Legendman

Hello to all:

I am just days away from owning my first Lexus, an AWD RX330. But I have a question first:

Has anyone any personal experience, or know of, quality differences between those RX cars made at the new plant in Ontario, Canada, as opposed to those produced in Japan?

As an Acura owner, I am sold on Japanese manufacture and employees. While I know that Lexus and Toyota must have worked very hard to have parity in the new Canadian plant, rumors are floating -- at Lexus dealerships and elsewhere -- that the Japanese built car is still the best way to go. Others argue that the new Canadian plant is more modern than the old plant and the quality is better.

Does anyone have an opinion on this, or know anything that would be useful to me prior to consummating my pending purchase? Thanks in advance for any input or advice.

rxdriver

Yes, there are several people who believe that the Canadian plant is producing an inferior product. I think someone would have to do some objective research to figure out if that's really true.

There have been way too many TSIB's (service bulletins) for the RX330 in general. A lot of issues arose in the 2004 model, regardless of where it was built. A lot of rattle / noise issues, and the intelligent transmission seems to be too smart for its own good, shifting abruptly or at strange moments. The rattles started in Japan, and Canada reproduced some of them. For example, the infamous dash rattles affect units made in both countries.

There have been 3 recalls of 2004 RX330's:
- The first 12,000 units made in Japan were recalled due to a defect in the catalytic converter that caused the exhaust system to make noise.
- The first 15,000 units made in Canada were recalled due to a defective radiator, which cracks in extreme cold weather.
- Just about all 2004 RX330's, regardless of the factory, are recalled to replace the switch on the brake pedal that activates the brake lights.

The U.S. National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) is investigating a complaint that could become a fourth recall. It seems some brake boosters used on units made in Canada are having problems in cold weather, similar to the radiators.

All of these recalls are due to defective parts, not defective manufactuing. It can certainly be argued that Lexus needs to improve their inspection process on incoming parts.

Canada now makes most of the units shipped to North America. It is possible to special-order a unit from Japan, but you'll have to wait for it. (The whole point of producing them in Canada is to decrease shipping costs and time.)

I think the research needs to answer this simple question: is the Canadian plant introducing new issues, or does it just appear that way because they're making more of the RX330's now? In other words, is it just coincidence that the problems are popping up in Canada? Are these design problems? Are they issues with suppliers that need to be resolved?

Lexus put a lot of effort into making sure that their product could be made outside of Japan with equal quality and therefore customer satisfaction. People that have toured the plant in Canada have posted that the effort is obvious as soon as you see it. It's really hard for me to believe that there's something fundamentally wrong with the Canadian plant. that would create a drastic difference in the quality of the output.

Domo-Kun

If you look at all the high end models for which ever luxury brand, they all manufacturer their flagship models in their home countries. When was the last time you saw an LS430, NSX, or M5 that was manufactured in Canada or Mexico? In fact, there is no homegrown brand from Canada or Mexico that is sold in the U.S. market.

LexFather

Welcome to Clublexus, please see my and other comments in this thread.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ghlight=canada

1.The RX just sold 110k cars and is still the highest quality vehicle in its class.
2. We have had Canadian Clublexus members visit the plant and were very impressed.
3. Lexus is built to be a Lexus, no matter where it is built. Lexus is built twice as stringint as Toyotas, which is already a quality leader. Lexus knows how important quality is to customers concerning Lexus.
4. You cannot base failures of other carmakers with their plants away from they're home country to Lexus.

Lexy GS430

I am in the process of getting the (05 RX330 AWD). I need one that is made in japan, and my question is how can i tell which one is made in japan? I thought that all lexus are suppose to have a little sticker that says where the origin is. I just don't want to go there, and my sales guy points out disunhonestly, because he wants to make a quick sale, and whats not my best interest.

Thanks.

700t

Why do you want one from Japan? The plant in Japan builds the Highlander on the same line as the RX and produce about 500 cars per shift. Thats a fast line speed. They also have the problem of abiding by 2 different standards Toy and Lex.
In Canada the Lex line is separate and their line speed is much slower, 150 cars per shift. They also have all new robots and other state of the art equipment.
Yes there is a sticker on the drivers door or door jam, eg. Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada or Japan. Good Luck

rxdriver

The VIN starts with "J" for Japan or "2" for Canada.

bizzy928

Exactly!!!

toy4two

Make sure the VIN starts with a J. I guess I'm old fashioned, I like to buy cars that are made in the country they are from.

Look what happened to BMW and Nissan when they made models in the US.

HarrierAWD

According to the Consumer Reports survey, the new Highlander (Japan-built only) gets the excellent rating for reliability, while the new RX330 (combined Japan & Canada) receives the above average rating for reliability. So take a wild guess on how the chuckwagon RX330 hold up.

bizzy928

What is a "chuckwagon?"

HarrierAWD

It's my way of saying Canadian-made RX330. Ever heard of Canadian chuckwagon race?

http://www.ucalgary.ca/unicomm/research/

LexNatural

I thought that the AWD RX's were all made in Japan.
Are there Canadian AWD's?

700t

Do you have something against Canada or the people that build the RX @ TMMC.
Is your RX made in Japan or Canada? Have you had any problems that would make you slam the Canadian made RX?

lexuslover

rxdriver, thanks for the great info. i am wondering where i can get more into on this catalytic converter recall - i never received any recall notice on this (but i did get the brake light recall), and i am pretty sure i have one of the first 12000 japan built RX's based on my vin # and the fact that i took delivery before official launch in U.S. can you direct me to the site you found this info? thanks for help, and sorry to disrupt this thread!

i personally wouldn't doubt the canadian quality standards - sure there are going to be some kinks to work out in the beginning, but i don't think toyota would have spent the amount of money they did to risk their reputation on the #1 selling lux SUV. the original engineers in Japan spent months to years in canada building the plant and training employees. it's a point of pride for canada and toyota japan, so i am sure they are doing everything possible to keep it the same high quality as all the plants in japan.