julian1969

Just goes to show how 2 people can have very different experiences with cars. I've had 1 citroen and 2 peugeots and none was worth a damn mechanically. The last pug i had a 407 coupe v6 diesel auto, had multiple sensor faults and needed a new gearbox within the first year of ownership, the final 6 months i had it, it sat on my drive going nowhere due to a screeching noise no garage could diagnose and fix. I handed it back to the finance company once the rule of halves and thirds allowed and took the loss of deposit as a learning experience. Never again. I do know people who have had no issues with their PSA group cars however personally i'd not touch one again.

The most vulnerable part for failure is the battery, this has a definite lifespan but in my 10 year old example the display has only lost 1 bar so i'm not overly worried about that - even if it did go bad the cost for (independent) repair is about the same as a turbo on a diesel alternative. Inverters have also been known to have issues but again these were mostly pre a warranty callback and are now very rare. Even so a 2nd hand inverter and fitting would be on a par with a clutch or gearbox issue on another car. The gearbox itself is not a known point of failure on these cars. There are other lesser issues (seizing brakes, heated seats, etc.) but these are all easily fixed with a bit of knowledge and access to a good independant mechanic - lexus will just charge you the earth to replace the problem part when not strictly necessary. Don;t be scared of the hybrid system, they are very reliable.

my all time best (in the 4 months I've had mine) going from Wolverhampton to bedford has been 41mpg but that was in heavy traffic and roadworks all the way rarely going over 60mph. I average around 28-32 in normal driving, lowest has been 26 when I first got it and was exploring the eye opening acceleration 8¬D. I did have regular use of a Leaf electric car before this though so my driving style had changed to be more considerate towards battery regeneration (coasting for longer as opposed to late braking, anticipation, etc.) I have a '57 SE with guided xenons, levinson, seat memory( some don't have this), electric steering column adjustment, etc. the only thing missing is the rear screens afaik. Just pay attention to pictures of the interior rather than description - mine was advertised as an SE-L (because Levinson) when it's actually an SE but it had all the things I was after so it was just a bargaining point when it came to buying. Parking sensors are dealer fit options but if you remember to keep the camera clean are IMHO not really necessary as the backup camera is pretty good for this kind of thing and the front has decent visibility of the corners. I have to park in very tight allocated parking and haven't had an issue. The 400 is a lovely car, my only slight gripe with it is that the drivers seat doesn't quite go back far enough and the seat squab is a little short however I am a very large guy and I can still get comfortable certainly more so than in my previous Leaf and Kia.

this might help? https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-2nd-gen-2004-2009/100750-removing-center-console-cup-holder-in-rx330.html

Yes it is, many have done so. Here's a decent guide Search for Grom Audio, vaistech, yatour, etc. there are youtube tutorials for pulling your dash apart too.

Personally I gave up on built in sat nav a few cars back. With the way new estates and roads are being built anything that isn't internet enabled is going to be out of date within months. I have a windscreen mount for my iPhone, run a charging cable from the floor 12v socket to just above the air vent on the drivers side and use apple maps to guide me to my destination when necessary. I also have a smart watch which means I can turn off the annoying voice prompts and have the watch buzz my wrist when I need to make a turn leaving me able to listen to music uninterrupted. Having the phone in view also means I can screen my incoming calls safely. The only interaction I have with the phone itself while driving is to set it up at the start and if i answer a call I have to touch the screen to return to the map. If you make trips to places where you don;t have internet connectivity then this may not be a solution but it's never let me down. Worth a thought maybe.

Lexus essential servicing is £295 for cam belt (tensioner and water pump extra) https://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/servicing-and-maintenance/#ServicingYourLexus

No worries fella, I'm sure (given the anecdotal issues with the 2 speed implementation) that the 4 speed aux gearbox will be a much improved design, although it's not the actual gearbox that had issues it was the oil pump bearing, a £7 part! I think the 'first transmission of it's kind' statement is some marketing hyperbole for the press, technically it is the first PSD/e-CVT mated to a 4 speed transmission but the operating theory, stepping up / down the PSD 'ratios' for better performance / economy has been used by Lexus previously. At the end of the day though, the LC is going to be a monster of a car whether in hybrid, v8 or 'F' guise, I'd love any of them and in 10 years time may even be able to afford one

Ummm isn't that what i said? If we're getting technical Toyota's HSD in all its forms uses a Power Split Device (PSD) which has nothing in common with traditional CVT gearboxes, there are no belts, just a planetary gear set. Also from here http://blog.lexus.co.uk/lexus-gearbox-transmissions/ Do a search of the gs forums here , the oil pump for this aux gearbox has been the cause of some expensive repairs although there is a cheap fix now sorted for DIYers and indy garages - Lexus just replace the lot as usual.

If i understand this correctly the new transmission in the hybrid is a PSD similar to the ones in existing hybrids with a 4 speed 'auto' box added on to allow better matching of engine / electric motor speed to road speed. I believe the hybrid GS has always had a similar setup with a 2 speed 'gearbox' in series with the PSD. Unfortunately I've heard worrying things about the reliability of this setup in the first hybrid GS, hopefully Lexus have addressed this.

I had a seat alhambra with the 1.9 PD TDI engine which is apparently well known for it's chocolate water pumps - some can even take out the cam belt due to jamming when they go. 'Luckily' mine 'only' failed and stopped pumping causing £3k's worth of warped head rather than totally destroying the engine. It always seemed like a big design flaw. My instinct now is to replace the pump and tensioners whenever the belt is done to avoid multiple big bills or an obscene one in the future, but I can also see the if it aint broke don't fix it side of things too. I'd be more inclined to do this on a Lexus than other makes for sure.

my ac buttons ( front demist, rear demist and mirrors, auto and off) all beep when pressed. Not sure about the recirc button as I only use it in summer and haven't had the car that long. (mine is a 57 plate) Jump starting a hybrid can damage control systems according to lexus so i'd be wary of that car now if it was me but if no errors are showing you might have got away with it.

ISC is idle speed controller IIRC - if your engine is idling slightly high it will decrease average mpg a bit. The american forums swear by resetting them regularly but it's a convoluted process as is the norm with these cars. How much was the cam belt from lexus on a 400h?

I bought these for my 400h http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/152261875636?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT thought I'd give them a try for the price and get some boschs if they were rubbish. They aren't. They've seen me through some long trips in heavy rain with flying colours over the past month and i'd thoroughly recommend them. Can't comment on life time yet as they are only 2 months old now but I can't see any issues with these lasting well. Fitting was a doddle too.

Looks amazing especially the interior but i'm not sold on the sole use of touchscreens in an automotive application (nissan and tesla have been there before and have had criticism), I took a whirl on the configurator earlier today and managed to spec a v6 diesel version to over 90 grand which is insane. Then there's the reliability aspect which historically is poor. So it's a nice looking, ergonomically suspect, very expensive, potentially unreliable 4x4. Nah, if i want one of those i'll get a 6 month old full fat range rover or wait a couple of years until depreciation has taken the teeth out of the Lamborghini Urus's price thanks. For now i'll stick to my RX

I looked at a few at this mileage and good ones are rare. With proper maintenance they will hit 200k but at over 100k miles you are likely going to be the second or even 3rd owner which increases the chances of someone buying it who can't afford to maintain it correctly. Telltale signs are, non Lexus Toyota or specialist service stamps, mismatched no name tyres, no receipts for timing belt and or spark plug services. These cars should feel tight with a few rattles and squeaks but little or no wind noise. If it feels 'slack' then walk away. Rear screens at this age are not the best and not really worth paying extra for. Especially when better is available from eBay for a few hundred pounds. An se with nav, Levinson, seat memory and swivelling xenons is probably your best bet in your budget. I got a fsh, 85k mile, 1 owner se with all the bits for £7500 so there are cars out there you just have to bide your time and maybe be prepared to travel a bit. Good luck.

I looked at 300s but found it very difficult to find the spec I wanted. Specifically ML without air suspension. Move to a 350 and fine but on a 300? Hens teeth. 350 was a consideration in se trim but they are imho overpriced 2nd hand and cost a fortune to run. If you can find a 300 that meets the spec you want then great but it'll be older than a 350 or 400. In the end buy the car you want and that you are happy with. Plenty will come up so just play the long game and wait it'll pay off in the end.

For the Prius but the principle is the same http://eahart.com/prius/psd/

So I've had my RX400h for nearly a month now and really enjoying being a Lexus owner again. However one minor gripe I have is with the fold down armrests, they are too low down for me. In the past I owned a Seat Alhambra with similar style armrests and there was a knob under the actual armrest that you could turn to tilt the thing up or down giving your left arm at least some support if you were tall. In the absence of such adjustment on the Lexus has anyone come up with or seen a 'fix' for this? My current idea is to source some memory foam or similar, trim it and attach to the armrest with elastic straps but this seems like a lot of faff to do onesself. My google-fu is weak in this area so if anyone has a link or other suggestion it would be much appreciated.

Software Engineer. I deal with everything ranging from mobile apps and embedded software to PC Apps and automated test equipment.

I've done a few motorway jaunts in my short time with my 2RXh and I regularly see 'electric only' operation at motorway speeds (60-70 mph) - usually when either on the flat with very light throttle or downhill again on a light throttle. This is never sustained for longer than 30 or so seconds due to the inconsistency of my right foot or a change in the level of the road. I was very surprised when I first saw it as I was under the impression that electric operation was only up to 30mph or so.

It's going to depend on driving style, traffic density, traffic light timing, even weather conditions. So replicating manufacturers figures is next to impossible as they run on a rolling road under carefully controlled conditions i always regard manufacturers figures as only useful when comparing vehicles on paper. A 400h is going to beat a cayenne turbo s on mpg but not a diesel Kia ceed. But then if I wanted the unreliability of the Porsche or the space to mpg tradeoff of the Kia I'd have one of those instead.

I've just done exactly the same as the OP - purchased a 2007 400h in the 7-8k range. I had pretty much the same reservations but in the end it was the car I wanted and so went for it. The alternative was a 300 (couldn;t find a good one without travelling too far), or something german and as has been pointed out this would have meant a severe drop in reliability. The non standard big ticket items (battery and inverter) can be fixed for substantially less than the money Lexus charge at knowledgeable independents bringing the cost into line with items such as DMF, DPF and turbos on the alternatives which are much more likely to go wrong at the age / mileage of the cars I was looking at. In the end I found a 85k miles, 1 owner, FSH silver '57 SE with nav, levinson, etc. slap bang in the middle of my price range. The dealer threw in a 1 year warranty, new pads and disks on the front and a caliper service on the rear as they were starting to stick. So far it's lived up to expectations totally. The only issues I have is some tyre wear, noisy wipers( replacements on the way), 1 key has a dead battery( replacements inbound too) and the seat heaters don't work - but i suspect this is a fuse either blown or pulled due to a known runaway heating issue requiring a seat rebuild, anyway I've never used the seat heaters on any of the cars I've had so it's irrelevant. I've done a few trips and see 29 - 34mpg depending on traffic and how rushed i am so efficiency is better than i was expecting during the cold months. To the OP I'll say, read the forums, there's lots of information out there on spotting a good one and what can go wrong, then test drive a few and don;t be afraid to walk away if something doesn't click for you.

I'll have a look at the pollen filter but I tend to leave the AC on all the time - anecdotally I've heard that this helps prevent the seals from perishing - no idea if this is true but the last car I didn't do this on did spring a leak so may be.

I found that the MPG was dropping visibly as I was clearing my windscreen with the heater on full blast a few mornings back. Clearing the ice from the outside is not the issue it's the fogging inside that takes the time - a way to reduce this would effectively increase MPG on cold morning starts I feel - any tips? I'm not keen on just wiping the fog away as it 1) leaves streaks which cause vision issue in bright sun and 2) doesn't prevent the fogging returning quickly enough to cause issues driving.