Hybrid Rex

Welcome to the SC section. I have to say your cars colour combination is as nice as I've seen.

Not hideously expensive really (certainly a lot cheaper than the ones the company I work for sells for another make of Japanese car).Just over £600 for the set.

I know a lot of people consider changing their SC430 wheels so I thought I would post mine. They are by MAK and are 18x8 with ET40. By the way you should also ensure the hub adaptor is 60.1.

Being an ex-biker I am used to going into the garage and encountering a flat battery so I tend to leave the battery on trickle charge with Optimate (or similar) while the car is stored for the winter. It keeps the battery in a permanently conditioned state so less chance of going flat with irregular use.

Has anybody ever successfully managed to change the steering ratio on SC430? Compared to most modern cars quite an amount of steering wheel angle is required in corners so if there are other components in the range that would swap over and "speed up" the steering a bit it would be good to know.

I also have lost one of the tips, which has damaged the tail-pipe at the same time so I am thinking of replacing the back box and pipes together - do you have any pictures you can post of yours?

Sorry I should have clarified a bit more; I am talking about sidelights, interior, and indicators etc rather than headlights.

I'm going to replace some of the bulbs on my SC430 for LED - is there a list of the original bulb numbers/fitment etc and/or preferably a similar list for the LED replacements. There seems to be loads on ebay but I want to make sure I get the right wattage and fitment. Thanks

Just bought today and yet to collect Montrose Blue/Cream interior 2004 '54. Bought it because you don't expect to see many (any?) and then would you believe it I drove passed one on my way to look at the one I bought! Now collected so officially an owner - 1 day in and loving it, I think I've pressed every button (couldn't get the seat memory to work at first but found the answer in the manual so all sorted now); it gets its full clean today and then I will be looking forward to some good weather to get the top down and start cruising.

Thanks for the responses. I have now bought a car (2004 Montrose Blue/Cream) and looking forward to picking it up at the weekend. This one has already had cambelt change so that helps the budget a bit, like every car I have looked at it has a few stone chips that I need to get sorted but apart from that I couldn't fault the car, so, as it was in my choice of colour and trim I bought it. One question though; it has bluetooth so I guess that makes it a 2005MY, what else were the changes for the 2005 models?

I am currently looking to buy SC430 and I have a pretty fair idea of what I am looking for i.e. Black or Blue with Cream interior, 2003-5. So, whenever I find the right car I want to consider the following as things to do straight away so would appreciate any advice: Luxlink - am I right in thinking that you have to buy these in the US and then either fit yourself and find someone locally to do it? Are there any recommended UK suppliers and/or installers. DVB-T & DAB radio - exactly the same question as Luxlink Cambelt - how much should I factor in to have the cambelt changed (assuming the car I buy has not had it done). Servicing - are there any servicing agents (Lexus dealer or independent) in either Cambs or Northants that have personal recommendations from club members? Lexus Milton Keynes is the one I have identified so far - any positive/negative comments about them. I will do minimal mileage in this car but having whittled my shortlist down from Audi TT, Porsche Boxster, MB SLK 350, I only added the SC to the list at the last minute, but now I am looking forward to rejoining the Lexus gang (having owned RX 400H several years ago) Thanks for any help.

Hi Williz, thanks for your reply but the link doesn't seem to work for me - is it expired?

I got 18000 out of my Dunlops on the front and have now had the original Dunlops, which have quite a lot left on them, swapped to the front with the Bridgestones put on the rear. I'm not aware of Michelins available in the correct size. While ringing round all I got offered was a choice between Bridgestone, Dunlop or Kumho.

Two things I would like to upgrade on my RX400h - anybody done anything about these? The quality of the speaker during a (bluetooth) phone call is very poor (I also suspect the mic is not very good either). Does anyone know if a speaker and/or mic upgrade is possible? The reversing lights are worse than useless - anybody fitted any better bulbs? If so, which ones did you use?

Got the Bridgestones for £135 each, fitted. Had to ring round several local dealers and then haggle a bit.

Thanks for that, having looked on there it does seem that the clearances are at best minimal, and I had already wondered about the effect on rolling resistance and fuel consumption with the wider tyre. So, with potential rubbing of the tyre and a 1-2mpg drop in fuel consumption, I think I will stick with the original 235's. Anybody got any preferences with make (looking for quiet, comfortable, long life), and best places for deals?

OK, 18000 miles and time to start thinking about new tyres on the front. I have access to a good discount on Avon tyres but the nearest size they do is 255/55R18 as opposed to the standard 235/55R18. Has anybody fitted 255's and are there any problems (with clearances etc)? The 235/55R18 seems a bit of an oddity and not everybody stocks them so, if not the 255 Avons, what are the current tyres of choice for RX400h owners (and the best place to get them)?

The hybrid has been around for quite a while, remember the Toyota Prius, same technology, and Lexus offer a 10 year warranty on the batteries. I'm pretty sure the battery is warranted for 5 years not 10 - 3 years for the car and 5 years for the hybrid system.

I seem to have lost the bluetooth pairing with my Nokia 6210i. It was working fine but now it will not pair with the phone at all. I have tried deleting the phone and starting again but no joy. I have also tried it with another phone (also a Nokia 6210) with the same result. Has anybody got any suggestions for some sort of reset, or do i need to send it in to my dealer. Incidentally, 1 day before this occurred I temporarily lost all sound (talk & receive) and then the radio and CD would not function. Once I switched off and back on again everything worked OK - I don't know if this is related or not.

Another thing I've thought of: With such a high-technology car, I'm surprised we need to actually turn a key to start it. I would have thought a push-button start would have been far more appropriate. In fact, I can almost guarantee that everyone, when they get in a 400h for the first time, turns the key, and then turns it again because "nothing happened" - not a problem, just an observation

Have had my 400h for about 6000 miles now and I remain very pleased with my choice. However, nothing is perfect so here are the things I would like to see/change on the car: A switch or mode where the driver could bias the electric motors to drive the car (at the expense of outright performance of course). It requires a lot of concentration and effort to pull away and drive up to 40mph without the petrol engine kicking in, so it would be nice to have an economy (eco-friendly?) mode for town use. The Lexus does "nanny" you quite a lot so I would like to have a lot more control over the sat-nav and bluetooth phone when on the move. The Bluetooth facility itself is very basic in this day and age. It could make more use of the features available. For example mine doesn't "ring" when I have an incoming call (I only know I have a call when the radio goes silent). Also, it only occasionally shows me who is calling. Personally, I would like to be able to access my whole address book, scroll through it and select a person to call from my steering wheel. Having to take my eyes off the road and my hand off the wheel to select a 1-touch dial number (not always easy to get the one you want on a bumpy road) is far more risky in my opinion. The switch-gear and warning lights are a bit haphazard, in shape size and location, and not all of them are illuminated. I would like to see a bit more thought here. Reversing lights that throw out enough light to see behind you (with or without the camera) at night would be a good idea. I would have liked to have the option of air suspension (on the hybrid). The standard set-up is a bit harsh and robs me of valuable bootspace. I didn't realise this until I bought the car because I had checked the boot on another car which must have been a non-hybrid with air suspension. I'm nit-picking a bit here, and wouldn't swap my car for anything else comparable on the market, but we wouldn't be human if we didn't moan about something.

On my 400h holding down either the open or close button opens/closes all 4 windows and sunroof (it's quite clearly stated in the manual).

I think the product you are referring to is called Kenlowe Hot Start but how easy it is to retro-fit to the 400h I don't know. Basically it is a pump and heating element you install into your cars water system which you plug into your household mains electricity last thing at night. Then as you say you have it set on a timer so that it heats up your water before you start on your journey.

Yes mine does the same in the colder weather. Regardless of the throttle position the electric motor will not fully take over the drive until the petrol engine is close to its normal operating temperature. I have assumed this is normal.

I have a 400h with the alloy trim but i want to replace it for wood trim. I am told by my dealer it is very expensive to buy the parts through them but maybe we can figure a way to swap with each other? If you are interested please get in touch and we can see what we can figure out. By the way, what colour is your wood?