wilchan

Some RX350 are still coming from Japan. In terms of quality, I am not quite sure if Japan-built one is better than Canada built one or vice versa. I had 2 loaners, 13' RX450H AWD and 14; RX350 AWD, both built in Japan. The RX450H is rock solid with no rattle/squeak, but the RX350 has crazy rattle coming from the trunk.

waapples

I had a chance to compare both made in Japan & Canada RX350 AWD side by side.

The built quality of Japan built RX350 was little more consistent, I should say little more cleaner, like how glue was applied and welding was done, you really have to look at them carefully, but I doubt it will noticed by others and probably won't matter much.

CanadianRX

My 350 was made in Japan, I was kind of disappointed since I live in Ontario.

corradoMR2

^^^ Yeah if you're in the GTA as I, you're 50-75 km away from the Cambridge plant but you got the RX 10,000km away instead. Strange how things work out.

Browninggo

My F sport is a Canadian

corradoMR2

RX Build Video in Canada. Over 1800 inspections during the build of each RX - that's pursuing perfection

mcfancy

how can u tell if 2013 rx350 built in candy or japan?

salimshah

If the vin number starts with J, then the country of origin is Japan.

Does it matter? With so much automation the products are virtually identical. I would expect the same number of defects in products rolling out of both plants.

Salim

BEARCATJER

i am looking for a replacement splash shield for my 2015RX350 and the parts supplier asked whether my car was made in japan or canada. I guess it makes a difference in the part but i cant imagine how. Anyway i looked at my MSRP sticker and there was no J at the beginning of the serial number so i assume my car was made in Canada. So, to some extent, i guess it does make a difference to know where your car was made?

ellocovg

iTrader: (1)

Certain parts are definitely different. When I purchased brakes it was a different part number and a different price for Canadian or Japanese versions.

MattRX

I find the Japanese parts are built with a bit more workmanship, but sometimes they may cost a little more. In Ellocovg's case, he would have to pay slightly more for brakes made in Japan, but the rotors have a slightly better paint job from what I can tell when I worked at the dealership. If a part number has just letters, vs letters and numbers (like E near the end followed by a 0), it is likely made in Japan vs North America.

Japanese cars have better lug nuts (I have converted mine to Japan nuts, they're one-piece and don't swell like the crappy USDM ones). They have the better Maruko horns vs the Denso ones. Little metal accessories like sway bar brackets and other suspension bits have slightly better quality control. They're all pretty minor differences, and I wouldn't let them sway you from a good NA car. Our plant in Cambridge does a great job cranking out Toyotas with consistent quality. My '14 RX is made there and the quality is very good like my 02 Highlander and 08 RX which are made in Japan.

RX in NC

VIN beginning with J = built in Japan.

VIN beginniing with 2 = built in Canada.

Louczar1

I used to travel to Japan for work. i would go at least once a year over a 5 year span. I worked for Dell and they were having Sony build their laptops (early to mid 90's). I was blown away by how over the top they were on quality. ANYTHING that did not have perfect fit and finish or was a deviation from the spec was written up and had to be fixed. To say it was impressive is an understatement!!!