Mark A

Definately worth a look at cables. I had to have them replaced on my 2007 rx-350 - not cheap either £400+ IIRC.

Mark

Thanks for the info Steve. Just got mine back from the garage after they relieved me of £460 for the handbrake fix. I will give it a few more months before I make any decisions, but if things don't improve I will be forced to jump ship.

Mark

So far my experience with Lexus has been poor. I bought my 2007 rx350se in Oct 2010, and in just over a year I have had 1 problem after another.

1. Self levelling sensor failed.

2. Exhaust centre section coroded and cracked £1100+

3. Ignition coil failed - sods law cyl 5 and inlet manifold had to come off.

4. Parking brake mechanism / cables failed.

The car has now got 70k on the clock but had full dealer service history upto 60k.

Do I get shot of it or do I stick with it as hopefully the worst is past.

The only other car that gave me this much trouble was a Landrover discovery.

Even the wife's Mercedes ML isn't that bad, and they were infamous for problems.

Pads are straightforward to change on the 350, no special tricks required. As you say, unbolt, push piston back and install new ones. If you have done brakes on other cars, you won't find them difficult. Did them on mine 2 weeks ago, no more than 45 mins per side. Haven't needed to do discs on it yet.

Mark

That's what happens when you leave apple in charge of predictive typing unfortunately. Most people seemed to understand though.

I have a friend with an RX-450 which is. Only 18 months old, and is suffering he same problem. Are they coming out of the factory that way ??

The Bridgestones on my RX-350 have worn he same way. Reading various posts it seems to be a fairly common complaint. Not sure if getting the tracking sort would help.

Mark

Imitated Falken HS-439 to my RX-350 last year. Completely transformed the car. A decimate must. Converted my opinion so much I have just put a set of Vredestein Wintrac X-tremes on the wife's Mercedes ML.

I challenge anyone to try a set of winter tyres in winter and not see the benefits.

Mark

Coil replaced and the lights now stay off. I have however noticed that the car no longer revs above 3k until the engine is warm (not that I plan to rev the nuts of the thing when it's cold). Has anyone else experienced this?

Mark

Not sure about the 300, but on the 350 the filter is a paper cartridge accessed from a panel underneath the engine.

On the 350, the cover simply pulls off, obviously that's not the case on yours.

Mark

Booked in to be fixed now. Not as bad as I was expecting, £265 all in, not bad when the coil is £143 on it's own.

Mark

I have a similar problem on my 2007 rx350. I have plugged into my diagnostics port and am getting the following code P0355 - ignition coil E primary/secondary circuit. This is indicating a failed ignition coil on cylinder 5 - sods law, one of the rear cylinders. I have tried erasing the code, and after a few miles the lights come back on with the same code. Reading the threads on here about accessing the rear plugs, it looks like a dealer job as I certainly don't have a full day to spare.

Mark

New stainless exhaust fitted, keeping the original cat - £460 Inc from a local supplier. Much happier now.

Mark

Just called Lexus for a price - £1124 + fitting. That's ridiculous for just 1 exhaust section. I'd hate to ask for the whole system cost - probably cheaper to buy a new car.

Stainless it is then.

I noticed a leak in the centre section of my 2007 rx350 last night. I have been looking around for aftermarket exhausts with no joy, however can get a stainless system made. The centre section appears to have a cat in it, is this necessary or can I remove this cat and have just the 2 cats on the manifold downpipes?? My Mercedes clk has a similar arrangement and the centre cat can be replaced without the car failing the MOT emissions test.

There doesn't appear to be a lambda sensor on the centre section, is this right, or have I just not spotted it ??

Does anyone have a diagram of the exhaust system on the rx350??

Cheers,

Mark

Be careful with kwikfit. A few years ago I got a quote for pads for my wife's Mercedes ML +/- £170. I was away working and had the wife take it in. The final bill was approaching £1,000 as the pads they had weren't the right ones and they had to change the discs while they were at it. parts from Mercedes were less than half the cost charged by kwak fit. I have recently changed the pads again and the cost was less than £80 for front and rear.

As long as the bit that the pad acts on is not badly corroded and the disc thickness is above the manufacturers minimum, the discs are fine. If you put new discs on within a year the centre bit will start to rust again anyway.

Mark

50psi sounds way too much. I am running 36psi on mine, however when I bought winter tyres on new rims the fitter had 40psi.

Many thanks for the reply, it looked like a 2 min job, but I have been there before when 2 mins turns into hours and the air turns blue.

Lexus let me down, was supposed to get the sensor yesterday morning, but will now need to do it mid week.

Cheers,

Mark

I will be replacing a failed rear ride height sensor on my 2007 rx-350 this weekend. Has anyone done this themselves, and are there any pitfalls to watch out for ??

£360 for a new sensor from Lexus, pity there doesn't seem to be an alternative source.

Cheers,

Mark

I changed the standard crapstones for a set of Falken hs-439. This has totally transformed the car, over the last month of bad weather in Aberdeenshire, they have been brilliant.

They are h rated rather than v, but I have informed my insurance company and they are fine with it.

Mark

Admiral didn't care if non Lexus wheels, as long as they were the same size.

Admiral. Only tyres I can get my hands on is Falken - have to be better than the Bridgestones that a on.

Almost all of the winter tyres I have seen are H rated. Can I use these on my Rx-350? The handbook specifies V rated.

Spoke to my insurance company re winter/snow tyres and they said that they would only change the premium if I changed wheel size also. Forgot to ask about H rated - dohh!

H is good for 130mph, which is higher than the car can go anyway.

Cheers,

Mark A

Good to know, I'm looking at the Hankook's Vs The General Grabber UHP's for my RX-350. The Bridgestones are CR$P in anything other than dry conditions.

Cheers,

Mark A