RandyL712

Just bought a 2000 RX and could NOT be happier

We'll be using it to tow our small boat (2,500 lb with trailer), so I need to have a hitch installed. How do I know if I have the factory tow prep package? I looked under the bumper but can't see any wire looms or anything that looks like a power kit waiting to be tapped. How do I find out?

Daddy-O

If your RX is FWD, chances are there is no factory tow prep pkg. They are generally offered on AWD models. If there isn't a factory tow hitch installed, you don't have the tow prep kit...or someone removed the hitch.

Look for a tranny cooler on the right side of the engine bay near the right front wheel, or rather than crawl around under your RX, surf to lexus.com and register your vehicle in the owner's section. This site will tell you what packege was on your RX when it was originally sold.

Good luck.

RandyL712

It's a 2000 AWD model, with the heated seats package, and I THOUGHT I read that the same package had the towing prep package which wires the trailer lights towards the back of the truck (versus having to wire it at the battery)

Registering at Lexus.com does not show you any options, just year and color.

toy4two

I just got a 2000 RX300 AWD and it came with a tow package. Does this mean my car has a transmission cooler and oil cooler?

How could I check? Is it visible from the front?

AgSport

The earlier AWD RX would have gotten an externally mounted tranny cooler + bigger radiator. The later models got a bigger radiator with a few more rows of fins for additional tranny cooling; i.e the larger radiator had the "additional" tranny cooler built in. If you have a later model FWD RX and added the Tow Prep Package, you'd get/have the upgraded radiator.

All the later model RX have the the lights pre-wired to a set of connectors in the spare tire well and inside the driver-side C-pillar. You need to buy a Trailer Wire Harness Kit for the proper hook-up with the control module (if you want to do it the factory method). The older models required some dice & splicing to get the wiring correct using the factory Kit.

I have a 2002 SilverSport, and a Lexus Master Tech friend helped me get the Kit and I did the install myself and he then checked it out be4 I buttoned it all back together. Works perfect, everytime. And it looks factory-direct.

paul8801

I believe the '00 AWD but not 2WD models have the larger radiator and tranny coolers as standard. However, definitely neither are prepped for tow hitch wiring like the 2001 and later years (for those years, in addition to the receiver which can be Lexus or aftermarket, you can buy a kit from Toyota/Lexus which has the converter and a short wiring pigtail and everything just bolts on and plugs in). On my '00 installed a Hidden Hitch Class III round tube receiver from etrailer and used a Modulite converter and wiring kit from Draw-Tite. I had to splice in to the taillight wiring myself . For power, I spliced into the cargo area cigarette lighter socket. Looks and works great.