nipponbird

My RX 350 is registered as a 2006 model and is right hand drive for the South African market. Since I bought it at 107,000km it had a rattle in the upper part of the steering column. Here's the circumstances under which it is audible:
Driving at low speed on certain tarred surfaces, not on a gravel road and not when traversing a bump in the road.
I have removed the upper steering column covers, but can see nothing loose or what else can cause a rattle. I am reluctant to take the car to the agents as I don`t like the idea of somebody tearing down the steering column to repair a rattle and now-now I sit with other more complicated problems, as the vehicle is in pristine condition, hope you know what I`m trying to say.
Anybody with the same problem or a suggestion?

nipponbird

Talk to me, have I posted this to Mars?

neelnaik

Welcome to Club Lexus nipponbird!

This forum is very active, but it seems that either no one else has this issue or they have it and don't know how to fix it. I don't have this issue with mine, but I would start by taking the steering column cover (plastic pieces) off and drive around to see if it is still making the noise. I would also check the universal joint, and then go from there. Good luck, and keep us updated.

nipponbird

Thanks neelnaik, I'll definitely try that. Wonderful to participate in this forum. Lexus is not yet as high profile as Toyota in South Africa. Most guys worship Toyota here, but you still get people expressing surprise when you tell them that a Lexus is actually a super Toyota, likewise workshop manuals and know-how for Toyotas can be had at every street corner, but not yet for a Lexus. Dealers also seem to subscribe to the notion that it is a bit beyond there dignity to aggressively advertise, most probably thinking that those who are so stupid as not to know what a wonderful product Lexus is, should rather be left to suffer the consequences of their ignorance. Believe you will see why and how much I appreciate your hospitality.

neelnaik

No problem! I can understand that Lexus is not as popular as Toyota, as it's the same in some of the more rural parts in the United States. Lots of smaller shops where I am hesitate to work on a Lexus (especially newer ones), but will work on Toyotas without an issue. Thankfully, we have this forum, which make the very few problems that our cars have easier to fix.

nipponbird

What happened here is that the Landcruiser 70 series proved that it can handle Africa with ease and apart from being more reliable than a rock, you can find parts for it in where you struggle to get a coke. Result is nobody would easily say anything derogatory about Toyota for fear of being ignored at best or being called all kinds of stupid. However, a guy imported a lot of Lexus V8 engines from Japan that's apparently been sold over there from secondhand cars or something. Now the off-road maniacs have installed those engines in their ex second world Jeeps and what have you, with apparent good results. These guys are about the harshest brand judges you can get. The fact that they love these engines, has done more for Lexus here, than what Lexus' own marketing has done in the decade they are here.

RX330inFL

The Toyota Land Cruiser has been a no-brainer purchase for decades now in many parts of the world. Much like the old Land Rover of old.

In some ways I am a bit disappointed that Toyota will cease sales of the FJ here in the States. Not many true and affordable truck based SUVs left in the market.

Much of what you would need to work on your RX in the way of repair manuals, though perhaps not for your steering column issue, can be found in a Highlander or RAV4 manual as many of the driveline components are the same. Common repair items, such as wheel bearings (hub assemblies) for the AWD, are the same and should be easily obtainable for you there in SA.

nipponbird

Any information on average mileage on brake pads ( of course moderate driving: town/country 50/50)?

RX330inFL

You might be able to get 30K miles minimum on a set of brake pads in city driving. In your example you might get 40K miles. You can convert those numbers to km as needed. Just be sure to listen for the wear indicators to get noisy around those time frames and inspect visually in advance.

You should be doing tire rotations every 5K miles, so with the tires off you should get in there for a look.

nipponbird

Thanks, this really addressed my concern. These vehicles' reliability can easily lull the owner into just get in and drive. Used to have an Alfa Romeo way back when. What a car! It just speaks to you in a lot of ways and I still cry myself to sleep over that car, but it sure taught me to hold a spanner ( you call this a wrench in the US, or do you also use the Pommey term?). The RX 350 is about the opposite, one gets the feeling it will just go on forever.

tromly

the Alfa Romeo was a great car, had a 1968

nipponbird

Recently went on a road trip. Johannesburg to Durban which means long uphill and downhill sweeps near Durban, any car nut or biker's dream road. My RX 350 outran most other SUV's which included Land Rover Evoques, BMW X5's (no X5M's encountered, not that crazy to include it here either) on the uphill stretches. OK one can say that they didn't try hard enough, believe me they did. Some of these SUV's have a lot more power than the RX 350 on paper, so it is either the old story of power on paper is not equal to power on the road, or my RX has been assembled on a Wednesday.
Would like to hear your opinion.

neelnaik

@nipponbird
I got 110K miles (9 years, I have a 2004 RX330) out my OEM brake pads, but my miles are about 70/30 highway/city and I'm pretty gentle with them. When I replaced them, I still had about 3 mm left on all 4.

We use the term wrench in the US for spanners. We are special lol.

With the RX350, it is actually pretty well matched to even the new Evoque and some of the X5s (depends on the engine). The 04-05 330 doesn't even come close however, and will get dusted by the Evoque and just about every X5 out there.
The Evoque actually uses a 2.0 liter turbo 4 cylinder, so it only puts out 240hp (according to Land Rover's site) with 250 ft lbs of torque. However, it is smaller and lighter than the RX350, so I would think it would be about a draw at sea level. However, with high elevation, the turbo is not going to be affected as much as the naturally aspirated RX, so I would expect the Evoque to be quicker at higher elevations.
With the X5s, I would think the RX would be quicker than the first gen with the base 3.0L I6. However, I don't think the RX would be able to keep up with the V8 models. I would think it would be the same case with the second gen. With the 3rd gen X5 with the base engine being a turbo 3.0L 6 cylinder, I would think that it would outgun the RX for sure.

But yes the RX350 is actually pretty quick comparatively. It doesn't embarrass itself too bad, even being 8 years old. If it was too slow for it's class, I don't think that Lexus would still have the same engine it in the 3rd gen RX.

I can't say for sure since I have a 04 330, but I am not at all surprised to hear that you could outgun Evoques and X5s; I know the 350 will put most half ton pickups with V8s to shame (MUCH to the surprise of their owners who don't realize how big a difference mass makes).

nipponbird

Thanks (can say mate, but I'm not Australian. Your'e the guy who spoke to me when I first came to this school and as such you're a friend). Didn't see any V8 engined X5's that day, not that they're not a dime a dozen in these parts. I would not feel bad anyway if the pass me. Was just a bit surprised by the RX 350's performance, having owned a BMW 535i who wasn't exactly a sluggard.

RX330inFL

The BMW X5 comes in somewhere near 5000 lbs. Quite a bit of mass to be throwing around. The 2nd Generation RX350 is some 1000 lbs. lighter in this case.