Speaking of brake fluid, can I use the ATE Super Blue Dot 4 brake fluid on the RX330? Sorry for the noob questions, this is my first Lexus?

 

I am 99.9% sure you can. There are those who use in their RX300s.

 

Amsoil makes some great products. I use to have some bottles of fuel injector cleaner from them (bought them in Texas) until I ran out.

To give you an idea of the hassles that occur here, my uncle gets on occasion AutoRX (which some of you know), but he has to have a guy drive it in from the border (sometimes they got stopped, sometimes not).

The problem centers around a hazardous materials permit, and auto lubricants are on that list. Not long ago I had a friend who worked at the American embassy here. She had a CVT Murano from Virginia. However, the CVT at the time was a special version in Mexico, and most Muranos had a normal transmission (I have no idea why), but when she went to the dealer they could not get the fluid at all (several weeks). Add to that she had a busted transfer case (my uncle fixed it), but we had to drain out the tranny as the oil was dirt black and we couldn't just throw any ATF in there of course.

Even though she was a diplomat, the Mexican government gave her so many issues and red tape and only after some manuvering, was she finally able to get the stuff sent.

True, you can chance it and try sending the stuff through in the mail, but you take a risk. My uncle lost some shipments this way.

Fortunatley, we not have some friends who are licensed importers as of a month ago, who agreed without cost to accept the shipments (since they have the licenses), but we still have to pay a hefty 30% tax and it is whatever the Mexican Aduana thinks it should be.

 

I will drain and fill mine @ 30k miles and we will see what the fluid looks like. I plan to do it every 15k thereafter.

 

Change it at 20000! My 01 manual said no need to change and on it also says it on the dipstick. Bought mine at 70000 miles. Lost the trans at 98000. I don't the 100000 mile fluid worked!? For a few hundred dollars in 100000 miles that is better than 3500.00?

I surmised that original 300's had issues with their trans after getting on these forums after losing the trans and astonished that a"Toyota" had such a problem. Mu luck! My wife is looking at a 53000, 2004, rx330. I can put up with the small stuff but hearing about shift issues scares me on the 330 an 350. Are there any failures with the rx330 yet? The 01 I have had the same issues like it would lag under acceleration when it up would down shift upon passing a car on the highway mostly. This slipping over the long haul is what chews up an Automatic trans. The clutch pack on mine exploded upon an easy acceleration from a stop light. Good sign of deteriorated fluid. The new trans is noticeably crisper and good solid shifts. I need to test drive this one again to see if has the new dealer fix programming flash for the trans.

 

We had our 04 RX330 tranny flushed at 60K and currently have 80K on it. So far so good and I wouldn't expect anything less. My issue with the RX330 is the constant brake warping we have experienced, but from my research on the forum, it doesn't appear to be a widespread problem. Other than that, it has been a solid vehicle.

 

I can feel a pulsing on 55~60 miles per hour braking....how much of a problem was it for you? Was it repaired under warranty?
How many times?

 

I am sorry, that doesn't bode well based upon my experience. That is exactly the problem I have experienced; the pulsing was around 60mph.

We have 80K on our 04 RX330. We have had our rotors turned (and applied TSB04-004) at 26K, new rotors at 62K and then turned again at 74K. I always use OEM parts, but the last two were handled at a shop that specializes in Toyota/Lexus products exclusively. The 26K issue was covered under warranty, the rest have been on "my dime". I wrote/called Lexus and was told (essentially), too bad.

I always have the tires hand torqued and my wife is pretty easy on a car, so I don't know what the problem is. But, I will tell you, I am quite frustrated and based upon my experience, it will happen again.

 

Figures, I read about this issue a long time ago. It has not bothered a lot of the members here, so it maybe a few of us who had bum rotors. Since my pads are thinning, I better get into the shop and complain about the pulsing and probably get the rotors turned and new pads put in.