ChemEng

I got Compustar 2WT10R-SS which "supposedly" has a 1-mile range. I got a certified car technician to install it for me. It's a very tough job to do for technicians, so I don't advise anyone to even think about doing it themselves. The technican who installed it for me thought he would finish it in a couple of hours. I was there the whole time watching as I thought it wouldn't take too long. Lots of wire cutting under the steering wheel. He initially finished in about 2.5 hours, but when he wanted to test it, something wasn't right, I don't recall exactly what, but he had to call Compustar technical support and they guided him on what he needed to do for this specific model. He had to redo some work and it ended up taking close to 5 hours. I also had him install the alarm system which was no brainer for me if you have a remote start that supports it. He only charged me $30 for the alarm. Remote start overall cost was $550, that was the cheapest I could find at the time. It's working good so far, range is not what they claim ..not even close. If you just need the remote start, go with Viper 2-way (the one with no LCD). I have that one on my 2009 Matrix and the range on that one is amazing. It's rated for 1 mile too, but I can tell it's much better than Compustar. That being said I'm still happy with Compustar all things considered.

TheTrueLiu

Ouch, was hoping there wouldn't be wire cutting but I wasn't able to find a T-Harness either unfortunately.

ChemEng

I think those harnesses are for newer models. However, all after market remote starts don't work well with new cars (with push button ignition). For example, if you start your car remotely, when you open the door as you get in, the engine shuts down and you need to start the engine again....not very convenient.

matts6887

i agree about loving thus gen rx. i love my 2007 with 195,000 plus miles on it and still going strong; i mean other than a seeping transfer case which yes i will have to take care of at some point when i have the excess money to do so and other than having to replace the purge hose assembly a few months ago this has served me very well in the 6 years that ive owned mine so far. im gonna drive mine too until i run it into the ground and it cant go any further. i do want to swap out my stock head unit for a touch screen unit w sirius xm built in as i am a subscriber anbd love it. i also plan on upgrading the stock speakers to something w a bit more treble and a bit more bass but nothing over the top.

Chapp

My wife's 05 RX is heading to 200K. I will keep it as long as I can.
My next big projects are swapping motor mounts and a transmission drain and fill, filter change.

I do need to get a paint job. THat's the biggest thing, but will be worth it.

I do have the Cat converter code, but can't bring myself to pay for that.
I just check it once a month with my OBD scanner to make sure it's nothing else.

Felix

Except for the remote start & your audio upgrade, seems like basic maintence similar to other vehicles.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

This, right here.

Following that example;
The only reason I did the trans in my old ES300 (below) is because it came just under 40% of the market value, which I ended up selling thereafter.

Also, I don't do (as much) "just because". I used to do things that didn't need to be in pairs, or sets. Ie. Struts. Now I just do what needs doing, in pairs, as recommended. That's a guaranteed way to spend more when you don't necessarily need to!

This as well.

01LEXPL

iTrader: (10)

No the hell it won't. Polish, clay, maintain it. Don't bother repainting that relic, as much as it pains me to say that. Its 20yrs old in 2yrs... Or use it to practice bodywork skills, that's what the 04 RX in my family was for, mind you it was super minor touch ups from other people, and there's virtually no rust since I undercoat yearly.

For the converter code, you may be lucky with a spark-plug spacer, or O2 sensor fouler... cheap, <5$ and it spaces the O2 sensor out. Or run good gas and/or fuel system cleaner once a month.

Note: I had a fouler, it kept the code away and would pop up 1-4x a year. Quick clear and on we went. But the last time it was consistent, and once I removed the fouler/spacer, it resumed to coming on 1-4x/year.

Rx330fnboi

My 04 rx330 ended up with a bad case of rod knock right at 5000 miles since last OCI it happened the day after buying a jug of Mobil 1 with 202k on the odometer. Called some shops and they wanted $2500 in labor and $700 for the engine to do the job. Decided to bite the bullet and do it myself in my driveway at the end of autumn/ beginning of winter. I was able to get some great deals online including a full itm gasket kit for $80 and an aisin timing kit for $40 did a full transmission flush, new gear oil in the rear diff and t case it probably would have cost 6k to get all the work I did done at a shop and that’s a conservative estimate. Now I just need to change out the hood latch cable get a bank 1 sensor 2 o2 sensor, do the front wheel bearings and rear struts. A new head unit would be nice as well. All in I believe I spent about $1600 including an $80 used engine hoist and some small tools I needed like an axel nut socket, bolt biter socket set and helicoil kit.

my answer is never. If this engine ever fails me again I’ll rebuild it before I let this beautiful SUV go.

Rx330fnboi

I would totally do a full paint job. Just need a hood palm sander some primer finish and clear coat. Would definitely be easier then an engine swap.

mikessolis

I sold my car at 247k miles. Kind of regret it but I feel a good time to sell it is when you no longer trust driving it on a 3 hour road trip. It was previously in an accident so the suspension needed a complete overhaul. Also the ac motor was probably bad. I think if you can make it to 250k miles with no transmission problems you might as well sell it and get another Rx with 100k miles. I sold it for 4200 and I probably could have had it up and running clean for 3k.

05RX330AWD

My 05 RX330 has 155K, same here some minor rust & paint peeled from the tailgate. Also have a code for the Cat PO 430 for 4 years that I also take care of it every 2 weeks with a OBD Scanner. It's a great & reliable SUV although now I am getting 8 MPG & it's time to sell the RX330. I paid $2100. US for it in 2017, invested about $2800. in repairs therefore no regrets.

rlx101

8mpg ?!? are you leaking fuel on the road? LOL

rlx101

is 50% total repair costs ...or just one repair that hits 50% of the car value mark?

iMSQ

one-time repair