RX330 owners are you happy with your purchase?
06-30-03, 11:59 AM
#1
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RX330 owners are you happy with your purchase?
Have you guys ran into any problems or things that annoy you about the vehicle? or are you satisfied with it?
06-30-03, 12:43 PM
#2
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06-30-03, 08:22 PM
#3
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I'm pretty happy with my RX330 with Nav/Performance pkge. Had considered the BMW X5, Acura MDX and the FX35. all the cars were nice and each had their good points and bad. In the end, the Lexus reliability and service, nice ride, decent handling with performance and few nifty and luxury touches in a second gen suv that won me over.
06-30-03, 09:03 PM
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I'm with you all the way eyebike....I have noticed that the carpet is cheaper than the carpet in my 97 ES300. It does rattle some but it is a truck.
I was leaning strongly towards the X5 3.0i at $49,884. But, the RX at $46,808 with all the options and past reliability won me over. If money was not the object I would have went for the X5 4.4i in the $57K range. However after reading the problems and bad stuff on the BMW forum I opted out. Now, a few of my friends have the X5 and they have never had a problem with it. Guess most of the problems were in the 2000 and 2001 models.
Overall I'm happy with my RX but my eye still catches the X5s when they fly by...
07-01-03, 04:25 AM
#5
So far I'm happy with the RX330. I don't have any rattles or any other odd thing other than the hatch spoiler rubbing on hots days. This I can fix, but my dealer told me they were going to inquire with Lexus to see if they will have an official fix, so for now I'm letting it go. I really doubt they will do anything though, so I will just fix it myself. I mean, we are only talking about maybe a 0.5mm of clearance. I can fix that in 5 minutes. Other than that, no problmes thus far and I'm happy. WE have less than 3000 miles on the car though.
07-01-03, 04:55 AM
#6
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I've now got +/- 1,400 miles on my RX330 and am very happy with my purchase. Mine's not loaded with too many options, just the Premium Plus Package. If there was one option I wish it did have, it's probably the ML audio, but that only came with the NAV, and I didn't need the NAV and couldn't see justifying the cost of the whole package just for the premium audio.
I'm not experiencing any rattles like some folks have posted here. I find the ride to be very comfortable, which is extremely important since I had issues with my old vehicle where my lower back would hurt after longer spells of driving. I like the styling of the car, both inside and out.
One thing that's taken me a little bit to get used to is the way the car shifts. I notice sometimes that as I'm driving the shifts are really noticeable. For example, when I'm coasting down a long hill, I can feel the vehicle in a particular gear, then as it gains momentum and the speed gradually increases, when it upshifts, the transition to the next gear is quite noticeable, and you can feel it "loosen up" quite a bit.
I agree with eyebike in that all of the things he mentions that won him over were pretty much what made up my mind also, although I wasn't necessarily looking only at SUVs when I was looking for a car.
I'm not experiencing any rattles like some folks have posted here. I find the ride to be very comfortable, which is extremely important since I had issues with my old vehicle where my lower back would hurt after longer spells of driving. I like the styling of the car, both inside and out.
One thing that's taken me a little bit to get used to is the way the car shifts. I notice sometimes that as I'm driving the shifts are really noticeable. For example, when I'm coasting down a long hill, I can feel the vehicle in a particular gear, then as it gains momentum and the speed gradually increases, when it upshifts, the transition to the next gear is quite noticeable, and you can feel it "loosen up" quite a bit.
I agree with eyebike in that all of the things he mentions that won him over were pretty much what made up my mind also, although I wasn't necessarily looking only at SUVs when I was looking for a car.
07-02-03, 09:10 PM
#7
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We are very satisfied with our RX330. I agree with cmstahl that the shifting is a bit jerky at times. Seems like it often can't decide which gear to change to especially at slower speeds.
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07-02-03, 09:37 PM
#8
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Overall I'm happy with the RX330. But I agree with the shifting.....
It feels as though the transmission hesitates between 1st and 2nd gear. You can hear the engine rev and it waits for the transmission to kick into 2nd gear. Not sure if this is characteristic of a 5-speed Auto.
It feels as though the transmission hesitates between 1st and 2nd gear. You can hear the engine rev and it waits for the transmission to kick into 2nd gear. Not sure if this is characteristic of a 5-speed Auto.
07-03-03, 01:06 AM
#9
Pit Crew
Hatch too hard to close!
Very happy overall with the RX330. 2700Km now. My current biggest beef however is how difficult it is to close the rear hatch (I don't have the optional power hatch).
I can't believe anyone hasn't mentioned this in this or any other thread. Unless you want to strain, it's a 2-handed operation to close it. And if you have something heavy and/or bulky in one of your hands and you can't put it down, it's a rear bear to close the hatch with one hand. I'm about average height (so I'm not short) and I'm not excessively weak. But really, and this is no insult to women, I can't imagine my wife (fairly short) nor a lot of my women friends being able to close this with one hand.
I brought this to the attention of the dealership. They couldn't find a fault because the other RX330's were like this. They suggested that with a big heavy hatch like this, the gas struts had to be a bit over-pressurized at this point in order that they be able to support the hatch years from now (all gas struts will lose pressure over time); if it was pressurized just so that it would balance well and require a lighter effort to close now, then fewer years would elapse before the struts could no longer be able to hold the door up and thus require replacement.
Fair enough perhaps. But I think this is a bit of a design flaw. I don't expect to strain so much for ANYTHING when using a luxury vehicle(!)
I know I'm going to sound sexist, but I'm just trying to make a point: I challenge any Lexus dealer to ask their receptionist to walk up to a RX330 with an open hatch, put one hand behind her back (to represent holding a bulky object that for one reason or another can't be put down (e.g. muddy ground) ) and then close the hatch with her other hand. If she can actually do it at all, watch the strain she had to undergo... If I were Lexus, I'd be embarrassed.
I can't believe anyone hasn't mentioned this in this or any other thread. Unless you want to strain, it's a 2-handed operation to close it. And if you have something heavy and/or bulky in one of your hands and you can't put it down, it's a rear bear to close the hatch with one hand. I'm about average height (so I'm not short) and I'm not excessively weak. But really, and this is no insult to women, I can't imagine my wife (fairly short) nor a lot of my women friends being able to close this with one hand.
I brought this to the attention of the dealership. They couldn't find a fault because the other RX330's were like this. They suggested that with a big heavy hatch like this, the gas struts had to be a bit over-pressurized at this point in order that they be able to support the hatch years from now (all gas struts will lose pressure over time); if it was pressurized just so that it would balance well and require a lighter effort to close now, then fewer years would elapse before the struts could no longer be able to hold the door up and thus require replacement.
Fair enough perhaps. But I think this is a bit of a design flaw. I don't expect to strain so much for ANYTHING when using a luxury vehicle(!)
I know I'm going to sound sexist, but I'm just trying to make a point: I challenge any Lexus dealer to ask their receptionist to walk up to a RX330 with an open hatch, put one hand behind her back (to represent holding a bulky object that for one reason or another can't be put down (e.g. muddy ground) ) and then close the hatch with her other hand. If she can actually do it at all, watch the strain she had to undergo... If I were Lexus, I'd be embarrassed.
07-03-03, 08:16 AM
#10
Out of Warranty
A few squawks from the log...
The basic vehicle is absolutely outstanding for my needs. Smooth, swift transportation - with a reasonable payload capacity. No rattles, liftgate works smoothly and easily - even manually. Overall a great improvement over my beloved RX300. Now, that said, I have only a few minor complaints:
Nav system tracks extremely well, but mapping is not as complete as the GPS on my laptop. Why can't the manufacturers offer a card slot, memory stick, or data port to allow extensive route planning to be done on your home or office computer and transferred to the nav? Sure would save a lot of screen poking...
Rear seat entertainment system is a little klutzy in operation and the rear screen's picture quality is really miserable. Off-axis viewing only makes it worse. Note to Lexus: LCD technology has improved since 1992, try it and see! Even the nav screen up front looks considerably better.
Floor mat quality is absolutely abysmal. Are these things being sourced through Geo?
Make AWD more available in the Sunbelt...I'm keeping my AAA card at the ready and their service number on my speed dial, awaiting my first off-road excursion!
With only a month's experience, one road trip, lots of freeway driving, and only 1500 miles on the clock, I feel I've made the transition to the 330 successfully. Maybe my few complaints are minor, but this is a Lexus and the few flaws really stand out!
Nav system tracks extremely well, but mapping is not as complete as the GPS on my laptop. Why can't the manufacturers offer a card slot, memory stick, or data port to allow extensive route planning to be done on your home or office computer and transferred to the nav? Sure would save a lot of screen poking...
Rear seat entertainment system is a little klutzy in operation and the rear screen's picture quality is really miserable. Off-axis viewing only makes it worse. Note to Lexus: LCD technology has improved since 1992, try it and see! Even the nav screen up front looks considerably better.
Floor mat quality is absolutely abysmal. Are these things being sourced through Geo?
Make AWD more available in the Sunbelt...I'm keeping my AAA card at the ready and their service number on my speed dial, awaiting my first off-road excursion!
With only a month's experience, one road trip, lots of freeway driving, and only 1500 miles on the clock, I feel I've made the transition to the 330 successfully. Maybe my few complaints are minor, but this is a Lexus and the few flaws really stand out!
07-03-03, 09:04 AM
#11
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Thanks for the reply guys, I'm glad to hear that theres only minor things about the 330 that bugs you. I would definitely have to get the power rear hatch since i'm soo short, but I wont be needing the Nav or rear entertaiment system.
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