Valkirk

Washers fine in mine once engine warmed up; reckon it's more a Hybrid problem possibly with the engine heat being used / recycled more efficiently so takes longer to warm up the jets? Yep Ford had the patent although from my searching it supposedly ended in 2006.

Most definitely! Would suggest a couple of bags of sand or rock salt though rather than bricks as a) going round corners it won't tend to damage your boot with flying bricks and B) if you DO get stuck you can use the contents to get out :)

What size were you looking for? Camskill have 10 different types of winter tyre in 225/45 R17 priced from £86 each to £120 each. Mytyres generally have a good selection too. I'll have to check when home....driving the RX whilst weather still bit crappy.

Sad but true :( had my Merc ones stolen about a month after getting the car. Sadly in the world we live in cheap ones are the only solution....although I'm just glad they took the caps without damaging the car / letting down the tyres.....

Sorry should have said much smaller selection; lots of recommended Winter tyres for SLK but none are available here; would have to buy new wheels to be able to get some.

LOL quality that is one BRAVE person :) I have an SLK 350 and even with that I don't even attempt to move it once snow comes around - add a 5.4 litre V8 and I can only just imagine...... TBH 3rd RWD car I've had and none of them have been even the slightest bit capable in snow/ice - the total lack of Winter tires available in the UK (Even though they are made for other countries) just renders them useless. Short of importing tyres or buying another set of wheels with winter tyres that do fit we seem to be out of options. Manufacturers claim all year tyres but nothing of the sort; I for one would rather have a good tyre that looses a bit of performance for summer but means I can use the car in Winter. Have been contemplating another Lexus but as this time I really can't bring myself to go for another RWD car.....have been wondering about the upcoming entry level FWD one though....will have to see what that is like once it arrives! Luckily the RX is superb in the snow :)

The only problems I have heard with RX models were with a few RX400 models that seemed to have starting problems. You could leave the car not driven for a few days and the battery would be flat. Hopefully they have sorted these issues. Other than that they are superb cars!!!

Excellent thanks for the post Roj glad you are enjoying your new car!!

Sadly can't help with the problem but would suggest you may get more help posting this in the RX forum rather than the LS one.

looks in superb condition grats!!!

The Association of British Insurers classifies Categories of 'Write-Off' as: Category A: Scrap only - this vehicle should have been crushed. It should never reappear on the road and there are no economically salvageable parts. It is of value only for scrap metal - e.g. a totally burnt-out vehicle. Category B: The bodyshell should have been crushed. The vehicle should never reappear on the road, but it can be broken for spare parts plus any residual scrap metal. Category C: Vehicle extensively damaged and insurer has decided not to repair. The vehicle should have an independent inspection before being allowed back onto the road. Category D: Vehicle damaged and insurer has decided not to repair. So category D is the least serious category of write-off. It is really just an economic decision; the insurer decides that giving you the value of the car will be cheaper than paying for the repair. If the car has been properly repaired, then it is worth as much as a car that was not written off. http://www.usedcarexpert.co.uk/reviews/Cat..._Write_Off_1139 Although I feel if there is any ever doubt just walk away...much better to find something you are truly happy with.

It's still illegal if it's on your drive isn't it? Guessing this is only if the vehicle can be driven away as remote warm up is starting to become a feature on more cars nowadays....

My Merc was back to the dealers over 9 times in the first year alone with problems - aircon, seats etc (All electrical - mechanically seems to be doing fine)

Have you set the mirrors to the auto postion on the door window control panel? Mine only go down when its set to auto. I have the SE-I and they close when I lock the car and they are set to auto but don't tilt to help reverse parking :-( According to the brochure all models get all functionality as far as mirrors go so it has to be a setting somewhere either through the menu system or a switch somewhere. (If like most cars with the functionality you should be able to adjust the mirror in the down position and it remembers it - maybe someone has adjusted it up while in the "down" position) Next time you are passing the dealers they should be able to find which button / setting needs changing to engage.

Sorry bit misleading - the rear wheel drive I'm talking about isn't even a Lexus it's an SLK which although it has a "Comfort" setting meaning starting in 2nd gear etc having fat tyres and 300bhp makes it a tad lively :) That being said had a BMW 325ci before that and a Toyota MR2 before that and none of them have been much good in slippery conditions.......except the RX which has just plodded along like bad weather is no different from normal! Every time I say will never buy another rear wheel drive and always end up doing so.....would love an IS-F but that would be even worse.....

You'll love it....until the first load of snow hits when if you're like me you'll wish for 4 wheel drive or even front wheel drive rather than rear....I drive a rear wheel myself and even with heavy frost the going can become interesting compared to the sure-footed RX. However for the other 90% of the year it will be superb!!! Gz on the new car purchase!

Yep; after my first bill for a Lexus Main Dealer service I no longer just book the car in for stuff without an agreed price first. They are very good and provide a wonderful service but the prices can be very steep. Sometimes you need to point out to them the price they want to charge is such a large % of the value of the car it almost moves it into write off territory!

I have to say although slightly unfounded I do get the "slight" impression Lexus have followed in MB footsteps with latest cars being less reliable than their older ones. I must admit I was put off buying an RX400 by the number of complaints of the cars just not starting because of battery problems. Still think they are way up there ahead of most though, just hoping they bring their game back up to the levels it was 3-4 years ago.

Thanks for the reply Tank. I'm surprised with the cruise control - should be able to adjust while set by moving the lever up and down (You could in the previous model) although as you say there is no readout telling you what speed it's set to just what the needle reads on the display. Bluetooth Multipoint would be superb addition in future - both my cars require faffing about to switch between which phone it connects to. I can understand possible problems with having both connected at same time but why can't they automatically search for the next phone on the connection list if it fails to find the first? Glad to hear you are enjoying the car and everything seems well put together!

Would just be interested in hearing their reviews of the car especially if they came from Mark 2.

From my experience they are very reliable cars, the air suspension was in fact one of the few things I ever read about being a bit problematic. However that is above average mileage for that age so may be worth getting some form of warranty for the first year so you have peace of mind. Of course as with all Lexus cars..the wheels are known for pitting due to the alloy they use.

Your welcome; given the tyres they tested were 235/55 R17 and the RX isn't that much larger/heavier than a RAV4/Tiguan and runs 235/55 R18 I would imagine results would be pretty similar, annoying they didn't include Bridgestones in it :(

As if on cue Autoexpress has just done a comparison of some SUV tyres; ok they don't have the Bridgestone ones and they are more concerned with small SUV's but it helps show the difference tyres can make: SUV Tyre Test The Wet stopping test showed that the difference between the best and worst tyre (Continental and Hankook in this test) was that when the car had stopped on the Continentals it was still travelling at THIRTY MPH on the Hankook's! Wet Braking Test Anyway thought it might be an interesting read for anyone choosing tyres.....drive safe :)

I had 2 x Bridgestone Potenza's fitted for just over £300 - not the cheapest but I am always wary of the fact the tyres are the only thing in contact with the road and the difference in stopping distance, fuel economy etc are quite great between tyres. Not all tyres are equal and IMO are one of the most important parts of the car - most of the ones you listed all sound fine to me though.

Interesting the Defender wasn't as good, would have expected it to have no problem - the other car for me is a Merc SLK 350 so 300 BHP rear wheel drive....not nice in snow lol :) I would prob add ESP in there as a def wish list for snow and Ice (The SLK has it but think you need more than driver aids for that combo to work in snow....proper snow tires would be the way to go but given the number of days/weeks affected it really would be a lot of work) The lighter colours with Lexus definitely seem to be better for either resisting scratches or just not showing them. Forgot to say you get memory seats on the SE and SE-L models so if you ever trade in for another they do exist. Also have found the engine starting to be a bit reluctant compared to other cars. It's more like going back 10 years to where you really have to turn the key, hold and wait 4-5 seconds of starter motor - don't get me wrong it still always starts just feels like you are dragging it out of bed :)