Leaderboard

Thanks Roger, although I'm not sure if it was being brave or stupid! There's some great info out there which made it possible, and I'm very grateful to people who take the time to make videos etc. I guess like anything, having done it, it wouldn't seem so daunting next time, although I don't plan on there being a next time!

Completed a little road trip today 609.3mls from north east Scotland to east Surrey and returned a pretty good MPG figure, 29.1mpg not bad considering I was in sports + mode with throttle commander set high and valves open on exhaust system.. and wasn’t exactly hanging about

One of the main factors as to why I now drive a Lexus was their offer of a 24 hour test drive of the NX. Once I had experienced the comfort, quality, quietness and driving pleasure I was hooked!

I have to say, I really enjoy my NX. Sure its not in the same "image" as a german rival but I look beyond the badge. - Infotainment system. Yes its a generation behind but it plays music/radio, navigation gets me from a to be. It may not have fancy graphics or a hundred settings, it just does what it says on the tin. - Performance. I have the 200t f-sport. It is quick if you can drive it properly and it does suffer a bit of torque steer if you are not aware of it. It is also thirsty, around 21 mpg in town driving, around 27 mpg suburban and around 35 mpg on motorways. I did drive a hybrid but that was sooooooo much slower. I would probably have looked at other cars, had I tested that before the T. - Build quality. Its a Lexus, the reputation says it all really. Compare reliability to BMW and Mercedes. Which car will spend more time in the shop? - Prestige. How many Range Rover/Land Rovers, BMWs, Audis, Jaguars, Mercedes are there on the road compared to Lexus? Are you a "follow the crowd" or do you want individuality? -Drive. I have no issues with the drive. Its quiet, smooth and comfortable. I have driven it on all roads, A, B and motorway and it glides. I haven't noticed much roll in corners on day to day rides or perhaps I am just used to it. I do think the quality of the tyres also sway my view but then I put decent summer and winters on the car. -Overall. Yes its not perfect but its very good IMHO.

I finished doing the rears today and all I can say to anyone thinking of doing it forget it if you don't have loads of patience! It's definitely not a job for the faint hearted. Maybe it's because I tackled all four that I feel that way. Anyway, it's riding nicely, no noticeable difference from the original setup. One knuckle missing so could be worse!

I have had the car a few weeks now and found my way around most things but I do find the map text hard to read.I thought it might be just me but passengers say the same. I know the whole map can be pinched to enlarge but this doesn't really solve the issue. Road numbers for example are virtually impossible to read at a glance on this screen. The colours don't help and the only display options seem to be contrast and brightness which don't improve matters either. Is this a common cause for complaint and has anyone found a solution or workaround for it?

Just checked the big manual too, no FWD warning...

I'm not aware of an FWD warning. No idea what that is. And that message does sound too long to me too. It wouldn't fit in the central multi info screen. Intrigued to know what the problem is. Also, why didn't the AA recover the vehicle there and then? It should have been taken directly to the nearest Lexus dealer for you, and Lexus should be providing a courtesy car. There are all sorts of benefits to the Lexus Breakdown Cover...

Lexus breakdown cover is actually the AA ...

Quick question please. ive just bought a 2012 GS, fair condition low mileage, but when I look under the back the rear tie down is quiet rusty and the rear exhaust pipes to the back box. I gues from salt thrown from the rear wheels is this normal on these as my first Lexus?

We've just bought a 2012 Lexus rather than getting a newer car partly as I don't want the depreciation, or to pay lease costs, but your CRV story is interesting we had one on a three year lease 2016 1.6 diesel earth dreams engine. First day we had it the oil light came on, then cleared at its first service they asked if it was noisy or if it was since they had changed the oil, anyway it had to have a new engine under warranty. We had a CRV petrol no issues and a couple of Accords in the past that were literally bomb proof. The new CRV was not very good and appeared less well made than previous cars.

Well no forecourt petrol station shot from me. To be fair this is a 228k car advertised for £2k so you have to manage your expectations accordingly. I concluded I could find a better one and spend more. Main stopper was the interior, which was scruffy and somewhat dirty. Secondary issues were non-functioning boot release or auto-close, steering wheel in/out motor (both claimed working in correspondence). When braking a mild graunch could be heard and I didn't feel it was particularly spritely (sadly a short urban drive only - inadequate in itself). It was however near silent and lovely to waft in. On the upside I have finally inspected and driven a 430 and this car gives me a benchmark. It was still a Wonderful car and it has made me want one even more. Watch this space.

Any chance of clarifying this last part?

Fingers crossed and all that kind of stuff it will be fine. She’s more upset as she was running a friend over to London tomorrow who is due an operation so she’s busy sorting out a taxi for her.

Just unlucky, I'm certain! Once they fix this issue, that'll be it I'm quite sure.

Very bad luck indeed. There's an exception to every rule. Suffice to say, the NX is THE most reliable car you can buy in some reports and Lexus the most reliable manufacturer. Hope you get it sorted quickly. Oh, is there any chance you could correct your last but one paragraph, as I'd love to know what was wrong, but I think the predictive texting got a little confused! 😉

Just a quick update, it's been a couple of months now since this fix and the £9.95 ebay sensor is working perfectly!! Definitely going to order more of these to keep to one side ready for the next failure!! Sent from my SM-G950F using Tapatalk

Yes, rear view still works automatically.

I don't mean to imply that you're wrong Alex but are you sure it's the traction (hybrid) battery you need and not the ordinary 12V battery? It would be extremely unusual for the traction battery to need complete replacement after just 6 years, hence my question.

I’ve always found car brands willing to let me have a car for a reasonable time. And if they won’t, my money goes elsewhere!

And if the long test drive can embrace a weekend and allow some night driving and perhaps a fill up of fuel at the garage you normally use, then one can begin to experience real world idiosyncrasies of the vehicle open which one proposes to spend a small fortune ?

I do like the shouty colour of your RC F 👍 the seats really add to look of the car. Top work

In the past I have used a combination of vacuum and compressed air and knocking them to clean air and pollen filters if they look pretty fair and never had a problem. Of course there comes a time when they have to be replaced.

I changed mine when I bought my Celsior and found a very dead but interesting Japanese bug in it, plus various amounts of dry vegetation!

Agree with the kick plates. They're quite a poor design in my opinion and not very hard wearing. With regard to the screen, the anti-glare coating rubs off no matter what you use. Even a damp MF cloth seems to mark it. In the end I removed the screen and used an alcohol based cleaner to remove the entire coating and it looks perfect with barely any difference to screen viewing

Welcome to Europe's Leading Lexus Club! Please Enjoy!

Short update on this problem. Took it into Lexus and gave them a short test drive/demonstration. They weren’t convinced there was much of a problem and I also had a run in another RX to compare things, not much difference so left it at that. Also asked if there was a “maintenance mode” so you could rev the engine without it being in gear and was told no. Still annoying the poop out of me so I started trawling the internet for any info on this apart from Stringbender’s report and surprise surprise. There is a maintenance mode, but the throttle response is pretty poor so it’s difficult to keep the revs stable. Also in the USA there are some reports of vibration and resonance on some RX models, but mainly 350 models. Anyway I’ve found there has been exhaust dampers fitted to some older models. Toyota Part No: 17581-31010 Damper, Exhaust Pipe I also discovered that if you start the car, engine warmed up, select drive then reapply the parking brake, you can increase the revs to the point of vibration. Back to Lexus again and spoke to their Master Technician and showed him the “maintenance mode” which he did know about, demonstrated the problem by increasing revs while in gear and parking brake on, but he didn’t think it was a significant problem. Tried the same thing with another RX and it wasn’t as bad as mine. Mentioned about the Exhaust Dampers and he did say they were fitted to some older models, but they did have a tendency to cause cracks in the exhaust pipes as the cars got older and the pipes got rustier. Next plan of action is to source a couple of these dampers and see how it goes, if no real difference it’ll be bye bye RX and see what else is available.

When I had mine replaced I was shown the old one. Rusted to oblivion.

Hi we had a 2014 e class and it went 4.5 K at Mercedes, car had 65k on clock and out of warranty, Merc didn't want to know. Interestingly we had kept my old company Honda Accord with 150k but full main dealer history. Same problem occurred about a year after the Merc, Honda replaced it free and only charged the Labour and consumables I think about £250 in total. I will never buy another German car again as we had a major injection issue on our VW Touareg and VW had the same approach and couldn't have cared less another 6 K job. Incidentally both the ABS untitled were Bosch and Honda told be it was relatively common for the 2006 cars to have this issue. My experience from VW and Merc has put me off their products and their aftercare is really poor.

One could say that for the vast majority of business? Unfortunately we have no choice ( unless wealthy enough to lodge a letter with Lloyds) but to buy from one of these businesses

Using air con or not using it might not have affect. They seem to die on is250 at 10 years age. Happened to me and I have posted about it. Thanks to John, Linas and other members here I was able to put the car back on road when RAC failed to fault find. What you should try is turn the ignition on. Don't start the engine. Toggle ac to on and off a few times then set it to off. Then try starting the car. If that does not work then you need to remove the belt and then start the car. Turn off the ac. Then put belt back on. Ensure ac is set to off and start the car. And off you go. Remember removing belt means no water pump etc so only do it for few seconds.

If you changed your radiator the unions will be fine as they come complete with new ones. I only mention the hoses as one of mine had a bad split/cut but it may not be a common thing at all, I've not heard of any problems. Speaking of build, I've been really impressed (and frustrated) with the way mine is built as I've been working on it.

Nothing to do with being better built. They are all extremely well built , it is just a different design, and the problem is easily solved as stated on here. I changed my rad, but I think I need to get the hoses and unions checked just to be sure.

Well done Phil, I though you were brave, but now, it is another step nearer original perfection.

Yes, the seat has to come out to access the top mounts. It's heavy because of all the electrical functions. The grey box at the bottom is the massaging unit.

Air shocks really can't be repaired, and the top does seem to be the area where the RX generally leak from. It's either a new part, used parts or coilovers I'm afraid.

Wanted, left handed unicorn. Good luck mate. Not sure many of these will come up 🤔

Don't waste your time with anything other than genuine lexus ones. They fit like gloves and once fitted they just look stock. No window channel issues. Price is what you pay, value is what you get! Tried to find some decent close ups of them fitted but this is the best I've got.

Most cars up until recently use R134A refrigerant, but there is a big difference in the oil used depending on if the car is a hybrid or not. Using PAG oil or even equipment that used this oil on a hybrid car AC system will destroy the electric drive motor. PAG oil is used in conventional car AC systems. The correct oil for hybrid cars is ND11. The compressors used in conventional cars "engine driven" use multi piston units operated by a type of cam. Hybrid compressors are of the scroll type driven directly by an electric motor cooled by the oil, and gas in the system. John

If you do a search on "Youtube" I think you will find a video of the complete strip and rebuild of the Toyota V6 engine for replacing the timing chain. This should help you find what is holding the plate. The chain can be replaced however by splitting the chain on the drivers side cam sprocket after the tensioner is removed. Then attach the new chain "also split" with a split link. A simple tool can be made and bolted over the sprocket to keep the chain in contact with the sprocket so as not to loose the timing. The engine is wound over by hand until the split link appears. The link is then removed, and used to join the new chain that is now in the engine. The tensioner is refitted after winding it back to it's start position then releasing it against the chain to tension it. As said previously I have done this on a Mercedes V8 engine, and looking at the Toyota V6 there is little if any difference. I hope something there helps you. John.

I have just taken delivery of UX and can’t believe how bad the map display is compared to my old Volvo. Even zooming in doesn’t help with being able to read the road names and my eyesight is pretty good.

https://www.beatsonicusa.com This is where I purchased it from (there are two versions depending if you have sat nav installed on your Lexus or not). They had a $100 discount when I ordered (it was $499) Costs: £436 = ($499 in GBP) £110 = Import Duty £135 = Installation Charge £681 Lexus Newcastle only do authorised Lexus work but they recommended the Auto Electricians they use for outsourced work.

I can understand engine choice being a factor in choosing or rejecting a car but infotainment system? For me that really does not make sense. But the world would be a boring place if we were all the same. Even if the sheer number of German soot boxes out there does indeed show that many people do like being the same!

I agree about the font sizes being too small and the width of minor roads is also too small to see them clearly even at high zoom. The contrast between the grey background (in towns), the green background (in rural areas) and the thin white roads is very weak so you can hardly see them. I wonder if night mode (i.e. black and white) would be easier?

@Herbie That is a nicely thought out post and somewhat restores my faith in what makes this forum such a great place. I suppose the moral of this thread is each to their own. One person's trivial is anothers necessity. You would be amazed at what some of my friends will obsess over during a purchase. For me, the level of equipment is actually quite important. It is the main reason why I made sure to get a Premier model, even though I could have had a much larger choice of car if I hadn't. Do I need 18 way adjustable seats and an electric rear blind? No, but I love my car even more for it having them. Funnily enough, infotainment is a important factor in my car purchases, it is just that I don't mind the Lexus system too much and I love the 12.3 inch screen. The general jist of what I am trying to get at is, if there is a perfect car out there I am yet to find it, so there are always going to be compromises. However, what people are willing to compromise on varies wildly, so sometimes you just have to accept that what they consider important doesn't make sense to you.

I think some people on this board forget that it is the posters car, and they can do what they want with it. If you want a V8 burble, and love everything else about your car but the lack of that exhaust note, then change whatever you want to make it sound how you want it.