jylo

Hi all,

I bought a RX330 early July this year. I love the car but it never feels as smooth as my 99 Camry which has a V6. I know the RX is a SUV and its larger and taller. But I always expected a Lexus would be smooth. When I drive the Camry it feels buttery smooth during acceleration and braking. The RX, on the other hand, feels jerky and loud. There's also noticably more vibration coming from the RX when its up to speed than the Camry.

What do you think? The RX feels "normal" as in it feels like thats how its suppose to be. But when ever i drive my Camry again I'd realize how "unsmooth" the RX is.

Booyah

My 330 is the most smoothest ride I have ever had! I cant even tell its running half the time, every time I drive it it amazes me and no my other cars are not POS's. I love it

rl9905

I drove a 2003 camry from Enterprise-Rent-A-Car. It wasn't as smooth as the RX. The camry was bumpy, loud and had a lot of wind noise. I dont know whas wrong with your RX but mine is smooth, and it's a lot better then the camry. Or could it be that your expectations are to high for the RX??????

mooretorque

Sounds a bit odd, esp from the ride standpoint. Lexus does appear to have scrimped a bit on sound insulation between the engine and front cabin which becomes apparent with large throttle openings but certainly wouldn't expect the ride to be more coarse than the Camry.

Have you checked tire pressures on the RX?

HarrierAWD

I test drove a Camry XLE at the GM's Auto Show in Motion. It is indeed smoother than my RX300. I have a feeling that my steering column active damper doesn't work as well as it should.

It took me a while to learn to modulate the brake on my RX300. It's an SUV, so there's more suspension movement during braking compared to cars like Camry.

HarrierAWD

You sure they didn't put a Toyota badge on a Dodge Stratus? I got a Dodge Stratus for rental once. That's what it feels like: bumpy, loud, and lots of wind noise.

The Camry has been well known for its outstanding quietness and smooth ride.

nodefect

I have an 03 Camry and it accelerates much smoother than our 04 RX 330. No doubt about it, the difference is significant. I do have a 4 banger in the Camry however.

flipside909

I think many people are forgetting 1) The RX's cabin rides on a stretched/modified Camry chassis 2) The Camry's cabin is smaller therefore you do not have the extra cabin space for sound resonance to bounce off of.

You can't compare an Enterprise rental Camry to an RX because the rental car Camrys are 4cyl only and obviously the engine is more buzzy than the V6.

The RX330 is definitely an SUV riding on a modified Camry suspension to handle the weight, wheel travel and dynamic of the vehicle. Two different types of vehicles and 2 different purposes. You can never expect an SUV to ride like a car or vice versa.

700t

It is well known that the previous camry/rx drivetrain 3.0 ,4 speed auto was smoother and quieter than the current 3.3, 5speed.
It is too bad Toyota with 30 billion in cash didn't improve the 3.3 with better NVH noise vibration harshness.

flipside909

I dunno about that one because the 3.3L 3MZ is much more quieter, powerful and cleaner (emissions wise) compared to the 1MZ-FE. As far as the 5spd auto is concerned, it's much more smoother than previous generation 4spd auto ect-i trannies by far. Perhaps the new RX isn't for you.

JohnsRX

i feel that everytime when i stepped into another sedan. But this thing is sometimes called a truck for a reason u know.

HarrierAWD

I thought the 3.3's NVH is pretty good. Have you driven a Ford....lately?

Booyah

you guys must have some super hearing.....................my stuff is sweeeeeeeeet and quite!!

jylo

I completely forgot I posted this msg before I left for my vacation! Well, thanks for all those who replied. Here's a little background: My 99 Camry is a V6 with over 100K on it. Its in great shape -- everything from oil change to major tuneups are done on time. In CA, because of stricter smog regulations, the Camry V6 churns out 196 HP (pretty sure...).

The '04 RX330 is AWD and has little less than 3000 miles on it. And here's what I meant by smooth:

Those who replied that the 99 Camry cannot be smoother than the RX is wrong. I know aint making this up. What I meant by smooth is the Camry feels solid during acceleration and braking. First let me talk about the acceleration. When I step on the gas the Camry just go -- a solid feeling no hesitation. The gear change is smooth and I can hardly feel the transmission. The RX, on the other hand, knocks during hard acceleration. It feels as though the transmission has a hard time catching the gears or finding the right gears. Again, the car has less than 3000 miles on it -- and its been that way since the beginning. It is especially annoying (and dangerous) when I have to merge or change lane in front of a fast moving car to make an exit.

Anyway, I want to see what you'all think and whether others experienced the same knocking before I take it to the dealer.

HarrierAWD

Many RX330 owners have complained about its jerky pigheaded tranny. You are not alone. Based on what I read in the forum, Lexus does not have a solution yet. The software update didn't do jack.