aroneox

I wanting to know if a well maintained 2008 RX350 is considered a solid vehicle if the VVT-i recall was done?

2008 RX350 V6 AWD w/ Premium option package 168,000 miles.

The hose replacement was done December 2009. From what I understand it was the replacement rubber and not the updated metal.

First owner had regular service done at Lexus dealer up through June 2014 / 92,000 miles. Car is being sold by the second owner. Current milage is 168,000. Second owner claims regular service of oil change etc, and repairs at a local mechanic.

I will need to buy a carfax report to confirm.

I was looking at 2005-2007 Toyota Highlanders. Use case is long-distance travel camper-car with AWD.

Since Lexus RX350 is effectively a fancier Highlander I've added that into the mix.

Well maintained Highlanders in my immediate rural area of California or basically non-existent. Expanded my search to metro areas, which will be 2+ hours travel time. Here in California 2005-2007 Highlanders sub 175,000 miles, well-maintained, non-salvage, non-accident cars still fetch a decent premium ($8,500-9,500). Oddly, equivalent Lexus are also around the same price point. But Lexus come up more often recently so I've been focusing on those.

Since I will be traveling a good distance to check out the vehicle, I wanted to be sure that it was worthwhile to do so before actually making the trip.

I've read through the forums a bit and the model year seems pretty okay if the VVT-i issue is addressed. Elsewhere some say 2007-2009 are to be avoided. 2010+ models pricing goes up substantially ($6k-8k more).

I don't want to purchase a money pit. Advice appreciated.

jcbikes

My 2009 rx350 had the replacement rubber and not the updated metal for the vvt-i at around 15,000 miles at the dealer. It now has 142,000 and their has been no sign of any leakage. I did do the oil cooler lines with the metal ones my self. Check to see if that is done. I recently replaced all spark-plugs and the rear cylinder coils while I was doing the plugs. I have no problem taking mine on a trip, that's what I use it for. Good luck!

MattRX

Hi, I saw your post from the Highlander forums, I’m the “Lowlander” with my 2002 Highlander. I also have a 2008 RX350 that had the rubber hose. I documented the replacement and part numbers in my “2008 RX350 Project” post.

I would definitely put this at the top of the priority list, and I would replace all the other rubber hoses up there with their respective metal replacements. Another hose I ended up changing was the hose that transfer transmission fluid to the cooler, but that might not be an issue unless your car had some salt splash in the area.

If I could compare my 2002 Highlander to my RX350, one is not better than the other - they’re just different.


- The RX gets better highway mileage, but I’m guessing the 5-speed is the main reason for this

- The RX has the exact same trunk footprint as the Highlander, except less room around the tail lights where the trunk curves

- The Highlander makes slightly better use of its interior space and has simpler controls, fit and finish quality is fantastic on both cars. The Highlander does have the far superior center console though.

- The 3.5 is a MUCH more lively motor, it can get you moving a lot faster effortlessly

- Stock for stock, the RX is heavier and has a softer suspension so it handles a lot more cumbersome. You could put the 2nd gen Highlander suspension and stiffer springs to fix that though.

- The RX gets the viscous coupling transfer case that the 2001-2003 Highlander gets, the 2004-2006 RX and 2004-2007 Highlander have a standard one

- The roof rack on the RX is a little bit lackluster compared to the Highlander. I would keep the stock rails and ditch the crossbars, they’re flimsy plastic that aren’t meant to be used. Some good crossbars would solve the issue.

- As you said, the RX is 100% a fancier Highlander, the approach angles and ground clearance are nearly identical (the RX actually sits higher with the stock springs), and the drivetrain, suspension and mechanicals are nearly the same apart from the wonderful 2GR-FE engine.


My opinion: Get a 2007-2009 for sure instead of a 2004-2006, that 3.5 is worth every penny as well as having the VC t-case, and a traction control off button already put on the car so you don’t have to add one yourself. These should help your excursions nicely! Do note it does nanny the car a tiny still, so I will be adding my own cutoff but it works quite well.

spinellib

I'm guessing you are more likely to see a wet/leaking steering rack than an issue with the car's replaced 13 year old VVT line.

As far as being a money pit, I like to look for leaks and how clean and pink the coolant is. Also, superficial clues such as the underneath of the oil fill cap and oil fill area in the valve cover, look at the drive belt for cracks, just to get an idea of what kind of maintenance has been done. These RX's still have a tranny dipstick for you to examine and sniff the fluid. If possible, it would be nice if the bottom engine cover is removed so you can get under the car and get a good look. Carefully removing the coil-on-plug and pulling one spark plug would be nice, too.

aroneox

Good to know. This vehicle would be at 168,000. I called Lexus customer service and while they confirmed the VVT-i hose replacement, they said that the other "ZLC" oil cooler hose was not done. Useful for negotiating the price I suppose. Thanks for the affirmation on the car quality.

Oh Hi! Thanks for dropping in on this thread!

Are you saying on the RX350 the traction control is user selectable with a standard switch (as we were talking about on the TN forum)?

I saw the specs on ground clearance and thought it was interesting that the RX350 is a little higher. I imagine that has a lot to do with the RX 18" vs HL 16" wheels. And for light off-road it will be helpful.

Didn't know that about the roof rack. Going to be using that, so I'll look into an upgrade.

The learned form the TN thread viscous coupling was in the early Highlanders. Dropped later. It was reinstituted in the 2008 RX? If so, what is the advantage?

From your project thread it looks like you revamped most of the suspension. Do you think it was worth it?

I really like the idea of a Lexus as a camping car, but I'm still on the hunt for a 2007 Highlander V6 AWD. I've taken to (kindly) shouting at HL's spotted driving in the wild to see if there interested in selling. I've got two to pull-over but they both had over 200k miles. Feel safer with something 150k or lower.

The RX350 body is certainly an acquired taste. I actually like it. Has a bit of an Mekur XR4ti (if anyone remembers those) vibe to me. That said, the Highlander seems to potentially be more practical from a camper-car perspective. Specifically the more heavily sloped rear hatch on the RX might interfere with my bed platform plans. And while not much, there's about 1" of headroom difference between the two, and with the plan to have a bed platform and drawers underneath, the sitting room would be very tight.

Doesn't the 2005-2007 Highlander have a similar 5-speed transmission like the 2008 RX?

From you project and multiple threads on here, there seems to be a lot of small (and a couple large) problems with the 2008 RX350 compared to the 2007 Highlander. This was my money pit concern. It seems the Highlander is more drive it and forget it. While the Lexus seems to be getting into death-by-a-thousand-paper-cuts territory. Maybe I'm reading too much into it, and their pretty solid, and it's just dedicated drivers on this forum dialing the car closer to perfection.

Does the Highlander have many of these same issues but they're just not discussed as much?

Of course, none of these concerns or leanings mean much if I can't find a suitable Highlander. And the Lexus is available now. Decisions.

Thanks for that.

MattRX

You can disable it with the little button down by your feet, you'll need to be stopped and hold it for a few seconds, then it'll say "T/C off".

Funny enough the RX with 18" sat slightly lower due to the lower overall tire diameter of 235/55R18 vs 225/65R17, and speaking of that the RX is limited to 17" rims due to the front calipers, but can be made to fit 16" using ES330 calipers or Highlander ones.

For the VC, it'll send power to the other wheel if it's slipping, kind of like a limited slip differential. It should give you some better cornering off road and on road. This unit came back exclusively for 2007-2009 RX350s, it is shared with the 01-03 HL down to the part number.

As for my custom suspension setup, it is bar none my favourite part of the car. It's certainly not for everyone, but it suits my needs absolutely perfectly. Apart from the much improved road manners, it can even haul more weight because of the stiffer springs. Some might consider it a little stiff, but I have done 10 hr trips and was still comfortable in the car the whole time. Most people lift the car with 2nd gen components, but I went the other way and lowered it, as well as stiffened the sway bars and improved the rear brackets that would flex under cornering. The handling is very car-like, and good car-like handling too, not "boaty" at all, with a touch of lift-off oversteer which I love. It's predictable and easy for me now, but it did take a bit of getting used to after being accustomed to the understeer these cars come with. I miss it pretty badly whenever I drive the RX, although I have the upgrades already waiting to be put on.

As for the RX's body, I'm still trying to "love" it. Although I prefer the looks of the 3rd gen F-Sport, I don't dislike it by any means, but I really love the Highlander's looks compared to the RX which is a little more jellybean-esque looking to me. It also kind of bothers me a bit that they sacrificed better blind spots, trunk space and engine space to achieve a certain look, although the compromises aren't too bad on these generation of RX compared to the old 300. The RX has about 0.5" less head room, but the RX's seat has you positioned lower more like a car vs an SUV (maybe 1" lower, still need to measure). The Highlander does feel a bit more car-like, but don't quote me on that as it has been lowered. Although my opinion may change once I lower the RX itself.

The 5-speed "U151F" in the AWDs models is indeed shared with the 04-13 Highlander. The only difference I can see is that the RX may have a lower final drive of 3.29 vs 3.47 in the Highlander, but I still cannot find a clear answer on this. Another thing I cannot find a clear answer on is that the RX is spec'd to take WS fluid while the 04-07 HL with the older T-IV fluid. I have heard it is a programming change in the transmission, but I also cannot find a clear answer on this that's set in stone.

While it appears on paper that the RX is more of a money pit than the Highlander, I would actually say that's not true, especially for the more reliable 04-07 models. When I first got my Highlander, it was pretty screwed up. It had the typical leaks, creaks and needed a lot of TLC. With the older 3.0 and 4-speed, these units require more attention or else failure is inevitable, and that lands a lot of them in the scrap yards. My 3.0 has only seen frequent synthetic oil changes so it never had an ounce of sludge, but these engines can really eat it bad if you don't keep up with the oil changes, and they are harder on oil than the 3.3 and 3.5 in my RX. The 4-speed auto is also a little clunky and likes to hold gears compared to the 5-speed. Even after I changed the transmission mount, fluid x4 and filter, it still shifts rougher than the 5-speed in my RX with way more mileage and the original filter and mount.

Apart from the reported timing cover leaks of the 2GR (btw, they still haven't fixed this problem on the newer engines! For shame, we had a 2019 Highlander come in for this) and "lawsuit" oil cooler and VVTI lines, these things are bulletproof. Not having to do timing belts is nice, and working on the RX isn't any harder than the Highlander, plus some of the parts actually end up being cheaper a lot of times due to them being easier to find. A good chunk of the mechanical components are 100% the same and my RX is even made in the same factory as my Highlander. I would trust it just as much as my Highlander to get me where I need to go safely and reliably. Speaking of safety, this thing is loaded with air bags! Definitely a major plus for the RX over the Highlander, although you can't go wrong with both cars.

Hoped this helped!

aroneox

Is there any advantage to having the smaller diameter wheels?

Could the 2005-2007 Highlander be retrofitted with the VC from the earlier models?

Over at the TN forum I mentioned my Mitsubishi Outlander. I moved from a 2004 Corolla Sport to the 2007 Outlander ES. The one thing that has always annoyed me was the "softness" of the cornering. I felt the Corolla was relatively a very capable and nice car for zippy road trips. Very good at holding corners at higher speeds. The Outlander always felt soft and like it was slowly leaning into a curve and the was really slow to come out of it compared to the Corolla (and even my '65 VW Beetle from so long ago). I've learned to compensate my cornering speed for it now. Is this what you mean when describing the RX350 as "boaty"?

If I were choosing (which I guess I am), I do like the look of the Highlander over the RX350. The first gen Highlander has a "baby's first Land Cruiser" vibe going for it. And for me that's part of it's charm.

One of the things I do like about my Outlander is it's command of the road viewpoint. Going from the Corolla to the Outlander, I very much appreciated that adjustment in height. And being able to step in and out of the car without having to basically crawl was very welcome.

On the Highlander would it be possible to retrofit the AWD assembly to a 2WD? I ask, because a decent 2005-2007 AWD Highlander hasn't shown up, but there are quite a few low-milage 2WD units available. My thought was to get one of these relatively cheap and then possibly upgrade to AWD if I find I need it. And to go back to my earlier question above, can 2001-2004 AWD assemblies be used if it were possible?

It did. Really working at finding the "right" Highlander or RX in the next month hopefully. I want to get on the road soon!

MattRX

Retrofitting AWD would end up costing more than just finding a good AWD car at the end of the day. The electronics, engine’s casting, transmission, subframe, steering knuckles and more are different so it would be a massive teardown and who knows how well it would work at the end.

The AWD, transfer case housing and driveshaft is identical on all 2001-2007 Highlanders and the 2004-2009 RX, this leads me to believe the VC transfer can be added to non-VC models but IMO it’s not worth doing unless yours blows up. I’d rather get the optional limited slip rear differential from a 1999-2000 Lexus RX300. (Can be made to fit). My 2002 Highlander has 2004-2009 RX rear CV axles that allowed me to use 2008-2013 Highlander rear knuckles so I could use the larger brakes and bolt-in wheel bearings. The parts bin is massive for these cars.

The soft cornering on the Highlander is completely gone after a 1.5” drop and some bigger sway bars, etc. In my opinion, it will handle better than a pre-multilink suspension Corolla too in some instances where you need more rotation. Mind you, it’s still a big and relatively heavy car, but it handles shockingly well for an SUV and has little body roll even if you had to swerve to avoid something on the highway. As a result, there is a better steering feel and more feedback which is why my new RX350 has to go through the same treatment.

I have driven a newer Outlander and a brand new Hyundai Santa Fe and the handling was outright disgusting, I wouldn’t even want to have the stock suspension for a day due to the fact that you could easily unsettle the suspension should you need to make an emergency maneuver. I bet the older ones were a little firmer though. Even my RX with blown, original suspension and a tiny 14mm rear sway bar handled better than both of those cars despite not handling as well as my Highlander when it was stock. Most people would probably be content with Bilstein B6 struts and springs from a 2010-2013 Highlander if they wanted some firmer cornering with the benefits of more clearance and a beefier strut.

If you can’t find these springs easily, Rockauto has some US-Made Moog springs for the 2009-2015 Venza which will fit 2008-2009 Highlander struts (Venza springs lift the same, they’re just slightly firmer & sportier). There’s also the KYB Strut Plus units which work great. I have installed a few of these on customer’s cars and they’re good enough for our Toyo dealership to use. The feel pretty close to stock and the springs they use are not cheap quality.

Felix

Since your wanting to camp & offroad it, Have you thought 'bout a GX470/460? Super great overlander vehicles.....Having worked at a ''at the Sign of the Cat'' dealership yrs ago, I remember the Merkur Scorpio / XR4ti's as well as the Sterling 825/827's.....Not even two yrs later the Sterling's were good riddens......