Hey, out there, I have just purchased a 99 rx300, at 97k, had mech. check it out road test underneath, electrical, yes a 35.00 check over.
Reading some stuff on this car , honestly is scary, are they lemons???????????

What is major concen, ??????????????? with rx300, also looking for flat key or valet key, can I do this from vechile vin, or does any one have a scource?

Please need good reliable info. rookie

packerdon

 

congratulations on your purchase.

I would strongly urge you to look at the maintenance history [should have been a MUST before purchase]. 35.00 checks is nice but it is a snap-shot of "NOW".

Bring the maintenance up to date instead of worrying.

Keep in mind Lexus repairs are costly. With 90k on odo, you have exceeded 1.5 times the warranty. So f things fail, would you say they have lasted longer than expected ...


You will find four groups. Personal experience has lot to do with the first 2.

1. Unconditionally happy with their RX.

2. People who have had transmission problem and are unhappy. I am making an assumption that 90%+ of the people who had transmission problem have posted on their problem on the net. A member was keeping track (if I was to guess the number is around 200. I have no idea as to how many Lexus' were sold, so % failure is an unknown quantity. Lexus has not published that number).

3. There is a larger group, who I term worry willes. They are opting for any and all options to prolong transmission life. Although there is no conclusive evidence that the failure is due to fluid or a part.

4. Then there is a group which keeps an eye on the condition of the fluid as they do a drain and fill.

Being a new owner, you can pick and choose.

Salim

 

They're pretty reliable (which is just as well, as they are expensive to repair). Consumer Reports has identified no noteworthy trouble spots (particularly transmissions, so I think it's fair to say the people who have reported failure on this board are the rare exception). Indeed, the car has a "Much Better than Average" reliability rating on CR. It's still a good idea to try to get the maintenance history and change the oil every 5000 miles.

Good luck!

 

I would recommend changing the transmission fluid every 15k miles and engine oil every 3 to 4k miles with a full synthetic.... Other than that it is a nice car. (note I am one of those with a replacement transmission, two times, the first replacement was defective.)