2004 Lexus RX330

[SuperDave456]

I just had one with 133,000 miles come into my possession.
It was my Father in Law's, the great thing is that he's extremely picky how he takes care of his vehicles.

My wife took it to work today. Haven't had time to take a look under the hood or crawl under it.

I have some paperwork on it. It appears that it is the dealership paperwork that came with it when my Father in Law purchased it.
It looks like for the first 30,000 miles of its life it was serviced by the dealership, and they did a "transmission service" every 15,000 miles.

I'm guessing that this was a drain and fill.

My question is, does it come with a drain plug for the transmission?

Anyone?

 

[razel]

My 1st search result even off a dumb search engine like Bing yielded a yes. http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-2nd-g...-and-pics.html.

That search was faster than posting on this forum.

 

[raytseng]

you can register as an owner on lexus's website. If there are missing service receipts, you will be able to get the same service history for the car that was done at lexus. Some of the details may be redacted or not entered though.

You can also go to any lexus dealer and ask them to print it out for you too (call first).

But yes, transmission service is a drain/fill.
If you don't know how the service should be done perhaps you shouldn't just guess at the services. Get yourself a service manual and go through it (or access to the toyota techinfo).
Or even just look at the owner's manual maintenance booklet, and they describe the services in the same language.

 

[Doog]

I had a 2004 RX330. Very reliable and trouble free and we drove it to 170,000 then traded it in on an ES. I used a fluid extractor to siphon off 3-4 quarts of T-IV fluid once a year. So I never did a pan drop or drain and the trans did fine. There are 2 differentials that take 80w90 or Syn 75w90 that need changing as well. The 3.3 V6 should get a timing belt at 90-105k so you should check if that has been done. If not then replace the water pump and front oil seals at the same time. Use a OE water pump. It takes the pink Toyota LL coolant every 50,000 miles or 2-3 years. I always get the pre-mixed and just drain and pour. (easy).

So at 133k I would recommend you:
1. do timing belt, water pump & seals
2. spark plugs
3. 2-3 extract-refills on the trans (T-IV)(drive 5 miles in between)
4. coolant drain fill (TLL)(done at water pump time)
5. drain fill diffs. (75w90)
6. Flush brake fluid (DOT3)

BTW, do NOT use aftermarket ATF.

 

[lexus114]

Originally Posted By: Doog
I had a 2004 RX330. Very reliable and trouble free and we drove it to 170,000 then traded it in on an ES. I used a fluid extractor to siphon off 3-4 quarts of T-IV fluid once a year. So I never did a pan drop or drain and the trans did fine. There are 2 differentials that take 80w90 or Syn 75w90 that need changing as well. The 3.3 V6 should get a timing belt at 90-105k so you should check if that has been done. If not then replace the water pump and front oil seals at the same time. Use a OE water pump. It takes the pink Toyota LL coolant every 50,000 miles or 2-3 years. I always get the pre-mixed and just drain and pour. (easy).

So at 133k I would recommend you:
1. do timing belt, water pump & seals
2. spark plugs
3. 2-3 extract-refills on the trans (T-IV)(drive 5 miles in between)
4. coolant drain fill (TLL)(done at water pump time)
5. drain fill diffs. (75w90)
6. Flush brake fluid (DOT3)

BTW, do NOT use aftermarket ATF.


Agreed. my 2005 ran best on the Toyota T-IV fluid.

 

[MaximaGuy]

One thing I have learnt is always stick with OEM ATF, it will serve you well.

Doug in absolutely right, I finished the that was mentioned on my Highlander.

The timing belt was absolutely flawless when they were replaced, it would have gone another 100k but I replaced it at 130k. The belts can easily go 200k, the ones that came out were is absolutely great condition.

 

[kschachn]

I think they can too, but in the many miles (and multiple timing belt changes) on my vehicles I see the tensioner and idler pulleys will go bad before the belt will. I once changed the belt without the pulleys and they went bad shortly thereafter, causing me to do the job over again.

And although my water pumps have always looked great at 100,000 miles, there's no way I would want to leave them for 200,000. Maybe that's just me but they aren't that expensive and having one fail that's driven by the timing belt could be catastrophic for the engine.

Originally Posted By: MaximaGuy
The timing belt was absolutely flawless when they were replaced, it would have gone another 100k but I replaced it at 130k. The belts can easily go 200k, the ones that came out were is absolutely great condition.

 

[MaximaGuy]

I got the belt, pump, seals replaced from the dealership at 130K. I got the old parts back and the pump and belts were absolutely flawless, especially the pump.

 

[The Critic]

Nice find - these are pretty good cars but have their quirks.

There is a transmission drain plug on the pan. It takes a 10mm allen. I usually just flush these units every 30k with new T-IV. Visually speaking, the fluid looks pretty "cooked" after about 30k, so that's when I suggest a flush.

They do tend to go thru brakes a bit more frequently than you'd expect. Always use the factory 2-pc shim kit in the front if you do not want any noise issues.

The high-pressure power steering lines have a tendency to leak. The labor to r/r the line is minimal, but the line costs about $350 from Toyota. Also, some of the p/s racks have a tendency to leak, but I heard that Toyota came out with a repair kit that allows you to repair the rack w/o having to replace the entire unit.

Watch out for the front lower control arm bushings - they almost always wear out. At your mileage you are probably due. A pair of OE arms from the dealer cost about $400, and book time to r/r the arms is 12 hours because they want you to drop the subframe with the engine/trans attached. The easier way to r/r the arms is to remove the side engine mount and lift the power train to gain access to the hidden bolts, so it can be done in far less time.

Lastly, 2004 was the first year of that generation so naturally, there are items that were updated in later model years. Some of the early 2004s needed a ECM calibration to improve transmission shift quality, some had a drone noise that required some new hardware, etc. TIS is a good resource - just pay $15 for 2-days of access and you can have all the reference info you need.

 

[MaximaGuy]

LCA is not a common maintenance item and I know folks who have 300K and never changed LCA. IMO to protect all suspension components it is a MUST to change shocks at 120K even if they don't show wear.

Most SUVs are like tanks (RX is on the higher side of a heavy tank) and shocks on them should be replaced as a mathematical function of weight. If you have a deamon like Subs, Tahoe, Expeditions then they have to get it done earlier.

Over the years I have reduced suspension wear by replacing shocks proactively (max is 120K) and getting alignments done every 60K ( like to do it right before replacing my tires).

I wouldn't touch the suspension right now, get what Doug mentioned done.

 

[MaximaGuy]

I must add getting a PS flush with Redline PSF would tremendously extend the PS life (even with expensive soups like Redline PSF, I replace them at 60K since the capacity is 0.9 q).

Flush is real simple, remove the front shields under the vehicle. The PS loop makes a turn in the bottom connected to a 3/8" hose. Remove it an it will drain the reservoir. Raise the front of the vehicle off the ground to reduce the load on the PS and do put the ignition in ACC (unlock the steering column). Do PS locks (5-6 times) and it removes all fluid from the rack. Reconnect the hose in the bottom and fill reservoir and redo PS locks while someone is filling the reservoir (it takes no more than 1Q). Once it has take enough, start the engine and do PS locks to blow the air our of the system.


Lower the vehicle and check level and done, it is a simple 1hr job.

 

[lexus114]

i definitely recommend the ecm flash for improved shift quality. it was a big improvement on my 2005.

 

[SuperDave456]

Taking a look into longer oil filters.
I've already dissected the Pennzoil branded filter that came with the SUV, it's only 1000 miles into the OCI, and from what I'm seeing upon dissection of the oil filter the engine is very clean.
I replaced it with a Fram Tough Guard 3614. I figured if I needed to clean up the engine that'd be a good filter to start with, if not it'd be just fine too.

From research on the Wix website the engine takes the same thread pitch and Bypass pressure as my old Ford Taurus, and the appropriate oem sized filter the Wix 51348 and the Wix 51516, share the same gasket dimensions. Just that the one for the "ford", the 51516, is about 1.5" taller.

Also, I printed off 17 pages of service history from the Lexus website... it appears to be well taken care of.

I have a good feeling about this car.