I have the P0330 code popping up on my 2001 RX300.

A mechanic told me to try running some fuel injector cleaner in the tank and seeing if it helps but it didn't seem to help. I pulled the cleared the code by pulling the ECS fuse and also by pulling the battery negative out for a couple minutes. The code comes back after 1 or 2 minutes after driving.

Then after a few days my RX seemed to go into some low power mode. After about 5 minutes of driving, the car won't shift into 4th gear anymore and I'm pretty much stuck in 3rd going about 40mph with it revving high. This prevents me from commuting to work and from being able to pick up my son since I have to get on the freeway and drive uphill-- after those first few minutes of driving, the car can no longer shift into 4th and if it downshifts I'm stuck in 3rd going 40mph uphill on the freeway. I won't do that again.

I took it to the local Lexus dealership down the street to have it looked at and confirmed, and also for the convenience of getting a loaner real quick which was very helpful.

They called back and said that the knock sensor needs to be replaced and said that the other knock sensor should be replaced along with the wiring harness and mentioned some other hoses that will probably crack and break due to age that should be replaced. They quoted $1600.

- I know that this is more expensive than doing it myself or taking it to a small shop but I'm kind of pressed for time since I need to drive out of town this weekend. I might have a guy that can do the job on the side but he probably wouldn't be able to get it done for another week. In the meantime I would need to rent a car and that would cost be approx $250 for the week.

- I also heard from a few people that I might not want to buy the generic knock sensors because they are hit and miss and that I might want to avoid having to do the same job all over again in the near future.

- I'm almost thinking to say screw it and just pay the dealership and get it over with. Would anyone do the same? Or would you suggest that I have the work done by a friend of a friend next week and get a rental car until then? I'm tempted to pay for the convenience at this point due to my time constraints. I don't have a quote from the friend of the friend yet but I am also wondering how much cheaper would a small shop be? For this job you have to pull out the throttle body and upper/lower manifolds.

Suggestions appreciated.

 

Search this forum for knock sensor hack.

 

I was in the exact same boat and had to decide between either basically splicing wires and jerry rigging the car to think the knock sensors were both fine (see the knock sensor hack), paying to have the sensors and harness replaced, or doing it myself.

I finally did the repair myself two days ago. It can be done with some fairly basic tools and it cost me about $800 (used all OEM parts) but for that cost I also replaced the rear valve cover with the updated one (I also had the missing oil issue) changed both valve cover gaskets, PCV valve, spark plugs and spark plug tube gaskets, intake manifold gaskets, cleaned MAF, replaced air filter, oil and oil filter, both knock sensors and the knock sensor harness.

It took me all day without any real breaks. I mean probably 8-9 hours. I normally do minor repairs like brakes, fluid changes, lights, reachable sensors etc. so this is the most in depth I've gotten.

Just today though, after putting about 120 issue-free miles on the car after repair, it started throwing a P0174 code that I think maybe I caused by cracking a vacuum line somewhere and creating a small vacuum leak.

I'll figure it out and I'm glad I did the repair myself to save the cash but I tell ya man it sure wasn't fun and if I were a rich man I'd just pay someone to do it hah.

 

I saw your hack thread, cool hack.

I ended up having the dealership take care of it. I took it in to have them diagnose it first and I considered buying the OEM sensors and harness and doing it myself- but I saw what it takes and I just didn't have the time to deal with it- too many obligations that weekend and I needed my car to get to them. I called around to a few shops and they were only giving approximate quotes for 100-200 less so I just had Lexus take care of it since I get the loaner car included.

They took care of both knock sensors, wiring harness, gaskets, any old hoses, etc. I was hoping to finally upgrade into a newer RX350 this year but I will keep driving "Old Faithful" for now after dropping some cash into it. Hard to believe that she's almost 20 years old. Great vehicle overall.

Next up is a full brake job.

 

So what did they charge you?

 

Just call the dealership near you and ask them to break up the repair costs as
parts
labor
tax

You should not feel obligated to go to them but the price will be what you would be billed for.

Salim

 

He said they quoted him $1600 and that included the rental.

Cost to DIY with OEM parts is about $450 (best deals I could find by a reasonable margin was at Boch Toyota South after a ton of online searching - I am not in any way affiliated with them, maybe I'm not even allowed to say this here?) giving a price difference of $1,150. YMMV. It's interesting to know what others are paying for the repair. I didn't ever get around to calling local shops for estimates before I did it.

 

You are always welcome to speak your mind, exception is tryin to make financial profit [free advertising] and abiding by the decorum rules.

The auto repair industry goes by book hours for each task per model. I do not know the book hours for knock sensor change for first gen RX, but I guess it will be between 6 to 8 hours. Then you multiply by labor rates .. which are above $120 per hour at Lexus [This again is a guess]. Incidentally, the shop may finish sooner or later, but the customer is billed by the book-hours.

Salim