Rx300 Roof Railings

[pluciorx]

Hi !

I recently brought another Lexus in to the family (previously 2007 IS ) , this time it is an 75K 2004 RX

(Build in 11/2003 but registered in Jan 2004 so I assume it's one of the first mk2 RX's made)

Apart from common CEL+VSC light the car runs perfect and pulls well!

Unfortunately someone had removed the roof railings from it (!) , can anyone advice what are the part numbers for those (maybe the pre 2004 cross bar style will fit ?)

Best Regards

[Lydiamight]

Search eBay for "breaking Lexus RX"----you will find loads of adverts.

Should be a lot cheaper than buying new.

[PCM]

Will you be looking at the 'CEL+VSC ' lights at all?

[ChrisKaye]

Not sure how common it is, can only remember seeing one mention of the CEL-VSC lights in the last six months and think that was down to the fuel cap not being sufficiently tightened after a fill!!

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[pluciorx]

i have now ordered and fitted the roof rails - easy job and it stopped the issue with leaking water into the car through screw holes so far so good.

I have as well ordered an mini-VCI cheap as chips (i think £3.99 posted ) got it to work on windows 10 64bit and got all codes read

firts picture shows the first scan and the second after clearing code

I'm taking the car tomorrow fora short ride to see which codes will come back.

so if there is anyone who knows how to deal with those codes i will appreciate any help :)

[ChrisKaye]

Great job on the code reader, I did the same with the mini-VCI and has been useful reading suspension codes on the SE-L..

Your P0420 code is a catalyst warning (below efficiency threshold) - was the car sat a while before you bought it? What mpg are you getting from a tank and normal driving?

The c1223 is abs related and the U codes are model specific 'body' codes (such as wheel sensors maybe?)

The b1421 and b1424 are issues to do with solar/light sensors mounted on/near the dash on both drivers and passenger side- seems a common benign fault but not one I have on my 53 plate RX... I believe these sensors tell the climate control when direct sunlight is entering the cabin so it can adjust blowers from feet to face vents - as the RX has a dual climate control system (that can be set at diff temps for driver and passenger) that's why there are two sensors.

Really unlikely both have fault but maybe unplugged somewhere by accident or a wiring harness issue, which I suspect may be the same as your 'U' codes triggering the C1223...

If you know a bit about cars, find the abs block under the bonnet and check the wiring harness connector to it, it might be water logged or damaged.

Hope some of this helps! [emoji3]

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[pluciorx]

Hi Thanks for that great answer

Regarding the p0420 yes the car been around 2-3months unused before I bought it (but in reality I'll never know) on a motorway run I had 26-27 mpg, mixed driving gives me around 20-22

but l would say that I'm not most economical driver - is this acceptable for RX ?

car had quite bad brake disc's and pads all round so today I got new set fitted on the front (190quid fitted damn!! ) the rear needs to wait a bit as well as new front tires.

I've driven less than 3 miles today only and the codes didn't come back (no CEL + VSC. ) I will take it for a ride tomorrow then read codes again.

I'm quite concerned that the missing roof rails caused a lot of trouble as water was flowing through the rear d/s pillar behind the covers to the boot.

I will remove everything I can from the boot and see if there is any visible damage there.

I'm fine with dealing with a bit of mechanics and electrical stuff and plan to do the rear brakes on my own.

I had not received much paperwork with so I'm still trying to find out what version is it :) SE-L or SE ? how would I know ?

[ChrisKaye]

SE vs SE-L: If you have air suspension button for raising and lowering car & headlamp washers next to the heated seats switches, you have the rx300 SE-L...

As you have the diagnostics software and if your P0420 comes back and your mpg has trouble getting to 26/27 then you might want to check the following clip out:

http://youtu.be/9VZ5K8n5jj0

If you can get under your car, check out the exhaust mounts to rubber straps and also the various exhaust heatshields from the headers back to make sure nothing is too badly corroded and intact!

[ChrisKaye]

You may want to pick up some of your other trouble codes on Halliwell2099's post, maybe a Zero point calibration might work for you too?

[pluciorx]

so a small update I took car for a ride yesterday from Caterham to Stansted and the way there was smooth empty M25 etc so way there got me 28mpg

on the way back my CEL+VSC came back and got around 26.5 mpg i will get codes read again but for me it looks like i have to get my hands dirty and replace O2 sensors,

Does any one have part numbers for those ?

[ChrisKaye]

Sorry, don't have part numbers, try:

http://www.toyodiy.com/parts/g_E_2006_LEXUS_RX400H_MHU38R-AWXGKW_1.html

Try and get Denso branded parts (they are the manufacturer for Toyota/Lexus) - if having trouble in the UK www.rockauto.com are reportedly very good!

My feeling is that your cat maybe on it's way out and it's recommended to swap it and the O2 sensors at the same time.

I would say that with cruise set to 60mph and 32-34psi in the tyres, you should be hitting 30mpg on that journey...

[pluciorx]

thanks for the parts list will use that,

I'm not going to be replacing cat !

I had many cars now older and newer, never needed to replace a cat and I can't believe that Lexus would use a cat's that won't last even 100k miles !

Instead of replacing sensor's every 2-3 years as it seems common I'm going down lambda emulation route similar as on picture.

If they made sensors which does not bring any value to the car they should have made them cheaper and easier to replace.

I'm using Rockauto quite often to bring parts for my classic Camaro and agree that they are great !

[ChrisKaye]

Ok, I see where you are coming from regarding the cat but does that mean you'd hollow it out if it were blocked for example?

Touch wood I've only ever had to replace a cat once on my Toyotas, due to a rear end shunt that mangled the exhaust on my then 18 year old MR2 with 150k miles - they seem to be made from sturdy stuff, so a failure below 100k (in my experience) would be rare unless there are other issues...

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