Tailgate, Bonnet, Dashboard, Stereo Issues - Assistance Appreciated&#3

Daniel Manton-Leigh · June 9, 2013

Hi all,

I'm a first time Lexus owner (and one of the youngest people I've seen with an RX400h - I'm 25). My previous car was an Audi A5 which was a wonderful car, but I actually prefer the RX for the comfort and standard equipment - cruise control and Bluetooth were options on my £35k Audi! The only thing is, I've gone from a 3 year old A5 with 29k miles to a 7 year old RX with 95k miles, and there are a few niggles I'm not happy with coming from a pristine newer car;

Tailgate - almost every time I use the power tailgate it beeps, makes a grinding noise, the tailgate kind of "rocks" within its closed position and then it stops. If I press the tailgate button again it opens perfectly. It's almost like its trapped, but then the rocking motion clears it and it works second time round. I dunno. It's obviously had problems before as the cover over the tailgate hinge is missing so someone's been in there. Also, the tailgate button on the dashboard doesn't work, only the key.

Bonnet - there are at least 20-30 stone chips on the bonnet, and the ones immediately below the grill have gone rusty - should I be worried? I didn't think cars rusted anymore! I've seen brand new bonnets on the Internet for £150, even with fitting would that be cheaper than a respray on a silver car?

Dashboard - there is a small tear in the dashboard (a 10p piece would cover it), is that easily repairable or do I need a new dashboard covering to fix it?

Stereo/iPod - has anyone had any luck with getting an iPod connection fitted? What's the best way? Also, I have the Nav system but NOT Mark Levinson (I assumed these always came together but was disappointed not to have it and I'd driven 200 miles to get the car), how easy is it to upgrade the speakers? The stock ones are bassy and loud enough but the clarity is terrible, sounds really muffled. It's the earlier one without the "audio" button on the Nav (and the old nav graphics :-( )

Thanks guys, any help with any of my issues would be greatly appreciated!!!

teejaybee · June 9, 2013

Hi

Can't help with all but with regard to the Bonnet chips I had exactly the same problem/dilemma. I took it to my friendly bodyshop who I trust implicitly. Like you I had many chips that I think the original owner repaired/bodged with touch up paint. Some were rusty and quite deep. My bodyshop chap advised me to get it sorted out as they would be harder to fix the longer I left them. I had the bonnet resprayed for £260 which I thought was very reasonable and it really lookes great now so my advice? Get those chips sorted pronto!

With regard to iPod etc, my car was already fitted with a Parrot Hands free system that includes an iPod connection, works extremely well, very neat and highly recommended.

My tailgate seems to work fine, when it closes it does take a second just to engage and fully close but I think that's normal.

One last thing you haven't mentioned...I hope your alloys are ok, Lexus (indeed most Japanese) alloys are not great and they deteriorate fast. As I intend to keep my car one more year I am about to get all 4 refurbished at a total cost of £312, which I think is money well spent when I do come to sell mine.

Otherwise the RX400h is a great car, enjoy!

ColinBarber · June 9, 2013

Does the tailgate open and close smoothly manually? It may need some lubrication on the hinges and/or motor.

The shape of the RX means it gets quite a lot of stone chips on the front, most hit the bumper or grill which isn't too much of a problem, however ones that hit the metal work and chip the paint back to the metal will allow it to rust. The chips should be touched in as soon as possible to avoid this.

Depending on how bad it is maybe just the small piece below the grill could be resprayed? As it is such a small area you may not notice if the paint doesn't 100% match to the rest. Otherwise if you need a full bonnet respray then you may find the bumper and wing tops also need to be blended in which adds to the cost - silver can be difficult to match.

Regarding the dashboard it should be possible to repair but you need to find somebody good. Personally I don't know anybody to recommend, hopefully somebody else can.

There are a few iPod connection options. Grom is one, my personal favourite is VAIS (http://www.vaistech.com). They are quite basic and operate via playlists. You should get track text on the stereo screen but it won't integrate into the Nav screen - the limitation is the 400h at that age.

The ML stereo was only on the SE-L trim level at that age. I suspect you have an SE with Nav option?

Daniel Manton-Leigh · June 9, 2013

Thank you both very much for your considered responses!

The tailgate works fine manually, might try to lubricate then pop to the dealer if no joy.

There are some quite bad scratches elsewhere on th bonnet anyway which is why I considered a new one, but a respray may work.

Thanks for the iPod advice, I have Bluetooth anyway so wanted to avoid the parrot, prefer an OEM look so ill check out the VAIS, thanks. I do have an SE w/ Nav, but I saw a 2007 SE Nav w/ ML at a dealer, but as you say must be down to the fact that mines an 05. I wonder how hard it'd be to swap out the Nav and CD deck with a post-07 one with audio button and new graphics? I know I still won't have ML but ill see if anyone has any advice on speakers, to be fair I was slightly glad I didn't have the ML system, I used to have a Prius with JBL and an Audi A5 with Bang and Olufsen and the centre dash speakers on those systems made the rear view mirror shake/distort what you saw, even at low volume, very distracting.

alloys - unfortunately, the plank of a previous owner obviously had the cheapest refurb ever, as they've basically just been painted silver. They look fine, but they never shine/sparkle even when washed, they're always slightly matt in texture and they have lost that slightly chrome look of the factory finish. You can also still see some pitting through the paint. Beware of cheap refurbs!!

Thanks guys, appreciate it!

malibu · June 9, 2013

In my search for a RX400h, which took an number of months, I recently spoke to someone in the Midlands who had one for sale. He mentioned the same type of damage to the dashboard as you describe, who knows, it could be the same vehicle (silver). I didn't bother to travel from Cornwall to view because I thought it may be difficult to repair. I hope you find a solution.

With regards to the boot issue, hopefully, as Colin states, some lubrication may sort the matter out.

I know it won't solve the issue but, if you stand to the rear of the vehicle, outstretch your hands and run your fingers down the gaps either side where the boot meets the body work. Unequal gaps would clearly indicate that the boot is off centre and might have been removed or even replaced. If the boot isn't correctly aligned, I presume it may not operate smoothly.

Radoslav Asparuhov · June 9, 2013

Here you can see the OEM ipod/ Iphone solution:

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/80318-genuine-lexus-oem-ipodiphone-integration-kit/#entry800894

Hope you could find sometnig similar.

Stonechpis are usual disregarding the make/model - the bigger the car - the easier are to get - I cure mine with touch up paint. I would be suspicious if i see an used car without them.

DanD · June 10, 2013

Did you buy the car from a Lexus dealer? - I would expect the tailgate issue to be covered by warranty, including the non-working dash release. Note that the button needs to be kept pressed for 2-3 seconds before anytning happens.

I note your comments about swapping out the sat-nav / CD unit. I think that you're talking big bucks here...

If you bought from a dealer, you can return and swap the car for another within x weeks (can't remember... I think it might be 4 weeks). If you are prepared to spend the money on getting the wheels refurbished, the bonnet resprayed and the sat-nav / CD unit replaced, you might as well return the car and use the money to buy a newer model, or one in a better condition!

P.S. I saw a white RX400h for the first time at the week end. Looked stunning!

billgatesisaconman · June 10, 2013

Hi Daniel, I had 2 of your problems when i bought my rx400, the tailgate one & the stonechips ... Chipsaway got rid of the chips for £120 & did an excellent job ... the tailgate one .. i believe is because of where you are stood when you are trying to open the boot (possibly to do with the camera ?) ... anyway, mine hasn't done it once since i started opening the boot from a further distance away.