Hi guys, hows it going? Before I start my question, fair warning - I don't know anything about engines! (so please forgive me if I sound stupid or like a newbie in general, TIA)

Car info:
2000 AWD RX
~36K miles
Oil change every 5K miles, tune ups @ 15K & 30K
60% city driven
ALWAYS use "Super" gas - 90% times use Mobil (does this make
a difference? I know alot of ppl have preferences)

I'm alittle concerned about the acceleration of my RX - it doesn't seem to accelerate at all nowadays. When I first picked up the car from the dealership, I had to glance at the speed-odometer every few minutes otherwise the car'll go 80+mph without breaking a sweat. Now, I do understand that a car's engine gets broken-in, esp. after 36k miles, but nowadays my girlfriend's 98 corolla will do 0-60 in 1/3 the time it takes my RX??? From a red light, her car will go a full city block before I go approx. 1/2 way...

Sometimes when I try to force it to shift, it would rev up to approx. 4000rpm before it shifts to 3rd gear (engine warmed up already, and of course, my dealership couldn't replicate this, and yes, according to them, the car is running fine). Another weird thing is, it feels like the ECT driving mode seems slower and less smooth and NORMAL mode...? The weird thing is, sometimes it will run like new; the engine doesn't roar, the car accelerates nicely, etc., but most times it feels like it going to pop something before hitting 40mph! Alot of times, I'll see another RX drive right past me, and I know that my RX could never accerate that fast? Also, on a side note, it seems like the car has to strain to go over 80mph now - something I just noticed recently while on a road trip @ 2am...

Also, not only is the car accelerating at a slower speed, the engine is much louder also - as I accelerate, the engine noise increases significanty (sounds like I just went 0-60 in 30 seconds, but I'm only at 30mph...)

One thing I noticed was that everytime I got a tune up (15k and 30k), performance seems to decrease!

Any suggestions anybody? Like I said earlier, I'm no car expect (self-admitting NEWBIE), but is this normal? I'm tempted to bring the car into another dealership for a 2nd opinion, but if smoke was blown up my a$$, I wouldn't know it either...

Another quick question - i've been hearing "squeaks" from the rear suspension (I think thats what causing it?) everytime I go through some rough roads - is this "normal" for RXs with 2yrs/36k wear & tear?

TIA!

 

I'm no expert either but I had a couple of questions for you...

1. Could you possibly have the oil sludge problem? I understand some of the V6 Toyota engines have this problem and that could definitely hurt performance. You might think of suggesting that to the Dealership when you take it in to get checked out.

2. (probably stupid, but I'll ask anyway) - Do you have a lot of stuff in your RX? Weight can really affect performance... My 99 RX drives much nicer with just me in it as opposed to myself, the wife, and 2 friends. I recently moved to Colorado from Oregon. When we first moved here, I had the back filled with luggage... and the performance degredation was definitely obvious.

3. The squeaky suspension is a common problem for these 99 and 2000 RX300's (I can't speak for newer models because I don't know). Just take it to your dealership and they'll cheerfully fix the suspension issues free of cost. I did, and I'm very happy with the results... it feels like a new ride all over again.

Take care,
Hando

 

I thought a tune-up wasn't necessary until 100k miles

 

100K miles? The service dept. at my dealership has a big sign listing all the prices for the various services... minor tune up @ 15K, major @ 30K, Oil Changes every 5K... plus the fact that I do alot of city driving... I don't know about that 100K maintenance free part...

Out of curiosity, I thought that because I bring in my car every ~5K miles for an oil change, I can ASSUME that the dealership would check for that oil sludging problem without me asking?

Is it just me, or does anybody else think Lexus should have put a bigger engine (or at least offer a V8 option) to the RX? Can I have "overworked" my engine during the first ~30K miles???

By the way - Hando, I do have the front manik grill and running boards (bars?) mounted on my car - but do you think that the additional weight of those add-ons can degrade performance that much?

 

I'm not expert either. . . . but those mods can be pretty heavy!! I'd say it'd be comparable to having at least 1 other person in your car all the time. Those aftermarket parts might be creating some drag as well (though probably not enough to ruin the ride).

I've actually considered getting some fiberglass body parts and doing other mods to lighten up the load a bit... The lighter the load, the better the performance.

Hando