Mr Pants!

I love my RX400h, its one of the best cars I have had and I was concerned about getting my baby out the garage in this weather as I did not think the RX was too clever in the snow, but after reading all these posts I am tempted to get out there with it. I would have thought with the lack of engine braking and the B mode only seems to be effective at slowing you from higher speeds and not very effective down some of the hills in my area, I was worried that braking could put me into a worse situation, but that appears to be incorrect reading here. I am not sure what the RX400h capabilities are in terms of its assistance. Everyone keeps saying to me that I have a 4x4 so I am laughing, but is it a 4x4 when the chips are down or is it just a front wheel drive car where the rear wheels kick in from time to time? My wife has a 1 series and that is not clever at all in this weather, in fact I think the BMW is the most abadoned car I have seen out there!

I have just spoken to Lexus who have informed me there is a Lexus Ipod Interface kit, which I am having fitted next month. Not sure how good it is, but I would rather have a Lexus fitted product. Has anyone had this done to their cars? Any good?

Hi all, Has anyone connected their Ipod to their Lexus using after market products? I have an RX400h and am looking at this device Kenwood KOS-A210 It is quite expensive to get fitted, £350, but I like the fact it charges and you have control over the tunes its playing. I also like the fact it turns off the Ipod when you switch off the engine. The only concern I have is it hard connects into the ariel port, not sure how good the quality will be. If anyone has any advice or feedback on this or any products please do reply. Thanks Al

Thanks for that. I love the new shape as well, really nice lines!! Can you tell me, do you notice that it is slightly lower in performance than the RX400h? I love my RX400h and would like to swap for the new one, but my wife will not let me spend the cash!

The ICE (internal combustion engine) will always run when you start the car from cold in order to get the engine and cat up to working temperature hence you will always get heat for the cabin. What's more, for efficiency, the ICE is heated up as quickly as possible so the warmth starts to come through in a mile or so. The computers and gearbox seamlessly blend any combination of ICE and electric motors (there are two, honest!) to give optimum drive for the conditions your in. You'll never really notice unless you watch the multi function display. Short journeys are inefficient because the engine has to heat up. I travel 6.5 miles to and from work each day on urban roads and get about 30 mpg everall though the last bit of the journey gets higher mpg than the start of the journey Admittedly I'm in a GS not an RX but the technology is the same. Malc To also save on confusion, the RX400h also comes with ICE system, which is (in car entertainment) i.e. the monitors in the back of the headrests and DVD player under the passenger seat. the RX400h I brought did not have ICE in it, so I asked for it to be fitted by lexus as part of the purchase, Lexus sent it to "John Kleis Car Audio & Navigation" in Reading, Berkshire who fitted a better system than the original Lexus ICE system and did a perfect job of it. Car overall is excellent!! Oh and very slightly quicker than the new RX450h

Hey Neil, I have not come across this before to be honest mate and I think i have pretty much clicked on every menu option in the car. The only thing I can think of is that the salesman turned off everything, i.e. aircon, vents etc which will enable the engine to switch off quicker and demonstrate the hybrid drive. I have done that before with people when the battery has been a bit low and someone who has not been in a hybrid before wants to see it pull away in silence, I quickly flick off anything that would cause the engine the run, aircon or heat (on a cold engine) will cause the engine to run initially. The only item on the car that I am aware of that boosts the charge is the B select in the gear box, but looking at the other post on B option, it appears I may have been mis-informed.

Thought I would share this with you, sorry if that has been posted, I did search and could not find anything...... I went to get into my car this morning, pressed the unlock button and the alarm went off, but the doors did not open. I tried pressing all the buttons, nothing, it just kept screaming at me. So I unlocked the doors manually, got in and tried to turn on the ignition, got the engine management light on and that is all, no Ready light came on, alarm was still going off. So I went and got the other keys I have, the grey and black keys, they had not effect either and appeared to be fully charged, so I could not shut the thing up. Then after about 5 mins, the alarm stopped and there was a continuous loud clicking under the bonnet, a bit like my four way flash should have been working but they were not illuminating. So I called my Lexus dealer who suggested it was due to wireless interfearance in the area, not convinced on that. So I called the Lexus roadside cover out and straight away that chap said, "Flat car battery". He lifted the bonnet and took the plastic cover off so he could show me the battery, there is a little optic indicator on the battery that indicates its state, my battery clearly showed "Charge was necessary" which is indicated by a red dot surrounded by white. He connected the booster charge pack thing from his van and straight away the car remote worked and everything sprung into life. The problem with my car is due to me doing a lot of very short journeys where I am not passing 25mph, so my engine does not kick in very much at all, especially with all this nice weather I have not been running my air con or anything, just open the sun roof and go. The other two indications the optic tells you is: All red with white dot = needs topping up with water All blue with red dot = Is OK All white with red dot = Charge necessary. I now have the car on trickle charge to sort the problem. Hope this helps anyone who end up in this situation. :)

The "B" position simply couples the transmission directly to the engine to provide "normal" engine braking when descending hills (or for slowing the car when approaching junctions etc but beware of the following drivers as your brake lights won't be illminated!) It won't provide any extra charging over and above normal slowing down through regenerative braking and it certainly won't give you a "lower gear" for faster acceleration. One point to look out for though is, if you use the cruise control, it (cruise control that is) will not operate whilst you are in the "B" position and will also cancel as soon as you select "B". (It has caught me out on a few occasions when I have tried to select cruise control after descending a hill and the human brain being what it is naturally assumes that the cruise control has packed up! Of course as soon as you select "D" cruise control becomes available and all those mental pound signs fade away again!) Hope that helps JBP JBP, Interesting as my dealer told me it does provide extra charging when in B mode. I too only use it down steep hills or if I am going through some exceptionally twisty roads and use the engine braking rather than keep tapping the brakes. I was under the impression the resistance came from the electric motors, hence the extra charging and would also think this could wear if used too much? Perhaps a dealer would be best placed to answer this for you. :)

So it is really mixed reviews then....

Yes, my dealer charges near £30 per change!! So if you have a few options you want changed it can get expensive!

I guess more to the point is the handling and 4WD'ness of the car. I used to have a Scooby WRX STi, (I know, Chav car), but it was an amazing drive and the 4WD'ness of the car was very good in the wet, really gripped when you put in the power and I am sure would have been good in the snow to as long as you did not floor it. I have found the RX is not quite as clever in the wet, as you would expect of course, but just wondered how safe the Lexus was in the snow, I would have put it above the average car as it is 4WD and I thought all sorts of clever gadgetry to help you through tricky conditions, but reading your posts above, I guess not.... So is that why there is no TC on/off button because it does not exist? I will use the wifes BMW 1 series instead in this weather if the Lexus is as bad as some are saying.

I have an RX400h and there is no over ride for the traction control: Why is this? Also, what are these cars like in the snow? Does the 4wd kick in and help? I know today would be a good idea to find out, but I only drive in these conditions when absolutely necessary.....

Thanks for that, really useful ideas.... I only recently descovered that my wing mirrors tint! I also notice on the lexus extended that the levelling of headlights is not covered, my dealer said they think that means the steering lights are not covered also, do you know if this is true?

So are we saying that if we just replace with the latest DVD it will allow you to look at your MP3 folders whilst in motion?

Thanks both. I would be interested to read your comments on warranty claims. I will renew 2 years worth.

My RX400h this year is coming to the end of its 3 year warranty. I am going to hang on to the car for another few years, do you think it is worth spending over £1600 on extending my warranty? Also, it says it does not cover bulbs or headlight adjustment. So does that mean my steering lights and zenons will not be covered?

I have always believed that Lexus are better than that in all honesty.

Mate, I wish I had now!!! Totally confused.... I have never had this before, I drop off my car for a service, they do it and tell me how much, I pay and have a break down of what was done. I normally trust a dealer to do what is required for the service.

I dropped off my car this morning for her 20k mile full service. I was quoted around £345 and was told over the phone that it was expensive as the brake fluid needed changing. When I dropped it off this morning the service chap said, "would you like the brake fluid changing as that is an extra £77?" I really did not know what to say, I mean, surly they should tell me?? He said it was optional and not critical and as pennies are important in these difficult times I said no, lets not change it, the car has only done 19k miles and its just come up to 2 years old. He then asked me if I wanted the aircon drained and re-filled? Again I asked if it was critical or would effect my warranty, he said no, so I said no leave it then! I have left the dealership wondering if I have done the right thing now, I am used to being told what must be done, not asked. What do you think? Any opinions, advice are welcome....

Another point I did not add on my review, was the economy of the car. I checked the tank average mpg and it was reading 22mpg!!! Considering my test drive was at 3pm and the car had been ragged all day by perspective buyers, that is not bad at all... So I guess realistic driving would see around 25mpg possibly?

Thank you! Yes, they did say the colour choices are quite limited on the car. I am surprised they have not released the blue and keep it unique to the IS-F. The M3 had that Dakar Yellow and the blue that only the M power cars had.

I was contacted by my dealer to ask me if I wanted to have a test drive in the IS-F as they had one in for the day and a few people who had laid down deposits had cancelled their test drives. I am not really in the market at this time to change my RX400h for an IS-F, especially as myself and my wife are having a baby in September this year. However, I could not turn the chance down to have a go in one. I got over an hour in the car and I was completely blown away! I used to own an IS250 auto, which I loved to bits, but I needed more loading space and the IS was a little tight in the boot and back seats for my needs so I changed to an RX which I also think is a brilliant car. The IS-F is really something else, totally unique IMHO. The 8 speed gear box is outstanding, finally a manufacturer has made a gear box with paddles that clicks through the gears almost instantly! Again on my IS250 it was nice to have the paddles, but in reality you were just clicking an automatic gear box from gear to gear, the IS-F is very F1 style in its shift. I loved it on the back roads shifting down the gears how it blipped the throttle for me and drops the gear straight away, almost like its double de-clutching, really great feeling. I bet that sounded brilliant to any people you pass on a pavement. The burble out of the 4 pipes at the back is outstanding and only present when you boot it. It honestly put me in mind of when Clarkson reviewed the bugatti veyron, that is the sound! Now obviously I am only forming that opinion based on what I heard through my TV speakers and not in real life. It is a very sweet sound and something I am sure I could not resist hearing every day which would definitely up my fuel bills. The acceleration is amazing! I have had a Z3 M Coupe and a Scooby Sti and this thing still blew my socks off with the relentless acceleration, miles more grunt! The handling and grip is way beyond my abilities, I could feel that the car had so much more in it, frankly speaking, its capabilities far out way anything you would be able to do on the public roads in my area, it really needs to go on a track to be fully appreciated. I also tested it in normal use, calmed myself down from the sheer exhilaration and took it into a town centre, over some speed humps and all the general every day driving. It was spot on, not too hard on the ride and in D mode with Sport off it was like you were in a quiet exec motor. Truly a car with two personalities. I can honestly say I found it hard to find faults with the car, if I were really digging hard to criticise it, again lack of boot space and rear seat space and possibly the lack of interior colour choices may upset people but I quite liked it. Very small issue on a personal note, that they have put the F on too many things in the car. I was told there will be two IS-F's per dealer, per year and that is it. So I think the residual value of this car should really hold well as they will be quite few and far between, not like the M3 which are quite common and easy to come by. Overall, 10 out of 10 Lexus! Finally they have tapped into this market and done an amazing job of it.... :)

Interesting, so if you plug it back in at 29mins does the alarm go off?

Yes I use Lexus Bracknell, they are brilliant!

Call a dealer mate.... :) Its one of those areas I would really not be sure about. one thing I konw you will have to do is reset your windows and sunroof, there are posts to tell you how to do that.