Cephus

My '01 has 141,000 miles on it and it's still going great! I've had regularly scheduled tuneups at the Lexus dealer as suggested in the manual. Going to the dealer gets pricey sometimes, but I think it's attributed to my car running so well.

Nad1370

I agree on regular scheduled maintenace will keep you vehicle in top shape.
Before I had my RX, which was 4 weeks ago, I had a 98 Rav-4 w/ 149K.
All maintenace done on schedule and it still ran great. My bro. in law has it now.

Is yours an AWD? How much did you get charged for spark plug replacement?

I'm also a newbie here but...Welcome to CL.

Cephus

Mine is a 2WD. I can't remember how much the spark plug replacement was but they were replaced a few months ago.

dfwgs

i'm bumping this thread, a friend of mine is looking to buy a used RX300.

i'm interested in how many miles you've logged and any services that you have done. THANKS for any input!

rx300s415

I got a 2001 RX300 Silversport Edition (2wd-FWD). Has about 130,000 miles on it. Runs great, everybody that sits in it asks how new is the thing because it is so quiet and smooth (and comfortable!). At about 90,000 miles I did spark plugs, timing belt, alternator belt, coolant, brake fluid, and battery all for the first time. After that mark was when I started getting into maintenance (I actually keep track of maintenance through a Excel spreadsheet now). First time I changed my transmission fluid was at about 110,000 miles and that was through doing drain-and-fill method about three times. Besides the OEM/Stock rotors being really soft (a lot of RX's i have been in have warped rotors) the car is great. The antenna mast needs to be replaced due to noise but I just clean and grease it down once in a while, too lazy to replace the thing. I get about 19-21mpg 50% highway 50% city on California gas. I love this car, it's quiet as hell and roars when I want it to. Only "mods" I have done are HID kit and K&N air filter (which I will be switching out to OEM soon...don't really recommend using it...but to each his own).

Raoul

127,000 miles, AWD, all scheduled maintenance, no issues.

My daughter is driving our '98 4Runner....
232,000 miles, all scheduled maintenance, (that's 77 oil changes, boys) no issues except the skid plate holes stripped. The skid plate has to come off to change the filter and I don't think Toyota planned for it coming off 77 times.

gsrthomas

iTrader: (1)

Our car has 115,000 miles. Never seen the dealer at all. I do all the maintenace. I think thats why my car is running great.

Few months ago, i changed the IACV, timing belt, spark plugs, front/rear diff with amsoil, etc etc.

jcjr

I have a 2001 with 73K miles....bought it with 60K....Have done the battery and rear main seal....I had it stored in Arizona for the first year and I think the heat had something to do with the seal .....Had the seal and the 2 drive belts done at a Toyota dealer for $800(Got cheap labor rate because they sold me the car).....

I love the car....looking at the Timing belt at 90K

Lexus Ave

My 02' only has around 35000miles. However the 'time' has come to have it's timing belt changed as per the scheduled maintenance. Do you guys think I can hold off on this replacement since the car has such low mileage? the 'months recommendation' is what I am going by at this point since this car isn't driven very far.

Thanks in advance

code58

Hi LA- Each man that opens his wallet makes his own decisions on how he will spend that money, and rightly so. Having said that, I have worked in automotive all my life- 30 years of that for dealers and I have seen people have everything changed "by the book" and have seen many of those same parts on other cars that were never changed, go phenomenal miles without ever failing. One of my sons has a 97 Chev. Sub. (that he ordered) that has the original rad. hoses at 160k and 11 yrs. that are in very good shape. I changed the serpentine belt for the 1st. time at 150k+ and 10 yrs. and the old belt needed changing but was NOT ready to fail. I DO NOT advocate this type of maintenance and have gotten after him about it but can't argue with the fact that these parts (and others) that are low miles and time "replacement recommended" by the manufacturer are more to insure "0" failure and income generation for the dealer and manufacturer than they are a necessity because of any reasonable degree of wear AT ALL.
I replaced the timing belt, spark plugs and a # of other parts on my DIL's 99RX300 at 97k mi. and had I known the truly excellent condition they were in rather than simply going by miles- I never would have even purchased the parts! My opinion (only mine and you will definitely get others) is it is a true waste of time and money to replace the timing belt at 35k mi., in my opinion that belt will last at least 150k without worry of failure. For every 1 that you hear of that broke at 120k, there are probably 200 that are doing well at 150k. It's your money- spend it as you wish! Good Luck! Roger

Cephus

What exactly is the timing belt and what does it do? My indie mechanic says that's the only thing I should need to do at the Lexus dealership.

code58

The timing belt turns the camshafts that open and close the valves at the correct time for the engine to run. I would very frankly question if your mechanic is capable of working on other things on your car if he is not capable of changing your Lexus timing belt. There are plenty of people on the Lexus boards who ARE NOT professional mechanics who have changed their own timing belts- and even done writeups (with pictures) on it. I am not saying it is an easy job- but I wouldn't trust any indie mech. to work on my car who didn't feel confident in doing it. Maybe he is doing you a favor. I have seen add's many times by Toyota dealers to do V-6's for around $170.-$175., including belt- installed. I would have it done at a Toyota dealer if you can find 1 that will do it. (most will) It will likely be cheaper than a Lexus dealer. Hope this helps.
Make sure whoever does it uses Mitsuboshi(original equipment brand belt)

Cephus

Thanks for the info. Kudos to you guys who can work on your own cars w/o going to any mechanic. I'm jealous!

bob2200

I've got 63,000 on my '02 RX300, so I drive less than the nominal 15,000/year too. My feeling is that timing belt and spark plug replacement are things mostly dependent on mileage, not age. Tire rotation is another one that I'd go by mileage with. Come to think about it, cabin air filter and engine air filter replacement might fit into that category too, unless you do a lot of city driving.

code58

The original eq. timing belt (Mitsuboshi, with an o,not an i) is of phenomenal quality as are the original iridium spark plugs. I know for a fact neither had ever been changed nor the plugs ever been out and when I checked the gap just recently on the plugs that I had changed at 97k, the gap was still factory! Great parts! Roger