My wife just bought a '00 RX 300 from the Lexus dealer; 39,000 miles. She's wanted one since they came out and she loves it. [ What's not to love, she drove a T Bird for 10 years ] It has 6 months left on the 4 year/50,000 mile bumper-to-bumper warranty and an extended Lexus warranty; 3 years from date of purchase or 100,000 odometer miles. When I took it in for the free oil/filter change yesterday I was told that the front AND rear brake pads were down to 25%-30% and should be replaced. The price for replacing the pads was about $450.00, not including maching the rotors if needed. [ It must have been a SLOW day in the service department ] I declined. After returning home I pulled all the wheels and checked the pads myself. I've been an auto mechanic for about 30 years and I couldn't justify replacing them. I called an import auto parts store and priced a set of premium pads for about $60.00. It seems as though it's about a 2-3 hour job. Also when I asked if they would use Mobil 1 in the RX 300 I was told that Lexus does NOT recommend using it in their vehicles, even if I provided it. What gives? Am I missing something here? I guess I've been driving Chevy pickups too long to appreciate the move upscale to a Lexus. I've always used Mobil 1 in all my vehicles. Also does anyone know where I can get a decent shop service manaul for the RX 300? The Lexus dealer wants $100.00 each for a 2-volume set! I still think the RX 300 that my wife has is a better quality vehicle than my ' 01 Silverado extra-cab!

 

Welcome, Bowtie!

Lexus does charge pretty high service rates/hr ($80/hr in my neighborhood these days), but that seems a bit much; I'll go pull my RX's records when I get home.

As far as Mobil1, both of my vehicles get filled with Mobil1, which I usually buy on sale but the dealer has always been happy to send a gofer to pick up 5-6 quarts at WallyWorld or KMart when I've (occasionally) forgotten to bring my own. So I'm at a loss to explain your dealer's reluctance but can say that, based on evidence at hand, this is not Lexus corporate service policy.

Maybe DevilDog (mod on this forum and a Lexus master tech) can shed more light............

 

That is garbage from the dealer. I had Toyota down here install my new EBC brakes for my 99 RX. Toyota could have ordered the Lexus brakes for about $120 for front and back. Either way, the installation cost $50.

It used to be that most Lexus dealers were sponsoring Castrol, and now it seems many Lexus dealers are going with Quaker State. Mobil 1 is still the way to go. However, the local Toyota dealer down here (who will have Lexus very soon) uses only and I repeat only, Mobil and Mobil 1 products. In fact, Mobil makes the Toyota oil. Am I missing something here Toyota/Lexus?

 

My 93 LS400 had a front/rear brake job after 90K miles (10% left) at Lexus service and $450-$500 is about right. You can always have the brake job and oil change by non-Lexus service. I use Mobil 1 on my LS and GS. Lexus service that you visited sounds like a bad one.