tggivens

Hi everyone! New to this thread and posted in the gen thread already. Hopefully someone can help me out here.

Things you should know -
- 2000 Lexus RX 300
- 178K miles
- Last oil change mid-September

1. Whenever I'm driving and accelerating, my car jerks, like it's having trouble keeping up with the speed I desire.
2. When I'm at a stop light, or stop sign and the car is in Drive but idle, the RPM meter on the tachometer jumps up and down, and the engine/car jerks a little, and when I let off the brake the car kinda rushes ahead before I've even put my foot down on the pedal.
3. Driving on an incline up a bridge, or hill, or accelerating past 60mph the gas pedal feels like it's not even working, while the car jerks frontwards and backwards like it's struggling.

Anyone know what the problem could be?

Drcoffee

Yup! Its broke. We arent psychics. Go to a parts store and get the trouble codes read, and then post back.

i need more coffee.

Lexmus

tggivens,
after you get back from the auto parts store, order a cheap code reader from Amazon. You are driving a 17 yr old car and codes are more likely to occur, plus you can erase them as part of your debugging efforts. I know Advance Auto will not erase a code anymore.

try this if you have an android phone https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B011NSX27A

or this as a stand alone reader https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001LHVOVK

I own both and they work.

salimshah

Please start by reading through the sticky thread .. having problems start here.

Salim

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

Any hissing sounds from the engine compartment when you rev the engine? Sounds like it could be a vacuum leak.

cwsteini

These responses are funny

tggivens,

Are you saying this is occurring without accompanying CEL indication?

If the CEL is on please tell us the codes. Also is this issue out of nowhere or was the vehicle recently worked on? I ask because my immediate thought was that your throttle cable may have been detached during some recent work and when it was re-placed it could have been too tight or the plastic bobbles could be interrupting proper operation, keeping the car under constant slight acceleration.., would have the sort of symptoms you've described (sort of).

tggivens

the dealership called and told me there are a number of things wrong with my car.

he told me there's really "nothing" they can do to repair the car unless I'm spending up into the thousands to get the car fixed.

he said to replace spark plugs the tubes to get to the plugs they need a wrench and the tubes are crumbling as it is. So the tubes need to be replaced. Then he named a bunch of other things they "can't" fix because of the age of the vehicle.

i asked if there was anything they could do in the short-term for the car to help and he said the technician would need 4-5 more hours on the diagnostic test reading the all of the sensors to find out which is $130 per hour.

he recommended I trade the car in and he can "work" on the value of the car today.

What should I do? Get an estimate from somewhere else? Is he right? It's hard for me to believe there's nothing they can do.

Lexmus

tggivens,

Find a good local independent mechanic that works on Lexus vehicles thru friends/family or a review site like yelp or google reviews. Have them look at the car and give you an estimate on what is wrong, and post it here.

As for the dealership, I don't understand what crumbling tubes you are referring to with regards to the spark plugs. Maybe the ignition coils? Those are easily replaced. I think they just want to sell you a car and get you to trade in your car for next to nothing.

tggivens

ok thank you. I'll keep you updated. I'll look on yelp for reviews.

he was saying so many things under the hood need replacing that they can't fix spark plugs without fixing these "other" problems first.

tggivens

Another thing he said that confuses me:

in order to possibly fix the car short-term without replacing all of these things, the tech will need 4-5 more hours running diagnostics to figure out what they can do, which is $130 per hour.

i thought diagnostic tests toon about 5-10 to complete? I just feel like I'm getting totally screwed here and they want me to trade in my car for next to nothing and sell me one.

ashman

Ding, ding, ding! New car dealers have next to zero interest in repairing a 17 year old car, they would much rather sell you a brand new car or even a CPO from their lot. Even if they do the service, it will be far more expensive than a good, qualified, local independent mechanic.

In my experience, it is difficult to imagine how any diagnosis could take 4-5 hours of shop labor unless it is for some mysterious electrical problem on a car that has had a lot of bodges and aftermarket work done on it.

I don't know what is causing your problem or what the overall mechanical condition and service history of your car is and it may be that the fix is more costly than replacing the car but I would recommend finding a good, local mechanic with reviews that you can trust and see what that generates for you.

Good luck.