. Breakers could be useful at some stage as Lexus parts are expensive, particularly so when compared with the value of an old car. 

Probably around 10k a year. 
Yes I would have to account for that too, good thing about it is that the timing belt was changed 

4 hours ago, PCM said:

Personally... I would stay with your RX and enjoy it through the Winter at least.

( To me, 150k is a lot. Others will say not. )

 

I think I will do just that, i calculated if I sell my car and buy an rx400 I’ll end up paying an extra £1500 ish. I just thought paying that would be worth it but I doubt I’ll make the savings with the mpg. 

Hello again, 

So I have decided to part ways with my RX300 which I have owned for a mere 2 weeks to get a 400h. 
I thought I’ll actually seek advice this time rather than buy blindly. 

Looking to keep as primary family car for at least 2 years without losing too much on depreciation 

I have found one (from a private genuine seller) which has done 150k miles and 2006. Full service history with Lexus though. 
is there anything in particular that I should double check with these? The things that were wrong which I noticed:

1)

centre console open and close button , the one that kind of electrically opens the armrest storage bit, the buttons were jamming and stuck. 
 

2)

the window switch on the drivers door for the front passenger window doesn’t work. The front passenger window switch on the passengers door does work and windows open and close. 
 

any ideas about the ease of the fixes for the issues above and other things I should double check?

Is the mileage too high?

thanks again!

On 8/14/2020 at 10:39 AM, Herbie said:

@Rxowner

Adam, I've just PM'd you with some info you may find useful.

Most certainly was! Thanks again 

Update:

managed to get the issue sorted. Seller covered the costs too! 
it was indeed the sensor, in the future if anyone has the issue it’s this one in the photo attached ( the mechanic was confused exactly which sensor it was but the diagram helped)  

only thing now is I think the mpg has taken a slight hit, or maybe I’m being paranoid  

either way, I am thinking of counting my losses and getting rid of it and getting a 400h instead as it’s a hybrid  

thanks again for everyone’s help!

On 8/12/2020 at 4:57 PM, Delphius1 said:

The P0037 code is an oxygen sensor code, but as the other Mark was saying, it may be a symptom, not a cause of the issue. That said, P0037 is the code for the oxygen sensor heater failure. That can be caused by something as simple as the sensor being unplugged. The other thing can be nibbled wiring by rodents, they do love to chew wires and the oxygen sensor wiring is right there under the car. Once you've eliminated the obvious reasons and also checked and confirmed the heater resistance in the sensor is not correct, then change the sensor . The P0037 will be the only code a simple reader will get out of the car.

It really needs a good deep diagnosis with a proper code reader like Techstream to have a chance at finding the VSC issue. A simple OBD reader won't show VSC codes. 

VSC errors can be tricky to diagnose as there are a raft of sensors that can cause the light to be lit. Mismatched tyres causing differential ABS sensor speeds on the wheels, the gearbox speed sensor, the steering angle sensor, the yaw sensor, all are tied into the VSC. Luckily other systems use these sensors so if the speedo is reading correctly and the ABS light isn't lit, the fault points more to steering or yaw sensor, wiring to one or more sensor or the VSC module itself. But don't take my word as gospel, diagnosis is the only way to be sure. 

The VSC error could be tied to the vibration/hum, but not necessarily. Only a deep diagnosis will give you an indication if that's the case.

Sorry to be vague, but diagnosis over the internet is about as accurate as reading runes, or staring into crystal balls. 🙂 

 

Not vague in the slightest that is an amazing and detailed response thank you. This is what I have shown the seller and mechanic. 
Didn’t want to be too pushy to the mechanic I know some of them are really sensitive and take it as if I am telling them how to do their job!

On 8/11/2020 at 9:14 AM, m4rkw said:

I hate to sound negative but I can't see that going very far, legal protection is far less for private sales than when buying from a dealer. The car only has to be roadworthy and match the advert description, it doesn't have to be fault-free. Even then the seller could just argue that the faults weren't present when it was sold, how is Adam to prove otherwise? I would take it as a life lesson and always get a pre-purchase inspection in future. I'm still hopeful that these issues can be easily remedied and aren't anything serious.

I think you’re 100% right I have definitely learnt the hard way! I am lucky I had a response from my letter, although like you said if it ever does come to any legal action I won’t have a leg to stand on

On 8/11/2020 at 7:19 AM, m4rkw said:

@Rxowner has the transmission ever been serviced? Hopefully it has, at that mileage it should have been done twice but once would be better than never. 

Unfortunately not that I have found, I didn’t think of that i should really have done more research into what to look for before I got it. 
shifts really nicely though and feels great. Another thing I need to do is change the timing belt once all this pilava is over

Thank you all so much for all the help and the really useful replies!

i have some good news, been really busy over past few days trying to sort this out in addition to working full time. i took everyone’s advice and I sent the seller a letter threatening small court action (I found a template on the citizens advice beureu website) and like magic, he called me on Wednesday and agreed to get it fixed!

with regards to the humming noise, I took the car to a 4 wheel tracking place on Monday to get it checked out and they did an alignment on it but couldn’t identify the reason for the humming, they did however tell me that my aftermarket roof racks are making a lot of noise and I since realised that it’s a lot worse when the sunroof is open! That’s really reassuring to me but the last thing I’m going to do is get all the wheels balanced, they have Bridgestone SE031 Potenza on all of them I think it’s the OEM tyre. 
 

with regards to the main issue of the engine light, I showed the seller all the fantastic replies and advice about diagnosing the error as he was adamant it’s an easy fix of switching the sensor. I’m a bit concerned because I took it to the garage he recommended and they were unsure where the sensor is exactly on the car and which one it is. I was in the mindset of beggars can’t be choosers so I left it there for the mechanic to diagnose and repair at the sellers expense. Place isn’t where I would personally take my car, called S K motors on Windham Road in Bournemouth. 
 

I’m hopefully collecting it tomorrow. Just hope that it’s fixed and if a sensor is replaced they don’t use a cheap one. 

4 hours ago, m4rkw said:

Also since you apparently got a lot of documentation with it, check if it's always been to the same garage in the last year or so. If it has you might want to give them a call and ask if they've noticed the humming noise or the lights on the dash and whether the previous owner had asked them to investigate.

 

Called the garage this morning they couldn’t help, just told me it’s been serviced and MOT’d with them at the intervals mentioned in the book. I’m going to send them a pre paid envelope to hopefully get all the invoices sent to me

5 hours ago, m4rkw said:

Tell us more about the humming noise, does it occur in neutral or only in gear? Stationary or when moving? If moving what speeds, is it constant regardless of speed? Does the pitch change with speed? Does it sound rotational?

 

It’s only when I’m driving and at speeds less than 30mph when I hear it. It’s constant regardless of whether I’m driving 20 or 30 and the pitch is consistent. 

Thanks for the help, I’ve read through the replies some very helpful suggestions. 
update: 

took it for 4 wheel alignment and the humming is still there, they made some adjustments and said the ball bearings are fine and brakes are fine so they’re not sure what it is. 
 

managed to find someone to read the error code and it is POO37 error. 
just trying to source the correct sensor from eBay and find a garage who would be able to identify it and replace it. 
Lexus Poole  weren’t very helpful with part numbers I’m going to try a different branch tomorrow  

Hello again,

Just got an RX300 on the weekend (see my other thread 😞  )

Add insult to injury I have just noticed this on the rear passenger side 

It is just above the wheel inside the wheel arch, i think its the suspension or the shock absorber rubber cover. My 1st MOT is due next month so it looks like I will have to repair this in case it gets a fail on "ingress of dirt".

I am trying to find the part online to buy it and find someone to fit it but cant seem to find it.

Does anyone know what it is called so I can put the right search term to euro car parts?

Thanks!

28 minutes ago, steve2006 said:

Hi Adam and welcome to the LOC.

It is either a complete coincidence that this problem has occurred since you bought the car or you have encountered a slightly devious seller who knew about the problem but has got away with it. Had it shown up during a test drive you could have walked away.

First thing is check the fuel cap as mentioned, second is a diagnostic code read which should help pin point the problem.

If after the diagnostics you need parts there are cheaper sources than Lexus for OEM.

Thanks, yes I read through the forum posts about the VLC / Engine light issue and tried the petrol cap thing. Didn't hear a whoosh but still tightened it until the click and didnt work.

The humming noise is also another issue which is probably going to be harder to diagnose :( 

I am in the process of finding a good Toyota / Lexus dealer near Bournemouth to get the codes read

8 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

OK,Adam.We have some helpful members here and one will be along in due course, I am sure to offer you some advice.

Thank you, yes I hope so! In the process of looking for local garage recommendations in the mean time

I was wondering the same thing. I’m in Bournemouth just purchased an rx300 yesterday and prematurely having problems with it already (engine light and VSC light and humming noises)

Unfortunately got it privately from Gumtree and the seller is completely ignoring me now. 
not much I can do I don’t think, what a shame just my luck. My brother in law got one similar age and miles and has had it for over a year with no issues 

Haha my turn too!

Hello all,

New Lexus RX300 auto SE owner, got a 2004 one that’s done 135000 miles. 
 

condition looked great and had full service history, could tell it’s been looked after. 
 

Drove it home and went to work this morning, on the way back I hear a dull intermittent humming noise at low speeds. To which I thought maybe it just needs tracking. 
So I thought I’d put my foot down and see if it goes, to my horror I see two amber lights , the engine light and a VSC light. The car didn’t feel any different although it’s hard to tell because I only had it 2 days. 
 

I switched the car off and back on again and the VSC light disappeared. 
 

parked it up for a few hours and just switched it back on now to see and both lights are on again. 
 

I really can’t afford much more this was meant to be a family car always wanted a Lexus and it’s turning out to be a shambles 😞

any thoughts on what it might be?

thanks!