Rx330

[woolshed]

Hi Everyone,

After many years of owning European vehicles, I have recently bought a Lexus RX330 and have done only a few kms thus far but am wondering if anybody has had any problems or a bad experience with these vehicles. I'm very impressed with the high standard of finish with not being able to find a loose thread in the carpets let alone the leather seating not any ill fitting panel etc. and is up to expectations with most European makes when it comes to engineering and technology.

My reason for purchasing this brand was that I preferred to purchase a Volvo XC90 but wasn't prepared to wait 3 months for delivery and the 2 Dealerships had the good old 'take it or leave it' attitude hence researching another brand. Call it Destiny or Good Fortune and now wished I wasn't so anti Jappa when it came to these fine quality vehicles.

Your thoughts or opinions would be grateful regarding any problems or tips regarding this type or brand.

Kedge

Tauranga. NZ

[frylai]

As far as I know since they were out last April I have not yet heard anything wrong with them at all...also welcome to the club!

Matt :)

[jeffg]

I vaguely recall mention of an ECU software upgrade over on the ClubLexus forums some months back, otherwise nothing much in the way of problems as yet. I think the upgrade was to improve the smoothness of the auto shifting. Try http://www.clublexus.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?forumid=9

I had a 98 Harrier (JDM version of the RX300) for 3 years, had a really good run out of it.

I test drove the 330 when it first came out but eventually went with an Altezza Gita - When the RX400H (or the Harrier version) starts appearing down this way I may well move back.

I went to the Gita mainly for the better handling. My only minor dislike with the Harrier was the over-soft suspension and consequently excessive body roll on our roads - I guess it was set up for US freeways .... though it did handle the minor bumps and corregations off road very nicely.

welcome tyo the club

jeff

[woolshed]

Hey, Thanks Guys - really appreciate your comments. I did read in some US review regarding an upgrade with the txm and inquired with the Lexus dealership in Hawkes Bay at the time of purchase who were honest in stating that the first 200 vehicles released on the American market had jerky txm at slow speeds and were recalled for an upgrade. Glad to say, this one doesn't appear to have that problem. Had a nudge bar fitted (genuine Lexus fitting naturally) to tidy up the front look so look out European badges - watch your rear end!! :)

1 Happy Owner

Kedge

[frylai]

If theres any problem do not forget to ask us and also Lexus dealer should pay for all the faults in the next 4 years ;)...cost free motoring...

Matt :)

[woolshed]

Hi Matt,

Thanks for the advise regarding Lexus's Customer Care. I'm sure if anything does go wrong or need attention, Lexus will be keen to see it right but somehow I sense that won't be necessary. The warranty is the best on offer with 140,000km service with a replacement set of tyres included - now that is a great warranty. I love the RX330 and is an amazing vehicle.........just want to drive it all the time. Why I didn't indulge in a Lexus in the past I will never know. Very pleased I got rear parking sensors installed as it would be a difficult vehicle to park as most SUV seem to be. The Volvo S80 which is used daily as a town car now gets 2nd preference. Guess it may be time to replace the S80 with a smaller Lexus just to get around town but will talk to the friendly people at Lexus Hawkes Bay (recommended) for advise.

Regards

RX330 Lover

Tauranga

[frylai]

Hi,

Lexus New Zealand has one fo the best after markets sales has to offer out of any Lexus sales market in the world. The only problem is that the lack fo marketing and knowledge holds them back for more sale. The lexus Manager comes to me for advice for new model updates as I get them quicker than those guys at Lexus NZ...they know how to sell a car and to be nice but seems like not much else...:(

Matt :)

[michael]

Now that this model has been around for a little longer problems begin to emerge (as with any new model car). In our car the problems have related mainly to trim and glazing installation, particularly excessive wind noise from the B pillar (the US owners club indicates there is a dealer fix for this involving replacement of the guides for the windows) failure of the sat nav screen to dim to night mode when the lights are activated (not sure what the fix is for this, will be attended to at next service) rattles in the tailgate (lexus have tried once to fix so we will see if they are successful next time, this problem seems to be related to installation of wiring within the tailgate) and binding of the base of the passenger side windscreen wiper arm on the trailing edge of the bonnet (some kind of installation problem, to be fixed next service).

There are also problems with rattling in the dash area which we have only noticed when the interior is cold, again the US owners club indicates this is a common problem and Lexus have a fix requiring removal of the dash and installation of buffers at certain contact points.

Nothing too fatal, really. Overall quality is comparable or slightly inferior to our other previous cars, all Volkswagens. The overall construction is accurate but doesn't seem quite as robust as some of the European makes, not entirely surprising given that the Lexus is also many hundreds of kilos lighter than many of these. Lighter weight is, however, a good thing for fuel efficiency and road feel/responsiveness. The impression of lower robustness is only a subjective impression, for instance if you lift the tailgate slightly when open you can see the C pillar flex quite noticably. However given the reputation of this make for long term quality it's probably strong enough where it needs to be!

[jnobel]

Hi Everyone,

    After many years of owning European vehicles, I have recently bought a Lexus RX330 and have done only a few kms thus far but am wondering if anybody has had any problems or a bad experience with these vehicles. I'm very impressed with the high standard of finish with not being able to find a loose thread in the carpets let alone the leather seating not any ill fitting panel etc. and is up to expectations with most European makes when it comes to engineering and technology.

    My reason for purchasing this brand was that I preferred to purchase a Volvo XC90 but wasn't prepared to wait 3 months for delivery and the 2 Dealerships had the good old 'take it or leave it' attitude hence researching another brand. Call it Destiny or Good Fortune and now wished I wasn't so anti Jappa when it came to these fine quality vehicles.

    Your thoughts or opinions would be grateful regarding any problems or tips regarding this type or brand.

   

    Kedge

    Tauranga. NZ

Hi Kedge and all,

Hope this helps ...

I got a Lexus RX330 Luxury in Australia in late 2004 after many years of BMW5 and BMW3. So far it has worked for us, especially in the passenger row where there is more space than in a BMW5, especially if using child seats. The finishing is very good. The rear camera is very good. The ride is comfortable. As an alternative I looked at Toyota Kluger (7 seats), BMW X5 (loads more money), Mercedes ML (truck like), Volvo XC90 (very nice, until I got told about b*&^% Volvo driver jokes, pricier), and dreamed about driving a car the size of a Toyota Landcruiser (not).

The pre-sales and post-sales support by the dealer has been excellent, and definitely not as snobby as BMW's. (I was only driving a 5 not a 7 series after all.)

I think the Lexus needs a few improvements though.

For example the light sensor on the mirrors is not that sensitive and consequently the lights come on a bit too late.

The automatic seat and mirror adjustment to preset positions ignores the rear view mirror (why?).

Furthermore the automatic blindness prevention is too dark (when compared to BMW5's mirror).

It would be great to have some basic data displayed on the wind screen using a head up display.

I miss some of the noise insulation (like double glazing also on the side) from the BMW5.

The use of the climate controls (some buttons, some on screen) is a little confusing at first.

Adaptive cruise control would be nice, provided it does not depend on MS Windows.

Compared to Europe, Australia has poor infrastructure for enhanced radio services such as the Radio Data System (RDS, which gives station information and a bit more), and for navigation updates over the air (TMC, traffic message channel) for traffic jams and road works are not provided so the Lexus cannot pick them up, and navigate around them. Hardly Lexus' fault.

I found the DVD navigation disk the biggest issue (Telstra/ Sensis supplied who apparently also supply Mercedes, BMW and Jaguar), and not up to scratch. Some newier areas near Castle Hill near Sydney, that are in the 2004 UBD paper directory, do not show up on the disk. And I am not talking rural Australia, but suburban Sydney ...

It is fine within the Sydney area, but eg towns near Bowral (no more than 100kms away) are hardly on the disk, including apparently some highway exits. Somehow

If the disc were better, I would have nothing to gripe about though in terms of the navigation.

The one thing that is still puzzling me is how to get a Bluetooth phone to work with the handsfree. A lot of the information on Bluetooth profiles can be confusing, as this standard seems to be in development still.

Has anyone got a GSM Palm Treo 650 to work with the Lexus RX330 2004 with more than receiving/ dialing calls?

I do hope Lexus will also come out with a little runabout like a Smart or Mini though.

mail @ jnobel . net

+1 (702) 9249495

[Jasonw]

Thanks Jnobel, thats a lot of feedback

So would you buy another one?

did you ever make use of the lexus special events opera house stuff etc?

So i guess by the fact that you have bluetooth at all that you have the '05 MY that essentially is the same one on sale today?

cheers

jas

[jnobel]

Thanks Jnobel, thats a lot of feedback

So would you buy another one?

did you ever make use of the lexus special events opera house stuff etc?

So i guess by the fact that you have bluetooth at all that you have the '05 MY that essentially is the same one on sale today?

cheers

jas

Hi Jason,

Would I buy another one ... well now that the hybrid version is out I think it got even more interesting. So far I have not had any issues, and the service has been very good.

We have not yet used the special events stuff.

Regards,

mail@jnobel.net