Things To Check

[nelmo]

Hi, I'm going to see an RX400h tomorrow. I know what to check on a normal car but what do I check specifically on a hybrid?

[Beejay]

The mileage and the service record. No real difference. Personally the SE-L with all the bells and whistles

and a good local Lexus Agent is a plus. If it has an old 12volt Battery I would get it replaced sooner rather than later.

There are threads on here that suggest an alternative to the Toyota/Lexus OEM as the 400h doesn't like being left for many days

if you have the alarm system activated. The later 450h has a bigger 12v Battery as a result.

[nelmo]

OK, so nothing special to check the batteries and hybrid drive is ok? No special buttons to press and make sure a light comes on for example? I assume there is some sort of graphical display showing you the drive system - anything on there I should be checking?

What does the 'B' position do on the gear selector?

[ISJason]

Hello, there are threads for checking out all this elsewhere on the forum.

but just check if the car was one of the ones that needed to be recalled to have the inverter circuit boards checked. It was only certain chassis numbers.

The B setting is for engine braking.. only when you go up or down steep hills. I have never used it.

good luck

[nelmo]

but just check if the car was one of the ones that needed to be recalled to have the inverter circuit boards checked. It was only certain chassis numbers.

The B setting is for engine braking.. only when you go up or down steep hills. I have never used it.

Engine braking UPHILL?

If it has a full Lexus SH, can I assume that the recall would have been done by them, if necessary?

[Duncan Roberts]

but just check if the car was one of the ones that needed to be recalled to have the inverter circuit boards checked. It was only certain chassis numbers.

The B setting is for engine braking.. only when you go up or down steep hills. I have never used it.

Engine braking UPHILL?

If it has a full Lexus SH, can I assume that the recall would have been done by them, if necessary?

No, just downhill, you don't use a brake going uphill - it is a very useful feature and considerably increases brake pad life. The cars involved were recalled but you should check that the one you intend to buy was actually done (if relevant), some owners may just have failed to present their car for the work.

[Beejay]

Guildford Lexus has a great bunch of Mechs and Steve is the contact who takes care of my 400h. I get a 450h to play with [no charge] while mine is being serviced. Still very happy with my

120,000+ mileage SE-L. They do leave a new 450h order form in the glovebox..........

[malibu]

You've probably viewed the RX400h by now, however if you haven't decided to buy, I recommend that you test drive more than one to get a feel for the car.

I viewed one that under hard acceleration veered violently to the left; so much so that if I hadn't had a strong grip on the steering wheel we would've ended up in a hedge!

I had read that there is some torque under acceleration, however test drives of subsequent vehicles revealed that the one I'm referring to had excessive torque. I'm not sure if this was a 'real problem' or not but it didn't feel good to me.

Check that the powered rear door functions silently and without hindrance.

[CJHYBRID]

When I ran car check to make sure car what it was being described the following was mentioned.

Check Sunroof Operation

Rear Discs Prone to Corrosion

Hand Brake Operation as cables can become seized

Battery cover was missing on mine .

Hope car is what you are looking for.

Chris

[nelmo]

Thanks all - yup, to paraphrase Caesar, 'I came, I saw, I bought'

Hopefully not the wrong decision but the car looks flipping amazing - 2007 model in Stafford Blue (seriously great colour), 100k miles (ok, not so great) but full Lexus SH, not a scratch on it, cambelt already done, towbar (which I need for our caravan) and everything seems to work fine (so far).

I've spent most of the day reading the user novels ('manuals' is under-rating them) - am I the only person to do that? The navigation manual alone is an epic .

I'm a real gadget person - love the folding, dipping mirrors, auto-lights, rear camera and there's still numerous options I haven't pressed on the touchscreen.

The sat-nav is much better than I expected, with some functions that even my stand-alone GPS would benefit from.

However, the bit that is most impressive is the hybrid system itself. My wife does lots of short, town journeys and my current Hyundai Santa Fe (2l diesel) has been averaging 23mpg - this morning, on the school run, I averaged about 30mpg and that was because the engine hardly ever came on, even when cold. I was expecting (from other posts) that the engine would stay on until warm and wouldn't use the Battery until that time - not so; Battery was used for at least half of the journey. I reckon I'm going to save a fortune on petrol...

The only downside is the heavy steering - I've checked the tyre pressures and they're ok, so I assume it is just naturally heavy? It's not horrendous but worse than the SF.

And all for £9k - bargain of the decade IMO (touch wood)...

[CJHYBRID]

Enjoy Nelmo I am sure you will be pleased of your decision it's early days too for me but I know just what you mean.

Chris

[JBPRX400h]

Hi Nelmo

I am currently on my 3rd 400h and must say they have been everything I could have wished for - luxurious, extremely comfortable on long journeys and super reliable (if you make allowances for the 12V Battery problem which caught me out once).

The only problems I have had in seven years ownership was a power steering failure ( car was still driveable but with VERY heavy steering) which was fixed efficiently under warranty and an AFS failure (swivelly headlights) again fixed under warranty.

However, my current car showed up a peculiar problem when it was serviced after my first year of ownership. I received a phone call from the service department to say that everything was fine except they could not check the spare tyre as the towbar was preventing it from being lowered. The assumption was that the previous owner had had it fitted by a "towbar specialist" but they had not forseen this problem.

I had bought the car from Lexus Leicester but as I live in Milton Keynes and Lexus Milton Keynes had discovered the problem during the service they liased between themselves (they are both part of the same group) and a brand new "Lexus" towbar was fitted free of charge.

The moral of this story is, check to see if the correct towbar has been fitted properly or you could be caught out if you suffer a puncture - luckily I didn't!

Enjoy your RX

JBP