RX - 2nd Gen (2004-2009) Discussion topics related to the 2004 -2009 RX330, RX350 and RX400H models

Poor Quality

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Old 09-09-08, 11:21 AM
  #46  
samster16
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Originally Posted by Joeb427
Every vehicle forum has people complaining about this and that problem.
Yes that's true. I posted before thinking through.

No pun intended to all RX owners.
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Old 09-09-08, 12:25 PM
  #47  
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Originally Posted by harleydjce
I agree that every Marque will have issues but sometimes people expectations are unrealistic.

It might help if we knew the context of your problems ie what were the problems you have experienced?
transmission,door seals,backup camera,front shocks, transmission, transmission,front headlight leveling,rear shocks, this car has had more issues then my last 3 cars put together.

Originally Posted by The G Man
All the new Lexus sedan have serious quality issues, maybe except for the LS460. About 50% of the IS, GS, ES have serious rattle and squeak problems along with other various issues. On the other hand, the new Lexus SUV are actually good as far as quality.
the LS460 is extensively tested before it leaves the factory so thats expected. dont forget that the ES has the transmission issues too, same with the camry,solara,avalon, rav4, bascially any car that toyota makes with the fwd/3.3 3.5 engine. rattling would drive me nuts, my RX surprisngly doesnt rattle, might be the only problem i havent gotten that a good amount of people have. maybe the GX and LX are good, but Rx?


Originally Posted by jfelbab
Not a cut down but what Consumer Reports are you reading? Here is a subset of their current "Best of the Best" list.

Article here:http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...view/index.htm



If you examine their "Worst of the Worst" list you will not find a Toyota or Lexus model on it.

In analyzing owner satisfaction they say this about SUV' owners:

anything toyota makes wont be on the worst list just like how you wont find anything honda makes on that list. ive read in their magazine that they no longer automatically recommend new toyotas/lexus models based on their receding quality. plus there are 2-3 models which have average or below average quality, which is a departure when they used to recommend all new lexus models and all models were excellent or above average.

Originally Posted by The G Man
The sampling poll size are too small, another example of consumer report trying to save a few bucks. In years pass, they dont even survey and just give Toyota and Lexus high marks from pass merits.
I been driving Toyots and Lexus for almost 15 years, the quality on the old Lexus were simple the best in the industry, bar none. there is no way that these new Toyota and Lexus are as built to the same quality as they use to be. All that cost cutting, a penny here and a penny there are finally starting to catch up to Lexus.
i agree maybe consumer reports isnt the best guide, but they must have something to backup what they claim. i agree though from my first car a toyota camry all the way until my 99rx300 toyotas and lexuses used to be built much better, i used to have almost no trouble. my mechanic says that the older toyotas and lexus models were built a lot better and had much less problems. how else do you explain my RX330 having more problems then my last three cars which were either toyota or lexus models put together. its not just my car, my mechanics 2005 RX330 has had a lot of problems too. like what the Gman said toyota quality is dropping in their quest to be the worlds to selling manufacturer. i wonder what happened to the investigation that the japanese government opened against toyota in japan for making cars that have declining quality and reliability?
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Old 09-09-08, 12:31 PM
  #48  
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Even the new LS460 have rattle and wind noise problems. If you going any forum for the last 2 generations LS, all you hear is how solid those cars were built.
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Old 09-10-08, 12:08 AM
  #49  
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Originally Posted by AM1
transmission,door seals,backup camera,front shocks, transmission, transmission,front headlight leveling,rear shocks, this car has had more issues then my last 3 cars put together.
That's a pretty serious list and I certainly don't blame you for being less than impressed! I've had 1 issue in three Lexus vehicles.

Is it a NA made RX?
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Old 09-10-08, 10:42 AM
  #50  
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Some love their RX and some don't. Maybe it's where they are built or what owners invision the car should be.
I'm in the second group. I got it as a luxury car for the wife and I to travel in. My tail bone is still sore from a trip 6 months ago. A luxury SUV, no. Just a SUV with a lot of toys and some poorly placed controls and buttons.

I also read Consumer Report on the RX and wounder where they found such a good one.

I love it when people ask me how I like my Lexus.
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Old 09-10-08, 10:55 AM
  #51  
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Sorry to hear you are having such trouble.
I just want to chime in as another happy owner. 2 years and 30,000 miles without a hint of trouble.
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Old 09-10-08, 11:06 AM
  #52  
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Originally Posted by harleydjce
That's a pretty serious list and I certainly don't blame you for being less than impressed! I've had 1 issue in three Lexus vehicles.

Is it a NA made RX?
nah, mine was made in japan. my mechanics 2005 RX330 FWD was made in japan also. he has had similar problems the dfference is mine is a lease and goes back very soon he financed his, so he isnt getting rid of his anytime soon. his FJ cruiser has been almost problem free, so maybe we both got bad ones, who knows.

Originally Posted by grouch
Some love their RX and some don't. Maybe it's where they are built or what owners invision the car should be.
I'm in the second group. I got it as a luxury car for the wife and I to travel in. My tail bone is still sore from a trip 6 months ago. A luxury SUV, no. Just a SUV with a lot of toys and some poorly placed controls and buttons.

I also read Consumer Report on the RX and wounder where they found such a good one.

I love it when people ask me how I like my Lexus.
seems like some people either have little to no problems with the car while others (unlucky) people seem to have a lot of problems. but then again sometimes i wonder if people are just overlooking or just settling with the problems and just writing it off? someone told me once if the car drives who cares if the suspension bottoms out? or who cares if the door seals make wind noise if you have thre radio on anyways?

Originally Posted by SlateRXMN
Sorry to hear you are having such trouble.
I just want to chime in as another happy owner. 2 years and 30,000 miles without a hint of trouble.
good thing that you have no trouble, hopefully it will stay that way. either way stay in the loop with your local dealer so that way if there are updates or TSB's you get them taken care of right away.
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Old 09-10-08, 11:47 AM
  #53  
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That is so true AM1, some people just dont care about little problems, its just a car after all. Then there are people like me where every little rattle drives me crazy.
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Old 09-10-08, 02:05 PM
  #54  
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Originally Posted by The G Man
That is so true AM1, some people just dont care about little problems, its just a car after all. Then there are people like me where every little rattle drives me crazy.
All those must account for it's J.D. Powers quality rating.

http://www.kbb.com/kbb/NewCars/Quali...408-187-5476-1
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Old 09-10-08, 09:54 PM
  #55  
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Originally Posted by The G Man
That is so true AM1, some people just dont care about little problems, its just a car after all. Then there are people like me where every little rattle drives me crazy.
see theres really nothing wrong with how much or how little you care about your car. the thing is that when you buy a car if there are even small problems and it drives you nuts then i think you have a right to feel like that. the newer RX350's seemed to have fixed a lot of problems or at least made some of the problems in earlier models seem not as apparent.
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Old 09-11-08, 04:36 AM
  #56  
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Originally Posted by The G Man
That is so true AM1, some people just dont care about little problems, its just a car after all. Then there are people like me where every little rattle drives me crazy.
Yeah,that's my wife.
As long as the car starts,that's all that matters.
Me...I'm like you.
So far,the RX350 has been flawless.
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Old 09-11-08, 07:01 AM
  #57  
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Here is another indicator from J.D. Powers where the Lexus brand is compared to the others. Can you spot any other brand with 5-star dependability ratings across the board?

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings...tings-by-brand

My experience with the Lexus brand, and the RX in particular, dovetails nicely with this assessment. I think those vocal few here who are having numerous serious issues need to move their complaints to Lexus Corporate as at least there they might have a chance of getting some remedy. All the evidence suggests that their bad experience is not the norm. Check out the Consumer Reports Auto Issue ratings which is a compilation of thousands of user experiences, the KBB Reviews, or JD Powers research and you will come to the same conclusion.

My Japanese built 04 RX never rattled, or had any other annoying issues aside from some initial wind noise. The wind noise was corrected by a TSIB that stopped the windows from closing so much that the rubber weatherstripping was being distorted. Now after 45,000 miles, it still looks, and drives like new. I get great gas mileage (22.4 mpg average over it's life) and everything still works as expected.

Compared to the 30 or so new cars I've owned, (mostly Toyota and Lexus but also several GM and Ford) this RX is clearly the very best in terms of quality by any yardstick.

I too love it when people ask me about my Lexus.
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Old 09-11-08, 11:38 AM
  #58  
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Originally Posted by jfelbab
Here is another indicator from J.D. Powers where the Lexus brand is compared to the others. Can you spot any other brand with 5-star dependability ratings across the board?

http://www.jdpower.com/autos/ratings...tings-by-brand

My experience with the Lexus brand, and the RX in particular, dovetails nicely with this assessment. I think those vocal few here who are having numerous serious issues need to move their complaints to Lexus Corporate as at least there they might have a chance of getting some remedy. All the evidence suggests that their bad experience is not the norm. Check out the Consumer Reports Auto Issue ratings which is a compilation of thousands of user experiences, the KBB Reviews, or JD Powers research and you will come to the same conclusion.

My Japanese built 04 RX never rattled, or had any other annoying issues aside from some initial wind noise. The wind noise was corrected by a TSIB that stopped the windows from closing so much that the rubber weatherstripping was being distorted. Now after 45,000 miles, it still looks, and drives like new. I get great gas mileage (22.4 mpg average over it's life) and everything still works as expected.

Compared to the 30 or so new cars I've owned, (mostly Toyota and Lexus but also several GM and Ford) this RX is clearly the very best in terms of quality by any yardstick.

I too love it when people ask me about my Lexus.
i cant speak for anyone else, but i know that lexus is still probably the one of the most reliable brand out there compared to others, i get that. posting more articles is fine, however there is evidence that lexus and toyota are slipping in quality and are having real issues in many models, problems that while are a lot less and less serious then other manufacturers is real and is there. in the past i bought lexus or toyota due to their stellar reliability and build quality, other areas were not their strong suit like sportiness, fun to drive, etc, but i was willing to sacrifice that for not having to worry about the car and having to get it serviced a lot. now with my rx330 having problems galore and also having my service advisor at the local lexus dealer not to mention the techs saying that lexus models in general are having more issues then years past, make me wonder why i would consider another lexus as my next car? again, im not knocking anyone elses lexus or decision to buy a lexus model. just that if the cars may or may not be reliable, why not get a car that is sporty, or is fun to drive, or has better technology, etc something that most lexus models really dont have.
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Old 09-11-08, 12:11 PM
  #59  
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jfelbab, I think you are the only one here who think that Toyota / Lexus have not decline in quality.
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Old 09-11-08, 01:40 PM
  #60  
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Originally Posted by The G Man
jfelbab, I think you are the only one here who think that Toyota / Lexus have not decline in quality.
I seriously doubt that but let me again say that I've owned over a dozen new Toyota and Lexus vehicles and I sure don't see the decline you are trying to imply. I believe just the opposite is true, and JD Powers apparently does too. Seems the only source for your assertion are two or three people here on this forum. All manufacturers have problems occasionally. Toyota and Lexus are no exceptions. They statistically have had fewer problems than their competition but they are not immune. I don't see a trend indicating a decline. Where are your statistical facts to support that? I've shown several to support just the opposite.

I can sympathize with you if your are having problems but I don't think two or three people on this forum make make a statistically valid trend.
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