r/LexusRX

Just picked up my first Lexus after years in a 2010 RAV4 (RIP, it got totaled). 2009, Pearl White, 136k km (84.5k miles), AWD, and honestly the ride quality alone has me sold already, this thing is so much quieter and smoother than the RAV4 ever was. Got it for $13.8K CAD. No accident history and everything was in excellent condition.

Bought it as-is knowing about a couple issues going in, now trying to figure out next steps and would love this sub's input since you all know these better than anyone.

1. Steering rack boot is torn (photo 1), grease visible at the tear. No play or clunking when turning the wheel, seems to drive fine. Anyone dealt with just replacing the boot vs the whole rack? Trying to gauge if this is a cheap fix or if I should just budget for the full rack.
2. Front diff housing has some oily residue on it (photo 2), fluid level checked out normal. Does this look like a typical slow seep for these at this mileage?
3. I'm assuming getting both repaired in one go would be cheaper way to go in the long run in term of labor costs?

Excited to join the RX350 club, just want to go into the repairs with realistic expectations. Thanks in advance!

I have it for 2 years now (in family since it left the factory) and I can’t think of conditions I would sell it!

Posted this when we first bought our new RX last year, but there are so many folks on here buying new RXs (Congrats!!) that I think it might be worth posting again.
Hope the mods don’t mind.

****

Bought a new RX350h Prem+.

Salesman gave us the basic “here’s how your new car works/features” walkthrough, but he said he was only scratching the surface. There were just too many features and capabilities to run them all.

To cover it all in more detail he sent me two “Deep Dive Tutorials”.

Warning, they are long and thorough. I discovered a bunch of stuff, seriously A LOT, I was completely unaware of. Figured it might be worth sharing, at least to the car buffs out there who care about this stuff.

https://youtu.be/ToLr5nIPVIo?si=o3eemnJj3SJth81A

https://youtu.be/UW1jUab56sc?si=XzdtnUELJEQfEAeE

Hi everyone,
I own a 2001 Lexus RX300 AWD with the 1MZ-FE V6.
I originally took the car to the shop because of a squealing noise when the A/C engaged. While inspecting it, the mechanic found that my transmission had serious internal wear and recommended taking it apart.
After opening it, they found:
Transmission filter full of metal shavings.
Burnt friction discs/clutches.
Scratched oil pump.
Worn bushings (one bushing is spinning in the housing when it shouldn’t).
Wear marks on many steel plates and other internal components.
The transmission previously had a P0770 (Shift Solenoid E) code.
The transmission also had occasional harsh shifts.
The mechanic says rebuilding it would require replacing:
Friction discs
Steel plates
Rebuild kit (seals/O-rings)
Bushings
Oil pump
Possibly more parts depending on what they find.
His opinion is that, considering the amount of wear and the difficulty of sourcing parts, it may be better to buy a complete used transmission with the torque converter instead of rebuilding mine.
A used transmission with a warranty is available, but it’s expensive.
My questions:
If this were your RX300, would you rebuild this transmission or buy a used one?
Is there anything else that absolutely should be replaced while the transmission is already out?
Are these transmissions reliable after a proper rebuild, or is a good used OEM transmission usually the better option?
Does this level of wear suggest the transmission was run low on ATF, or is this common for high-mileage RX300s?
Thanks in advance!