akka76

Has anyone heard of a service campaign on the 1999 RX 300 regarding engine 'sludge'? I was at a dealer (non Lexus) yesterday, and they told me they just had a 99 in that had to have the entire engine replaced and this was due to a problem that Lexus knows about. There seems to be a lot of 'sludge' present under the oil cap, which leads one to beleive that it is present throughout the engine. I called Lexus and they have no current service campaigns for the 1999 RX 300.
Just thought I would see if anyone has had this problem addressed.

rxdriver

There is a known problem with the RX300's when the oil is not changed often enough. The oil develops into a "sludge", and there's no good way to get it out of the engine once it's there. There are many, many threads on the forum about this.

The RX300's weren't actually recalled (which is the common term for "Special Service Campaign"), but owners were sent letters warning them about this condition.

Despite the fact that the root cause is owner neglect, Toyota has been replacing the engines that develop this problem.

If you buy a used RX300, it's critical to get maintenance records. As long as the previous owner followed a reasonable schedule to change the oil, there's no problem and there won't be a problem as long as you continue to maintain it.

Francis

I have no problem with my RX so far. I have oil change every 7k miles.

Francis 99' RX / 86k mile

gcrim21

Lexus and Toyota knows there is a problem with oil jelling in their engines because otherwise why would they be offereing a warranty of up to eight years on the engine due to that problem?
I have never heard of other brands having this problem. Of course just because I haven't heard of it doesn't mean it doesn't happen.

I have used Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil since the 1980's and have never changed oil and oil filter less than 12,000 in Ford's, Oldsmobile, Buicks, Toyota Camry, two different Toyota Avalon's, a Toyota 4Runner. Never have had oil jelling or oil sludging problems yet.

I think Toyota/Lexus is just trying to place the blame on the owners myself.

gcrim21

............ also I use Mobil 1synthetic in my 99 RX300 and my wife's 03 ES300 and never change less than 12,000 miles.

salimshah

Maybe nothing will go wrong, but the odds are against you. It is also unlikely that you will get a sympathetic ear, specially after being advised to change the oil frequently.

So what is different, the engines are now running hotter than before. Going synthetic helps but why gamble?

But then there are no guarantees in life

Salim