DanD

I am surprised that in this day and age, with the advancement of technology, we still have to rely on wiper blades to keep our windscreens clean. I guess it would be useful to have some kind of airblade to stop rain from reaching the glasss in the first place, and some advanced non stick coating to prevent dirt from sticking to it. I think I might just send Mr Dyson an email...

I would also try a different dealer if you can. If you can't get to a Lexus dealer, it may be worth considering taking the car to a Toyota dealer for a second opinion.

I too would go to main dealer. While you're there, ask about a service plan. It is interest free, will cover servicing costs over the period you choose, and will typically save you around 15%. Also, because the cost of the services is agreed up front, it is inflation proof.

Ah yes, good point. Doh.

I thought the CT came with xenons as standard!?

hmmm... interesting... I would have expected you to get much better MPG with the RX450h!

I wonder why this seems to affect some cars only. Fingers crossed, I have not had such problems... to date at least. However, having picked up hints from this forum, I always ensure I leave the car in READY mode when I vacuum the inside, or if I leave the boot open for any extended period. Question: While I understand that the capacity of the battery is perceived as an issue, are we all not barking at the wrong tree? - Should we not try and identify what is causing the battery to go flat in the first place? If ALL cars were affected, I could understand that the problem is 100% battery related, but given that not all cars are affected, does this not point to another problem of which the battery is simply a casualty? Of course, I am not referring to problems caused by radio being left on, or doors being left open, but to cars being left standing for a few days. Maybe we should consider putting a survey together to help build a proper understanding of the problem and its amplitude (% of cars actually affected): - age of car / age of battery - mileage covered by such cars - are affected cars used for long or short journeys - geographical location (I'm thinking impact of temperature) - year of manufacture - model (for instance with / without SATNAV - isolated or recurring incidents - how long was the car left unused when the problem occured (is there a threshold? - 10 days OK, but two weeks is not) - has the car been fitted with any add ons that could potentially impact electrical drain (tow bar, etc) Maybe others could add to this list of questions over the next couple of weeks, and I'll consolidate into one post for people to respond to. Ouput could be posted to Lexus. I have not bothered to check, but I am assuming that this is not a problem that is endemic to UK models only... Such an exercise may potentially reveal that only a tiny percentage of RX400h are affected, which could explain why Lexus have never bothered to do antyhing about it. What do you all think?

I prefer the option on the Right: High beam set to 20% with soft start. I think that the LEDs look too much like add ons and do not befit the car.

Good to know, but unfortunately, it seems that not all insurers have the same policy on this, depending on: - change of wheel size - change of tyre size - winter/summer tyres - whether the wheels are supplied by the manufacturer (and therefore tested by them) as opposed to after market rims - or even whether the wheels are from the same car but from a different model (CT200h S vs CT200h Premium for instance) - or simply whether the swap is approved by the manufacturer

Yep. I lived in southern Germany for some years, and everyone with an ounce of common sense had snow/winter tyres.

I notice that there are some posts/threads that are "pinned" to the top of the list of threads. I wonder if this one could be added to the list as it contains useful info that affects a lot of RX400h owners and may prevent new threads being created on the same topic.

As a matter of interest, have you checked that your insurance is still valid? - It would appear that some insurance companies will charge an additional premium if you change wheels and/or tyres and not advising them may result in invalidating your insurance. See these: http://www.lexusowne...-r18-on-rx400h/ http://www.lexusowne...f-winter-tyres/

You may want to have a quick read of these (I think there are other similar entries in the RX forum) http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/85625-23560-r18-on-rx400h/ http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/70302-a-tale-of-winter-tyres/ There is some interesting info about wheel vs tyre diameter. Also, you may want to consider the possible impact to your insurance cover before swapping your wheels, as it appears that insurers have different views on this. In some cases a swap may invalidate your insurance.

Try searching for "running boards"...

As a matter of interest, were you the first owner of both cars? - Could it be that a previous owner had the wheels re-furbished? Mine were bad when I bought my car. They were refurbished by Lexus 2 years ago and I have not had any issue since.

hmmm... seems to me that they are referring to the hybrid battery pack... not the small battery in the engine bay that you will need to start the car and that is giving you grief. At any rate, if that latter battery has gone flat I guess that you won't be able to open the doors anyway, will you?.

I can't answer that. It seems a good idea in principle, but I have not even tried to remove the shields... only read about it. The only additional comments I would make are that: - you must take care that your reversing lights are not too bright as you may blind or distract other drivers (I'm thinking about parallel parking on a busy street for instance) - I think that the main issue is not so much related to the brightness of the bulbs, but more to the fact that the light clusters in the RX are set unusually high in comparison to other cars, so I am not convinced that changing the bulbs will pay off.

With regards to MPG, I drove from Winchester to Manchester and back on Wednesday (university visit). One passenger, outside temperature stayed between 2 and 8 degrees, cruise control set to 75mph most of the way, lights on, climate control set at 22 degrees, radio on all the way. Oh, and while the recall work was recently done, the car is due a service. Average MPG was 31.4 (according to the computer), which I don't think is bad.

A cheaper and easier solution might be to remove the shields around the bulbs. This is documented somewhere on one of these forums.

Yep. The regular HIDs are much bigger. They also have two lens only, like the RX400h: HID for dipped beam and halogen for main beam. Go to the used car section on the Lexus website and take a look at some of the RX450h they have on there. You can compare front pix of SE-I models (they have regular HIDs) and some of SE-L models and above (they have LEDs)

If you do a search, you will find several threads on this, some including links and pictures.

If you can find a dark country lane with a few bends, you will see that the movement of the lights is quite obvious. As to whether there is a real benefit to AFS or whether it's a bit of a gimmick, I'll leave that for you to decide.

You say that when you turn the wheel, the lights don't move. Can you confirm that the car is moving when you are doing this? If the car is stationary, the lights will not move. You would need to check the manual but AFS gets activated above a certain speed (I think it might be 10mph) and are disabled again above a certain speed (might be around 50 or 60mph... can't remember). Also, I don't think that bouncing the car up and down will alter the light settings on the basis that the movement is too short lived and probably not sufficient. You would need to get two or three people to sit in the back while the car is facing a wall to notice any difference. On the other hand, I would expect a light to come on if you disable AFS. Having said this, you mention that the switch is below the glovebox lid... which is different from the RX400h, where the switch is next to the electric hatch/boot switch ...

thanks guys

May I ask how much you were charged for the cruise control retrofit?