Hi all. I am closing in on my new-used car purchase and am really just trying to decide if I should get what I want (IS300) or something with a little more room that would probably make my wife happy (RX300).
I'm looking at an '01 RX300 SilverSport, but this morning read this report on Carpoint for the '99/'00/'01 model years:
Occasional problems on this vehicle are failures of the Engine, the Air Fuel Ratio Sensors and the Mass Air Flow (MAF) Sensor. Failure of the Engine is caused because the engine oil gels. Engine oil gelling will also cause excessive engine oil usage. When proper maintenance schedules for oil changes are followed, oil gelling should not occur. Lexus has issued an 8 year unlimited mileage goodwill repair for this condition. Failure of Air Fuel Ratio Sensors or MAF Sensor will cause a drivability problem or the check engine light to illuminate. The cost to repair the Engine is estimated at $4500.00 for parts and $1514.50 for labor. The cost to repair the Air Fuel Ratio Sensors is estimated at $377.31 each for parts and $65.00 for labor. The cost to repair the MAF Sensor is estimated at $151.88 for parts and $32.50 for labor. All prices are estimates based on $65 per flat rate hour and do not include diagnostic time or any applicable sales tax.
Occasional failure of the engine? WTF? That's certainly not something I would expect from a vehicle rated so highly. Maybe it's my pilot side talking, but I can't really get excited about a vehicle that suffers from occasional engine failures...
John