Interior Lights Rx300

[holly1]

Hello Everyone

Well we have had our RX300 SEL 04 plate for just over 2 months now and love it.

Just a couple of questions you guys may me able to help us with.

Should the mirror adjustment, fuel flap and memory seat switches light up?

Does anyone know if the roof rails can easily be removed, if so, (daft question coming!!) does it leave holes or is there a small flap that rebounds up to fill the void like some VW's have. We ask this because we have the dreaded corrosion on the roof rails.

We have taken out a 2 year extended lexus warranty as suggested by you chaps on an earlier post, we are glad we did as we already have need to replace the O/S wing mirror which stopped working as we were unable to adjust it !! £500 + VAT to replace. I know we have had to pay for the warranty but we also have an extra 24 months of virtually worry free motoring.

Any advice would be greatly received.

Thanks in advance.

[Neil Morphett]

HI, and welcome to RX land....

RX's do have quite a few unlit switches - including the memory seats, mirror adjustment, mirror fold, tailgate opener, fuel flap etc. So your's sounds like it's working to spec. Also you might find a bit of odd logic about which switches work when the key is out of the ignition - mirror fold etc with the key out would be useful.

No idea on the roof rails, hopefully someone else can help on that one.

[Normski]

Hi matey! Welcome to LOC! Hope you are liking the car.

Nice move on the warranty! Like you say it's peace of mind and IMO opinion well worth it! Shame it doesn't cover things like trim, wheels and the roof rails.

The roof rails can be removed but will leave holes. They are quite easy to take off but one thing to keep in mind is that the front and rear plastic bits snap off and need to be replaced and at about £30 EACH (!) are expensive. Suggest you take care of the corrosion with the bars in-place on the car. I've done the in-laws RX using a Dremel to sand down and then repainted myself. I'm planning to do mine in the next couple of weeks weather permitting.

ta.

[ihpj]

First off,good move on getting the Lexus Warranty. Best investment you will make in your RX. And as you have already found, the wing mirror issue can be costly to fix. So you are always advised to consider taking this option. Also bear in mind that around circa 60K miles the foot brake cables are likely to seize and need replacing - but again with your warranty you are covered.

As for the illumination, oddly those bits do not light up (IIRC) but then again once you are driving you should not need to adjust your driving position/mirrors or open the boot :P

As you have the Lexus Extended Warranty (and have had no previous goodwill gestures from Lexus) then you will be able to negotiate replacement of the corroded roof rails/alloys - but you will have to push them. if you search this forum I have posted my experience - which I hope you will find useful.

Enjoy the RX it is a fantastic vehicle.

[Neil Morphett]

With these dark nights the one blind spot is not illuminating the button for the folding mirrors. I suspect I'd want to use it when going down narrow streets/lanes or past other vehicles on narrow roads, but wouldn't be able to locate it without distracting me when I least need distraction. Actually the real reason is a bit embarrassing - Occasionally I remember to fold them when in the work's outside car park, get back in the car in the evening, drive out the joining roads and onto the motorway, and then suddenly spot that all I can see in my mirrors is the door trim. Just where I want to be, fumbling for an unlit switch by my knee whilst having impaired all-round situational awareness and feeling guilty about how much mirror-signal-manoeuvre I'm not actually doing, but...

Would be good if the mirrors folded/unfolded with the locking - or at least if the folding still worked without the key turned in the ignition.

[ihpj]

Would be good if the mirrors folded/unfolded with the locking - or at least if the folding still worked without the key turned in the ignition.

With the way Lexus go about designing and developing their vehicles, I was very surprised they have overlooked these small details that, when added together, an unforgivable oversight in a vehicle of this calibre. Almost ruins the ownership experience- which is a shame as the RX is a superb piece of engineering.

One thing that might help is closing the mirrors before you switch off the car. Then, with the key out of the ignition, push the button again, so when the car starts next time, the mirrors will automatically fold out. I appreciate that this is a clumsy work around, but one that works.

[Neil Morphett]

Wing mirror automatically re-opening solution - Does it? That's neat, thanks, didn't know that one. Is that in the manual, or another undocumented featurette?

Fully agree with the small details itching away at the overall experience. I'm still suffering from a phobia about running low on washer fluid - Who in Lexus thought that a bright red warning sign and permanently (well, okay, permanently apart from a few seconds after pressing the trip computer button) overwriting the trip computer display with ''Low Washer Levels" was a necessary and suitable response? A discrete amber light or occasional trip computer reminder would have been fine - I know I need to refill soon to keep the screen and headlights clean but in the meantime it's not a crisis and I would still like my trip computer to work, thanks...

[Actually, although completely wandering off-topic, I'd nominate Audi for the Best Low-Washer-Fluid-Level-Alert Award - if you have one with the full sat-nav package which has a small colour trip computer screen between the rev counter and speedo, when the fluid is low you get a little graphic 'squirty' animation (sort of like a wet-look firework display) that comes up when you start and every five minutes or so. Sometimes people don't know when to *stop* designing.]

Must try a '450H to see what they've fixed in the next gen'.