Many Questions About Rx300 Se-L

MDJ · June 27, 2014

Hello everyone. I'm a new member, and as you'd imagine, I have lots of questions! Many thanks in advance for any replies.

Car in question is an RX300 SE-L 2003 on 102,000 miles.

Cambelt is due and hasn't been changed by previous owners. I'm looking at getting the belt, tensioners and water pump changed. I've been quoted by Toyota at £935 and £780 (two different dealers). Two local garages wouldn't touch it. Is this par for the course?
Air suspension has failed. It worked on the test drive and then sporadically after purchase. I've had a look and found a broken wire to the compressor. I presume this is the likely culprit? (Picture below). Appears to be stuck in high at the moment.
The headlights had a lot of cloudiness to them. I've used headlight restorer to improve them, but they are not perfect. The cloudiness remaining appears to be internal, not on the outside. Any ideas?
I've changed the pollen filter and air filter (both absolutely filthy) and have booked the car in for rear diff oil change, transfer box oil change, gearbox/front diff oil change. The coolant will be changed with the water pump. Brakes and fluid sorted fairly recently by a previous owner. Anything else to be done?
It appears to have an oil leak, although unsure at present where this is from. Read this could be something other than an engine oil leak. Any common leaks I should know about?
Mark Levinson stereo is installed, NSF speaker sounds terrible. Looks like the speaker has come apart? Common?
Front wiper arms; one is normal and I have changed it for a new one, the other appears different. Is this the case? There is a note within the documentation from Lexus about a non-standard part being fitted.
Headrest monitors, one of them has worse picture quality than the other, some wavy lines etc. Known issue?
There is what appears to be a 3.5 mm jack to the centre console pointing towards the rear. This doesn't appear to output any sound from the DVD player and I don't see any reference to an auxiliary in, what might this be? Almost looks like an aftermarket fit.
Tail pipe trim is rusty. Can this be replaced separately to the back box?
Tow bar with power is fitted. Appears that the rear bumper has been cut to fit this. Is this usual?
Previous car was a RAV 4 that had porous alloys. The Lexus' alloys aren't perfect and don't appear to be holding pressure. Is this the same issue as the Toyota?

Many thanks and appreciate any responses.

Mark.

ColinBarber · June 27, 2014

I'll have a crack at some of these

1 - probably about right. Toyota or Lexus dealers? Toyota dealers shouldn't be offering pricing on Lexus models. You may want to look into becoming a gold member as your local dealers may offer Lexus Owners Club discount which would more than pay for the membership. A cambelt change on my 400h, without a WP or tensioners, was around £500 on top of a normal service price.

2 - most of the problems I've heard about with the air suspension have been compressor failures, looks like you may be in luck if it is just a wire.

4 - If you are having the transmissions drained and filled (or maybe a full flush) then make sure Toyota T-IV fluid is used.

9 - Do you have a pic? Sounds aftermarket. You should have an aux input to the rear ICE system - look in the pocket at the back of the drivers seat, you will find video / audio inputs on fly leads.

ColinBarber · June 27, 2014

10 - Yes I believe 17408-16020 is the part code (please double check if you are going to order). Expensive for what it is, I think £60+ and I've never looked but I assume it needs to be welded on.

Monte · June 27, 2014

Hi,

Q5. Mine has had a leak from power steering pipe which has been replaced by dealer for £72+ labour, part no 44416 - 48052, pretty sure it could be done cheaper at local garage but firstly check it.

Q10. Yes, tale pipe trim can be replaced separately, part no 17408 - 16020.

Sorry, can't answer other questions cos mine is Limited Edition...

Tyrosman · June 27, 2014

Re. para 5. Could be a power steering pump leak. My 04 RX300 suffered this problem so I had the pump removed/replaced and reconditioned for £310. Lexus priced a new pump at around £900! not including fitting. Just check the steering fluid level, the reservoir can be found in the engine compartment under the moulded cover on the right hand side of the vehicle.

MDJ · June 27, 2014

Good evening.

Thanks for the replies.

Good that you can get the exhaust trim. Any more clarification on if it needs welding or not? This is Grantham and Mansfield Toyota quoting to complete the work. 3.5 mm jack shown in picture below. It has had new power steering pipes recently, so not sure if it is that. Mechanic should let me know soon.

Also, have a few more questions!

13. Offiside mirror has leaked. Any idea how much these are to replace?

14. Reception is terrible for the radio. Is the picture attached the radio aerial?

Many thanks.

Monte · June 27, 2014

Here attached full exaust assembly instruction, just in case you can't open PDF file there is no need for welding.

m_15_0003.pdf

ColinBarber · June 28, 2014

The DVD player is certainly aftermarket. I'm not sure there was an official ICE offering on the early series II RX.

13 - Mirror glass is very expensive if you have auto dimming ones.

14 - Yes that is the aerial for the radio. I must admit my reception isn't the best I've ever had from a vehicle but it isn't too bad so maybe there is an issue with yours.

MDJ · June 28, 2014

Thanking you all for the information.

That DVD player is in the centre console. The screens in the headrests look very OEM, but I don't know what they should look like!

Does that mirror look auto dimming? I presume it wouldn't have fluid in it otherwise.

I will take a look at the exhaust PDF.

Thanks,

Mark.

Boxbrownie · June 28, 2014

Cam belt and WP change on my Mk1 (essentially the same engine) cost £350 at a very well known local Lexus specialist. I suggest you put a search in for a specialist near your location, I tend to trust specialists more than main dealers as I find they are usually enthusiasts of the make rather than just paid spanner monkeys.

MDJ · June 28, 2014

Cam belt and WP change on my Mk1 (essentially the same engine) cost £350 at a very well known local Lexus specialist. I suggest you put a search in for a specialist near your location, I tend to trust specialists more than main dealers as I find they are usually enthusiasts of the make rather than just paid spanner monkeys.

I've just contacted a specialist in Nottingham who will get back to me on Monday. Hopefully closer to this price!

ColinBarber · June 28, 2014

That DVD player is in the centre console. The screens in the headrests look very OEM, but I don't know what they should look like!

The standard DVD player is located under the drivers seat, accessible from the rear. The OEM screens have a Lexus badge at the bottom centre, and 4 buttons down the right hand side. There are 4 LEDs on the each door pillar which provide audio to the headphones.

ColinBarber · June 28, 2014

3 - Other than replacing the complete headlight you can bake them to soften the adhesive and separate, allowing you to clean the inside.

MDJ · June 28, 2014

That DVD player is in the centre console. The screens in the headrests look very OEM, but I don't know what they should look like!

The standard DVD player is located under the drivers seat, accessible from the rear. The OEM screens have a Lexus badge at the bottom centre, and 4 buttons down the right hand side. There are 4 LEDs on the each door pillar which provide audio to the headphones.

Ah, then yes, they are not OEM. They do look okay though. I will add a picture.

MDJ · June 30, 2014

Update:

Picture attached of non-OEM display install.

Managed to get a quote for cambelt/tensioner/water pump at a specialist for £440 (genuine parts), so have booked the car in for this. Have asked for the removed parts for inspection so will post condition when I get this done.

MDJ · July 3, 2014

Update time once again.

Cambelt, water pump and tensioner replaced. Water pump was leaking *see rust on gasket). Belt looks good condition as was to be expected (or so I've read). Also, suspension fixed! Wire to the compressor was indeed the culprit. Happy days.

Boxbrownie · July 3, 2014

Your bits and pieces look good for the age, and the rear end looks great........ooohhh eerrrr Matron!

Great outcome....hopefully now it;ll be trouble free motoring for years to come.

MDJ · July 3, 2014

Your bits and pieces look good for the age, and the rear end looks great........ooohhh eerrrr Matron!

Great outcome....hopefully now it;ll be trouble free motoring for years to come.

Many thanks. That is the idea. Get everything sorted at the beginning!

MDJ · July 26, 2014

Another update.

Managed to get the following work completed by a local village garage:

Gearbox/front diff oil change
Transfer case oil change
Rear diff oil change
Oil change and filter (filter supplied by me)
Car picked up and dropped off

All for £169. Not bad at all.

Managed to sort the other front wiper, so now a matching aero pair. Much better.

I took off the back box chrome tip and had a go with the drill and a buffing tool/metal polish. Looks a lot better and will do for now. She's driving well and an Iphone app seems to agree with the quoted 0-60 time, so happy with that. Finally, personalised plate has gone on. This had to be ordered as an oversized plate as it had an oversized one fitted in the past that had worn into the paint at the corners and looked unsightly.

jonthebarber · July 26, 2014

Looking good ! Was the rear diff ok ? As there is a issue with the seals leaking , heating diff up , then bang ! My 2005 with 90k was leaking (well a mist around the rear end ..... Ooooh) seal is buttons .

Jon

MDJ · July 26, 2014

Not heard that issues? I will have to take a look. Didn't hear anything from the garage. Cheers for the info!

PCM · October 23, 2015

So all good now.

Happy days.

Reading about others cars is fascinating, and always food for thought ...

GrahamG · October 24, 2015

Mark, As you appear pro active and capable about forestalling problems could I suggest you check there is no rainwater ingress at the rear of your Rx.

Simply open the rear most storage compartment and remove the central black plastic tray thereunder. You can then see under the two side corner trays and that is where there might be water.

It can be so bad that it runs forward to both the front and rear seat wells and saturates the carpets.

There are accounts of numerous causes and accompanying remedies here and on the US owners site.

This I would advise all Rx owners to do.

ChrisKaye · October 30, 2015

Hi MDJ,

Looking at your original post regarding item 5 (oil leak) - did you get to the bottom of this?

I recently replaced my transmission oil cooler pipes and zero leaks now, I put a post up several weeks back if you want a look.

Well done for everything you've done so far!

Ta,

Chris

MDJ · October 30, 2015

Hello everyone.

Oil leak remained, it wasn't fixed as it didn't appear excessive. I'd had all the bits out of the boot to have a look, and it was completely dry.

Unfortunately, the car was sold in the summer! All of out cars were changed, so this was replaced with a '14 Qashqai (boo!). Here are some pictures from the sale. Sold it for more than I paid, so not too bad.