I bought 2004 RX330 at 130K miles.
I checked the carfax and have noticed that car was getting serviced at lexus dealer up to 110K miles. i called dealer to find out if they have performed timing belt change on this vehicle as part of regular maintenance but did not get proper answer.
I am at 142K miles car has no issues so far. should i go ahead and change timing belt? or should i ask mechanic if it needs change?
I asked local mechanic for labor cost and they quoted job for $240 if i provide the parts. is labor reasonable?

 

$240 is a good deal IMO if that includes replacing the water pump. 142,000 on the original belt is pushing your luck if the belt was dealer replaced there would be a sticker somewhere on the engine.

 

ok Thanks i will order parts and will get it replaced soon.
Yes 240 includes water pump change.

 

Make sure you buy the Aisin TKT026 kit, not a kit from makers like Gates, Dayco etc. supply your mechanic with Toyota Super Long Life coolant or something equivalent.

 

i was not aware of coolant change. so with timing belt change will they flush coolant out?

 

i agree with L2K. Great price but make sure they use the asin kit NOT aftermarket as he mentioned. For the price you are paying, it would be worth the extra $$ to get the best parts available. 142k miles. Is that alot? I guess $240 is cheap peace of mind.

 

Yes, the engine will be emptied of coolant as part of the service. This is true of all vehicles, not just the RX.

 

You will replace the coolant because the water pump should also be replaced at this time. The water pump (Aisin), tensioner, and idle wheels. Also, get two gallons of Toyota red antifreeze from Amazon. Under three hundred is a great price, make sure that they are qualified to do the job. There are two marks on the crankshaft for timing one on the big sprocket and one on the little sprocket you want to time the engine to the big sprocket.

 

I have a 2005 RX330 that I purchased at 78k miles and have babied to 205k. Have had nothing but normal maintenance issues and had the timing belt replaced at 101k. I ordered an Aisin kit and have an excellent mechanic to replace the belt but am wondering if it makes sense at this point? Should I do it now or wait for signs of water pump issues? The exterior has a few scrapes so I figure car is worth about $3500-4000 if I sell it myself. Thoughts?
Thanks

 

You can watch a car worth go from $3500-$4000 to $500 or less. This is the price that the junkyard will give you for a non-running car. Replace the timing belt and water pump for peace of mind that it will not leave you stranded on the side of the road. My wife Camry water pump died at 142,000.

 

Sorry for the questions in response, but a relevant one is how long you want to keep the car?

Regarding the timing belt change at 101K, did that include the pulleys (tensioner and idler), or was it belt and water pump only? And how long ago was that change? The bearings inside the pulleys also wear out even if the belt and water pump don't.

 

Put your Vin into Lexus owners and search through your service history. If the timing belt was done at a Lexus dealer it will show up here.

 

Firstly, I would like to run the car into the ground as I love it, it is my 2nd RX (had the '99) and will buy a 350 or 400 when this one goes.

Up to now I have had nothing out of realm in repairs but decided to go with the belt. I provided the Aisin kit to my garage. Normally the mechanic is great but told me too late that he has only done 3 of these in the past year. I saw the belt and water pump and we both agreed they looked great but since he had opened it up, to put the new one in. There were bolts missing ? so whoever had put it in at 101k miles did a sloppy job. But hey, it looked great caused no issues.

I picked up the car today. He had it for 10 hours (I was charged for 4.5). They had to call in a Toyota mechanic down the street to help him as he couldn't match up the teeth. Said it passed road test but I drove it for 1/8th mile and the engine and VSC lights came on. Turned back and he had left (Saturday). The owner checked the codes (I also took it to Autozone) and got the P0016 and P0018. Have to bring the car back on Monday or Tuesday.

Does it sound like the teeth are off one? Mechanic thought could be off by millileters if at all he checked and triple checked but why would I be getting these codes on millileters if it's not off one tooth at least?

Also, there is a squeal at low speed or coming out of a parallel park that wasn't there. I pulled into a local garage and the mechanic listened to the noise and said it's the power steering belt; it needs to be adjusted.

Is it possible the power steering belt was removed in this ace job of timing belt replacement? I have read that sometimes power steering pumps are removed on this job but I will expect any adjustment of the belt will be gratis, as will the resolution of the code issues.

 

I had the timing belt change done at 101.500 at a local shop. Now again at 204,900.. Not sure the first change included tensioner and idler but about 20k miles after the first belt change, the water pump went. That made me nervous about the quality of the belt, and influenced my decision to replace it at 204,900. I mean, what sort of water pump did they use that it went so fast?

 

Thank you. I also thought of that. Worth the $680 and peace of mind. My '99 went to 187k and sold it as a trade in with a bad cam but I blame that on first issue model and that I used regular gas. This 330 has been happy with premium.