sd2528

We picked up our Black and Ivory 2006 RX with AWD and navi on Saturday. There is something poetic about driving your first AWD vehicle off the lot in a snow storm.


Comments:
1) This is our first SUV. Both my wife and I are used to driving small two door sportier cars. It’s a completely different world driving that high off the ground.

2) It’s also going to take some getting used to looking into the rear view mirrors and seeing all that car behind us. There is also quite a blind spot on this car. Luckily both my wife and I are paranoid drivers and we always glance outside the windows before we switch lanes. That the blind spot on the drives side of the car is tough and will take some getting used to as well.

3) When I pressed the dealer about the January upgrade DVD for the navi he didn’t say he would give it to me but he offered a solution that (based on the rules of other forums I post on) might get me banned if I share. Use your imagination.

4) The navi isn’t quite as intuitive as I thought it would be. We did go on a little trip yesterday and it served its purpose very well but we did have a little trouble. We couldn’t figure out how to turn off the guide. We figured out how to replace one destination with another and how to suspend guidance but not remove a destination or completely turn off guidance. It’s going to take some manual reading and trial and error but from what we saw of the navi we really like it.

5) Since they can sense when there is someone in the passenger seat for the air bag it would be nice if they used that to let you enter info into the navi while the car was moving.

6) It’s nice that the trunk cover (or whatever it is called) contracts when the back door is opened but it would be nice if there was a way it could automatically extend when the door closed.


Questions:
1) What type of gas should I use? The manual says to use 91 or higher but that the car can take 87 or higher. Anyone see any short or longer term benefits from using the higher grade?

2) Is there a way to manually add entries to the phone book? We have Verizon and they block the transfer of phone book entries but we do have a Bluetooth enabled laptop. Is there a way to transfer the phone book to the laptop and then from the laptop to the car? As an alternative is there a way to add phone book entries manually? I figured out how to set up one touch dialing by calling a number and then pulling it from the call log but I didn’t figure out how to put that in the phone book or set a name to it.

3) There is a smell that comes from the vents when the air or heat is on. My wife thinks it smells like burning rubber, I think it just smells like new plastic. I’m assuming that will go away after a bit of use but I just wanted to make sure.

4) Being new to SUVs and paranoid I was just wondering how hard you would have to try to get this thing to roll over? Like I said we are used to driving smaller, sportier cars so this is an adjustment. I wasn’t accelerating into any turns yesterday nor do I plan on it (it is just not that type of car) but is this something you only have to worry about with emergency avoidance maneuvers? I didn’t notice any lean or anything but I’m hoping this isn’t an issue at all with normal everyday driving… even when your driver is used to sports cars.

5) Any mirror positioning tips for the blind spot?


It might seem like I’m complaining but make no mistake, we love this car. It’s incredibly luxurious and well thought out. I’m complaining about little things like the trunk cover because there isn’t much else to talk about.

LexFather

Congrats on your purchase.
1, For maximum performance and effciency, use what is recommended. Yes, the car will run on 87 but its not built for that gas.
2. I don't know
3. New car smell
4. We have a RX 300 AWD and I've driven RX 330s and RX 400h's. The 2RX is a much better handler and is a more secure drive, they did a great job upgrading it. I've driven all RXs VERY hard and I can say the RX 300 scared me when taking a u-turn at a high speed, whereas the RX 330/400 felt more planted. Neither is a 911 but IMO, it really would take a lot to roll over in either one, and more so in the 2RX.
5. As for blind spots, I suggest going to autozone or some auto store and buing those small circular blind spot mirrors. They stick on the outside window and do WONDERS in concerns to blind spots, strongly recommended.

dfwrx330

Hello sd2528,

We picked up an 05 RX330 in May and have a couple of the same questions and comments that you do. We love the car as well.

Not sure what you mean by "turn off the guide" but we've found that simply suspending guidance does what we need it to do. Should I be looking for something more? I haven't been able to remove a destination either, short of deleting it, and I don't want to do that. It seems like once you use the navigation system, a destination is recorded and must be replaced or added to forever; i.e., there is always a destination once you set one.

My manual is confusing about what grade to use. The implication seems to be that you can use anything but there is a preference for higher than 87 octane. In any event, we use mid-grade in our 05. No problems so far.

I'd love to be able to use the Bluetooth functionality. (My wife is a Luddite and doesn't care.) We use Sprint, and they, similar to Verizon, have not come out with a fully compatible phone. I'm hoping for that eventually. Meanwhile, I will go without Bluetooth, but some on this site have reported success with a laptop or by buying a cheap, used, compatible (but not Verizon in your case) phone that will transfer numbers to the Lexus.

Ed

shesells

Lexus's official position is that no Verizon phone is compatible with the bluetooth system in their cars. Apparently, they turn off some functions on the phone that enable you to do the functions necessary to run the system. Supposedly, in the spring Verizon will make the Razor available, but will they shut off these functions. Probably. Verizon sucks. Anyway, Lexus also says that if you put the sim card with the numbers to be transfered on it into another compatible device, that will work. Or just cancel your Verizon and get an AT&T/Cingular phone.

litzdog911

1. There are several threads here about gas octane. The general concensus seems to be that 91 octane provides slightly better performance and mileage than lower octane.

2. The new Nokia 6256i phone is available from "indirect" Verizon dealers, like Circuit City and Best Buy. It supports transfering one contact at a time as a "business card".

But here's what some of us have done .... buy a used GSM Bluetooth phone on eBay, like a Sony Ericsson T68i. You can find "unlocked" phones for $30-40 on eBay. Then get a $10 prepaid GSM SIM card from a carrier like Cingular or TMobile. You can then enter your phone book contacts into that phone and transfer the whole lot to your Lexus in one shot. You'll also have a spare phone that you can even use overseas.

sd2528

”Not sure what you mean by "turn off the guide" but we've found that simply suspending guidance does what we need it to do. Should I be looking for something more?”

Maybe not. I just thought there might be a way to stop guidance completely instead of suspending it to continue at a future time.


”Not really the case.. IMHO, this is more of a Lexus issue than a Verizon issue. My Verizon Treo works perfectly with my other car. (BMW) and many Audi owners report the same success.”

I’m not going to speak about any other phone model but in my case it is definitely Verizon’s fault. My LG VX8100 works fine with the navi except for the phone book transfer. I even looked up phones on the Verizon website to see if any other phones would work and I found this page Bluetooth compatible phones that Verizon currently offers.


http://dts.vzw.com/how_to_use/bluetooth_car_kit.html

I don’t remember off the top of my head but most (if not all) Verizon phones do not transfer phone books.


In my opinion transferring phone books isn’t a huge deal since you can set up one touch dialing anyway. It would just be nice to have a name associated with the numbers instead of just the number.

The cheap phone on e-bay is a thought. I might try that if I can’t get the laptop to do it. Thanks.

nopcbs

First, never apologize for complaining. It's just an (expensive) car after all and has plenty of flaws. (I am rather shocked at how much better our 14 year old LS400 is than our 1 year old RX330 in some ways, significant ones, too.)

Use 87 grade regular and throw in a bottle of Techron every now and then to keep the injectors clean.

Don't worry about flipping over. It will not happen unless you go out of your way to try to do it and even then the stability system will frustrate your efforts.

You are right about the navigation. It should be more intuitive (and not nag you each time you turn the engine on).

Enjoy it. just don't try to drive it like a sports sedan.

- GRL

sd2528

”First, never apologize for complaining. It's just an (expensive) car after all and has plenty of flaws. (I am rather shocked at how much better our 14 year old LS400 is than our 1 year old RX330 in some ways, significant ones, too.)”

I didn’t apologize but I didn’t who were reading the questions and comments to get an inaccurate view of what I think about the car so far... granted I’ve only put 90 miles on it so I’m not speaking from much experience but take it for what you will.

As for the LS it currently has a base MSRP that is $20,000 more than the base RX. It is a completely different class of car. It’s would be unrealistic to expect the RX to be as refined as the LS.


Additional question:
I did however have an additional question. The recommended maintenance schedule for oil changes seems kind of infrequent. I’m use to replacing my oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles. 6 months or 7,500 miles seems a little long. Do most people wait and follow the Lexus maintenance schedule or do they change the oil more frequently?

Tammy

Placing your state in your profile gives one an idea for your environmental condictions.
Here in southern Arizona, with our heat and very fine dust, I go with every quarter servicing my RX. This includes oil change, air filter cleanings, vehicle cleaning, tire and brake inspections and several other duties. I'll attach a copy of my checklist....

blue_rx330

New Plastic does have a smell. Some people like it so much, there is a spray you can buy to put that new plastic smell back in the car!

It could also be some extra lubricants/oil burning off.

If it were me, I'd check the fluid levels at each gas fill-up. And I'd take it back to the dealership if the smell wasn't gone by the first 200 miles.

IMHO - it's very hard to roll this car over in normal driving. I'm also a sporty-car driver and previously owned a 328i, WRX, and currently drive a G35 (the Rx330 is my wife's). I went to a Lexus SUV event 3 years ago, and test drove the Acura MDX, RX330, X5, and Merc ML back-to-back and tested them very hard. The RX330 felt very composed for an SUV when simulating emergencies (the one I took closest to a Roll-over was the X5 -- that is very jittery in an emergency).

But for SUVs in general - the problem is a high ride height, and higher center of gravity. So if you ever accidentally get 2 wheels off the pavement...be gentle, and don't cut the wheel too aggressively to merge back onto the road. If you over compensate, you'll build up a lot of energy and can swing the vehicle a lot farther than expected.

>> wasn’t accelerating into any turns yesterday nor do I plan on it (it is just not that type of car)

And for what its worth - don't accelerate into a turn in any type of car -- even in a sports car. Just plan ahead, leave room to burn off that speed and slow down before hitting the turn...and you'll be fine.

sd2528

”Placing your state in your profile gives one an idea for your environmental condictions.”

Sorry. I live in NJ and drive primarily in the northern NJ/NYC area.

I’d categorize our driving as pretty normal.

raleedy@ar

Seems like you could "turn off" guidance in the navigation system by deleting the destination, no?

PJFW8

As to question 2, I tried it all! Don't waste your time on other methods. Easiest solution was to get a Sony Ericson T608 on Ebay. I paid $49 plus shipping. I got a battery and charger for under $20 including shipping. I loaded the phone book (one number per name!), paired the phone and transfered all "business cards". Really easy! There is no need to activate the phone. I'm keeping the phone for future use, but I could sell it on Ebay easily!

dadcat1

If you go to the following link, you will find the method to enter destinations while moving, but you have to repeat it each time you start the car.
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=167666

nopcbs

...a new RX330 with a new LS400. I'm comparing a 1 year old (current design) RX330 with a 14 year old (3 model cycles old) LS400.

As for the oil cange interval, if you check the various Toyota discussion groups you will find that a significant number of people have had oil gelling problems and ruined engines with the Toyota/Lexus variable valve timing V6 engines if they go by the long oil change intervals suggested by Toyota and don't use synthetic oil. There is speculation as to the cause, but the cure appears to be to use synthetic oil or change a lot more frequently than the recommendation. Or both if you really want to avoid trouble (as I do).

- GRL

QUOTE=sd2528]”First, never apologize for complaining. It's just an (expensive) car after all and has plenty of flaws. (I am rather shocked at how much better our 14 year old LS400 is than our 1 year old RX330 in some ways, significant ones, too.)”

I didn’t apologize but I didn’t who were reading the questions and comments to get an inaccurate view of what I think about the car so far... granted I’ve only put 90 miles on it so I’m not speaking from much experience but take it for what you will.

As for the LS it currently has a base MSRP that is $20,000 more than the base RX. It is a completely different class of car. It’s would be unrealistic to expect the RX to be as refined as the LS.


Additional question:
I did however have an additional question. The recommended maintenance schedule for oil changes seems kind of infrequent. I’m use to replacing my oil every 3 months or 3,000 miles. 6 months or 7,500 miles seems a little long. Do most people wait and follow the Lexus maintenance schedule or do they change the oil more frequently?[/QUOTE]