willydoit

Bearings shouldn't need replacing at 55k miles unless the vehicle has been overloaded, driven at excess speeds around corners or in some other way abused. My 400h had 112k miles on the clock when I sold it, not a sound coming from the original bearings. Unless Toyota started to use cheaper bearing on the newer vehicles to save money - this was around the time when their cost saving over quality drive was in full force. Sadly the law only applies to the original manufacture's warranty. The third party Lexus extended warrant stipulates the vehicle must be serviced by a Lexus dealer - one reason why they lowered the warranty prices was to stop older vehicles going to independents. That's the reason they do it, in a 24 month period you are looking at at least two services and at twice the price of the indy plus the £1000 you have paid they have already got a pot of around £2k of your money to start covering repairs with. Dont get me wrong, warranties are a great peace of mind and in certain circumstances are still worth the cost of servicing at Lexus given the size of some repair bills but then those horrendous repair bills could likely be halved again by having the work done at a good Indy. Given the choice I would rather take my cars to a Lexus dealership any day of the week but the simple fact is I cant because I dont feel I can trust them (I accept there will be good dealers out there) and I do not see anything in attitude from staff or quality of work which would justify spending at least twice the price of having the job done elsewhere.

An interesting point, like most issues that are well documented as obvious failings on different cars and obviously items which could be argued as being not fit for purpose due to the number of reported failings by owners, the manufacturers will just ignore it, hoping it goes away. I would hope that in the event of failure any item covered by warranty would be replaced without question if there is no obvious evidence of third party damage. The difficulty comes in that the older the cars get and the more miles they do the greater the chance that they will encounter some form of knock or damage that the less scrupulous companies could subsequently cite as being a contributing factor to a parts failure. I have owned cars for over 40 years and have never yet had to replace a wheel bearing on one, yet I am expected to accept that a Lexus with only 55,000 miles should have a bearing fail and it just seems to be considered normal as it is quite common. It seems that if a large number of vehicles fail with a particular fault the dealers have the right to call it normal for that model. I call it a part that is obviously not fit for purpose or a manufacturing/design fault yet despite the fact that neither the dealers or manufacturers can survive without the consumer, the consumers opinions, experiences and concern counts for little if anything so long as there is money to be made on the repair. This is where buying low mileage used cars can be an issue, cars covering higher mileage experience such faults early in their life, often while still under warranty and are therefore resolved whereas a low mileage car doesnt encounter the fault until later in its life an out of warranty. This is where the morality of the manufacturer comes into play. While digressing slightly I have to say that Diahatsu seem to be the best manufacturer for supporting its customers. My wife had a Diahatsu Copen, very low mileage, the rear exhaust box fell off, quick google search showed it to be a known fault that Diahatsu replaced under warranty, our car was out of warranty but one email to Diahatsu and they arranged replacement free of charge. At 6 years old we had rust bubbles appearing on all 4 wheel arches, they had been repaired once under 6 year anti corrosion warranty and started bubbling again. We wrote to Diahatsu asking if, as it was a known issue, they would consider extending the bodywork warranty to cover re-occurrences of the issue. Within 30 minutes we received an email reply advising us to book it into out Diahatsu dealership where they woulkd arrange to have all four wings replaced and sprayed at no charge.which I know cost them £1,600 plus vat. No heavy handed complaints from us just a polite email raising the issue. Now thats what I call customer care. Unfortunately, the Diahatsu dealership (Maple Garage in Hull) tried to rip us and Diahatsu off by claiming to have replaced all the panels but actually just resprayed the originals and kept the panels for themselves. They actually lied to Diahatsu submitting an invoice for having replaced the panels and spraying them, weeks before the car was even taken in to them. Again an example of the lengths some dealerships are prepared to go to to rip you off, they even had the audacity to charge us for waxoyling the panels (that they hadnt actually replaced) saying that Diahatsu had refused to pay them any more money to cover the waxoyl. So my advice, be wary of any dealer but avoid Maple Garage in Hull like the plague, amazingly they have a number of dealer franchises, I dont think Diahatsu any more, but they even do all the servicing for the local police vehicles. Lets just hope their experience of Maple Garage is a more honest one than ours. Sorry for ranting off topic...

It never fails to dismay me, the excessive rates charged for parts and labour at main dealers should be sufficient to ensure a decent profit margin without having to manufacture work which isn't required. To my mind if paying dealer prices one should automatically expect a certain level of honesty and trust which in most cases simply does not materialise. Took a RX350 to local Lexus dealer who confirmed a bad rear wheel bearing on a test drive, during which they also suggested a possible issue with the brakes and advised bearing replacement and brake service, a total of around £800.00. I asked if vehicle should be placed on ramps to ensure that the noise was definately the wheel bearing and nothing else and was told this wouldnt provide any better diagnostic facility and that they had to replace that bearing before diagnosing any other potential cause. This was followed by the old chestnut "the other bearing has done the same miles so may also need replacing". Now I find that dealer acceptance that it is perfectly normal to have to replace wheel bearings at 55k miles on a car of this value ( I have had brake pads last longer than that) bad enough but to then suggest that the other side could also need replacing because of the same 55k mileage just a total insult and not indicative of somewhere I want to put my trust. Went around the corner to an independant garage specialising in Lexus Toyota, run by Lexus trained engineers who confirmed the n/side bearing was noisy but couldnt find any issues with the brakes. Cost for the work by the Independant using all Lexus parts approx £250 versus the around £800 wanted by Lexus. As recent laws have made it illegal for car manufacturers and warranty companies to void warranties if servicing etc has not been carried out at main dealerships I would advice anyone to look for a suitably qualified Independent who they can trust to use manufacturer parts rather than the main dealers if my experiences over the years are anything to go by. To the original poster, I would check out a company called Japtech in Hull, Lexus trained staff with a good reputation. Only 5 minutes from the main Lexus dealership so if considering using Hull, give Japtech a call first. Same parts fitted by Lexus trained staff, less than half the cost and more importantly I didnt feel they were trying to pull the wool over my eyes. Oh and for those who like the Lexus extras that are supposed to justify the extra cost, they also have free TV and hot drinks, will also provide courtesy car or collect and return. Before anyone asks, no I have no connection with the company, just pleased that I have now found somewhere that I can trust to look after my RX350 and SC430 without wondering whether they are just taking advantage and where my business is appreciated.

It's a bit late for you now but I would have advised a second opinion on anything done at Hull Lexus. I know of a 350 that they charged over 3k to replace timing chain, 12 months later there is oil leaking from the timing chain cover and they are quoting over 2k to replace the cover. To my mind if they were the ones replacing the chain which involved replacing/sealing the cover and it later leaks they should be willing to cover at least some of the costs but they apparently didnt want to know. That attitude despite it being serviced by them since new and having over £16k worth of bills from Lexus Hull over the 8/9 years they had been servicing it. If thats a representation of customer loyalty it stinks. I am less than 30 miles from Hull but travel to Lexus Sheffield for any work I need doing which really shouldnt be necessary if I felt Hull were a good dealership I felt happy to trust.

HI all, I have now ordered 4 Nexens which should arrive by the end of the week and having them fitted and balanced with front and rear wheel alignment. Hopefully that will sort out the vibration and drumming noise from the rear.

Thats thrown the cat among the pigeons again, a quick look on tyre leader shows the Nexen N'fera RU1 as being B for wet grip 71db for noise and only E for economy, the Hankook Dynapro HP2 RA33 shows same grade B for wet grip however a C rating for economy and a 70db noise rating, however the Nexens ar showing as only £69.49 with free delivery which costs 4 out at under £280 plus fitting. I dont know what the going rate is for fitting and balance if you supply your own tyres, will want alignment checking and adjusting as well. The Hankook are listed as Premium Tyres whereas the Nexen are listed in the third "Other Brands" category what's the difference? are you just paying for the name? Nexen SUI not RUI buddy .B for wet grip and B for economy.. ;-) ... unsure why they call them budget.? maybe because they have a better grip or economy rating ... lol ... or maybe they dont earn as much money off the sale ...> http://www.tyresonthedrive.com/search/choose/?collapsed=true Really is a bit of a no brainer then, at tyre leader I can order 4 of them for 277.96 have them delivered to a local garage where I can get them fitted for £15 a corner all for half the cost I thought it was going to be. :)

Thats thrown the cat among the pigeons again, a quick look on tyre leader shows the Nexen N'fera RU1 as being B for wet grip 71db for noise and only E for economy, the Hankook Dynapro HP2 RA33 shows same grade B for wet grip however a C rating for economy and a 70db noise rating, however the Nexens ar showing as only £69.49 with free delivery which costs 4 out at under £280 plus fitting. I dont know what the going rate is for fitting and balance if you supply your own tyres, will want alignment checking and adjusting as well. The Hankook are listed as Premium Tyres whereas the Nexen are listed in the third "Other Brands" category what's the difference? are you just paying for the name?

Thanks for that, putting hankooks on would certainly be cheaper, my concern is that we dont do many miles so whatever I put on is likely to be there for some time so I want something which reduces road noise as much as possible. How do you find Hankooks for noise? they seem to have a good rating on Black Circle and at £110. per corner are not unreasonable price. On paper they actually look to be a better tyre as far as the ratings are concerned. I am more familiar with the Michelin as a brand, is it worth spending another £150 - £200 for the Michelins? if so what would be the benefits over the Hankooks.

Agree 100% Despite the extra £, I really would consider replacing all 4. Platitude alert - but they ARE the only thing between you and the road. The extra two tyres will equate to maybe 3 full tanks of petrol. Longer term it's easier to justify the cost. When I bought my car I changed all 4 tyres. It transformed it and I KNEW it was safer - especially as it is AWD. My 2 cents! :) Hi both, thanks for the advice, I hadnt considered it from a season type perspective, I always prefer to keep matching tyres on my cars but assumed it would be okay to stagger the change if there turns out to be nothing wrong with the other two tyres. I certainly cannot expect dealer to contribute if I end up replacing all for for preference only as opposed to all four being damaged. I dont know much about tyres so dont know the difference betwen the existing Dunlop sports and the proposed Michelins, have always put Michelins on my other cars where possible as they have always seemed quieter albeit they tend to wear quicker. Was deciding on the Michelins based on the comment that everyone on the forum rated them. I can do without spending the money but would feel better if all four were replaced, just seems a shame to take off tyres with 5mm of tread if it turns out there isnt anything wrong with them, but thats probably just the Yorkshireman in me....

I was advised to let the paint guy choose but it turned out to be a mistake as we ended up with a colour that he liked which was a grey just a bit darker than primer and I dont like it, he is coming back to repaint them again, another £100. Have also managed to kerb one yesterday and against the darker coloured wheel it looks terrible, had it been a more traditional silver colur it probably wouldnt have stood out as much so I am thinking of going a traditional silver type colour. Our SC is dark metallic grey and has the wheels with the star shaped plastic trims on top so not sure how well that would work. will follow this thread with interest as I also need to decide on a colour

Thanks for that, of course we dont know what the previous owners did for the MOT, they may have bought used tyres to fit to the car if they knew they were just going to sell it, best just to concentrate on getting it resolved rather than speculate on what others may have done I suppose. I have rung a couple of places and while the Michelins seem to be special order they do seem to be available so will probably go for them. Having just depleted our savings buying the Rx and an SC430 within the last few weeks I would rather buy just two for now and replace the others (if needed) closer to winter. If there is any question over the condition of the other two from a safety perspective then I will replace all four. I have heard that the Hankook are a decent tyre, will be interested in hearing your thoughts on them in due course, especially froma noise perspective which is my main obsession.

Hi, The dealer does seem a genuine chap, we bought the car unseen based upon his description as the car was more than a 500 mile round trip for us to see. We asked questions about the car which included the tyres and the dealer did advise that the tyres were all fine although when looking on the ramp he advised that a couple did seem to be wearing on the inside but otherwise had plenty of tread depth. To be fair, his description was accurate and there were no advisories on the MOT done in April about them. I am happy to believe that he was genuinly unaware of the misshaped tyre as we didnt detect it on the test drive either, it was only once we hit the motorway on the way back that it became evident that something wasnt right. The dealer specialises in prestige vehicles and our £9k advertised vehicle was the cheapest he had in ( we didnt pay that for it) so yes, having spoken to him about it and advising I will be getting another opinion on whether all the tyres need replacing I do believe at this stage that he will agree a contribution, I may be being too fair but I dont expect him to cover the cost of 4 new tyres especially having reduced the price as much as we did but I do not believe he will refuse a contribution if he has made a genuine mistake re the description of the tyres. In the end, if all it costs me is a couple of tyres to put everyting right I wont be distraught and either way it wont be worth souring the whole deal arguing about it. We did after all get a good deal on the vehicle given the spec and mileage.

Hi Rayaans, It works out cheaper if the Michelins are Latitude but they didnt specify on their quote so am unsure, but they did say the Dunlops were sports which is about £300 dearer than elsewhere, plus the fact that I cannot see the splits they made mention of on a tyre that otherwise they report 5mm of tread depth on. They also wouldnt commit to saying that any of the tyres were illegal or that they woulnt pass an MOT despite saying that they should be replaced which concerned me. I could be totally wrong and the quote on the Dunlops could be an error as they have always been decent in the past. I am aware that branches can also be put under pressure to increase sales by area management so maybe my timing was unlucky. What I should have done (or they should have done/suggested) was as a temporary measure to see if it resolved the issues was to swap the out of shape tyre with the tyre from the spare which I might see if I can get done somewhere today if I can find anywhere that opens on a Sunday. Alternative is to just fit the spare but I would rather just replace the tyre to replace one item at a time in case the issue is a misshaped or damaged rim.

Hi all, just got back from ATS and they havent done any of the work as they say all the tyres need changing, I am no tyre expert, far from it and while I agree that one wants doing I think they are taking the mickey with the others which has really annoyed me as we have used them for years and I certainly expect better. So will be taking it somewhere else next week for a second opinion. All that said, they say that the rear nearside tyre is misshapen which would make sense as thats the corner I thought the noise was coming from. No arguement that that wants replacing. they are saying two others want replacing as they have cracks in them but I have looked when I got back here and cannot see any cracks, and the fourth they say wants replacing due to it running the tyre off on the inside although the rest of the tyre has 4-5mm however they wont say any of the tyres are illegal or that they wouldnt pass an MOT which they did 2k miles ago. The best bit, £739 for four Dunlops or £530 for four Michelin so really not impressed given the amount of business we have given them over the years. So hopefully the issues really are just down to the tyres, so far I have found I can get 4 michelin latitude tour for £115.00 plus vat each and alignment front and rear for £40 + vat so if replacing all £500 should sort it and I am sure the selling dealer will help out with that given that he wasnt aware they were that bad but I think two tyres will do as the other two (if not severely cracked) have 4 and 5 mm on them so should at last till winter. So thats where we are at, they say there is no play on the bearings so thats good, does the misshaped tyre sound plausible as the cause of the noise? it causing vibration would seem to be a no brainer but your opinions on noise generation from an out of shape tyre would be helpful. Thanks for all the help so far, will definately go for the Michelins on replacement.

Thanks for that, noise issues are always difficult when coming from driving an LS as you never know just how much is normal for other cars. hopefully wont have to shell out for new tyres at this stage but if that resolves it then I would be happy.

Hi Chris, they are Dunlop Sp sport all round although the corner that I thought the noise was coming from has the lowest tread depth, still legal but only a millimetre or so above the wear bar on that one. Have got the car booked in at ATS at 1:30 so will hopefully have some news then Will also get them to check caliper as I believe they slide somehow and can be a problem on these vehicles, not sure if it would present these issues or not.

Hi, Understand what you are saying, have already notified dealer on the way home but as the dealer is over 500 mile round trip it isnt cost efficient to return to let him look at it and also if it did turn out to be something more than balancing I dont want to make matters worse by doing the extra journey. Dealer was very good so even if there is an issue I dont anticipate any problems with him and am happy to have the car inspected anywhere of his choice which is local to me should he so wish. I can be paranoid about things so hopefully it will just be a balance/alignment issue. I have seen posts where tyres have been blamed for excessive noise once they start to wear so that also could be a possibility. I would suspect that anything serious would be a constant noise whereas on one stretch of road I did get to experience that "silent interior" reviews of the 350 have mentioned so it may all be down to the tyres and the noise frequency (as in pitch) being different at the back than at the front making it more noticeable.

Hi all, Have just purchased a 2007 Rx350 with 55k miles, driving it home I noticed that there was a vibration present which I assumed was likely to be a tracking or wheel balance issue. As most roads nowadays are rubbish the car did seem noisier than I had expected however the majority of this cleared up once I hit some better roads although I noticed that there was noise coming from the rear of the car which altered in pitch depending upon speed. It is difficult to describe the noise, its almost like tyre noise but at a higher pitch. Or a fan rotating very fast but slightly of balance adding a deeper tone to it. I thought at first that it may be a wheel bearing or some sort of drive shaft or something similar. I did however hit a section of the A1 where the surface was nice and smooth and quiet and while on that surface there was no discernable tyre noise the sound at the rear also seemed to have stopped until we were coming off at the York/Harrogate junction at which time the noise returned. I dont know if this was coincidence or a road surface change. I also slipped the car out of gear to see if the noise remained when coasting which it does so hopefully that will help rule out some possible causes. While we kept to the speed limit as you would expect, it was noticed during one overtaking manouvre that as we accelerated and got near 80 the vibration got pretty severe with Seemingly the whole car shaking quite badly. I will in the first instance get the balance and alignment checked asap but was wondering whether my rather lame description of the issue may point to other issues that I need to have checked so I can inform the Dealer of the possible causes. Have already emailed him on the journey home in order to notify him as soon as possible that there seems to be a problem, I just need to know what to have checked to get to the bottom of the problem. I was wondering if anyone else had experienced similar issues, Not having had/driven these cars before and previously having an LS I assumed the extra noise was normal for an SUV and that I was being unreasonable expecting it to come close to the LS for noise levels. Nonetheless I was at a loss to understand why so many people rave on about how quiet they were, when compared to the LS this 350 was definately noisy. However once I hit some half decent roads and the tyre noise reduced I could hear the potential and understood why, on the right roads people would remark on the quietness of the RX. Could the wheels being unbalanced or alignment being out also be responsible for the noise at the rear or could it be something more sinister causing the noise and vibration. it seems strange that it seemed to disappear on the really quiet stretch of road even though the vibration remained so am hoping it may be just a balance and alignment issue. None of the tyres are new although they recently passed an mot without any advisories so assume they are a way off being illegal. Did notice that they were wearing on the inside edges but I thought that was normal for these types of vehicle. Any advise on possible causes/things to check will be welcome and I will try to get alignment and balance checked tomorrow and report back. Vehicle has a two year warranty but whether it turns out to be worth the paper its writen on remains to be seen. Other than the vibration/noise issue I am well pleased with the car, even after an LS400 😉

Hi all, Just to say that I think I solved the issue, managed to buy a 2007 350 SE which original purchaser upgraded to inlude sel level spec without air suspension so a great result, only 55k miles too.

Hi all, Thanks for the useful input, I have had a chance to look at this and it turns out it isnt an issue with the door card, not directly anyway. The problem seems to be caused by the door card trim touching the side of the dash as any slight pressure on the door card in this area produces the sound which is difficult to explain but is similar to two items that have stuck together being pulled apart. When we purchased the car i did notice that there was a small felt disk stuck to the side of the dash where it contacts the door trim and couldnt for the life of me work out what it was for. Now i know, it was obviously being used to create a small gap between the two surfaces to stop this noise. I need to experiment with different cleaning products to see if I can stop it happening although I would have assumed that the previous owner would have tried that before resorting to the small felt pad idea so dont hold out much hope. Has anyone else experienced this issue? If so how did you resolve it? For whatever reason it isnt an issue on the passenger side. Thanks in advance

Thanks for all the extremely useful information, it has been very helpful in narrowing down my choices, a late 2005 with bluetooth, sat nav rear camera preferably with black interior and low mileage (75k or under preferred) all I have to do now is find one...

Thanks for that, have watched the video but it doesnt show how tHe arm rest element fastens to the door card, hopefully it just screws up from the back of the card, if so it probably just wants tightening. If anyone has a definitive answer to how it is secured it would be helpful. I will remove the switch panel over the weekend to see if I can see anything...as mentioned a small amount of pressure resolves it but there doesnt seem to be any axcessive gap or movement between the armrest and the door card so hopefully minimal adjustment is needed.

Hi all, I have recently noticed an annoying rattle which I initially assumed were my keys dangling from ignition when driving on a less than smooth surface. After lots of mesing about I have tracked the issue down to the door card or more accurately the door handle element just underneath the front edge area where the window switches are. Pressure applied just below the front of the switch cluster stops it. I initially assumed that this would be held onto the card by clips or something similar, havent had chance to try to remove. Or tighten this yet, has anyone else experienced a rattle in this area and if so how was it resolved? Does this part actually come apart from the door card? Dont want to try to force it and risk making rattle even worse. Thanks in advance

Hi Pete, That is looking like my only option, would have liked ML audio that comes with SEL and want sat nav and reversing cam and would like bluetooth if I can get it but dont think it was available on 2005 but stand to be corrected if I am wrong. As one of main purposes for purchase for wintry conditions I assumed all were 4wd but it seems that isnt the case, some are just front wheel drive. Is This associated with a particular model, ie are all SEL 4 wheel drive but an upgrade option on SE, how does the 4and2 wheel drive situation work? If an advertised RX doesnt say 4wd should I assume it will be just front wheel drive?

Thanks all for the feedback so far, it is all very helpful, have decided against the SE-L I was thinking of going to look at as the potential extra expense was more than I was wanting to risk, would have had to reduce price to cover cam belt and 60k service and the potential for suspension issues at that sort of cost on a £5-6k vehicle in my opinion is too much. Havent ruled out an SE-L altogether if I find one which has already had suspension issues addressed. Continued posting of experiences with the SE-L would be appreciated as I am sure it will help others with similar concerns.