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369 days from delivery and just 7500 miles later my RC had it's first service today. All went as expected, no issues, hybrid health checked ok. Dealer was superb, very accommodating, right up to when I requested their LC500 as my courtesy car No amount of cajoling would change their mind. So away I went in a brand new CT200h... If it didn't have a Lexus badge on it I would never have equated the two .. I'm sure the car fulfils a purpose but my word I found the car terrible. The ride was so hard I'm sure I've chipped a tooth. The seat was totally unsupportive, no amount of adjustment helped. What on earth is that gear selector all about? The engine sounded like a rolling tin , half filled with nuts and bolts. The throttle had no resistance behind it, not that it mattered really, there appeared to be no power either! The e-CVT clunked in and out of D, N and R. When the ICE cut in or out there was a hefty jolt. I had to double check the driver's window was closed properly the wind noise was so bad above 50mph. On returning the car I suggested a tech take it out for a drive. All perfectly 'normal' ... Getting back in my RC was like slipping on a nappa leather glove, so smooth, silent, comfortable. I really can't believe how different the two cars are.

Try this https://lexus.7zap.com/en/eu/ Courtesy of one of the members here. I find it very useful. Rattles can be a pain and can really ruin the whole ownership experience. Good luck!

Whilst stuck in traffic this morning I thought I’d while away the time admiring my cockpit. Although most of it appears beautiful and logically laid out it dawned on me that there are a few anomalies and also some strange decisions made. 1. Why do some switches have a light on them whilst others have the light in the dash? For example, the BSM switch lights up but the auto headlight shows in the dash binnacle. 2. There is also a light on the auto wipers but not on the headlamp control. This is odd because if the lights aren’t on you can’t tell their set to auto unless you crane your neck to look through the wheel. 3. Why is the Parking sensor switch hidden away in the armrest? I don’t like it on most of the time but when I find myself in a tight spot I find them useful and it would be much easier to hit a switch quickly if it were on the dash. 4. Why is the ‘hold’ button hidden away behind the steering wheel? On the centre console would make more sense. 5. Why are the HUD controls also carefully behind the steering wheel? 6. What is the point of the headlamp washer switch? It only works when the headlights are on and if the headlights are on and you use the windscreen washer they clean the headlights anyway! Don’t the designers ever sit in the car, let alone drive it, to test the functionality of the switches? Yes, I know, I really ought to get out more!

Just been out to the shops and on the way back saw a familiar figure waiting at the bus stop. I thought it was my loyal duty to stop and offer a lift. Her Majesty also allowed me to take a photograph

Certainly will buddy. Must of re looked at the advert 20 times this afternoon... Patience isn't a strong point. Sent from my SM-G930F using Tapatalk

£7500 buys a lot of tax insurance fuel and suspension parts...

As I mentioned in another thread earlier this afternoon, I changed the front cigarette lighter in my RX300 for one of these and they work really well, charging my phone quicker than a 'normal' USB socket:

@mike m You shall be known hence forth as ‘Rattle Snagger’ 😂 I can see a steady stream of ‘F’s winding there way to you for noise rectification treatment! Big Rat

Ah, the name escapes me .............. BUT if you know Sittingbourne at all ? ............. it's follow the big orange Powder Coating sign next to the turning going under the Sittingbourne Light Railway road between Asda and the roundabout towards Sittingbourne ........ follow that road and you will eventually find the place amongst the industrial units ...... I was impressed ( first impressions) the guys say they have been in business 7 ? years and the set-up looks professional ............... Malc

The 200t can't get 50mpg on a run unless its going at 50-60mph. It only gets about 30mpg on a good day and about 35-40mpg on a run at a decent pace. If we're talking outright economy, I know the IS300h can get over 65mpg if going at 50-60mph and its cheaper to buy like for like.

I can get my 4RX into most car park spaces but occasionally it can be a bit tight getting out of the car. If we take the longer doors into account then it might be a bit tighter still in the LC. Here are the dimensions: 4RX W = 1895 W over mirrors = 2180 LC W = 1920 W over mirrors = 2168 DB9 W = 1880 W over mirrors = 2061 IS300h W = 1810 W over mirrors = 2027 As mirrors can be folded then this should not be an issue. I am used to the DB9 (with the long doors) so an extra 40mm width is unlikely to be a problem for me. At 25mm wider than the RX, I should be able to cope. For LinasP - I went into a multi-storey in my BMW X5 a few years back where the wheels touched both sides of the entry lane as you describe. Just stupid.

@Farqui they are a pain especially the one on the right hand dash panel that's pinged off twice now into oblivion. Those rattles have annoyed me since the test drive lol even then Lexus didn't manage to shut them up at the time.

@mike m, well done being proactive and looking into fixing the rattles/squeaks. Chafing can be very annoying... Those V clips are a pain, had some ping around my head when I was under the dash. @rich1068, good reminder of lexus.7zap.com - it's a great resource, that shows alternative suppliers and part#s

I don't think it will have any incidence on route calculation, in particular because lowest speed will remain "urban" and the highest will continue to be "motorway", but it should affect estimated time of travel/arrival time. No speed camera alerts on 2011 model.

@Kritter Good luck with that Kristian let us know how you get on 👍 🐀

@DAW David Very wise to get the tyres done they do deteriorate with age, it's why you see so many 'flat pack ' caravans on the motorways, pleased they did the right thing price matching your tyres. Always found Bristol pretty good not going to bother with a loaner they say they can do it in a couple of hours. Big Rat

shoddy job then, he missed doing the boot Malc

Had my 6yr spark plug service in at the end of August. All good other than an advisory on my tyres, which are the originals and are starting to slightly crack - shame because they have only lost 2mm and are evenly worn. Still given their age new it would be sensible to change them around this time anyway. Lexus Woodford surprised me though, gave me a quote for new tyres which was cheaper or virtually the same as the best prices I could find on line. I would have lost money on that being the case!! My air bag recall is booked for 1st week of December (earliest available date). Hope all goes well with your recall work 👍.

Meanwhile the passenger side was rattling so I pulled the vent and again found a couple of cable conduits. Same thing again amalgamating tape and fabric tape on top and seems to be fixed. Wasn't happy to find missing metal clips from the passenger footwell trim right under the dash. It fell down when I pulled the end cover off the dash. Just needs the metal clips which should be easy enough but sometimes trying to explain to the parts guy exactly what and where it is can be hard work. Not a job for over the phone lol

Very nice that you painted that engine bay, it is thing like this that really make the difference! Great work as usual

Big rat . Looks like it’s a 3 day week for you this week . Car in Wednesday, and it’s against the law for builders to work Fridays

@DAW They did what ! Bought it without you getting the chance to take it out and er........ oh I know explore it’s performance within the laws of the land....something like that😁 Hope the service goes well I’m sure it’ll be fine. Spoke with Lexus Bristol last night mines booked in for Wednesday for the passenger airbag swap out 👍 Big Rat

I must have been lucky then. Used my Tyre inflator a few times via the front AND back sockets.

agree with Linas... most look for economy ways to run a vehicle but only factor in fuel, servicing and road tax cost...whilst forgetting the initial cost of the vehicle its self. e.g. a £15,000 2 year old CT200h wont be cheaper to run over say 3-4 years than a 1 owner 7 year IS250 SE-L costing £7500 which is essentially half the CT's price tag.

I've gone for Goodyear Vector 4Seasons this year. Had done a winter/summer tyre change on previous years but the last few years dedicated winter tyres were just a waste as we've had may be one morning with a bit of snow on the ground and never really dropping below 7 degrees. Only had them on for a couple of weeks and so far better and quieter than the worn Dunlops on previously but will have to see how they get on over winter. I've left winters on over summer before and not had any problems so I can see these all-seasons doing even better in that respect.

1st RCF I sat in was in that colour combo at Woodford & funnily enough it’s been up for sale with them recently. It was the one I was hoping to get a test drive in while my car was being serviced, but unfortunately someone had put a deposit on it - the cheek 😉

German wheels, German relative, job done

Linas - Car is on 92k, 2009 plate

@DAW They are all good in there own way, when they are running right I guess. I see My favoured BMW dealer in Bath ‘Wellsway BMW is no more bought by the ***** Lovett Group 🙄 🐀

I think that your assumptions are about right, I used to do a comute which was a 75 mile round trip on A roads through the countryside with a little bit of town work . My average speed came out as 35mph week in week out. Prior to that, I had a 100 mile round trip commute which was on duel carriageways and motorways apart from about 4%. My average speed on my quickest days was 65mph and that was needle bending in the early hours of the morning on nearly deserted roads.

They are german made 18" Rials bought nearly new with tyres for £300.00, easy too clean and still looking good after a couple of years.

Just found this on the tube may be helpful if some experiences this problem, seems like any easy fix to do yourself. Big Rat

@mike m It does have one advantage in that when it used to rattle with Mrs Rat in the car I couldn’t hear her say “ How come with you being a builder other peoples drives are finished” blah blah.......... 😊 🐀

Life expectancy of HID bulbs is 3000 hours or roughly 90k miles. Replacement bulbs can be found at Euro car parts or elsewhere. You need a D4S xenon bulb. I would probably change both - most likely the other one is on the way out too and bulbs have different light outputs and temperatures. Osram Nightbreaker Unlimited D4S bulbs are around £45 each - link below https://www.eurocarparts.com/ecp/c/Lexus_RX+450h_3.5_2011/p/car-parts/car-electrics-and-car-lighting/lighting1/car-bulb/?48177223N&1&272d388ad80dea4501492ee117ec19ac6e1e7e05&000384 This link will show you how to change the bulbs yourself - of course, use gloves so you don't get oil on the bulb as it will reduce longevity. It takes a while to go through but it works https://www.carcarekiosk.com/video/2010_Lexus_RX350_3.5L_V6/lights/headlight

Quick 1 is based on time Short is based on shortest distance Quick 2 is probably the second quickest route

I would have to check (it's the same on all Lexus models), but I seem to recall that one of the quick routes shows as green on the map and is meant to be the "greener option".

I picked the car up yesterday lunchtime. I'm absolutely delighted with it 😀 I can' keep out of it. Spent all yesterday afternoon driving around the brecon beacons. Drove up to welshpool today to visit my grandparents and show off my new Lexus. Will post some pics soon when I've cleaned all that welsh mud off.

So another weekend here and loads more done!! Finished off the loom, just waiting for some split corrugated plastic coating to come now... Once that was done i decided to do something about the shocking paintwork in the bay on the passenger side, i sanded the rust down from the battery acid leak and prepped the paintwork. Primer applied ....... ghetto style masking 😂 bodywork is not a speciality of mine so i was not expecting anything great but anything would be better than what was there before! Not great but alot better now. With that done i left the heater on it all day. I then started cliping the loom back in place and chucking all the little bits back in the bay on that side. I also managed to get a little more done with the engine, pulled the sumps off, oil pump removed and got the pistons/rods out of it. Engine is in fantastic condition! Not a mark on any of the rod bearings or the bores, no sign of any kind of wear. Not touched the crank mains yet as im waiting for plastigauge to come to measure oil clearances. Also getting a straight edge from work to check the block and bore gauge. Everything will be in spec but as im at this point it would be crazy not to make sure. Ive ordered some of the engine internals now wiseco pistons, brian crower rods, ARP head and main studs, looking at ACL bearings. Once thats done its onto the head, got some tasty things in mind for this too! Hope you guys are enjoying these updates 👍

So so to give a quick bump to this thread @DAN@ADRIAN FLUX And his people have received all the documentation pictures and so on of my is-F and for the £65.00 fee the agreed value of my car a 59plate with 45k miles and and A1 condition is agreed between us as £19500.00 this IMO is exactly how I see its value to be and would like to thank Dan and his and the staff for the quick and efficient response. Now obviously all others who wish to go this route would have their cars assessed on a individual basis but I think it represents market replacement value or there abouts and not what it would be if the unthinkable happens without an agreed value. Big Rat Big Rat

I had Joe-Z on my car for well over 3 years and absolutely loved them. Personally drone was no where near as bad as the other exhausts out there, the only one that probably drones less was the Borla exhaust. The sound of the Joe-Z with headers was orgasmic, below video is a sample but does not do it any justice in real life: