lfoggy

I intend to keep my RX400h for at least 8 years as a family car so asked myself the same questions. When I bought mine I took out a fixed price service arrangement with my dealer which costs about £22/month over 5 years based on 10,000 miles/year. This works out similar to my previous Ford Mondeo ST24. Long term reliability of the RX is an unknown at present but the hybrid technology seems sound with very favorable reports emerging regarding the Prius. There have been quite a few articles in the motoring press about high mileage Priuses – do a Google search. As far as I know battery life has not yet reared its head as an issue. Don’t know about the extended warranty but your local dealer should be able to answer this. Also worth remembering that Toyota is now the biggest car company in the world and they can't afford for their prestige marque to fail..... Hope this is reassuring

On my RX400h an annoying fold of leather developed on the seat base that did become uncomfortable for me. Lexus replaced this and I now find the seats fine. Your problem sounds like a case of experimenting with the seat position rather than a problem with the seat itself. Don't forget to experiment with the lumbar support which will alter the curve of your back and which may improve things for you.

Why not try to find a 400h ? Mine genuinely does 35mpg pootling around urban Birmingham and I've even had averages of nearly 40mpg when driving carefully. Slow stop/start driving is particularly rewarding as the engine is off when you are stationary or crawling and only comes on when the battery is getting flat. Economy does fall dramatically on faster roads and motorways to high 20s but I still average 32 overall. CO2 emissions put it in the 180-200 (j) tax band which for a car of that size and performance is unique…..

I had 11......

Hi all, Hoping someone can help with something that has been puzzling me since I bought my car. I've got a 2007 RX400h with the Mark Levinson sound system incorporating a 6 cd changer. When I put in a CD there is a line on the screen display for 'CD title' and 'track title' but none of the CDs I have ever put in have had their titles displayed and there doesn't seem to be an option to manually add the title either. Should it be reading titles off the CD like when you put a CD into your computer ? If so how do I get this to work !? The manual does not seem to mention this...... Thanks

I transferred the phonebook from my Samsung to my RX400h recently. Took a while to work out how to do it from the phone end but got there eventually. I'm sure it would be possible for a Nokia as well.

I recently test drove all the usual suspects and ended up with a new RX400h. The Land Rover offerings I tried included the Range Rover Sport TDV6 and the Disco and neither had the finesse of the petrol Lexus. They were also just plain slow particularly in acceleration. For me the hybrid Lexus had the best balance of refinement, performance, price and running costs. For drivers who actually venture off road I'm sure the Land Rovers offer advantages but for the majority who don't I think you just end up paying for a lot of mechanical complexity you will never use and which impairs performance on the tarmac. The Audi Q7 was just too big and reminded me of driving a Ford Transit (albeit a very comfortable one !) Was tempted by a Porsche Cayenne though....

Yes, Lexus showrooms are definitely dangerous places to visit.....

I've got a 400h and it's super smooth and quiet but doesn't have the air suspension as you say. I've never driven a 300....how different is the ride quality between the two?

Full instructions for un-disabling the features that are disabled on the move have already been posted on this forum. Both the phone functionality and the sat-nav functions can be used when moving. Unlike the seatbelt buzzer disable this requires a bit of dismantling and cutting a few wires but it works. Search the old threads or if you can't find it I will send you a pdf of the instructions. I would love to be able to disable the annoying 'I agree' routine you have to go through to use the sat-nav as well but so far no luck with this!

sounds like a winning combination to me but afraid I can't help with photoshop visualisation.

I've got an 07 RX400h in black and noticed the same fine scratches after a few washes from new. I ignored them and 8 months later they are barely noticeable unless you look hard and catch the paintwork in oblique bright sunshine. This phenomenon is the same for all cars, just slightly more visible in solid black paintwork. My advice is enjoy driving the car and don't worry about it....

Nobody likes paying taxes but actually in the UK we still pay significantly less than in most other European countries. The total government income as a percentage of national income in the UK is 40% compared to 45 -55% in most other industrialised European countries including France, Gerrmany and Italy. If the chancellor were to reduce fuel duty he would have to compensate by raising taxes elsewhere. If we were to move to a tax wedge of 30% like in the US we would have to get used to a radically different culture of reduced public services and private healthcare. Wages in the UK are also amongst the highest in Europe as is gdp per capita. I'm not sure we really have that much to complain about.... http://www.oecd.org/document/57/0,3343,en_...1_1_1_1,00.html http://www.ifs.org.uk/budgets/gb2005/05chap6.pdf

There are many threads on the forum about the pros and cons of the rx400h so worth a look through the old posts. As far as economy goes, I get 30 - 32mpg but it really depends on how you drive....

Also worth noting that you can't use mpg figures to meaningfully compare diesel and petrol powered cars. Diesel fuel is denser and therefore has about 15% more chemical energy per unit volume than petrol. If you burn a gallon of diesel you are burning more fuel than a gallon of petrol. Similarly if you were to burn a gallon volume of coal you would burning more fuel than a gallon of diesel. The only way to compare them is to determin the miles travelled per unit of energy expended which is not that easy. There is a lot of info on this in the literature but this site has a good explanation... http://mysite.wanadoo-members.co.uk/ecotech/pin6.htm

I had the exact same problem on a Ford Mondeo with water leaking past the gasket on the rear light clusters. Like you I was told I needed new light clusters as the gaskets were not available separately. I solved the problem by applying some silicone rubber bathroom sealant to the gaskets before assembly. The fix lasted 9 years until I sold the car.

In my Rx400h I sometime notice a slight vibration as the engine stops and starts in slow traffic when the engine is cold. This soon disappears once the engine is warm however. Is this what you are noticing ?

I've used all three types you mention over the years and personally favour the roof-rail mounted type. The towbar mounted ones are easy to load but obscure your rear view and will interfere with opening the rear door when the bikes are in place which is a real nuisance. The type of rack that straps to the back of the car is very fiddly to set up and really needs to be removed when not in use. They are also easy to load but also obscure the view and will interfere with door opening as well. I've also found the bikes rattle as the straps work loose requiring occasional stops though this might be due to the cheap rack I was using. The roof rail mounted racks are more difficult to load bikes onto, especially with a tall car such as the Rx but once loaded leave the rear of the car free and you are barely aware of the presence of the bikes when driving. They can also be left in place when not in use. They do however leave the bikes standing upright on the car so you need to be careful going under low barriers such as entrances to car parks (bridges are OK). Also sometimes cause a whistling noise at speed so I tend to keep below 70mph when carrying bikes. All in all the roof rail mounted ones are the best compromise in my opinion if you carry bikes regularly. No need to buy the Lexus branded ones either, just get the Lexus cross rails and pick up the bike attachment from elsewhere.

Water balance test was truly amazing !

My system works very clearly. Have you tried your dealer?

There is a faint whining noise as you slow down which is most audible once you are below 10mph. My understanding is that this is to do with the regernarative braking rather than the hydraulic brakes. I presume it is comes from the electric motos being driven as dynamos by the momentum of the car. I don't find it at all intrusive and regard it as just marking the car out as a little different from ordinary. All in all a great car for me and the family, purchased after much test driving of all the usual suspects (X5, merc, Range Rover Sport etc). In the end the RX400h won out due to the combination of performance, economy and uniqueness. Also quite a discreet car with none of the social connotations of the competitors.....

I've done 3500 miles in mine now from new and have averaged 30.2mpg over this distance. My driving style is fairly smooth and sedate but not obsessively economical! Its best on A roads at 50 - 65 mph where I can get 32-33 mpg. Around town it is also very good getting up to 30mpg. On the motorway at 80 - 90mph its running exclusively on the engine and only does about 25 mpg (or less). The really unusual thing about the car is that it is very economical in slow town driving especially if you drive to maximise the regenerative braking and electric motor use. Also very nice to sit in stationary traffic with the engine off not having to think about all that fuel that an idling engine is pointlessly burning. It has been said before but the great feature of the car is that it is relatively economical when driven sedately but there is power available for more spirited use if you feel the need.

I've got a RX400h and can confirm its a lovely and very civilized car to own and run. I've not heard of any reliability issues so far either. May be worth looking for info on buying a used Toyota Prius as these have been around for a long time and have a very similar hybrid system. I know one of the car magazines has done an article about buying high milage examples recently.....can't remember which magazine though. Also worth remembering that the vehicle's high voltage battery and hybrid components is covered by a five year warranty. Hope you find a good car !

You mentioned a film of the fault in action being made...do you have a copy ? It would certainly make an extraordinary post on utube (with potentially damaging consequences for Lexus)

I know that when you take your foot off the accelerator on a RX400h, or any hybrid for that matter, your kinetic energy is used to recharge the batteries and you slow down, i.e. regenerative braking. What happens when you want to slow down more quickly and you apply the brakes ? Are you simply braking with the hydraulic brakes or do you increase the regenerative braking effect as well ? Just curious about this as when you brake you often hear a whining noise which I assume is from the motors acting as dynamos....