1999 RX 300 with 176,000 miles on it.

I've been the owner for 4 months, due to the busyness with school and work, I haven't had a chance to do maintenance on it besides my burnt out headlights, front rotors/brake pads, and oil changes.

Now since I'm free for the upcoming week, I plan on fixing some things up.

1. How often should the transmission fluid be flushed and filled? And how much would it cost with labor (on average)? Because I've seen all these stories how the RX 300's transmission isn't the best. And considering I have 176,000 on the engine, I don't wanna take any risks.
2. I hear this noise around climate control system screen. I can only hear it if the A/C is off. It sounds like a pinball rolling up and down all the time and it's quite annoying!
3. Whenever my car hits a bump, my car makes a rattling noise around all my tires. It sounds as if something is loose.
4. My gas mileage is HORRIBLE! I'm not an aggressive driver either. Computer reads 12-14 mpg in town driving. On a full tank, I'll only get 180-210 miles. I see others getting 270+ miles easily! It could be my tires, but it doesn't affect it that much.
5. How much would the differential fluids cost to be filled? And what's it for exactly? To switch over to ADW in the winter?

Sorry about all the questions! As you guys can see, I'm a beginner when it comes to cars. I'm only 18 and this is my first car (all my friends are shocked because it's a Lexus!) I'm using this car to last me through my 4 years of college then plan on upgrading. I never thought I'd like this car because in all honesty, I thought it was a soccer moms car, but I was wrong! Thanks guys!

Kind regards,
NyCrAzY

 

1) 15k mile intervals, only drain and filled. No FLUSH! Labor should be $20. It's quite simple, literally takes 10 minutes. It's easier than an oil change.
2) Air-Mix Servo, or Mode Servo (search it)
3) Probably a strut mount, but no way to tell without inspecting it. Check for loose, or dry-rotted suspension parts.
4) A lot of things can affect Fuel Economy. There is a huge thread at the top of the first gen page, it's a Sticky. Read through and you'll see some great tips. For starters try cleaning the throttle body, IACV, maf. If that doesn't improve it, check the spark plugs. Replace the air filter.
5) It'll probably cost around $200.

 

Hi, NY -- If you're handy and you have some ramps, do the fluids yourself. I admire you for learning to take care of your car. You'll save so much money, and you'll feel good about doing your own stuff. My dad taught me some things, and I learned a lot on my own. Currently, I take care of my daughter's '99, and she helps me with some of the things. I had her change the burned out "D" light in the dash, and while she was at college she had to change her headlight bulbs. Of my two daughters, she's the gearhead. She drives my 6-speed Cadillac CTS-V quite a bit when she's home, showing off for her guy friends!

I think Hypervish has a point about the spark plugs and the air filter. The air filter is easy, and so are the front three plugs. The back three are a pain in the you-know-what. I would run some Techron through the system to clean the injectors -- maybe do that before you change the plugs. The DIY section on the forum can guide you through the spark plugs -- read it over and over. I kept coming back in the house and looking at that when I changed my daughter's plugs.

I did have our tranny flushed at about 120,000 miles shortly after we got the vehicle. I didn't know what had been done in the past, and I trust my dealer's recommendation on that. Many on this forum think it can plug up the transmission, but I really thought ours should be cleaned out. No problems so far...

I had the coolant flushed, too. I guess the coolant loses efffectiveness over the years. When I was a kid, we dumped it out in the driveway. Now I have the dealer do it to dispose of it properly.

That first-gen RX is a great vehicle. I really would like one for myself now that I'm familiar with working on them. I used to think they were a soccer-mom mobile, too.

We average about 17mpg, less than I would like.

Have fun, NY!

 

From driving out for 12 years the tank of gas going 210 miles was good. The car has a smaller tank than the later year RX....16 in town is average if it is AWD....

 

I love my RX 300. I've had it a little over a year. It was loaded with miles when I got it and we immediately had to replace the heater servo, and the ignition froze within a week. Headaches, but I still love to drive it! Passenger side door lock will not work automatically and passenger side window gets weird sometimes and won't roll up, or won't roll up all the way without first rolling back down. I've been searching DIYs on here for help with those two problems. Definitely will have to be a DIY because service charges would be way over my head.

Newest problem to arise, and one that is the most problematic with cold weather coming on: This morning, for the third time in the last two weeks, when I start the car, climate control is completely dead. No heat, no a/c, no defrost, no display, no lights on the buttons. Later in the day, when I start the car again, everything is fine and working as it should. Any suggestions as to what might be causing this? So far, the only difference I can see, other than that the car has sat for at least 12-14 hours without being started, is that it's been a little colder in the mornings, mid to high 40s. Don't know that that would make any difference, but I'm clutching at straws here. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
Donna

 

Donna - is there one fuse for the climate control? Maybe it's not conducting right. A cheap fix to try replacing it, just in case....

 

Don't have a clue. I'll start my search there. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

How's the battery? When a battery is on it's way out, it does some weird things. Remember these car's need a lot of juice, they have lot's of electronics. Get the battery load tested.

 

Thanks a bunch for your input hypervish and trhs75!

@thomas1 -

True, my 1999 does have a smaller tank. So before I go to the gas station, I wait for the low fuel sign to show up first. Once I fill it up, it only takes up to 13 - 14 gallons.

So I guess 210 miles / 13 gallons = 16 miles a gallon? Sounds fair enough I suppose.

 

I found two fuses. One for heat and one for A/C. I haven't had the chance to replace them yet but the next time I go to town, I will pick up new fuses.

Thanks again for the suggestion!

Donna

 

Thanks for the suggestion, hypervish. Had the same problem with no display again this morning. Display shows radio, but no climate control functions. I did notice, however, that by the time I got to work (a five minute drive) the heater was blowing out the floor vent. Still no display, but I had warm air, so apparently it's not that the system itself is shutting down. Just the display, and along with that, the ability to change temp, fan, function (floor, dash, or defroster vents). Does that sound like the battery? I will try to get the load checked as soon as possible. Makes driving early in the morning a little iffy. Thanks again for the suggestion!

Donna

 

Okay, now that I know the heater will actually blow hot air while I still don't have any display showing, does that still sound like a bad fuse??? (Can you tell I'm guessing about how a lot of stuff works? )

 

I had the same thing happen to me around 2 months ago... my blue screen didn't show any info about the climate control. It was a warmer (70-ish) day, in the afternoon.

My climate control worked - I just didn't know what I was setting the temp for... :-)

When I stopped the car to run into a store, it worked fine when I started it, and has been fine ever since.

My battery is around 5 years old, and I will be keeping an eye on it with winter coming. It hadn't even dawned on me that the battery may have been the cause for the "blue screen of death:... but makes sense I guess.

 

Fortunately, this is a very uncommon occurrence for RX but once in a while due to software gremlins, things end up in la la land. Reset/reboot is required and typically the ignition off -> on does that. Other things that are hot all the time, like remote transponder etc, need a battery disconnect to bring them back.

A weak battery tends to amplify the problem.

Salim

 

I would not completely count out your tires as a culprit of bad milage. If they underinflated you will put more load on the entire vehicle resulting in a loss of MPGs.

+1 on the strut mounts causing the rattling.

While we are on the subject of the HVAC system, I am hearing a different sound coming from behing the dash. The best way to describe the sound would be compared to a coffee maker brewing coffee. I am suspicious of the heater core but none of the symptoms are matching up with the usual problems of the heater core.

Sorry about the run on sentence.