blue_rx330

Pohanka Lexus in Chantilly, VA just did this fix for me. Here's the text from my ticket:

"C/S clunking noise from transmission when accl. upper speed
Cause: Transmission Cooler Lines Rubbing
366991 FTS Field Fix to Insulate Transmission cooler lines
added rubber gromets and insulated bracket"

It's not a mechanical problem - but simply a pressurized line that slams into the body and makes a "clunking" noise when the fluid pressure changes.

End result....clunking 90% gone. I still can hear it with the radio off and if I listen for it...but my wife no longer hears the noise. So I'm satisfied if the noise remains at this level. They also fixed the dash vent rattle, windshield tapping noise, and the glove box rattle.

Prior to my last visit, I exchanged e-mails with somebody who uses Lexus of Rockville -- and he met with similar success a few weeks earlier. So it seems like the mid-atlantic dealers are slowing catching on to the necessary patches.

I knew there was a little bit of Lexus hiding in my RX330 -- and it's finally been found!

cyboriax

Thanks for the information! I'm going to see if i can get mine fixed. Do you know how much it cost to fix these things?

Also, anyone have experience at McGrath Lexus of Chicago for these issues?

Thanks.

blue_rx330

The cost of the fixes was scary....they had me sign an invoice that was intended for Lexus...and I saw a price of almost $1,000. But thats all covered by Lexus under warranty.

cyboriax

If I have over 10000 miles on the car, will my car still be covered?!?!?!?!

blue_rx330

...it should be. Lexus warranties are pretty good. All RX330s should still be under the original basic coverage which is good for 4 years/50K miles.

Plus there's also a powertrain warranty included as standard for 6 years/70K miles...but since this isn't really a mechanical issue -- it be best to get it fixed while you're still under the basic warranty.

cyboriax

I'm still under 15000 miles. I better talk to them soon. Thank you sooo much!! I can't wait until the day that all these quirks are takened care of!

w4rjd

My dealer called a couple of days ago to tell me that they had ordered the parts for this TSB. They expect to recieve them in a few days and install as soon as possible.

cyboriax

Lexus, on Feb. 26th, 2004, released the OFFICIAL TSB for THE INFAMOUS CLUNKING NOISE:

TSB#TC002-04--FP#32907-48030

This fix was applied to my RX330 (one of the first models made in Japan) at McGrath Lexus of Chicago. Clunk is gone.


Good luck everyone!

Cyboriax

blazerbeam

Folks,

Is there an easy way to find out the manufacturing month/year from the VIN of a RX 330 ?

I am being nosy and trying to figure when was my RX 330 manufactured.

The service guy tells me its Jan 04, I wanna check and see if I can verify that.

bbeam

toyo

Open the drivers door. You should see a label about the size of a deck of cars either on the door jamb or on the lower part of the door. Read the label and you should see the manu date. Also the last set of sequence numbers on your vin tells you what # in order your car was made. Example: 03456, means your car was # 3456 in the line.

blazerbeam

Thanks Toyo. makes sense.

another question : my service guy mentioned that when lexus releases the TSBs, they are usually for a VIN range. Is that true ?

toyo

Yes, exactly. Once lexus finds a fix, they start implementing it on the assembly line. The nes that rolled down the line b4 that get the TSB.

Mikjr

I recently took my car in to the dealer for the rear end whinning noise and clucking noise... The added an insulation "bushing or insulation" to the Trans Cooler Line.

BOTH noises are GONE....

It took a while for the dealer to come around to the issue... a couple of trips, and a different Service consultant. My first consultant told me that ALL of them had the sound and it was NORMAL. I blew him off and took it to another service rep at the dealership. He agreed that the sound WAS NOT NORMAL, and ordered the parts.

Mike

dcflin

Brought in my 330 in for the clunk noise (Stevenscreek Lexus, Northern California). I printed out the TSB and give it to the service manager. They fixed the problem, and no more clunk noise.