RX3Hundred

Greetings all.

I recently purchased an 02 RX300. The "D" letter in the dash does not light when in drive. The others light up when the shifter is moved in the corresponding position.
Anyone have this condition?

bob2200

Welcome to Club Lexus.

This is a fairly common bulb failure and, if you do a search, you should find multiple DIY descriptions of the repair.

RX3Hundred

Thanks! I will try a search...

RX3Hundred

Amazing how that works! I tried searching before I posted and of course since I'm new here at the forum I used the wrong search gadget.

although mine is a 2002 I found this thread useful
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...light-out.html

LA4Mead

3Hundred,
As a new owner, I understand how you may want everything to work perfectly. Just a tip from an original owner: When you drive dark highways, you may find you prefer to leave the burned out light bulb in the redundant "D" dash indicator light just the way it is. It is not dimmable with the guage panel dimmer.
The important dash-level redundant indicators are all the others (P, R, N, 2, L) and are less likely to burn out any time soon. You are likely to find the "D" on the gearshift indicator really is adaquate; the full-brightness indicator focused from the dash pod directly in your vision just adds to eyestrain clutter when driving dark roads.
At first I wanted to replace my "D" light, too. Now I'm glad I procrastinated, because I prefer it the way it is.

RX3Hundred

Thanks LA4Mead,

I have not decided if/when I will replace it.
I agree, now that I know it's only the bulb it kind of diffused the situation.

salimshah

FWIW:

[not an RX experience]

One fine day, I was stopped behind a tractor-trailer rig. For some reason 12-wheeler decide to back. I started honking and intended to put my van in reverse. With the back end of the trailer occupying my vision (could be tunnel vision at that time), I was totally dependent on instrument/feel. Eventually we had a collision, but I still remember that my mind was frantically looking for a confirmation that I am in reverse gear or not. [by the way the van had a prnd12 window with a slider].

So I always keep my instrument display in working order.

The other motto I have is, if I intend to fix it (say 6 months down the road), why not fix it now. Parts prices will go up ... the bulbs used to be about $3 and now they are more than $10, and you might as well get the use.


Salim

RX3Hundred

Hope you did not get hurt Salim. Good point to bring up, we sometimes need the instruments in good working order. I'm sure Lexus would have loved to save a few bucks by eliminating the duplicate display if not needed.

Thanks Salim.


Andrew

bgross88

Mine was on..then out..then on again...then out. Last summer, while doing something else, I smacked the dashboard REALLY hard...it's been on ever since.

RX3Hundred

Good old fashioned incandescent filament bulbs..
...still wondering why they were used instead of LED's

99rx

iTrader: (6)

Good old Lexus cutting costs whenever possible while still putting out an excellent SUV.

hypervish

That's not cost cutting... You have to remember the RX was built in 1998, LED's were not the norm. back then.

LA4Mead

You're right Salim, the extra display in the instrument panel is a helpful, if not important safety tool. My point is that those really important indicators still work, but the "D" is just not nearly as important to me as P, R, N, 2, or L. Only because of the lack of being dimmable, the D can be more distracting than helpful. I do downshift, and if I had to quickly shift into reverse to avoid a hazard, the extra orange "R" on the dash is a really important indicator.

Why they did not think to make the gear position indicators dimmable (and the ECT Power and Normal indicators which also both burned out about the same time as the D) with all the other indicators is beyond me. To me, these overly bright lights focused directly in my eyes are really bothersome on long drives on very dark roads. Perhaps they would last longer if they dimmed with all the others, too.

RX3Hundred

I agree, the addition to the dimmer circuit would solve the night glare issue and perhaps help the bulb last a while longer.


Andrew