looknow12

Our dealer told us they basically aren't making many RX 330's with Dynamic Laser Cruise Control.

Is this correct? Does anyone have allocation reports.

techlover

We have a 2004 with the laser cruise control. I have already driven 200 + miles on quiet interstates where I didn't have to hit the gas or the brake!

It has performed flawlessly and is worth every penny. If you have any doubts about it I would recomend that you drive any Lexus that has either the laser or radar cruise control. Once you have it you will not be able to imagine driving on the interstate without it. It's that good.

I might think your dealer is telling you this because very few RX's come standard with it. Verify his statement with higher up Lexus management beyond the dealership level.

We have 13000 miles on our 2004 and have enjoyed the pleasure of dynamic cruise control many times on the highway. Andy

techlover

MIsread your many as any. Yes few RX's come with dynamic cruise control. Sorry . But I would strongly advise you to buy one with it. It's one of the best and most practical options i have ever gotten on a car. I would compare it say to when power windows came out compared to the old manual ones. You could live without the power but they sure were a lot more fun to put up and down! Andy

rxdriver

It would be great if someone could update this thread with the current "standard builds" for each region.

For the '04 RX 330, I was told that laser cruise was only available on one such build for the Southern Region. (Of course, you can special-order just about anything if you're willing to wait for it.)

The reason Lexus chose to do this makes a little sense if you think about how the laser cruise works. The laser cruise emits light beams from the front bumper, and computes the amount of time needed for the light to be reflected by something ahead of you (presumably, another car). This implies that your front bumper is clean enough for the light to get out and get back in, and also that the car in front of you has a fair amount of reflective surface that's clean. That's a safe assumption most of the time, but in winter climates, that's asking a lot when the roads are salty and cars are covered with snow and ice. Because of this challenge, Lexus must have decided that not enough people in northern states would pay the extra money (about $600 MSRP, if I recall correctly) to have it included on the car.

I agree that it's a great feature to have if you use the cruise control regularly. I couldn't get it on my 330... maybe next time!

techlover

Dynamic cruise control wil not activate if the windshield wipers are on. In rain or snow it wouldn't be safe to follow someone too closely with it on. Also for sure on ice we wouldn't want to use it. Even up north for most of the year the weather is very plesant and the dynamic cruise control would work well most of the time. There is also a back up manual cruise control that works anytime even in the rain.

I think once you use this feature you will love it. I dislike driving my other cars on the highway now that don't have it. Dynamic cruise control is such a practical idea. It's almost like playing a video game with all its different settings . It even applies the brakes for you if the person in front of you is slowing down rapidly and then sets off a little hissing noise from the dash to make sure you are paying attention. Andy

looknow12

They don't show it on the lexus.com website when Building your Model. I also don't see the option for Air Suspension either.

rxdriver

Don't go by the model builder on lexus.com. It's been trained to know "standard" manufacturing configurations. However, that implies that if it's not in the model builder then you'll have a hard time finding it in stock on a dealer lot.

You can special order just about anything. For a complete list of options, use Kelley Blue Book or Edmunds.

Lil4X

I was very tempted to order the laser cruise on my RX, but it seemed that there was a delay in shipping the earliest 330s with that option. Lexus had thoroughly sorted the electronics, but the delivery delay was supposedly caused by the lawyers sorting through the liability laws in the US.

Makes sense . . . . if there's anything more dangerous than a failed cruise control, it's a litigious lawyer.

Rockville

The laser cruise control feature is not that new. It first appeared on the 2001LS430 Ultra Lux package. It works well in dry weather conditions. It doesn't see well in heavy rain, snow or fog. The RX330 performance package in 2004 included this feature. Inorder to be price competitive some of the more exotic features like the air suspension, extra large sunroof and laser cruise control have been placed in the special order category. A special order from the Japan factory is required. Here in the East we get our RX330's from the Cambridge, Ontario factory. The lead time is about a month. A special order from Japan takes about 3-4 months to get.

The new RX400h with its holistic selection of the newest technologies will not be offerred with the laser cruise. Maybe it didn't integrate into the various new systems well.

The newer system that is available on the LS430 Custom and Ultra Packages and the new GS series by order is the Radar cruise control unit which is always on scanning the road ahead for objects in your way. It is called PCS or Pre Collision System. If cruise control is actually on it will brake and track the car ahead at one of three selected distances all the way down to 25 MPH. The advantage of the millimeter radar is that it works in all weather including fog. The next step would be to make it a collision avoidance system. Then you get to a liability exposure that is greater than the potential market reward but it is possible to engineer. Maybe someday you will have to sign a waiver.