Lydiamight

I accept that not everything sold in Lidl is of the highest quality, but in the case of their roof bars they are: Made in Italy Come with a German TUV certification Have a three year warranty So somewhat better than some of the cheap Far-Eastern goods that are often on sale.

Just been in to my local branch of Lidl---thay are currently selling a smart set of lockable Aluminium roof bars for just £29.99. See below: http://www.lidl.co.uk/cps/rde/xchg/lidl_uk/hs.xsl/index_25037.htm The packaging doesn't list Lexus as a fitment but having purchased a set I can assure you that they certainly fit a RX400h. Supplied with two keys and an allen key for adjustment. As Thule bars seem to cost around £125.00 on Ebay these look to be both well made and a bargain to boot as well as having a three year manufacturer's warranty. No connection other than a very happy customer.

This is e really good site for working out the difference in rolling radius for different sized tyres http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp I used it when calculationg what sized winter tyres I could fit on my RX400h

Don't know anything about the RX300 but if it's the same as the RX400 look under the drivers seat and you should see the DVD player for the screens in the rear headrests. There is a hinged metal "kick plate" on the DVD player, which you have to pull down, or is it up, to access the slot to load the DVD's. You will also need a pair of infra red headphones to hear the DVD's. Look on the rear edge of each "B" pillar inside the car and you should see a vertical row of what looks like LEDs---these are the transmitters for the infra red earphones. Best of luck with your new car

Why not have them profeesionally refurbished? Lepsons (no connection) have areally good reputation and work mainly for the trade. Their web-site http://www.lepsons.com/home.phtml has full details of their process. Should cost you around £250.00 for four wheels and they will come put looking like new---cheaper and a lot less hassle than buying after marlet wheels.

Have a look at the following http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43574776/ns/business-autos/ It looks like the recall is only for US vehicles, which I believe are manufactired in Canada. As far as I am aware UK RX400h vehicles are manufactured in Japan so the recall may not affect UK vehicles.

Would something like this be OK http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/SOLAR-POWERED-PANEL-12V-2-4W-BATTERY-TRICKLE-CHARGER-/320675503273?pt=UK_Gadgets&hash=item4aa9bfdca9 And how much would it cost to have my internal 12v socket made live all of the time?

Have a look on ebay.com----make sure that you go onto the US dotcom website rather than the ebay.co.uk site. There are plenty of RX300 headlights for sale on there and they seem to come out at around US$110 to US$120 for a set of two. Shipping would be extra, but at less than £35.00 per headlamp I don't think that you are going to do any better.

I suppose that if you had left your car in a car park and came back to find that somebody had smashed your rear quater light glass with a hammer then could claim on your windscreen/glass cover and not lose your no claims bonus. Just be careful where you park it.

Have a look at these people. www.lepsons.com They do thousands of wheels a week and come very highly reccomended. There's a good section on their website explaining exactly what work they do when refurbishing wheels.

Don't know about the RX300, but on my 2008 RX400h with an ML system the dvd player for the rear screens is under the driver's seat. Easiest way to access it is to move the seat as far forward as possible and then pull up the metal "kick plate" to access the loading slot. Check to see if you have the remote control somewhere---favourite place for the previous owner to have left it is inside the compartment in the rear seat fold down armrest. I presume that you have the earphones for the rear system Also have a look at the dashboard beneath your front CD player slot---it will say something like CD, MP3, WAV. If it also says DVD then you can play DVDs on the front information/navigation screen. This a completely different system to the rear one. You must have the parking brake applied before you can see DVDs on this screen---a safety feature to stop you watching DVDs in the front whilst driving. As soon as you release the brake the screen goes off, although you can still hear the soundtrack.

Try these people http://www.pfjones.co.uk/tow-bars/tow-bars-for-lexus/lexus-rx450h-towbars.html For choice I would go for the Westfalia version as it's exactly the same as the Lexus one---they actually make the tow bars for Lexus in Europe. Had a Westfalia tow bar fitted to my RX400h and the great thing is that once you have removed the swan neck it is totally invisible. Had mine fitted by as local trailer and tow bar specialist and took the precaution of asking them if they had ever fitted one before. Having watched them do the work it looked fairly simple to fit the tow bar as all of the mounting holes are already there---getting the rear bumper off and back on again without damaging it was the tricky bit. They charged me for 90 minutes labour, which I thought was fair. Don't forget that the wiring kit will be extra---decide if you want a 13 pin socket or the older type.

Keep looking on Ebay, they do come up from time to time. I managed to buy a set of four last year for some winter tyres. Cost was £150.00 for all four, one had some minor scuffing on the rim, but otherwise they were unmarked.

On the rear side of each "B" pillar, about halfway up, you will see what looks like a vertical row of clear but unlit LEDS. These are the Infra-red transmitters for the headphone system. They operate on "line of sight" so if you sit back and accidently have your arm or any other part of your body between the transmitters and the headphones then you will lose the signal. Might explain why they work if you lean forward. Always worth renewing the batteries just to be on the safe side. Best of luck

Did the sat-nav disc that you bought remove the block from accessing the navigation screen whilst you were moving?

Thanks everyone who responded-----eventually tracked down this outfit in the UK after a lot of internet searching http://www.mrcarmats.com/catalog/product/view/id/413637/s/lexus-rx400-2005-current-8542/category/6165

Hi, I am looking for a luggage compartment mat for my RX400h in beige carpet material---not black rubber. My Lexus dealer denies the existence of such a thing but it look's as if they are available in the USA. Any suggestions or help would be much appreciated.

I suspect that the confusion has arisen because as the respnse on Google which referred the fuse box in the drivers footwell referred to left hand drive cars. On a right hand drive this box would be under the passenger side

Loads of products out there which you can use on a DIY basis. Have alook here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Comma-Tetrosyl-Air-Conditioning-Cleaner/sim/B000ZBOPVO/2 for a selection of products available

You are quite right---the camera does seem grainy at night. The reversing lights on my RX400h also give little illumination when using the camera to reverse. As I am a "two footed" driver (one for the brake and the other for the throttle) I find that applying just enough brake pressure to turn on the brake lights helps a bit. I also keep a piece of tissue in the door pocket as I find that in wet and bad weather the rear camera lens picks up a lot of dirt which obscures the image somewhat. A gentle wipe with a piece of clean tissue helps. You might try giving the lens a good clean---but be careful that you don't scratch it. Try using a camera lens cleaning cloth and possibly some lens cleaning fluid to get it really clean.

For all of those RX400h and RX450 owners out there you will need to get a move on if you wish to gain exemption from the London Congestion charge for the next two years. The scheme is changing next year and only those vehicles---electric, hybrid or anything else, including diesel---which emit less than 100g/km of CO2 will be exempt. If you get your application in by 24th December 2010 you will be exempt until 24th December 2012. I submitted my application late last week and the exemption confirmation arrived in the post this morning, so they are turning applications around pretty quickly. The excert below is lifted from the TFL website "The Alternative Fuel Discount will be closed to new registrations on 24 December 2010. However, owners of vehicles registered with TfL before that date will continue to receive a 100 per cent discount for a two year period" Presumably the 100g/km limit means that even owners of Toyota Prius vehicles will ahve to start to pay in two years time.

The Marangoni seem to make reasonable tyres----see here for a review http://www.canadiandriver.com/2007/03/29/winter-tire-test-part-seven-marangoni-meteo-hp-and-meteo-grip-e.htm Lydiamight

I have both a BMW 335D Coupe and a Lexus rx400h, usewd to have a 320D Touring so can make a reasoned assessment. I went for the highest spec 400H, the SEL when purchasing as I do like plenty of toys to play with. There is no doubt in my mind that the RX is a different driving experience, much more relaxed than the BMW, although the straight line performance of the RX is not to be sniffed at. There is no way that a RX will handle as well as the BMW on the twisty bits if you are a "press on" driver, but then what would you expect from a 2 ton car. I average around 30mpg on the Lexus which is not as good as the diesel BMW. You should get this consumption on both short and long journeys. Did a trip to Limoges sitting at around 85mph on the French Autoroutes and still got close to 30mpg on the Lexus. If you drive it very gently on short journeys you should get around 35 to 38mpg. I don't like the nav system as much as the BMW as it doesn;t seem as intuitive, but perhaps that will come with familiarity. Do not like the way you can't change the destination whilst on the move. Phone system is not as good and will not sync with my Blackberry. Got round this by manually loading numbers into the speed dial on the Lexus, gives you 30 numbers and you can access these whilst on the move. Steering is much lighter although not as much feel as the BMW. I found the brakes on the Lexus a bit strange at first as you get both regenerative as well as ordinary braking, again you will get used to it. Like the power rear door and the large amount of luggage space. Nicely finished inside and out and overall very pleased with the quality. I have the luxury of owning both vehicles---which one would I keep if I could only have one? Difficult to say---I think it would depend on my useage. If I had to do a lot of long continental journeys then probably the BMW, but for normal use then its the Lexus. Hope that this is of help.

Just phoned my insurer (Direct Line)to tell them that I had fitted a set of Lexus wheels and winter tyres. They asked me if they were genuine Lexus wheels and were not worried thaat they were 17 inch rims rather than the 18 inch OEM wheels. Didn't ask what speed rating the tyres were. Impl;ication was that it you fitted an "aftermarket" set of non Lexus wheels then there might have been a change in premium No change in policy for me and "thank you very much for letting us know"

Currently own a 2008 RX400H as well as a BMW 335D Automatic Coupe. The BMW is absolutely useless in the snow. Fitted with ultra low profile 19 inch run flats and lots of electronics to stop the wheels spinning it's a car to leave parked up until the weather gets better. Decided about a month ago to investigate winter tyres for the Lexus instead. The stock tyres are Bridgestone Potenza summer tyres, great in the good weather, but they didn't look as if they would be that good in the snow. As I started to investigate I realised that there is a very, very limited choice of winter tyres available in the OEM size of 235 55 18. Also saw that in the USA some RX400h's come with 17 inch rims as standard so I started looking for a secondhand set of 17 rims. These are fitted to the RX 3XX series in the UK and as these cars have been around for a lot longer than the RX400h there is a much better chance of picking up a set of secondhand rims from a breakers. After a few weeks of looking managed to find a set of Lexus 17 alloy rims, complete with centre caps for £150 from a breakers yard in Milton Keynes. One wheel had some scuff marks on the rim---but what the hell, they were only going to be on the car in the bad weather. Then discovered this really useful wheel and tyre size comparator here http://www.rimsntires.com/rt_specs.jsp Comparisons were: OEM 235 55 18, Rim width 7 inches, offset 35mm Proposed new size was going to be 225 65 17, Rim width 6.5 inches, offset 30mm The comparator told me that there would be plenty of clearence and that the difference in diameter would alter the speedometer reading by 1.3% and that at 60mph my speedometer would be reading 60.8mph. I think that I can live with that. Next thing was to source the tyres. Costco had a special offer on---buy four tyres and get another 20% off what are already very competitive prices, although you are restricted to buying Michelin tyres. After a bit more research I settled on the Michelin Latitude Alpin. They had to be ordered in, but arrived within four days. With the discount the tyres worked out to around £146.00 each. Had them fitted to the bare rims and waited for the weather to get worse. Looking at the forecast I decided to fit them on Wednesday of last week----what a transformation. I have been out and about in around 18 inches of snow and the car really drives as if it is on normal roads. Even up steep hills the rear wheel drive rarely kicks in and the really impressive thing is the ability to brake on ice or snow. Unless you are looking at a panic stop the ABS doesn't even need to operate, the car just comes to a fuss free stop. When I told my friends that I was going to invest in winter tyres I received lots of comments about "waste of money" "we never have weather bad enough to justify them". Those same friends are now ringing me up to see if I can give them a lift or get some shopping in for them. Until you have driven in the snow and ice with a decent set of winter tyres you can have no idea of just how good they are. I cannot reccomend them highly enough.