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2015 RX 130k miles. In the past 5000 miles I've paid to replace 4 rotors, the fronts for the second time because the ball joints were worn, you can't replace those so you have to replace the whole lower control arms. Just replaced 2 rear wheel bearings because of excessive noise as they were worn. On a 100 mile trip, all the dash lights came one, 3 of the 4 VVTi solenoids had gone bad/clogged up, despite 5000 mile oil changes, replaced all 4 solenoids and while they were in there, replaced the spark plugs. Total outlay around $5500, still under the 50% KBB trade in value of $13k-15k, so by all calculations, keep it?
However, I've liked the RX so much I just replaced my blown up 2013 Passat TDI (high pressure fuel pump gave up and sent metal downstream into the fuel line, fuel rails, and injectors resulting in a $7100 quote to repair) with a 2015 ES300h and I love it
By the way, if I take a Toyota/Lexus to the Bristol NASCAR race, I get free parking! LOL
No the hell it won't. Polish, clay, maintain it. Don't bother repainting that relic, as much as it pains me to say that. Its 20yrs old in 2yrs... Or use it to practice bodywork skills, that's what the 04 RX in my family was for, mind you it was super minor touch ups from other people, and there's virtually no rust since I undercoat yearly.
For the converter code, you may be lucky with a spark-plug spacer, or O2 sensor fouler... cheap, <5$ 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.
Yeah, I've had the spark plug spacer on and its been back on a few months now.
I'll do a fuel cleaner and see how that helps.
I'm probably going to have to paint it. It'll be worth it to keep the wife quiet. It'd cost me way more to buy a newer car as I have this one dialed in and know what I've done and haven't.
Major issues are I must've oversprayed something on the hood as I have a few big wear spots that are ugly, while rest of car is in pretty good shape. Other than that, very little to no body rust.
Bought 07 rx . My fourth one. Waiting 2 months for title from dealer. Major timing chain oil leak. $2600 have to pull engine. $1300 for brakes rotors coolant and minor oil leak repairs. And I have a lien on the car that was undisclosed.
Bought 07 rx . My fourth one. Waiting 2 months for title from dealer. Major timing chain oil leak. $2600 have to pull engine. $1300 for brakes rotors coolant and minor oil leak repairs. And I have a lien on the car that was undisclosed.
Have them replace the plugs, w/p, tensioner as well.....I'd also have them look at the rack as it easier to change since the cradle is dropped right there as well as the high pressre hose......
My 2008 is approaching 230k and I am still dumping money into it / upgrading it. No regrets, this thing is awesome! Much better than our 3rd gen RX, and I wouldn't ever trade it for the newer ones which seem to have lost the simplicity, compact size and that fine line between comfort and feedback to the road that these earlier ones seemed to nail perfectly. I love how this car has nothing to prove, it's a "bull in sheep's clothing". It doesn't have to have the latest and greatest it doesn't need to be all flashy and high-tech, it gets by with straight reliability, a solid power plant, proper mechanical all-time AWD and more than enough luxury for me! I feel like newer Lexus cars while nice, have lost this understated, humble and confident feel to them. I wouldn't hesitate to throw an engine and trans into this car if I had to.
Because our 2002 Highlander has been good to us for 15+ years, I figured I'd try out its Lexus twin before they upsized them for the newer gen. I followed the philosophy of my 2002 Highlander with this car and it has turned out well. Every time something wears out, I explore my options and try to find a heavier-duty or newer part that is a direct fit, usually it ends up being cheaper especially if I find it used. These pop up in junkyards near me too so parts are affordable, available and easy to remove!
I did exact same thing. We had a 2003 Highlander for 18 years that ran great, but it had the 4 cylinder and I always wished it has a little more pop in its step. Thought we'd give its faster, more upscale cousin a go (2007 Rx 350 with 78k) and it's been very good. Nice to have many familiarities, and of course, superb quality.
Have a look at the vehicle costs still. Wow there still high....
Crazy, isn't it. What's weird is it seems like everyone has a new car, even kids under 25. Priorities are different today.
Anyway, it makes sense for the average guy to buy some tools and LEARN how to fix their own stuff!
A good Toyota or Honda can give 20+ years of service. I see no reason to burn money on a depreciating asset such as a new car.
I did exact same thing. We had a 2003 Highlander for 18 years that ran great, but it had the 4 cylinder and I always wished it has a little more pop in its step. Thought we'd give its faster, more upscale cousin a go (2007 Rx 350 with 78k) and it's been very good. Nice to have many familiarities, and of course, superb quality.
Going from a 4-cyl straight to the 3.5 V6 - what an upgrade! I can’t even imagine. Even going from the 3.0 to the 3.5 is a massive and noticeable bump in power! The best part is I get noticeably better fuel economy in the RX too on the highway! That extra gear in the trans makes a huge difference.
What does your key ring setup look like? Are you carrying the OEM fob/key combo and the Compustar remote? I recently installed the Compustar RS4 system from MPC myself. Took a while and a few emails back and forth, but wasn't that bad. On my setup, you cannot unlock it from the OE key if you use the Compustar remote start. I ended up having a valet-style key cut off eBay (I got my RX used and only had 2 remote fob/keys) programming it myself and just using that with the Compustar remote. Makes things easier for me to carry around. I went with the Compustar system because I would get better range than the 15 ft I had on the OE remote, gain remote start, and later down the road upgrade to the celluar remote start module and use my phone to start and GPS track where the car is. Here is my key setup - New vs. Old:
These are rock solid rides. Keep up on the maintenance and they will run for a long time. When I was shopping for mine, there were many in the 250k mile range that were well maintained asking top dollar. I think these are built far better than the new stuff. I wouldn't blink an eye on dropping a few bucks to keep this going for a long time.
Originally Posted by 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.
Crazy, isn't it. What's weird is it seems like everyone has a new car, even kids under 25. Priorities are different today.
Anyway, it makes sense for the average guy to buy some tools and LEARN how to fix their own stuff!
A good Toyota or Honda can give 20+ years of service. I see no reason to burn money on a depreciating asset such as a new car.
X2^^^. Just think of the ppl that bought vehicles '20-'22 & paid the high prices. $50.-$100. & then tack on 20%-40%....Lot of repos happening. But for sure the banks, CU's, ect I wouildn't think they'd want the vehicles back.I'd think the cap for a vehicle should be a max of 60 months vs 84-96 as I've seen.....I've never had a vehicle loan over 36 months, new or used.
My 2005 RX 330 has 317,000 miles. It still runs well but the investing money thing....OK, first of all, I keep my cars way too long. Second of all, I have a very nice 2019 Ford Edge Titanium that I use when I want a nice, quiet, comfy ride. The car was much less expensive than a used Lexus and I think just as nice (the Titanium is a Huge step up from the SEL) and has a larger carrying capacity than the new RX, almost as large as my old 2005 Lexus. Plus, to me the new RX's handle like a "soccer mom" car and the Edge screams through curves. So I keep this 2005 RX for towing (it tows 5,000 lbs) and for my whitewater kayaking trips (which tend to DESTROY a car pretty quick). My by far biggest complaints about Lexus are !) The cost of service and 2) the cost of parts. Since my 2005 is my "spare" car and has reached the point where servicing it almost always costs more than the value of the car, I now do most of my own maintenance. If you do that, 1) try not go buy genuine Lexus parts and 2) if you have to, as you sometimes will, because certain Lexus parts you can't buy aftermarket, try to get them from a place like Lexus Parts Now....they are at least 35% cheaper there. For example. I had to replace the CV axles. Lexus wanted $1,600 for EACH of them plus about $1,000 labor each. I bought them from Advance Auto for $125 each. Lexus gurantees theirs for three years....Advance Auto guarantees theirs for life. And this is just ONE example. Control arms, brake pads and rotors, parking brake kit, shocks, omg, shocks. It is CRAZY what Lexus charges. A control arm from Moog is $35. From Lexus it is $220. The Lexus part sure doesn't APPEAR to be better but I don't know, check back with me in another 300,000 miles. Also, make SURE you know if you have the Sport Package because the parts are sometimes different than if you have a standard RX. OK, one more thing I have to say about the RX. Working on it is usually not fun. Lexus appears to not care one iota about making the cars easy to service. Could be all cars are like that but the very little work I have done on my wife's Honda CRV (also a VERY nice car but the stereo and back window visibility suck), it is a breeze compared to the Lexus.
03-01-23, 03:58 PM
