jaysantos

Hello everyone. I'm considering buying a 2005 RX 330 180K miles. Not exactly sure of the trim but it's the one with Navi so it must be close to the top. The owner selling it says things are fine. However it may need a brake and rotor job because there are some vibrations when braking. The other possible issue is the transmission shifts rough from time to time between gears 1-3. I read that these cars have a "learning" transmission so I'm wondering if that might be the case. However it's an old car so it's had plenty of time to learn

The seller is asking between $6k-$7k. What do you guys think is a fair price?
What's a common problem with these cars? Plenty of life left on these cars?

DavidWebb

Hello

I am no expert in the RX330 as I just bought my 05 with 121K last month for $8k. The brake and rotor job could set you back $300-500 and the transmission could be just a flush or in the thousands.... I would ask how often transmission service was performed... I have a funny feeling it might not have been worked on as frequently as it should....

ToledoRX

Vibration or shuddering when braking means the brake rotors might be warped. It's a common issue with this era of RX (It's common for Japanese cars to come with underpowered OE brakes), but it can be fixed by simply replacing the brake rotors and brake pads.

The rough transmission shift might be because of the adaptive ECT. I fixed this issue on my RX a few years ago by having the dealer reset the transmission and doing an ATF (automatic transmission fluid) flush. Just make sure to have the "lifetime" ATF replaced if it hasn't already been changed by the previous owner.

None of these are serious issues to an RX. The brake rotor replacement and ATF flush will cost a couple of hundred dollars, but if the RX is maintained properly with oil and filter changes and timing belt replacement, these things will definitely have a lot of life left.