brendangeorge

I'll give it a go - I love magic potions.

Cheers

Bren

That's impressive fuel economy Vlad.
I have a 2012 and 30 is doing OK.

Just saw this after a quick search - coil over conversion kit for RX450h

https://www.fittedvisions.com/products/fv-suspension-coilovers-08-15-lexus-rx450h

Look like a £1K ish - may be some tax.

I did this years ago on a LS430 when the air suspension bags started leaking and the ride height sensors wore out.

Rockauto may have the parts a lot cheaper that Lexus UK will sell them if you want to fix your existing suspension.

Good luck

Bren

23 hours ago, Illogan said:

My experience is that whilst I only get about a 5% improvement in mpg using premium fuel, (or, now, E10 with a fuel additive), I feel more comfortable hoping that the claimed additive ingredients counter some of the possible adverse effects of E10. And I've convinced myself that the engine is smoother, - (it isn't of course, but I'd like to think so!)

Most importantly,  - my mpg has improved over the few years I've had the RX, not because of magic, but I've learned how to drive it more efficiently in different road/traffic conditions. It helps that I'm never in a scalding rush to get anywhere!

Hi Dave

I drove over 350 miles in the last two days.  The first half of the trip was using E10.  I have been struggling to get much more than 25 mpg lately but I have not been driving much.  With sensible driving I used to achieve 30 ish.

Last night I filled up with E5 and within 70 miles I was getting 28mpg with mixed driving: motorway, town, traffic jams etc.  I think the car runs smoother on E5.

I don't think I am suffering from confirmation or inclination bias - I test things for a living.

I am with you on the driving style - fuel economy and penalty points sorted mine out.

I can get about 30mpg in my 2012 model - I get a few mpg more from premium and I think the car runs better.  I am about to start driving more than 500 miles per week so will do some analysis.

The emergency filler door release is under the boot floor - this may help.

The emergency tailgate release is at the bottom of the back door - you have to crawl in.  See my post about my recent failure - there are many others.

I have attached a useful document for people who are new to the RX450h - it is the electrical system dismatling guide.  However, it has some really useful info in it.

Regards

Bren

RX450_GYL2.pdf

Fix completed yesterday.

New Battery was needed - the old one was the original from 2011.  It was down to 75% but still working.  Lexus parts (Swindon dealership) off a great price - I have a trade account there.

The tailgate would not open automatically after the new bat so I bought the ECU and motor.  £1200 list price plus fitting was a bit steep.

I bought a new one from Rockauto for £275 - delivered for £400.  I odereded it at 10:00 New York tine last Saturday; they packed it at 11:00 and shipped it.  I received it at 12:00 Tuesday.  That is service.

I had it fitted by my local garage - £55.00.

It's not hard to do yourself - here is a good Youtube video on how to from Viktor G:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6pZ_pU0Bqxg

Hi my 2012 RX450h tailgate will not open.

Any ideas how to open it?

The car starts and runs OK.  I think I hear the lock kclicking - I checked the switch in the glovebox and it is in.

The AUX Battery went flat over Christmas when the car sat for 4 weeks or so.  My wife does not like driving it and I was laid up after surgery.

I have read a few posts but cannot find how to open the tailgate manually.  I suspect the Battery may be duff now.  If I want to swap the bat I will have to get it open so there must be a way.

I will charge the batter from under the bonnet - it seems that some people had success with this method.

Any suggestions (to open the tailgate) will be much appreciated - I know flattening a lead acid Battery is a bad idea.  I am an electrical engineer!!

I don't want to fetch a crow bar to the back door.

Regards Bren

I found how to open the backdoor on Youtube.  A pain for a fat old boy like me!!

Hi my 2012 RX450h tailgate will not open.

Any ideas how to open it?

The car starts and runs OK.  I think I hear the lock kclicking - I checked the switch in the glovebox and it is in.

The AUX Battery went flat over Christmas when the car sat for 4 weeks or so.  My wife does not like driving it and I was laid up after surgery.

I have read a few posts but cannot find how to open the tailgate manually.  I suspect the Battery may be duff now.  If I want to swap the bat I will have to get it open so there must be a way.

I will charge the batter from under the bonnet - it seems that some people had success with this method.

Any suggestions (to open the tailgate) will be much appreciated - I know flattening a lead acid Battery is a bad idea.  I am an electrical engineer!!

I don't want to fetch a crow bar to the back door.

Regards Bren

I just realised I posted this in the wrong formum - can somebody delete it?

Thanks Herbie

I suspect the garage only disconnected the aux Battery but will check.

The alarm has stayed off.

When I started the car to check for any codes the warning had cleared.

There was a P0A0D code that I cleared.  This is a high voltage interlock problem - seems to be spurious.

The Battery was disconnected when some work was done yesterday - I assume it was related to that.

I looked around and saw that this code is often associated with a failure of the hybrid system.

Hi All

I had an independent local garage carry out some work - reline the front brakes, replace rear n/s trailing arm and fit a new cruise control stalk.

After which the check hybrid system warning came up.  The car is fine and the hybrid system is working.

Anyone seen this before?  I will poke about tomorrow and will be happy if anybody has an advice.

The cruise control switch was only £20 and was probably the biggest job - air bag disconnected etc.  This mean the Battery was disconnected which meant the darn car started talking to me and beeped every time I touched the mouse.

Any ideas would be great.

It is going to a Lexus dealer for a service, MoT and hybrid check very soon so they will probably charge me £200 to look at it.  There have been no probs with the car - it has been rock solid.

It has been to a local garage because Lexus wanted £450 to replace the front pads and £550 for the trailing arm. The local guys charge £50 per hour and are booked out 3 weeks ahead and are great.  We put Lexus parts on.

Regards Bren

20 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

The Lexus 10 Year Plus Extended Warranty does include Lexus Roadside Assistance, which is I think £155 stand-alone - of course if you don't need LRA (or it covers more than you want) you may be paying for this needlessly - as far as I know LRA can't be excluded (but I wanted LRA anyway so haven't enquired further). 

That's exactly what I was thinking Phil - my bank gives me free AA - well provides it because nothing is free from a bank.  I will look at Motoreasy's  satisfaction rating before I decide on the Lexus backed offering in a couple of month's

I will see if I can obtain this warranty with Lexus Cov when they MoT and service my car in November.  My Motoreasy warranty only costs £350 and covers what I need - however, a Lexus product would be better.  I received good service in 2021 when the old one expired.

A good discussion as usual guys.  We need to remember the dealers are not Lexus they are franchises and are only as good as their staff.

Regards

Bren

Lexus stopped selling extended warranty - they were giving it away but only for cars with less that 100K miles at 10 years old.

I am intrigued that Bill could get a Lexus warranty.  Just before my last extended warranty ran out I had £2000+ of work done - the front bushes and some air conditioning work.  That warranty was sold by Lexus but provided by a third party.  My local dealer is Coventry and were adamant in 2021 that there was no extended warranty available from Lexus.

Lexus will extend the traction Battery warranty if you keep the health checks up to date.  I have mine serviced at a dealer so the batt health check is done then.

I took a warranty from Motoreasy - it is £350 a year and covers all the important big stuff.

I have it on auto-renew in case I forget.

12 hours ago, Tinonline said:

You should be able to search on your motor.

The late 400s are fine from earlier search but as usual owners have to validate themselves.

For some reason later 600 variants won’t take it. 

If they did not test the 600 then they will say the newer fuels are not supported.

If you are going to have a go at the electrics on your hybrid you need this manual - and be careful.

The dealer found water in my AUX Battery well and recommended they check there is no water near the traction Battery.  The problem is the dealer wants £300 for the work - check the manual out.  I can see why - the rear seats need to come out.

I will be biting the bullet later after reading about other water ingress problems because my car is still under warranty.

Good luck Mandy - you can check the status of your hybrid Battery using the OBD port.  You need the correct scanner and software - I am going to check mine out later this week.  It is unlikely that all the cells are duff - look on YouTube you can see videos of Prius cell replacements.  When mine was serviced last Nov it was in great nick and the hybrid health check was fine - it is a 2012 with 105K on the clock.

Be very careful - I have been an electrical engineer for 40 years and can tell you, through experience, if you are not experienced mistakes can be costly and even lethal.

Regards

Bren

RX450_GYL2.pdf

Has anybody had the seat belt warning alarm sound when driving?  I don't mean because you did not plug in before setting off.  I don’t think the false alarm is a collision sensor fault – it is the seat belt alarm – I tested this.

I took everything off the seats and the alarm still kept going off intermittently.  This was annoying when on a motorway.

I stopped and plugged in all the seatbelts and the alarm stopped. I drove around for some time with all the belts plugged in.  I asked the dealer to investigate at a service (may have been last November).  The guys did not find any problems – however, the alarm stopped so I think they tinkered a bit – great outcome but no RCA. That is until two days ago – the seat belt alarm went off and stopped (after a few mins) a few more times. So the belts are all plugged in again and the alarm is quiet.  Anyone have any ideas?

On 2/17/2021 at 12:25 PM, Malc said:

 

• Nick hi

From my posts from 31st January in the Post ISSUES AFTER HIBERNATION

Malc

Posted Monday at 03:52 PM

  On 1/31/2021 at 3:44 PM, Malc said:

no other car " self heals "  quite like the Lexus Ls400

well guys .......  it's done it again today 

Been a couple of weeks since she's been out and  about ...  started fine today, a bit warmer and sunny and dry ..  going to get some essential cat food at P-at- H a 5 mile drive ......  just approaching there and POP it all goes off again ............  so I didn't stop, just carried on home ..  at the traffic lights put her in P and when the lights change she won't move into Drive .... so I pressed the Gear Override button on the console and she pops into D ok and off I go .........  5 miles to home and radio works, cigar lighter works ( my phone charges in there )  but all else looks a bit " dead "  ...  just getting into my turning and BLIMEY  it all sparks into life again and seems fine 

So if it self heals it also likes playing around 

Asked my indy and he says electrics not his strong point so I'm awaiting his positive suggestion

I guess it's a local Auto-Electrician I need then ?

Anyone know of one on Sheppey, Kent

Malc

Hi Malc

I'd put my money on an intermittent engine ECU (duff capacitor, dry joint etc.) or one of the connections to it.  My wife’s Avensis has a duff body ECU which results in intermittent central locking operation.  The body ECU is part of the fuse box – I have a low mileage scrapper to refurb because Toyota want £1K to fix it.

There are 12 ECUs in a 400:

● ECU (ECM)
● Proportional Power Steering ECU
● Cruise Control ECU
● ABS or ABS/TRAC ECU
● Shift Lock ECU
● A/C ECU
● Body ECU
● Tilt/Telescope ECU
● Power Seat ECU
● Driver's Door ECU
● Front Passenger Door ECU
● Wireless Door Lock ECU
● Air Suspension ECU (if equipped)

The list may help you narrow down the fault.

You mentioned you could not select drive – check this URL out.  It is about converting a 400 to a manual gear box (nuts I know but it takes all sorts) 😊.  You can get an idea about how they are connected and what may stop you being able to select drive.

lextreme.com/forums/index.php?threads/tricking-the-ecu-with-5-speed-tranny.1301/

put www:// on the front of the URL above.

Some stuff on ECUs from our American pals:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/ls-1st-and-2nd-gen-1990-2000/726265-how-many-independent-ecus-in-ls400.html

I don’t have a 400 or 430 any more so cannot be much more help – however I have been an electrical and electronics engineer for a few decades and know what a pain intermittent faults are.

You could try a heat gun (hair dryer) or freeze spray on the engine ECU to see if you can make it fail – this is a standard troubleshooting technique.  You could open it up and see if you can spot any bulging or leaking caps.

Good luck mate – now I need to do some work 😊

Bren

On 9/19/2019 at 12:21 PM, Foulsbane said:

Well, here we go with the after fitting report having changed over from Lexus Air to Coilover suspension.

Firstly, I removed the rear seating to save money essentially.

The first photo shows a seating nut, if it's this shape remove it, if it's a standard nut, leave it alone.

The second photo shows a bracket, with my finger pointing to it, no need to remove that. ( See rule 1 😃)

Third photo shows the old suspension ready for the tip.

So, what's my reaction to driving the car with Coilover suspension ?

As I drove home from the garage, I was appalled ! Truly, I thought I'd made a huge mistake, the ride was as bad as my wife's little Peugeot.

So, the first thing I did was to turn the rear adjuster to maximum soft, a ride through the village told me it was a lot better but not quite right.

I reset the front suspension to max soft, and that made a massive difference for the better.

So where are we now ?

Lexus didn't fit Air Suspension because it was the cheapest option, they fitted it because it is the best.

With my coilovers fitted I would estimate I have 90+ maybe 95% of the original ride comfort, it's acceptable.

The total cost of parts was £765 plus £275 for 5 hours work fitting them, total = £1040

Set that against a cost of £3675 to replace air suspension ( which is probably the market value of the car)

Given that I only needed to replace the rear suspension, on reflection, if I had to do it again I would have replaced the rear with new Air Suspension, it just has the edge that delivers perfection.

Interesting first views Ron.  I changed my old 430 to coil overs and did not see any difference in handling, ride or performance - I think I posted about it on this forum.  The guys who fitted them may have diddled with them before I got it back but I don't think so.  The air suspension on my 430 was FUBAR: the rear ride height sensors kept failing - the bits of Meccano that is not the pots - so the back end kept dropping.  The rear struts had leaks and the compressor was very noisy.  I think I had more than 230K miles on the old beast so my impression of the coil-overs may have been biased by the state of the air suspension for a few years.

Good luck

Bren

On 2/1/2021 at 2:40 PM, Malc said:

But I didn't, I left it running the whole time ......  and it, wipers, dash lights, electric windows and whatever else just sparked back into wonderful life 

Malc

I missed that Malc - I had a relay problem that cased my light to turn off - a 50p fix (replacement relay) but it took a while to sort it out because it was intermittent, like my brain.

I think you mentioned the fault occurred in pouring rain and cleared up after you left the engine running in the car park.  Sounds like time to get a hose pipe and a hair dryer out mate and do some testing 😀.  I'd look at the last things that were worked on and see if they are water tight - if everything went out that should give an auto-electrician a place to look.

Good luck

Bren

On 1/27/2021 at 3:33 PM, The-Acre said:

I'm sure this has been covered in the past but I can't find much info.  The HID dipped bulbs are excellent but the main beam is always like the second pressing of the grape, has anyone tried different bulbs, if so any links?  Ta.

Hi Phil

I remember putting some Philips bulbs in my 430 - I cannot remember which ones.  However, the colour temp is important - don't go above 5200K.  Don't be pulled in by the marketing BS about brightness and don't put blue ones in - humans don't see blue that well even if you thinl they look good.  This is why very white light are not always easy to see with - you see red, green and blue and slightly yellow lights are easy to see with.  If I find what I bought I'll let you know :).  I know what I bough made a huge difference.

FYI I can change the colour temp of my office lights between 3000K, 4000K and 6000K - 4000K is the most comfortable and easyist to see by.

Bren

On 1/30/2021 at 6:38 PM, Malc said:

OK now let me put your issue into perspective

After a couple of weeks laid - up and being drenched by stormy weather, the old gal was fine going to hospital to pick up my partner ............... BUT towards the exit on the M2 in pouring torrential rain and lorry spray etc the wipers just STOPPED upright on the screen, dash lights vanished and blower stopped

radio and headlights still working .....  what to do ......  carried on, off at the exit and by now the power steering was a little stiff on the junction, lights, roundabout etc  ............  got to the hospital car park ok, challenging manouvering to park facing outwards ........  leave the engine running tho

windows don't work but radio and aerial up&down does, so I turned off that battery drain ...................

Call RAC Breakdown and Recovery ... they say about 30 mins ....... BRILLIANT.......  maybe an hour later the RAC guy calls to tell me he's around the corner when WHOOOAH  .............  the wipers start to work, dash lights appear and all seems normal ...........  what a relief ....  the RAC guy is still coming thankfully ......... puts his meters and computer all over everything and can't find anything wrong at all .............  telling me that if it hadn't self-healed he would have a better chance of finding the issue ..... thinking it might be a bad earth somewhere ( under the car -----in the pouring rain ! ) or just damp in there somewhere .............

telling me all the time that Ls400s never break down and I'm the highest car mileage he's been out to for a very long time ..... 232k miles

All this while liaising with my indy mechanic who tells me we replaced the alternator on 6th January last year ( at 228k miles on original with the car ? ) and maybe the alternator belt had slipped off ....  new belt then too ...............

So I guess it was a damp issue from being effectively moribund for a while ...  then driving thru' torrential stormy weather ......  thankfully the often understated " self-healing" took place

Nowt wrong nor on-going I hope .......  let's see, she's going to be almost moribund for a while yet too ...  no more hospital appts etc for a while

Malc

Hi Malc

They don't fix themselves - I wish they did then my old 265K miler would still be running.  Your float charger will have kept your Battery in good nick but there are a few electronic bits to look at.  I am a bit out of touch with the LS eletrical system (despite being an electrical engineer).  You have an intermittent fault caused by something warming up - the clue is it sorted itself out in the car park when you turned it off.  When some componets cool down they will work again but not for long.  I think Herbie pointed you in the right direction when he said the alternator should be running the car - if it does not then you will discharge the Battery.  It could be the voltage reg on the alternator - you mentioned a replacement was fitted so it could have developed an intermittant fault.

If you have an earth fault that develops when a connection warms up - again it may work when it cools down.  If you need help with fixing a problem it is always a good idea to leave it in the failed state so it can be inspected - this is not always possible or optimal in a car.

Good luck.

Bren

On 12/10/2020 at 12:27 PM, Wally2702 said:

Looking for some help and advice regarding afs off problem. 

My wife's 05 rx300 afs off light has come on and will not go off again. She said it started flashing but not in a rhythm just a bit randomly, now it is on permanently. I've checked the levelling sensor is all still in 1 piece and tried the button on the dash which doesn't make any difference. The lights still do the dance on start up. 

Any suggestions on where to look next would be really appreciated as I can't find anything about the light being on but not flashing. 

Hi James

I had this problem after some (a lot of really) accident damage.  The repairers had not put the cable in its clip and when the new head lamp was fitted.  They spent months trying to sort it out - one Lexus dealer wanted to charge me £1000 for a new head lamp (I don't go there anymore); it took Coventry Lexus 5 mins 🙂 to. fix - great service.

I found the AFS light was off on start up and if the lights were off - as soon as the lights came on and I came to a corner the lights steered, jammed the motor, the head lamps recentered and the AFS light came on.  The body shop just reset the fault but were never able to test it properly - I was in a loan car for ages and decided to go to the dealer where they bought their spares from (with the body shops blessing) and get it fixed.  Driving a diesel loan truck was plenty of motivation.

I decided crashing my car and wiping out the front end is a bad idea.

Bren

23 minutes ago, Barry14UK said:

Well that's strange, as the well respected German Auto Bild, found The Cross Climates to be the best long lasting tyre and best tyre overall.  Of course no tyre is going to come top in every test due to conflicting design, construction and compound, and the customer may prioritise choice by price or other attributes.  Anyway, these are the way these tyres were assessed. as shown in comparative tables and overall result. https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2019-Auto-Bild-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm  

It is always difficult evaluating test results Barry - I do so for a living.  You are faced with a ton of data and unless you know about the test process in detail you are being fed a marketing story.  It is very difficult not to accept the fancy data presented by many so called experts so I don't and I recon I am not alone on this forum.  Who has the time to carry out the work?  This is why I asked for some feedback/experience and received some great data.

I can tell you that Richard who sold me the tyre knows they will be a suppository if they are rubbish 😀.  This has not happeded in twenty odd years.

Don't believe a word anybody tells you (including me) unless you check and graphs are........ let's say for the magazine.  They are a good place to start though but bear in mind the mag has to please its readers and its advertisers.........  In a different industry where I worked we sold a product that was not the fastest but cost effective but worked and was very reliable.  A journo rubbished it because it was not the fastest or cheapest - I walked into a large bank and asked what they thought about the article - the customer pointed at the bin where he has tossed the mag - the journo had called him a dolt and his boss asked him why....  Cut to the chase - I told the journo (it was a big bank) and his face was a picture - I then told him a few things about testing - OK the analogy is a bit loose.  My criteia for evaluation were performance in bad/poor weather - the bank wanted reliabilty.   The data in the tyre graphs is all quite close and a little counter intuitive - Summer tyres beat all season and winter tyres for wet weather breaking - what about a cold wet winter day - the winter tyre will win - I have done this test myself.

It is good to see the evidence presented by the press refuted by real World data - I am a big fan of Honest John for that.  The tyre guys I buy from see a wide range of vehicles (all except HGV and PCV) including the cops.  They are a great source of practical data.  All good stuff.

Cheers

Bren

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

Mislaid one`s bib then Bren ?   :):)

Yep - nice one John

Got one now though