TunedRX300

I agree with you on both. There is no question that public still perceives Lexus having industry leading reliability. I have both Acura and Lexus cars, the feeling I got from Lexus service department is superior than what I got from Acura. I am looking to buy a GS350 because 1) award winning 2gr-fse engine 2) built in JD Powers's Platinum assumbly plant award Kyutsu Plant so reliability reputation applies 3) Lexus service

Warranty is a message that car maker send to potential buyers, "We stand behind our products because we believe in quality and reliability". We talk about perception, that is one way to market reliability externally and drive the same message home internally, whether reliability is achieved in real life or not.

IQS is just one piece of data, Lexus uses JD Powers number for years to add fuel to market its lengedary reliability. However, recent independent rerports from WSJ and NYT show that Toyota/Lexus is indeed slipping as # of recalls far exceed those from its Japanese competitors. Some design mistakes would be caught had Toyota not pushing so hard on the strategic/financial goal of replacing GM as the volume leader.

Speaking as a RX300 owner, RX300's powertain disappoint my expectation. The engine 1mz-fe is under the 8 year sludge recall warranty. The tranny many believed should be recalled. We have folks that have 2-3 tranny replacements under 100K despite replacing Toyota T-IV ATF much shorter than Lexus' recommendated intervals. With RX300, two most expensive powertrain items are questionable in reliability. Had this been a GM SUV, people would "complain" less, but this is a Lexus.

What irks most owners is that even with RX330, 3mz-fe is equally harsh on oil, and tranny hestitation issue continues. Lexus is patching, instead of solving root causes of engine and transmission problems, because Lexus can get away with it and point to the record sales #.

Yes, but how long can one sustain the succeed with this attitude? It makes one wonder has Lexus lost its touch because its past success with the RX. Lexus service lounge is nice but essential values that we pay $ will ultimately decide what we will buy and who do we buy from.

TunedRX300

I bought the RX300 in 2000, before the first MDX and X5 were introduced. RX300 was the only SUV that drive like a sedan and I love the wide open view and the blue LCD. A co-worker that bought the Infiniti SUV told me that he made the wrong choice, because his SUV was pretty much a Nissan Pathfinder.
I wish RX would keep that market leading vision. I thought about the RX350 to replace my RX300 but that thought diminished quickly after Lexus put the de-tuned 2gr-fe instead of 2gr-fse into the RX350.
After I saw this picture on MDX' SH-AWD, all I can say is "wow!", talk about advanced engineering!

silvervett

If two are better why not 8 or maybe 16 exhaust tips. On the Corvette forum I sometimes visit we call that stuff ricer mentality. A ricer spends thousands of dollars on things that he thinks make his car look fast but it actually does nothing to improve performance and in some cases it reduces performance. For instance a ricer will put a huge wing on the rear to provide downward force on the rear wheels of a front wheel drive car, plus a wing won't provide any significant downward force until speeds get to well over 100 MPH but the car won't go over 85 MPH. A exhaust with the proper diameter pipe will allow the exhaust to flow without restriction but if you use multiple smaller diameter pipes the system will not heat up enough to burn off all the condensation, and if most of your trips are short in duration the moisture will quickly build up and rust out your exhaust system. I have serious doubts that the engines used in our cars have issues with back pressure which would make it necessary to have a multipipe exhaust system. And in my opinion adding extra pipes cheapens the looks of the car.

NeverSatisfied

The dual exhaust should've been on the '04 RX!?! Don't care for the quads.

No *hit!?! My '04 RX is at 57K miles; the longest I've kept any car... Time is nearing for a change, and I'm seriously looking outside of Toyota.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

i like the MDX, the tranny in my car is acting real weird. shifts up and down whenever it feels like, holds gears down long or short. but according to everyone on this board lexus makes perfect cars.

mandyfig

Nothing is perfect....not even our cars. Near perfect is ok.

The G Man

The MDX, like all Honda trucks, looks very good on paper. A lot of features for a reasonable price. The problem with them is built quality, they tend to fall apart after 2 or 3 years, except for the engine. I owned a MDX 2 years ago, and traded it because of number of small problems that the dealer refuse to fix. Customer service at Acura was horrible compare to Lexus. 2 of my friends who had Honda trucks traded it also before the warrenty is out. The new MDX is not selling well at all, Acura has increase its price to the point where it is almost as much as the GX470. If you sit in both cars, you would not think they are in the same price range. The GX's interior is much nicer than the MDX.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

i have a friend who has an mdx and has almost no problems. and what do you base the fact that the mdx is not selling well? lexus customer service isnt great either. they still dont care enough to finally fix the tranny issue that plagues almost all RX330's and a lot of the RX350's. the gx is still more then the mdx. maybe you had bad hondas or acuras, but a whole lot of people i know have and still own hondas and acuras and have nothing but good things to say about it. My gf has a 2005 accord ex v6, with the same amount of miles as my POS rx330 and has one stock speaker replaced and nothing else in the accord and i've had 3 big things fixed in my rx330. Her car also has had no recalls, i guess just bad honda quality right?

TunedRX300

Acura announced MDX sold 10.4% more MDX in April 2007 than it did in one year ago. Both the RDX and MDX are selling well, actually setting a sales record for Acura.
I think it is better for Lexus/owners to talk about product advantages of RX350 than slamming the competition, especially with inaccurate information.

Here is what I found out, Google is a wonderful data verification tool

http://www.theautochannel.com/news/2...01/046215.html

AM1

iTrader: (6)

thats a good assesment. i wonder how long before some says that the mdx sold well cuz its a new model or some other BS?

The G Man

Those sales number are terrible for a re-design model. Instead of a 10.4% increase, a re-design model should be in the triple digit incraese in sales.

In general, Lexus customer service is much better than Acura. Of course there are bad Lexus dealers out there as well, but not as many as bad Acura dealers. The Tranny problem is well known accross the board in Toyota / Lexus transmissions. It is the software they use in the transmission. It is tune to save gas not tune for performance like in a Acura or BMW. Honda still makes good cars and nice engines, but they are bad at making trucks. As I speak, they are getting better. Honda enter into the truck market so late that they have a steep learning curve. While Toyota has been making trucks for years.

AM1

iTrader: (6)

ok if you say so. im done arguing. whatever. go ask the dealer how many people complain about that tranny. and there are a lot of other FWD cars out there by other car companies that get good gas mileage and good performance. and have trannys that shift properly without jerking, downshifting/upshifiting abruptly, holding gears long or short, etc.

The G Man

I am not arguing with you, actually I agree with you. Lexus is too conservative in their transmission programing. The program should downshift faster when you hit the gas. At the same time, it should not be so aggressive that it makes the ride uncomfortable and waste too much gas. There is a TSB out for the Camry and RAV4 already which seems to help a bit. A good solution is the old style power / economy button which changes the shift pattern.

lspower

staying on topic. audi/bmw/mercedes 80% of there cars are dual exhaust from the factory.

CK6Speed

iTrader: (1)

I like the dual exhausts. I was thinking of having a custome one done but I sold the car so no need. I'm glad the aftermarket is providing the option for those who want it whether it be for looks for for any added performance. Either way, it is nice to have a choice.