Bravery

Hey all,

Bought my wife a 2004 RX 330 AWD in pearl white with 123K on the clock and pretty decent MX records. Has had a timing belt and all of the fluids changed within the last 20K. It has tan leather interior and has the DVD system in the back. I come from a long line of subaru ownership but got very tired of the H4 even though their AWD system is superior to toyotas IMO. I work as an aircraft mechanic and have been wrenching since I was little- Currently 29. I fully understand how forums work and YES I will utilize the search function as much as I can. I have already been all over this forum regarding the TC00503 TCU update.- Funny story, I called our local lexus dealer and explained to the service manager what I wanted done but he didn't understand what a TSB was... some service manager. He said as long as there is no check engine light the car should be running perfect. I'm fairly certain that I am not the only one who has dealt with this type of situation. Either way, we're extremely pleased with the vehicle so far. (went from an 08 base model to this) I do however have a couple of queries.

- From what I've read these trans seem to be very particular with the type of fluid they like- The trans was drain (not pressurized) at 97k and refilled with full synthetic "global" ATF. From working in autoparts for five years I know that not all fluids are created equal, although most are made in the same factory with different additives. Should I have Toyota service the trans with T-IV?

- While driving the car at any significant speed it is incredibly loud comparatively speaking to my moms 2010 450H, I get that its newer and way more expensive buuuuttt I was really thinking that the dB level in the rx330 would be much lower than the subie but its not. Its actually louder by about 10dB. Is this normal for this year RX? The rear wheel bearings do hum a little but those are getting changed with Timkins soon. I did see a mod for the cargo area which involves removing the tray and basically insulating the back empty space.

- Any suggestions of tribal knowledge would be appreciated regarding ANYTHING to look out for or that I need to do to keep my wife and new baby safe. Thanks guys and looking forward to becoming an avid member here. Last forum I was on I had as my home page and spent years learning and posting.

Thanks in advance.

-K

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

I just got an '05 330 AWD recently myself. Same observations/issues as you in regards to the trans. Brought it to the closest dealer to me with the TSB info, service "advisor" had no idea what was going on. Waiting to get an appointment with an actual service manager at another better known dealer in my area. Will report back.

Drained fluid myself upon purchase as records showed it was on original fluid. Skipped Type-IV and went with Valvoline Max Life full synthetic. I'm from a Toyota linage and Max Life works fine on all the cars I've serviced even ones that require Type-IV. Some say Lexus' are more picky with trans fluid, I'm taking my chances, the 330 engine is exactly the same as my old V6 camry besides the decals. Noise was slightly reduced but it's still loud.

Not sure if you have this issue but around 40-60MPH my trans is dumb picking which gear to stay in, I assume 2 and 3. This is when it's the loudest while quiet either below 40 or above 60. I have been pulling the ECU fuse during refuels to reset the "learned" drivings style for the so called "adaptive transmission" and it works until it starts learning again.

Bravery

We haven't had any weird issues with the trans just yet. Sees to drive just fine. However I will say that the trans does like to shift rather quickly from 2nd to 3rd during slower acceleration. It doesn't bounce around from gear to gear though. On an older subie I did have trans issues (this is totally unrealated to your issue just thought I would share) and it turned out to be the TPS being bad. Anyway, I guess I'll keep the full synthetic trans until it needs replacing again. Chevy wise I've read that its a smart idea to drain and fill the pan with new fluid every 25K after 100K to keep it fresh and keep the contaminates and friction disc material down, I guess once a fluid gets dirty or burnt then the disc material wears down big time hence why a lot of old timers will keep bad fluid in their 700R4 cause if they chage it, it will slip.

Lexuswiz

iTrader: (1)

It's the same in Toyota land. 25K mile flushes and filter changes if necessary. Been doing it with all my cars before any of them touched 100K. Every time I flush, shifting smoothens up a bit, even in the 330 I noticed it too. Haven't done a filter change on the 330 but thats soon with timing belt.