Neil Morphett

Just a reminder that you can change the satnav on the move - they unlocked that function a year or so back, you just need to buy (or borrow) a recent disc. POsts elsewhere. 29.7 over 25000 miles. And who needs an iPod when you have a tape deck! Actually, they do some decent FM transmitters with iPod connectors, seem to work reasonably well. Mine's on a 4 year lease, runs out in 18 months and I'm tempted to buy it as there's nothing on the market that would suit me better.

Hi 1. This is probably to do with engine temperature. The hybrid system tries to keep the engine (particularly the catalytic converter) at optimum temperature, so you will find that if the engine is cold it will start up, irrespective of power in the batteries. 2. I've seen this once or twice, I think mainly in the mode where it has guided parking (i.e. there's a box on the screen and if you do full lock turns then it will park in the box). I rarely use that mode, but a 'guidance failure' may be something to do with it not having a good reference on steering angle etc before starting out. I've perhaps seen it a couple of times in 30 months so if it's a regular thing for you it may need checking out. 3. Er... it doesn't on my '08 model. I've never fathomed why the sunroof needs two buttons, every previous car has a combined button whilch closes the pan/tilt and then, on reselecting, opens the roof in the other mode. However, my 'pan' just pans and the 'tilt' just tilts. Unless someone's been at the electrics it seems an odd design change to make - someone must have asked why there were two buttons with identical functions and the 'solution' was to take half the functionality away from each button.

Bad luck. I had Chipsaway round a year or so back, mainly to fix a bumper scrape but with a 'while you're here' task to fix a long scratch along the back door and back wing - not a deep scratch but still a rub-down/respray. Also had them do the wife's RAV-4 with some similar scratches. All in all it was about £250, probably £150 on the Lexus and £100 for the Toyota, and the guy was on site for a whole day, excellent job, couldn't tell the respray from the original. I got the impression at the survey that they price according to the size of the largest job/area, and can do other touching-up (stone chips etc) while they're at it. I'd definitely use them again, and I must get round to calling them because a week after fixing the bumper scrape, I scraped exactly the same bit of bumper on exactly the same obstacle...

The '06 model is on the website, the controls etc seem to match the UK '05 one but may have been introduced later in the US.

Hi Yes, the beam steering is not symmetrical left/right, so sounds like your system is working fine. Left side of a UK car will be fairly well lit anyway due to light projection pattern, and fairly dark to the right to avoid blinding oncoming traffic, hence why it steers quite a lot to the right to illuminate round right hand bends.

Or see if your car takes the latest Nav DVD, which unlocks most of those functions other than some telephone ones. I think Lexus finally decided to bow to owner pressure or recognise that stopping on the hard shoulder to input a new destination is probably not actually safer than having your passenger enter a new destination on the move.

You can get most (US) manuals online at http://drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/info/my-lexus/resources/owners-manual-search.do Disk in mine (08) is in the player in a black box under the false floor in the boot, there's an eject button on the box (you need the ignition on).

It's not unusual; most climate control systems I've had (previous BMWs and Audis) do this as it is usually the quickest way for the aircon to cool the car down (i.e. suck the hot air out of the car and cool it, rather than pushing cooled external air in to fight the hot air). Probably the ultimate best way is, as you say, open the windows to get some breeze going, or open the windows/roof as you unlock the car. There are probably more annoying things in the world... ;)

Probably a good idea, new disks were issued in '09. Old thread from last year on http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=56864 about this, but fundamentally the new disks unlock pretty much all the touchscreen functionality with the exception of some of the phone functions - manually dialling the number etc, still have to have the number in speed dial. But other than that, yes, it's completely unlocked and really transforms the user experience - able to change destinations on the move, find nearest petrol station etc.

I think Lexus used up all the space in the manual with "Warning - Pay Attention Whilst Driving" safety instructions and ran out of room for more practical stuff such as a list of what the voice commands actually are - they've been captured in Full List Of Voice Commands thread. This list is for the RX300, apparently there are additional commands for the RX400h but no idea what they are; you can say 'Help' after pushing the button and it will reel the list off to you, so pencil and paper handy.... It's worth a play, if only to find something to demonstrate to your mates, but I've concluded that voice control is not a particularly useful feature in this Lexus implementation - maybe it could have been useful when most of the nav functions were locked out on the move and IF you'd spent a lot of time advance-programming and/or memorising voice controls for finding the nearest Ski Resort (as one frequently needs to whilst hands-free), but now touch control is largely unlocked it's usually far quicker to use the touch-screen. For me, it would have been useful to do <button> "Home" and it brings up the Home destination and starts navigating to it. I recall what it actually does is that the car voice then responds something like "Please say 'Set Destination <beep>'" and I can never remember whether you have to press the voice recognition button again or not, but I usually pressed it when I shouldn't have (or vice versa) and then I have to say "Enter Destination", then the car responds "Setting home as destination"... all a bit aggravating as I am now having to wait and then say a five-syllable confirmation message to confirm a one-syllable instruction, and the car is spending time talking to me when I thought I'd disabled all the voice tellbacks. It's probably most useful if you've set voice dialling up on phone numbers that aren't in the speed dial list - for everything else it's significantly quicker (and less annoying and therefore probably safer) to tap the screen times. On the plus side, I've found it does the actual voice-recognition quite well, in that it recognises what I'm saying. All the more reason why I'd rather it just acted on the instruction (and maybe had an "Undo" command in case it got it wrong) rather than elaborate tellbacks and confirmations. Overall, it struck me as a system that was designed on paper then never really tested in anger, otherwise there would have been screams of "Yes, go HOME, that's what I SAID, the clue was in the WORDS, just DO IT" from the test route. But do enjoy....

Hi, and welcome to the forum, good purchase! Yes, it should come with a 'Navigation System' manual which is 286 pages on my '08 model (probably the same). I was looking for an online one once when I'd left mine at home and I needed to understand an odd dashboard light, I found one - not sure it was this one I used but try: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrive...anual-search.do I'm sure the dealer could provide a replacement. Anyway, connecting Bluetooth seemed pretty straightforward: INFO button (that's the non-intuitive bit out of the way), 'Telephone' softkey, 'Settings', 'Bluetooth', and touch 'Register' to connect. After the handshake, the car should come up with a pass key which you type into the phone, then you should be good to go. If it doesn't work then the Lexus manual isn't much help, there are other areas of the Forum which deal with particular problems. Enjoy...

Yes, that sounds reasonable. Although the petrol engine is theoretically more efficient in the cold, I guess it takes longer to warm up and cools quicker, the hybrid drive uses the engine more if the engine's cold to warm it up. Also I would not be surprised if the battery is less efficient when it's cold (I doubt it's heated under the back seat) and add to that you're probably using power for heated seats, windows/mirrors etc, and maybe leaving the car idling for a few minutes to demist/defrost... all adds up. Over the same routes, you do tend that in the winter the engine cuts at times when the battery is taking the strain in the summer. I haven't reset my economy gauge since delivery in May 08, and over 20,000 miles this long-term average peaked out at 30.3mpg (end of autumn in '08, after I'd worked out how to drive it most efficiently), then went down to about 29.5 by the spring (winter driving), back up to 29.7 over what passed for summer last year with some long A-road trips, and then hit 29.4 a few days ago after pottering around locally in the cold, snow etc. So I suspect my short-term fuel economy is low 30's in summer and mid-upper 20's in winter.

Spooky. A hour later I tried again and all worked fine. I wonder who's moved in locally - I've lived here 12 years...

Actually, something is VERY weird here. My wife's just got home in her RAV-4 and the same problem. Have just driven round the block, stopped at regular intervals and it seems to be the last 30 yards of my shared drive that it doesn't work on. Clearly something transmitting tonight that's jamming receivers of this type. I really hope no-one was watching me drive for the last five minutes! I'll try again later and tomorrow - failing that, I'm bringing home a directional scanner!

Hi all - drove home from work and noticed that remote control no longer locks/unlocks the car this evening. Pretty sure it locked/unlocked it at work (certainly unlocked it this morning). LED on key lights up, central locking doesn't lock or unlock. Spare keys don't do any better, and I doubt they've all gone flat at the same time. Car locks/unlocks OK with key in the door lock (which is probably the first time I've ever tried it). I'm assuming the receiver in the car has failed, but just wondering whether there's any of those wonderful undocumented features anyone knows about, that I might have accidentally triggered and disabled the remote locking. You know the sort of thing - like the trick with the sidelights and DISPLAY button that disables the seatbelt bong. I'm sure it's the receiver and a dealer job, but I'm reminded of when I accidentally hit the toggle switch down by the fuel filler release which disables the swivelly headlights. There was an error message on the dash and I noticed the lights weren't swivelling, but nowhere in the manual could I find any mention of that error message or the offending button. About to phone the dealer when Google triumphed... Thanks in advance for any 'Ahhhh' moments.

It probably depends on the year, but in 2008 when I bought mine new there was an 'SE', an 'SE Multimedia' and an 'SE-L'. The 'Multimedia' aspect was marketed somewhere between a major option and a separate model, but basically brings in the touch-screen display and all the stuff that comes with it - particularly the reversing camera and the sat nav. So Sat Nav may be the major discriminator for you. The SE-L was the SE Multimedia with the addition of the DVD player/screens in the front seat headrests for rear passengers. Most dealers said (and delivery times confirmed) that the SE Multimedia was the most popular variant. About the only thing on the options list for the SE Multimedia was, oddly, a rear-seat entertainment system, which unless was missing something turned it into an SE-L in all but name. Think there was also an SR (?) around at the time which was a slightly simpler SE - think you got less adjustable and non-memory seats etc. If I could go back in time I'd still get the SE Multimedia - superb car, and only lacks the rear displays which I personally don't need. Best of luck!

Yep - had exactly the same here - forgot I'd left all my wipers on intermittent from Tuesday night; shovelled the snow and ice off this morning and then thought 'What's the noise? - oh, it's the wipers now awake and wiping off the rest.' No blown fuses, burnt out motors... thanks Lexus! And a great drive in over packed snow and ice. Out of interest, what's the let down re the 450h?

Wing mirror automatically re-opening solution - Does it? That's neat, thanks, didn't know that one. Is that in the manual, or another undocumented featurette? Fully agree with the small details itching away at the overall experience. I'm still suffering from a phobia about running low on washer fluid - Who in Lexus thought that a bright red warning sign and permanently (well, okay, permanently apart from a few seconds after pressing the trip computer button) overwriting the trip computer display with ''Low Washer Levels" was a necessary and suitable response? A discrete amber light or occasional trip computer reminder would have been fine - I know I need to refill soon to keep the screen and headlights clean but in the meantime it's not a crisis and I would still like my trip computer to work, thanks... [Actually, although completely wandering off-topic, I'd nominate Audi for the Best Low-Washer-Fluid-Level-Alert Award - if you have one with the full sat-nav package which has a small colour trip computer screen between the rev counter and speedo, when the fluid is low you get a little graphic 'squirty' animation (sort of like a wet-look firework display) that comes up when you start and every five minutes or so. Sometimes people don't know when to *stop* designing.] Must try a '450H to see what they've fixed in the next gen'.

[Yes, I know, just basking in the unexpected semi-offroad capability of a car clearly optimised for luxury tarmac. I've spend too much of my life in 'real' (ie green-coloured) Land Rovers to think about racing Richard Hammond to the North Pole in an RX....! :winky: ]

With these dark nights the one blind spot is not illuminating the button for the folding mirrors. I suspect I'd want to use it when going down narrow streets/lanes or past other vehicles on narrow roads, but wouldn't be able to locate it without distracting me when I least need distraction. Actually the real reason is a bit embarrassing - Occasionally I remember to fold them when in the work's outside car park, get back in the car in the evening, drive out the joining roads and onto the motorway, and then suddenly spot that all I can see in my mirrors is the door trim. Just where I want to be, fumbling for an unlit switch by my knee whilst having impaired all-round situational awareness and feeling guilty about how much mirror-signal-manoeuvre I'm not actually doing, but... Would be good if the mirrors folded/unfolded with the locking - or at least if the folding still worked without the key turned in the ignition.

I'll have to get some proper washer juice then, rather than the Halfords stuff. Driving home was great fun, in about 10 inches. Took forever due to traffic (apparently local semi-motorway was blocked for 15 miles with 1000 cars abandoned...) but the RX just cruises up hill and down dale, with just the odd flicker of the traction light. Got a bit 'clenched' when seeing front-drive Audi A4 (previous car...) slowly sliding and rotating back down the steep hill towards me though. But general feeling that if it weren't for all the 2WD cars bunging up the place, I'd be trundling around pretty normally. What were they thinking when they wrote that bit in the manual about 'Not recommended for off-road use'?

Quite looking forward to a bit of snow, only had an inch or two in Hampshire last year and it was pretty much gone once I got off the residential side-streets. No snow down here yet but a frosty -5 degrees start. Electric drive doesn't seem to play much in these temperatures. After 25 minute drive still have nothing happening with washer jets, presumably the pipes or the bottle is frozen. Only filled it up last night, must be a 50:50 mix. Do other people's RX washer systems survive a cold night outside any better than mine? De-icing the screen takes an age too, anyone know whether any new Lexus have heated front screens (or do Ford have that locked up?). Hooray for heated seats - toasty cheeks!

How odd - the current 400h has a centre dash cigarette lighter and a charger down in the well forward of the centre armrest - are you saying the new one has neither? I had a look at some interior pictures and can't see anything obvious. Did they keep the tape deck?!

HI, and welcome to RX land.... RX's do have quite a few unlit switches - including the memory seats, mirror adjustment, mirror fold, tailgate opener, fuel flap etc. So your's sounds like it's working to spec. Also you might find a bit of odd logic about which switches work when the key is out of the ignition - mirror fold etc with the key out would be useful. No idea on the roof rails, hopefully someone else can help on that one.

There should be a good article in WhatCar? coming soon - I submitted an on-line review a while back and they got in touch back in March looking to come and photograph my car doing 'whatever I use it for', with a brief owner's interview. Unfortunately I was out of the country so couldn't do it in the end - but they said it had come top of JDPower and were going to do a bit of a spread on owner's feedback, so keep a look out for it.