BGLister

Well, if you are in Bradford, you are not far away at all. I often work there during the week near the university. My uncle also has an Rx400h and is a wise and skilled driver with a quite a bit of off roading experience in Land Rovers. He had a play on a flat snowy car park this week driving in circles, getting gradually faster, waiting to find the breakaway point when it would skid off. It didn't and wouldn't! It just kept going in circles with the car limiting the road speed and the traction control light flickering merrily. Now, I am not suggesting we should all get overly confident and take risks, but it is reassuring that these cars handle well and that the technology underpinning them works well, giving a performance envelope in these conditions that is far superior to 2WD cars, and a good compromise between those and full blooded 'agricultural' off roaders. I have to say, the RX is an ideal car for living in West Yorkshire all year round.

We live up on the Pennines in Ripponden, West Yorkshire. One of my sister's colleagues rather foolishly attempted to drive over the tops on the moor road along with a few landrovers (he was in a Jag!) and this is what happened: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8446200.stm The RX400h has been brilliant in the snow. We live on a steep hill and have had 8" of snow, at least. On the fresh stuff, the car has tip toed quite sure footedly and got where other cars haven't. I have taken the opportunity to test it on the flat and get used to how it handles, but the traction control has kept the car going where I have pointed it. I would say that on the whole, the hybrid has been a little bit superior to my previous RX300 and RX350s. I can only hypthesise that as the system is motor driven, the electronics are controlling the delivery of quite finely as opposed to the propshaft driven rear wheels having power then having to be braked again (OK - its only a theory!). I did manage to test the car to get it stuck getting home on Wednesday. Faced with either going up steep hill or down steep hill (we live half way up and can approach from either way, albeit with quite a detour of coming down), I elected to go up. Basically, the lack of low range on the RX founded that decision as the only way of otherwise slowing the car is with a little engine braking (in B mode) and a light touch of the brakes. I didn't want to risk bobsleighing down with the ABS light flickering! The hill in question is about a 1:6. and I got about 100 metres up before the car just stopped. Its a bit weird with the hybrid compared to a petrol car, as it when there is no grip to be found, it just cuts all the power and the car goes silent. In a petrol car, you could rev the engine hard and spin the wheels instead. A friend came out of the house and proceeded to shovel ice off the road in front of each of the wheels, and then I would manage another 6-10 feet until stopping again. At one point, the car slid backwards about 18" with all the brakes on and in Park!!! Well, with perseverance, I got home. That was certainly a slippery road, and the only other car I know that made it, was aforementioned friend, who tackled it with an old Isuzu Trooper complete with 4 wheel diff locks and low ratio. All in all, I don't think the RX did bad at all. In fact, it is making me ponder whether to get a spare set of wheels with some winter tyres on, if they can be had for a reasonable price. After all, that contact patch between the car and road is all important, and I think that the car could inspire more confidence, particularly with respect to braking in bad weather, if it has the kind of rubber that works well below 7C.

Janey's always in a good mood Steve :D :D Though I do think that Mr Lister knows that I will wave my magic wand if I need too :winky: Whoa girl! I think that's quite a saucy comment given the avatar! Didn't know about this Gold Member stuff, but fear that the cost of doing that would probably outweigh the value of the spares I have. If that is so, then I may as well give them away. But......who would I give them too? Hmm, same problem really! Oh well. If I ever manage to mark the inside of my car (or more likely to be done by someone else), I may have to mix and match the beige and grey in the same car. "Greige" as I have heard it being called. May have a crack on Pistonheads (I have been a member of that for 9 years, one of the early forum members), but its a heavily TVR oriented site ( I used to have a Chimaera and a Tuscan, now driving a hybrid - is that strange?). TTFN Bryan

When new cars are made, the likes of Toyota will buy in a large batch of paint of a particular code. Now they may re-order that paint a year or two later, and it may even come from a different OEM paint manufacturer. Therefore, paint variations do exist within paint codes. Ideally you should get a swatch of the paint, or have a card sprayed up, then see which shade matches your original paint the most closely. When I had my RX350 in Aleutian grey in the bodyshop for a bumper repair, they had at least 3 shades of the colour against the original paint code.

I bought some new (and very expensive!!) bits of trim for my RX350 (beige), but changed to a new RX400h with a different coloured interior (grey) before ever having got around to fitting them. I am therefore left with £200 worth of centre console (bit below the dash, not the movable box thing) and a pair of kick strips for a Limited Edition (i.e. they are not illuminating). I think they were about £150! Just looking for a bit of advice as to where I could sell these as they are brand new and too good to simply chuck away. I had thought about taking them back to the supplying Lexus dealer, but do not know how likely it is they would want to buy anything back, even for a nominal amount. I don't have a great deal of faith in Ebay these days as it seems to be going the way the rest of the world has and people are not exactly as trustworthy as I would perhaps give them credit for! So any ideas folks? Where could I advertise these bits and pieces for sale, so that they go to a good home and make someones RX all nice and new again?

Most definitely. But I already have one (3rd RX, 4th Lexus). For a 1 year old vehicle as an SE/SE-L (both with Nav which is highly recommended for re-sale anyway), I would be looking to pay £26-29K depending on mileage, condition and spec. The newest Rx400h SE-Ls have the posher screens mounted onto the rear head rests, rather than in them. (These are supposed to be higher quality, but I think most people prefer the look of the older ones.) So these vehicles will be the latest of the SE-L stock if you want to spot the difference. On the mileage side of things, and I don't know if anyone has though about this before, but......in a hybrid, the car is sometimes on electric, sometimes on gas, sometimes on both. So a 10,000 mile care might only have the engine wear and tear of say a 7,000 mile petrol only car! I would also think its a good time to get a 400h as surely dealers will be happy to move stock with the gradual introduction of the 450h.

Hi Bryan . Yes could post . Extra £8 would cover the pain of wrapping and trying to post . If you want it pm me and i will give you my paypal account and try to post this week . Let me know soon please . jon . Hi Jon - PM sent. Thanks. Bryan

Would you be able to post the bumper protector at all? Could do with one, but have to weigh up that the trip to Chester and back would probably make going to the local dealer more cost effective. Thanks Bryan

Good question. I don't know the answer, but I believe that each delaer has been given an allocation of RX450hs and once the dealer has sold their allocation, that may be it for a considerable time. I think first cars will be delivered in July. After that, if the dealer has to order extra to the allocation, then who knows? It may be autumn time.

Well, don't we all have good taste then!

I agree with everyone above. My experience of the 400h is from having one for 2 months now, and a 350 and 300 before that. All of these RXs feel different with respect to things like the steering. None is better of worse, they are just different flavours. The braking on the 400h does feel different however. I live in West Yorkshire and do a 15 mile commute with a variety of roads, many of them hilly, but no motorways. The 350 was better on fuel (and still had alot more power to call on than the 300), but I only got 23 mpg around town, and around 27-28 mpg on the motorway. In that respect, I doubt there would be much difference in economy between a 350 and 400h if they were running on a motorway most of the time. However, for my commute, I am getting 34 mpg in the 400h (versus the aforemention 23 mpg in a 350). So - the upshot is I now get around 360 miles to a brimmed tank in a 400h versus 250 miles in the 350, and fill up more like once a fortnight than once every 7-9 days. Living with the 400h is easy. It is a flexible all round vehicle. Quick, spacious, quiet and efficient. I find myself being a very calm driver these days and getting stuck in a jam does not stress me. When the going is good, I can 'cruise' at 40 mpg on electric power only using a gentle right foot. It is rare that I can enjoy anything more than a clear road without traffic lights, roundabouts or other traffic, so I never seem to run low in battery power (except for the very worst of motorway snarl ups). Overall, I am really impressed with the hybrid. It works and works very well. It is different to a petrol only car, but not so radical as to make it feel like a risky purchase. I would have another.

If you are leaving a car for an extended period and it is in a garage with power, you can get an Accumate trickle charger. This attaches either directly to the battery, or even just into a cigar lighter socket (with a very thin cable coming out of the car door). It will then keep your battery 'intelligently' topped up, compensating for any charge leaking from the battery due to on board computers alarms etc. Cost about £45 and used by classic car enthusiasts everywhere (or generally 'winterise' their vehciles and use them summer only). Just a thought.

That's really good - thank you for the calculations. I am still getting used to the RX400h and the fact that it does not have a distance to empty display on the computer. Mind you, I used to fill my RX350 up every week, but I fill the RX400h up once a fortnight! The commute and usage has not changed, just my fuel consumption. I have been getting 32 mpg over the last 750 miles (1,000 miles total on the odo now), and the fuel light comes on at around 360 miles, and it took 53 litres to re-brim. So....I reckon I could get to about 400 miles on a tank before really needing to refill. I used to drive my 350 with the nav screen on, but habits have changed with the 400h to preferring the consumption graph screen trying to get 6 full bars in a row. My journey to work is 12 miles, mostly going up hill, but I win more on the return journey! It certainly makes you change your driving habits (though I suppose if I really wanted to save the whales, I should be driving a Prius!). Have always got 31-32 mpg on the computer, as has my uncle in is. Never really varies much.

Thanks for that. I wish more general info like this was made more accessible. B gear looks like an enigma to most of us!

I could be miles off the mark, but the way I imagined the B setting to work is that it slides the CVT into giving a lower gear ratio, to create more drag and more charging. If this is/was the case, I wondered if putting it into B would also give faster acceleration by continuing to force a 'lower gear'? (at the expense of economy). Of course...this may not be the case either!!

One thing that I didn't feel was right on this model, is the mouse control. Being in the US, the mouse works OK as the car is LHD and the mouse is therefore used with the right hand. I don't think it will be so easy to use in a RHD with the left hand. That's not so natural and will require some practice. What I said earlier about door protection strips has come true. Aftermarket companies in the US are offering self-adhesive stick on door protection strips now. Lexus omitted to include any protection, even as an option it seems.

I got a similar deal on an Exel Ltd Ed 4 weeks ago. When I learned the prices for the new RX, that sealed the deal for me. The 400h is alot of car for £30K ish, rather than pay another £14K on top, albeit for the latest shape. I don't think there will be any incentive deals on the new car. Lexus will be milking the most of the opportunity to get list.

Yep - I bought some bits for mine, all pre-ordered. Unfortunately, one bit was 'wrong' because they supplied a part of an RX so basic, that it never existed in the UK - sp had to return in it. Hopefully they will get the right bit and send it over, subject to getting stung at customs. Parts there are either the same price, or alot less. U have never seen so many RXs in one place, and out and about on the surrounding roads. Very popular!! The new RX350 also seemed very quiet when going by on the public road.

I have just come back from the states and managed to stop by at the Lexus dealer in Dallas to look at the new RX. They had the RX350 there, and lots of them. Petrol is still really cheap in the US and their RX350 sales outstrip hybrids by more than 10:1. I told them that it is the opposite in the UK and they were amazed by that. So - I had a really good look at the 2010 RX and spent 20 minutes playing around with it, but did not drive it. Parked amongst the outgoing models, the styling looks a little chubby and awkward, especially the front view. Inside, it feels very much like the outgoing RX looking at the back seats and boot. The dash is obviously where the major changes are. The nav screen feels along way away, so that will be why it is no longer touch screen. The outside has alot of chrome trim around the windows, perhaps a little too bling. One amazing omission is that there are no rubbing strips on the doors to afford some protection against dings. Hopefully that may be different for the UK models, but then again, not. If anyone has any specific Q's - drop me a line and I will try to answer them.

The generally accepted process for cleaning a car to within an inch of its life is: 1. Power wash with snow foam, leaving it to dwell for 5 minutes. This dissolves/slides off most of the dirt. Rinse with water. 2. wash using the 2 bucket method and grit guards. Use a non wax stripping car shampoo and sheepskin mit using tepid water in both buckets. Wash in straight lines so if any swirling is introduced, it will be less visible. This removes stuck on dirt and traffic film. (Don't use washing up liquid - it has salt in it amongst other things and will probably strip wax off too). 3. Rinse with clean water 4. Dry with microfibre towels. 5. Clay bar with suitable lubricant. Bilt Hamber clay bar works with water rather than a lubricating/detailing spray. 6. Polish. 7. Seal - whole load of products out there. My favourite is Jet Seal 109 from Chemical Guys. Wipe on, leave 15 minutes, wipe off. Repeat again for extra durability. 8. Glaze - if you really want. 9. Wax. One or two coats. My favourite is P21S. Alot of people like Collinite for its durability. If you want a good finish without buying loads of products. You can pretty much cover steps 7-9 above using Bilt Hamber Autobalm, but sparingly. There is a bit of a knack to getting it on and then wiping it down, but it has good durability and finish. Main reason to post this was to say that a sealant is used on freshly cleaned/polished paintwork, and then the wax goes on top of the sealant, not the other way around.

I've not any calculations as such as I'm only on my second tank of fuel now. I collected the car from the dealers with a "full tank", but don't know whether it was brimmed or not. Anyway, I got 350 miles on that tank doing my normal commute, before the fuel light came on. It then took 53 litres to brim the tank from there (don't know the exact tank capacity). Now on this refuelling, I got to 220 miles with half a tank left (computer saying 31.9mpg). Doing the same route day in day out in my RX350 I would get 250 miles to the tank with the climate control on, or 280-290 if treading carefully with it off. In the real world then, the RX400h is undoubtedly giving me better economy back-to-back with the RX350 and I'm not going to the pumps so often, but the car's performance can be identical. I say "can be" because I'm finding (ironically) slightly addictive driving the RX400h in a hybrid style e.g. backing off the gas at 30mph, then stepping on the amps! On some roads, I can cruise at 40 mph on electric only, and I still never see the traction battery charge go less than about 60%. Sooner or later, I am going downhill and getting some energy back, ready to help push me up the next one. Looking forward to doing a long distant cruise soon when I can see how it does on a motorway drive. Obviously the hybrid element does well for economy on the urban commute.

Lexus sell a little kit of cleaning fluid and a microfibre cloth for cleaning sat nav screens. A good alternative is to get some some fluid and cloth from an opticians - cost less than £3.00 and safe for screens. Personally I would never use a paper towel for cleaning anything in a car - they are very scratchy and create their own dust. I would avoid using IPA too - it can remove the painted finish from interior plastics if you are not careful, although it is OK on nav screens, albeit it can be a bit "smeary".

Proud of you, keep it up. (As the actress said to the Bishop) That's really good. Is the driving mainly on the flat? What is the mileage on your car i.e. how nicely has everything bedded in now? I took my RX350 to Holland a couple of weeks ago and was getting 29 mpg - because the roads are flat! At home in hilly Yorkshire, economy was killed back down to 23 mpg. In contrast, I am currently getting 31-34 mpg on the same roads in the new RX400h. Type of roads makes a big difference, as does driving style. And that goes for any car.

I'm with you on that! Got a great deal on a 400h and had it ten days. Not that I am planning to sell it already, but it makes the deal sweeter than ever. Dealership told me that the base RX450h will be £45K, and the top of the range £55K. This helped crystalise my thoughts to purchase the run out model, as I don't feel that the introduction of the 450h series will harm existing 400h residuals when there is such a hike in the pricing.

The ONLY way of talking reliable figures would be to use figures from a brim-to-brim fill up. Otherwise relying on the OBC you will find that you will also ahcieve 99.9MPG in certain situations - if you beleive that, then well I guess the moon is also made out of cheese and the Earth is indeed flat. Talking OBC is pointless IMHO. We are talking averages here though aren't we? 99.9 mpg would be an example of instantaneous consumption like coming down a steep hill and no gas is being consumed. Brim to brim would be more accurate per se, but the onboard computers should not vary from car to car (unless potentially running different software versions) - so it provides a useful comparison from car to car experiences.