djphillie

Hey guys,

I'm new here; first post but I've been reading this forum obsessively for the last week trying to figure out how to fix issues with my 2002 Lexus RX 300.

Here's some history on it:

I purchased it in May of 2014 with 111,676 miles on it for $7,150. It had 2 previous owners with 20 service records Owner 1 was corporate (first 37,941 miles). Owner 2 was personal. Service records looked good.
I kept up with oil changes and basic maintenance. My transmission crapped out on me while I was out of state on a business trip. This was at 125,640 miles. At this time I replaced the transmission, timing belt and water pump. $2,850 repair.
In January of 2016 I replaced the O2 sensor on bank 2 sensor 1. In November of 2017, I started having CEL issues with poor engine performance. At the time, my mechanic replaced the spark plugs and coil #2, replaced #2 fuel injector and cleaned injectors. He did a compression test and #2 cylinder compression was under spec and he recommended a new PCV valve.

Sad to admit, at the time I was pretty ignorant about cars and didn't have the money to throw into extensive repairs. I could live with the light drop in power and so I continued driving it for 14 months, putting about another 9-10k miles on it; mostly short 15 minute trips to/from work or in town errands.

Flash forward to the present....my car had been spitting out lots of smoke through the tailpipe after cold starts when the car had been sitting overnight or after a work shift and also started to not shift into overdrive (limp mode). I replaced the valve cover gaskets, PCV, intake gaskets and all spark plugs (coils were still good). I also had a BG engine performance restoration service from the Toyota dealership and had another compression test done to find out that the bank two cylinder head has NO compression. They believe it is a burnt exhaust valve. I threw in $1,100 hoping I'd get rid of the exhaust smoke and slightly increase the performance, or at least fix the overdrive issue.

After getting my car back, I checked engine codes and am getting P300, P302, P305 and P330.

My concern is the P330. Would replacing the knock sensor in bank 2 fix the overdrive issue? Would using the hack to split the wiring to feed bank 2 sensor into sensor 1 resolve the issue? I was angry with my dealership for not mentioning anything about the knock sensor, as I would have coughed up the $100 or so for the sensor and "tried" the attempted fix while they were already doing the labor with the valve cover gaskets. Or would that still have been pointless with the burnt exhaust valve?

I was attempting to throw $1-1.5k into my car to extend its drivability for another year or two and so far have been left with same problem and lighter wallet.

Is there ANYTHING that I can do or am I basically helpless unless I want to throw more money into it? My current mileage is 154,100 and I doubt in this shape/condition that I'd get ANYTHING over $1,000 from a trade-in or private sale.
I can LIVE with the loss of power/poor acceleration but I cannot live with the inability to go in overdrive. 4,000 rpm's at 60mph is no good!

ANY recommendations?

JAB

Where in Virginia are you? Which Toyota dealership did you go to?

djphillie

I live in Stephens City, VA.

I took it to Malloy Toyota in Winchester, VA

simplecar

djphillie

What issues were you having? What did you get fixed and how much did you invest into it?

simplecar

salimshah

Please get the repair estimate and ask the tech what to expect after repairs.

Then you may have to chose what you deem essential.

Middle of the estimate (my best guess) would be $1100.

You will have to determine based on your your desire/needs/future-plans.

Salim

djphillie

The stealership described it as:
"Upon performing the compression test found that bank two cylinder head has no compression. Believes it is burnt exhaust valve. Recommend new cylinder head, t belt and water pump, front seals and head gasket"
Quoted me at $2800.

My timing belt and water pump were replaced Oct. 20 of 2015 at 126,000 miles. I have 154,000 miles on it now. Why in the world would they recommend a new timing belt and water pump???

If it was only an extra $1,100 to rebuild cylinder 2 head and fix all my issues and provide 2-3+ more years of life to my vehicle at NORMAL engine operating levels then I would dive right in. I love my Lexus. I just wish that at the time of buying it that I would have been more educated in doing a better inspection of the vehicle and even, honestly, cared for it a little better myself for a vehicle over 100,000 miles.

Nad1370

The damage has been done.
You need to atleast fix that dead hole.
$2800 is pretty steep and thats on top of what you already spent just to get the car somewhat running good.
If you have a price you can live with to fix the burnt valve, then thats your choice.
You mentioned to plan to keep it for 1.5-2 years and thats not to say future problems occurring.
Personally, its turning into a money pit.
Not knowing your situation,
I'd say cut your losses and get the max value you can on the RX.
Get a decent/great vehicle and be happier.
Knowing what you know about repairs, will steer you in a more dependable ride. Well thats the plan, right?

Bottom line, its a 17yr old vehicle with a bad hole.
4000rpms at 60 would drive me nuts.
At the end of the day, do what will make you satisfied.

salimshah

What is the current value before repair ... can be as low as 100

Cost to repair [maybe some can do it for less and may not stand behind the repair] 2500 ~ 3000
What will be the street value after the repair . SV
Your asset after repair (AV) == SV - (2500 ~ 3000)

If your AV is negative walk away. Unless you want to keep it for next 2 yrs or more. The good thing about keeping vs buying another used is that you know the history.

Salim

djphillie

I agree. In its current condition I'll be lucky to get $500 for it (parts and salvage). Nobody is going to want to buy a car that drives like this or put in the money/time to restore a 17 year old car. Even though the cosmetics and interior of the car are still in tip top shape.

Like I said before, I've lived with the lack of power/acceleration for the last 14 months. I've been living with the lack of overdrive for the last 3-4 weeks. I try to stick to city driving and avoid highways. If I felt confident that the infamous knock sensor "hack" that's been covered here would work and fix the overdrive issue, than I could avoid the cylinder replacement and would live with the car as a 2nd back-up vehicle with less-than-stellar performance and then could take more time finding THE RIGHT car for my daily driver.

The dealership quoted me $2800 but that listed timing belt, water pump, head gasket and new cylinder head. Replacing the cylinder head would require a new head gasket I suppose, but I don't see why I would need a new timing belt or water pump if mine have both been replaced less than 30,000 miles ago?? This should bring the quote down some, and I'll discuss with the dealership my options, pricing and what to expect as far as performance and life of the vehicle if the work were to be performed. I then may consider a rebuilt cylinder head since it's an older car that I don't expect to survive for 3,4,5 more years and could get quotes from independent mechanic shops that do engine work. If the price was right, I will do the repair, keep the car as a back-up vehicle, and use the extra time to find a solid car from my wish list as a daily driver.

My first Lexus was a 99 ES 300 that I bought when I was living in Charleston, SC in 2010. I loved that car. Some jerk t-boned me as he attempted to make a left turn and my vehicle was declared totaled by the insurance company. My ex-girlfriend and I had a newer model Lexus RX one time as a loaner while I was getting some service done on the ES 300 and we both really liked the RX. I had always owned sedans and crummy cars before the ES, so my interest in a SUV and the extra money I received from the insurance company led me to the purchase of the 02 RX 300. There is sentimental value in the vehicle. I'd hate to see another Lexus go to the graveyard, and there's no solid, low-mileage Lexus vehicles on the market in my area at the moment that I can find. I really dislike almost all of the newer models of Lexus vehicles; most newer cars in particular. The ES model got ugly after 2001. I don't care for much of the LS models after the early 2000s...would love to find a 98-2000 model. The LX and GX are fuel hogs and larger than what I need. I've never been a big sports car type so the IS doesn't interest me. I'd consider the GS; preferably the 2007-2011 models.

I've been super busy at work and stressed to the max over my vehicle. I'll try to keep you guys updated on what path the RX and I take. Very worst case scenario, I attempt the "knock sensor hack" and do an AutoRX treatment to flush out some carbon build-up that may potentially be limiting the other cylinder heads and then ride this sucker til it quits on me....

Lexmus

Do the knock sensor hack. It is easy and you should be back to where you were, with crappy power but a working 4th gear.

You also mention smoke coming out of the tail pipe. Are you burning oil? Many older RX300s burn oil, some severely, due to a clogged up rear valve cover.

FYI, I have done the knock sensor hack and changed the rear valve cover.

djphillie

My car hasn't been smoking out of the tail pipe since I replaced both the front and rear valve covers and got a new PCV valve.

Are there any negatives to the knock sensor hack? Will it damage the transmission over time if it goes into overdrive with a bad exhaust valve cylinder or is the Lexus limp mode unnecessary in this case?? Curious why some people apparently said they ended up with the other bank's knock sensor code over time after doing the hack.

If it fixes the overdrive issue and saves me the huge expense, it just might be the solution I am looking for, or at least will buy me some time until I can better afford a more permanent fix. This week I will look into getting a quote from a local independent mechanic and then can make a decision.

Thanks guys!

Lexmus

Given you already have a bad cylinder, I doubt doing the hack will make things much worse. I did the hack 3 yrs and 40k miles ago and all still seems well.

Also, since the bad cylinder is in bank 2 but the knock error is for bank 1, I suspect that points to a bad knock sensor and not a true knock.

sktn77a

iTrader: (2)

The water pump and timing belt may drop the price a couple of hundred dollars but that's all. The price of replacing these is all labor, which will be part of the head replacement so you won't save much. You could take it to an independent and maybe cut the cost.