Pilot

My wife took her RX300 thru a drive thru car wash. She was of course listening to the radio, with the antenna up. The car wash brushes broke the antenna, and now it is tied to the roof rack to keep from dangling donw the side of the car! I was very upset with her, as I have lways hand washed our cars, and neither have ever been thru a car wash.
I was going to see if the antenna can be replaced seperate from the motor, or if the entire assembly will have to be replaced?
It is still under warranty, but I doubt any dealer would agree to repair it under warranty.
Has anyone replaced an antenna on th RX300? I changed mine on my LS400, but changed out the entire assembly to the tune of mega dollars!

Pilot

01 RX300
91 LS400

gs4to4

Pilot,

Option 1. Since your car is under warranty, about 2 out of 3 dealers will replace it for free. Your chances increase if you bring the car in for service.

Option 2. Going by what you said, it seems that all you need is the antenna mast. So there's no need to buy the motor which costs $$$$. I dont remember the exact cost, but I think the mast is about $70 and half an hour labor fee.

salimshah

It is not as bad as you think.

The mast can be replaced without tearing into the RX.

Check availability and the cost from the dealer etc. If you can not find instructions, (or the part does not come with one), I will gladly post them for you ... provided you are DIY type.

Salim.

Pilot

Thanks guys!

I will check with the local dealer about warranty. If not, I will buy the mast, and attempt to install, after obtaining instructions.

Pilot

Pilot

I took the RX300 into the dealer where I bought it new 15 months before, and hoped for the best. They looked at it and told me no warranty. I told them to go ahead and replace the mast. They charged me a total of 160.00, with 90.00 being one hour labor! The mast was 61.00 on the invoice, and the rest was called shop fees.

This did not make me feel warm and fuzzy, when I was out the door in 45 minutes, which included a washed car, with armour-all on the tires. I guess I paid a rate of 90.00 per hour for someone to wash my car. I would like to find out what the official shop flat rate time is to change the mast. I bet it is more like .5 hrs.

I will fill out the service survey that will surly come in the mail from Lexus with my comments.

Pilot

salimshah

I did offer to post instructions.

My guess by looking at the instructions was that it should take less than 1/2 hr to do the work. I am not sure about Lex dealership but some shops only go in increments of 1/2 hr on labor. 32 mins of work ends up being 1hr.

Maybe the dealership needed 2 mechanics to replace the mast
The instructions need one person in the cab and one outside working with the mast.

I hope you enjoyed the refreshments, washed car, and the dealers word behind a job well done.

Salim

Pilot

Salim

In hindsight, I should have just bought the mast, and came back to the forum and asked you for the instructions. I had replaced a power mast in a Honda a few years ago, so its not like I could not have done it.

I was caught in a weak moment, with a busy schedule, and a wife that wanted her RX fixed pronto!

Thanks again for the offer. I will take it next time!

Pilot

w4rjd

Please post the directions. BTW I paid $53 for the mast a couple of weeks ago after the antenna and a tree limb had a meeting.

When I replaced it, I took half of the back of the car apart. Hope there is an eaiser method.

Stu

salimshah

How to replace the antenna rod:

1. Set ignition switch to LOCK
2. Remove Antenna Nut. (outside of RX.. where the rod goes in)
3. Have some one to hold/catch the antenna rod to prevent damage.
4. Hold AM, FM Buttons and trun the ign to ACC. The rod would extend fully and will be released.

5. Leave the ign switch at ACC as it will be used to install the new rod. Otherwise repeat step 4 before going to 6.

6. Ensure the teeth of the cable face the REAR of RX.
7. Insert the antenna roughly 300mm.
8. Wind cable by turning ign to LOCK (the motor will turn to wind the antenna. If the teeth do not engage, twist (spin) the antenna rod back and forth by a small amount (10~15 degrees each way).. normal position is with the teeth facing rear.
9. Install the antenna nut, even if the mast is not fully retracted.
10. Inspect for smooth operation by raising and lowering the antenna.
11. The mast will eventually fully retract.

Disclaimer: I have not replaced the mast myself.

Salim

cephraim

Anyone have the directions for replacing the antenna MOTOR?

Actually, what I'd really like to do is mount an antenna booster in the trunk area (that little compartment) and tie it in to the antenna line (and power) there, rather than under the dash.

But, I still need access to the antenna signal wire and a power wire.

Thanks,
Eph

HarrierAWD

Happened to me, too. I turned down the music to answer a cell call. Later I went through the car wash not realizing the antenna is still up. Damn car wash attendant didn't warn me

Cost me $160 at my Lexus dealer. No warranty for my stupidity.

KeysRx300

There are some nice diagrams on how to change an antenna mast. On the RX300 How to web page.

http://rx300how2.home.comcast.net/an...eplacement.htm

Lil4X

Yeah, I did it too - listening to a tape as I drove the 300 through a carwash - ejected the tape, causing the system to activate the radio, extending the antenna -- right into the overhead brush. Ignorance/stupidity was not warrantable in my case either. $160 smartened me up a little.

Whitestrok

Takes about 5 minutes. Got mine on e-bay oem Toyota part brand new about $50. with instructions.

cephraim

Great site, thanks!
I was hoping for instructions on how to replace (or at least gain access to) the antenna *motor*.

Any instructions on that?

Thanks,
Eph