06_400_h_se

Over the past few years I’ve repaired the seats, courtesy light switches, replaced the wing mirrors, touched up all the paint, fixed all the leaks, refurbished the headlights, replaced the number plates, refurbished alloys and loads of other stuff. I’m happy spending 1k a year over the normal service on average given the alternative is at least 3-5k in annual depreciation. Mine looks and drives like a new car. I think it’s worth it but I might consider a new car at the 20 year mark.

I have the Avons too - very quiet compared to previous tyres.

Hi J, size will not be an issue. That area has plenty of much larger cars (Range Rovers, Q7s, etc.) so I wouldn't worry about that. All cars are subject to vandalism/theft, so I wouldn't let that bother you either - I don't think the Lexus is more or less prone (probably less, other than the Cat thefts).

Hi - are we allowed to post company names on here? If so, the firm was New Again in Chelmsford. Roy, I started with the 28-point check which was £125 and then you basically decide where you want to go from there. It's mainly labour charges that you are paying for and obviously each car will be different. I had so many leaks that it took a long time to identify, rectify and wait for re-testing. I already had in my mind that I plan to keep this car for another 5 years, so I figured I'd get everything done properly, including cosmetics. Labour charges seem to come in around £45/hour on my invoice. Here are some pics of just one of the worst leaks before I took it in as it was starting to get quite silly.

Hi Fola, I went through this too. If you fit you a new cat, you need to garage your car. They know where you are now and they'll just come back. You may as well put an envelope with £500 outside your house. I went with a straight pipe in the end and it's running fine and been through an MOT with a Lexus specialist in NW London. If you go this route, the other points are correct - you have manifold cats on each side of the engine up front and this is a secondary cat. And hybrids are not tested for emissions. There is a technical requirement though for the car to not me modified to pass MOT, but this doesn't seem to be enforced. What else can you do anyway? I think this is the right thing to do to prevent this crime going on.

Hi all, I've been struggling with leaks in my RX400h for some time now and I finally gave up with the self-diagnostics and took it to a leak specialist based in Chelmsford. That's all they do pretty much - fix leaks. I had leaks coming into the boot, down the C pillar in two different places and obviously pooled water was making the rear (and even front) mats wet. By the end of a week of repairs followed by testing, again and again, they found all the leaks - tail light seals, boot seal, roof rails, door cards and a few others. The process is amazing - they run cams into the car, smoke, foam and all sorts and then show you videos of the leaks. The door cards were a real shocker - basically any rain hitting the windows was working it's way onto the wrong side of the door and then (mostly onto the sill and out, but still.. So, I had new door cards made up, all the leaks sealed up and whilst I was at it, the headlights re-polished and re-coated, new number plates, all the stone chips patched up, alloys sorted and finally a clay bar and nano coating..... the car honestly looks brand new now. I waited a month before posting this up to wait for some real rain and use, but it's all good, not a single leak into the bootspace or anywhere else!

I passed my MOT without any cat at the back-end. There are various views on this, but as far as I am concerned, the third cat is just going to get stolen every week, so I just welded a straight pipe in. The manifold cats do the bulk of the work and MOT emissions aren't tested on hybrids anyway. I'd happily fit another cat, but what's the point?

I use the AA solar charger via OBD also. It works fine.

John, do you have actual wording of the MOT testing section for exhaust emissions - is that publicly available? It would be interesting to see that. Technically the manifold cats are designed to remove the HC and CO, which I think is all that is tested on petrol vehicles. And the secondary cat would be to pick up residual NOX, of which there is very little on an RX in any case. I suspect even if it could be tested, it would pass HC and CO levels quite easily. But, I'd be interested to see what the wording is around modification, etc. Colin, you're absolutely right, what was I thinking. I guess they mystery thief hasn't been in the area recently or they've give up on my car. My next step was to see if I can get the keys/transponder changed - presumably that would be the fix?

Hi, just to come back on this, the car went through the MOT without any issues. It's been running with the straight pipe now since October, with no noticeable change that I can detect.

My 2006 has never let me down. I've been meaning to replace it for years, but can't justify it as to be honest it's still pretty much brand new in and out. It's an amazing car. I do less than 5,000 miles per year and only really use at weekends for short runs. When away, I plug a solar charger into the OBD and that keeps the battery topped up. I've never known a car to be so amazingly reliable and robust.

Thanks, but this defeats the point, which is I suspects thieves would cut it out before realising it's fake. I think the only realistic option is this (or a garage and never park in public!!).

Hi, I previously posted up about a phantom theft that was going on from my 2006 RX400h. I'd find the car had been entered at some point during the week or overnight (only really use at weekends) and loose change, etc. stolen. This has stopped now since I've started putting the keys away in a shielded tin, so I guess this was a relay attack. Also, more recently, my cat was stolen. I know there are many threads on this already, but thought I would post up my story if it helps. The RX seems to be popular because apparently hybrid cats can fetch more for scrap (and the RX is easier to get under I guess). Whether this is true or not, it's still a popular target with thieves. Anyway, looking at the design of the cats, we have one on each manifold and then this third cat/silencer unit at the back (in addition to the final silencer). So, I've gone cat-less at the back and just had a straight pipe fitted. I can't honestly see any other solution as replacing it will just result in repeat thefts (it takes less than a couple of minutes). Hybrids don't require emissions testing at MOT (my MOT tester confirmed this) and it seems the manifold cats do the bulk of the work anyway (I can't find exact numbers, but some say around 80% is done up front). I'll report back when I go in for MOT and I'm going to ask him to test the emissions anyway to see what the impact is. Sound-wise there is no difference and if anything the car is slightly more responsive. I get that I could keep replacing the cat, but that's not realistic and the only other options is to sell the car. Also a dummy cat is pointless as the thief would cut the pipe anyway (most likely) before realising it's a dummy. Ditto with CCTV/alarms, etc - at best a possible deterrent, but not fool-proof. Thanks

I did report it and they gave me a crime number. Other than that they weren't interested.

5 years and 30,000 miles here. Inverter recall, 3-4 flat battery incidents (I use a solar charger in OBD when away now), new brake callipers, new water pump. That's it. Most reliable car I've ever owned and I've owned many. It hasn't aged a day in all that time.