aznlapin

There is a tranny DIY thread stickied on the forum. You can replace the tranny filter, gasket and fluid. So it's totally serviceable.

jimbug

Yes, I intend to get my tranny serviced every 30,000 by having fluid drained/filled and never flushed. Gone to get some Toyota coolant to top mine off. Bought some extra 6 CD cartridges on eBay and filled with some of my favorite music, so I'm ready to enjoy the RX300's amazing stereo system next week.

Gallon of coolant is $30 at my Toyota dealership, so I talked them into topping off the coolant for free since I've been getting my daughter's RX300 serviced there for the last few years. The service advisor talked forever about our RX and what great cars they are. He used to have one that he towed cars bought at auction. He called mine "pristine". Flattery with get you everywhere!

jimbug

Daughter is home from college for the weekend so got to drive her 2001 RX300 FWD to Auto Zone to replace her front driverside marker lightbulb (size 194), replace her very dirty cabin filter, and top off her windshield wiper fluids. It was really dirty from all the snowy weather the last few weeks, but drove nicely. She hasn't reset the INFO button in years and AVG MPG is showing 18.8. Hers is mostly city driving so sounds about right.

hypervish

Now that right there is a nice set of cars!

tman1352

I am going to service mine as soon as I have the time. I don't believe in this service free transmission story.

greg569

Hey Jimbug,
Love the pic. Great cars! I have a 2001 rx300 AWD 130k miles.
How much did you pay for you timing belt change? Don't think mine has ever been done

jimbug

Thanks!

I had timing belt done on 2001 RX300 on 07/2012 and total was $367.87 from local Toyota dealer.
That included $270.00 labor, $62.79 parts, and $35.08 tax. I probably should have had them do the water pump at the same time, but I didn't.

jimbug

My daughter is home from college for the summer. So I got her 2001 RX300's oil changed and transmission serviced at the place I found that doesn't do a flush. A few days later I got the Check Engine, VSC, & Traction Control lights come on. I checked the code with my $20 ELM327 OBD2 WiFi scanner and it showed P1150 - Lexus: Air/Fuel Sensor - Bank 1 Sensor 2 - Circuit Range/Performance.

I used the iPhone scanner app to reset the DTC code, and so far it hasn't returned after a couple short trips around town. Hoping it doesn't return, but will keep you posted.

hypervish

That's the front 02 sensor by the radiator. Cheap fix if the code returns!

jimbug

Thanks hypervish! I was reviewing the threads and thought it was one of the cheaper sensors to replace as it is easier to get to than some.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Jimbug: Congrats on the purchase (s). I'm sure that you know that the RX300 uses Toyota T-IV transmission fluid. Toyota says it doesn't need changing under normal circumstances. Baloney! Note that Toyota WS fluid is different from T-IV and is not suitable for the RX300 transmission - it has quite different properties.

jimbug

Yes Keith, I've got both RX300s on 5k oil changes & 30k transmission fluid changes. It's inexpensive peace of mind as I don't believe anything lasts forever even Toyota All World tranny fluid.

I haven't posted in a while about how much I'm still enjoying my 2002 RX300 AWD. I just love driving it. I'm averaging just over 20 mpg with 75% highway miles. It did fantastic in the snowy weather we had here in TN.

The only thing I would like to add is the iPhone music streaming connection, but at this time I'm still enjoying my CD player and don't want to lose it.

tman1352

Welcome to the forum. We have a 2002 Rx 300 with 152,000 miles and it is a joy to drive except for a recurring check engine light. Enjoy your Rx.

greg569

jimbug,
If you end up replacing the o2, I got them on Amazon. Make sure to get the OEM or you will get codes again.
Also, my Jarbra highway hands free wireless speaker phone streams my iphone tunes through my fm radio and it sounds really good. You can get them on ebay for $70.
Did you have to buy a bluetooth plug for your OBDI2 iphone sensor to work?

jimbug

Thanks Greg!! So far no more codes after a few more days of city driving.

I do have a LG bluetooth stereo headphone I can use to stream Pandora or music on my iPhone.

I bought the WiFi scanner and it connects to my iPhone over WiFi. I'm pretty impressed with it and the free apps available for it..

File this under "Get those service histories and review them!":

I was considering replacing spark plugs on my daughter's 2001 RX300 as it just went over 125k, but I checked its service history and found that they had been replaced at 65k by previous owner at the Lexus dealer. So, I'll wait until it reaches 165k to replace them. They also cleaned the throttle body, replaced the B1S1 AF sensor, and serviced the transmission at the same time as 60k service.