Hello all,

Now that I have purchased RX 300 and joined club lexus, I have so many questions to ask!!! (hope I am not making any of you mad!!)

As I have said before about the airbag and noise from the wheel, I have made an appointment to get them checked out.

After purchasing RX300 and when I was just researching about them online, I found out that many of the 1999-2000 RX300, especially AWD are likely to have more transmission problem than other vehicles. Am I correct??

I also read checking trans fluid and getting them changed frequently would help reduce the problem a bit.

My questiong would be...

Would I have to go to Lexus or Toyota Dealership to get these trans fluids changed? or could I just do it at other body shops?? (Like the one my neighbor owns down the street) Would you recommend going to Lexus or Toyota Dealer??

I have mentioned before that I am not a "car" guy, so I am worried that I could not do it myself.

Also, if the body shop that I am going is not lexus nor toyota, would I need to remind them of specific instructions?? such as any certain kinds of brand fluids and so on??

I called the guy who sold me the vehicle and mentioned about transmission failure and asked for service record, but he said he did not have them.
He did go on say that he purchased my car from very reliable dealership (I don't know if I can trust him tho).

I also asked him if he was aware of changing transmission fluids before selling the car to me, and answer he gave me was "no".

I guess I should change them now?? the car has about 72,000 miles on it.
Also, how frequently should I change the trans fluids??

Lastly, any prior signs before the transmission might fail, so I can have some idea??

I did open up the hood of the car and it seemed like everything was clean.
(especially the engine, it was almost like someone cleaned intentionally)
Where would I look for the transmissions under my hood?

Sorry guyz, too many questions.....sorry
But this vehicle, I am so excited to drive and want to take real good care of it.


Thank you all

 

welcome to CL and congratulations on your purchase.

I am not trying to be rude but research should have been done before the purchase. If you feel (or felt) that you lack the know how, independent mechanic or even the Lexus dealership could have checked out your vehicle.

That out of the way, I and many others love and enjoy or RX.

In medicine world there is a term "hypochondriac" .. that prevents the sufferer from living an enjoyable life.

On the internet you will seldom find a balanced view and mostly you will hit the complaints. I cant say with any certainty that your RX will give you trouble free service but if maintained well and you take care of it, most likely it will be a pleasant experience.

So here are the things I suggest ..
a) Learn about cars ... Reader's digest has a book on how cars work.

b) Take your RX to the dealership to pull out the maintenance history and work out a plan to bring it up to date.

c) If you want to save money, contact local community college to see what they offer as classes to teach simple DIY stuff.

d) Keep in mind Lexus will be among the most expensive to maintain ... tad below the Luxury European.

Salim

 

Thank you for your response,

I know I should have done research before hand.
My circumstances were little different, that I had a hit and run accident and my car was totally wrecked...So I had to buy a car in a day or two....If that sounds like an excuse, that it could be...
But like you said, I should have done some research before.

Hopefully I can take a good care of my vehicle...
I really hope I can get at least 130k on my RX300 (which now has about 72k)

I'll take your advice into my heart.

Thank you again salim

 

I have been reading up on this quite a bit recently. I decided to do multiple drain/fills rather than a flush. The flush scares me on a car with many miles. Especially out of warranty. I am using the stock Toyota fluid. The drain/fill thing is pretty easy. I would think anyone could do it.

Read this thread a few times and you will get 99% of your questions answered.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=220061

I am shooting for HarrierAWD's results.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=289113





Only 3 more to go.

 

I had this book many years ago and it gave me a good insight (theoretical). I am sure there are many more in market and this one must have gone through updates (fuel injection etc).

http://www.amazon.com/Readers-Digest.../dp/0895770881

[Also: now a days many things need specialized tools and instruments. If you don't have the tools, it may be cheaper to go to a workshop. Please, please do not buy poor (I almost wrote cheap) tools. ]

Salim

 

That is true Salim, I have one of those too, but for many out there it gives them an insight to their problems, and maybe they will not get ripped when dealing with the service writers, if they show some knowledge of what is going on. Knowledge is a powerful thing. I love cars, and I love electronices, I know from your posts that you are into both...Merry Christmas.

 

I was going to add my $.02 but I see some of the more articulate veterans of this diy forum have already provided input.

Salim has nailed it on the head "hypochondriac" is the key word.

If your going to log onto a web forum for the sake of researching potential problems then save yourself the anxiety and don't.

Any car can be prone to faults, believe me! I have yet to find the perfect mechanically sound car.

As for the trani, you'll be pleasantly surprised how inexpensive a drain and fill with the right fluid at your local Toyota dealership can be $120-$180. Be sure to use the right fluid and the 2000 RX should be using Toyota Type T-IV which you can confirm written on your transmission tipstick located on the driver's side front of the vehicle (orangy red colour).

Also make sure the vehicle gets regular oil changes as the 3.0 V6 from toyota has sludge "reputation". My owners manual says "the use of synthetic oil does not extend the oil change intervals" and recommends changes every 6000 km (3700 miles).

Oops, guess I just added my $02. anyway!
Cheers,

Fern

 

I believe you are correct regarding the 99/00 Transmissions. Don't forget about the potential for engine sludging. These are the two main concerns regarding the 99/00 models. Hopefully you don't have a sludge issue. theres really no way to tell outside of dismantling parts of the engine which it doesnt seem like you'll be wanting to do. I have a 00 also and I run full synthetic oil in it at all times and do 4k (or so) oil changes. Not trying to scare you or anything but I feel its an important issue.

Back to the tranny, the drain and fill is possibly the simplest thing to do so I'm sure once you've tried it you'll agree. If you still would rather not, I personally recommend getting a trans flush every 30k or so miles. Some folks don't feel this is the right way to go but I like the idea of a complete change of fluid and I have my Mech. do it and its done. I don't mind working on fun cars but this IMHO isn't a fun car to work on. Luckily I find that my trans fluid seems to last between flushes and its only just starting to get dark by the time I take it in. Anyhow, thats my .02¢, just telling you whats been working for me.

 

I purchased a 2000 RX300 with about 61,800 miles on it and haven't had any issues with the vehicle. It currently has about 85,000 miles and has been one of the most reliable cars I have ever owned. If I researched and read the Lexus forum before purchasing the RX, I probably would have passed on the purchase. The only reason I began reading the RX forum was that I was having so many problems with my BMW and found the BMW E46 forum to be quite helpful and thought that by similarly reading the RX forum I could learn more about the RX. After reading frequent threads about the transmission issue in the RX forum, I performed many drain and refills of the transmission fluid. It is really an easy and inexpensive DIY. I went to my local Toyota dealership parts department and purchased ATF Type IV fluid for $5.35/quart.