Faults:

Nothing.

General Comments:

For my taste, the RX300 is the ideal. The ride is as smooth as any car made, yet you have the sense that in an emergency you could use it to climb a tree. Sits higher than a car, but doesn't feel like a truck. Doesn't feel like it will flip over on a sharp turn (not quite a race car though). Gas mileage isn't economy, but it's an SUV folks. At a respectable 220 HP, I don't wonder if I can get around a slowpoke in time.

I did my homework. I knew I wanted an RX300 after the RX330s came out (uglier). After scouring the Internet for months, I found a used one with low miles that had been a lease car in Miami. It was dinged over the right front tire, and the company that brought it up from Miami fixed that for me. I drove from Greensboro, NC to Durham to pick it up. As far as I can tell, I haven't even started to break the car in yet. I love it and have every intention of putting 250,000 miles on it so I can brag.

I treat it right. When I need to replace the tires, it'll be Michelin X-10s or better. I buy top of the line oil filters and change the oil on a regular schedule. Etc.

If anything does go wrong: No dealer is gonna mess up my car. If you don't have total trust in your dealer, DON'T take your car to them. There are plenty of good mechanics out there who are fair and honest. Find one and pay them fairly. If your key explodes (my key is fine) do what the other guy said and use the Internet to research and solve the issue. Only go to a dealer if you are armed with the facts.

Faults:

My keys continue to break open. The first time this happened the electronic part fell out on the sidewalk after I got out of the car. I was able to find it and tape the two halves back together. That key was replaced because it happened before the warranty was up. The next time it started to be loose, I mentioned it to the dealer's service man and he said they had had trouble with the keys. He snapped my key and broke it and then ordered me another one for free. Not even one year later, that key fell apart in the ignition while I was driving and the electronic part fell to the floor. I called to get a replacement and was told that there were no problems with the keys and the dealer would discount it and only charge me $161 for a replacement. I called Lexus national customer service and the representative refused to replace the key. He said that dropping the key or temperature changes would cause this, but Lexus national had made a final decision that they will not fix the keys.

General Comments:

The car runs fine, but I would not buy another Lexus for want of a reliable key. I don't abuse my keys as implied by Lexus. Other manufacturers keep the electronics and keys separate and don't have this problem.