DanD

Thanks. I know what you mean... I get the same with the RX. Infact, I enjoy the relative silence so much that I often drive without the radiio on. Still considering upgrgading our second car to a CT when the time comes. The Advance seems to offer a good compromise.

Seth and other Advance owners... now that you have had your cars for a few months, are you still happy with the Tahara upholstery? Would you recommend it?

What do you use to block the rad? - I remember my gran using a piece of cardboard for her old Citroen 2CV... is it as simple as that?

Rayaan's right. Judging by your pic, you've got the LED lights.

Does t really make that much of a difference?

I did not think that the LEDs were across the whole range and models such as the SE-I have HID/xenon lights as opposed to LEDs...

Unfortunately, dealers vary a lot. I have previously recommended Lexus Hedge End (Southampton) and continue to do so. All their cars are of good quality and you consistently get impeccable service from both sales and service staff. Our 400h will be replaced with a 450h when the time comes, and we are considering replacing our second car with a CT200h. It's not because I love the cars so much, but because I know I will get a good warranty, decent service and will be looked after if I have any issue.

Good post TigerFish. Thank you. In fact, I seem to recall that a lot of cars used to have amber coloured reversing lights as opposed to white ones (at least they did on the continent). They were changed to white to help others drivers realise that you were reversing... not to illuminate the road.

Appreciate the response. Thanks Rillo.

I don't think there is just one rule. It depends on stock, whether a dealer has or has not met his quota, vehicle condition, mileage, history and colour, and vehicle spec. SE-L models are rarer and sought after, SR models without satnav and rear camera go for less money. I have learnt that paying cash is not necessary an advantage: a dealer will consider how much money they are likely to make on your trade in... and in turn may be able to reduce the price of the car you are interested in...

Not sure the rear DVD screens/ player warrant the extra money... SE-L owners will be able to advise, but make sure they work as I believe they are expensive to repair. Make sure the remote headphones work. (Cna't remember whether there are remotes also) Check - the in-dash 6 CD player works properly (all 6 slots), - the remote camera works - that the adaptive headlights both work (swivel) - both keys are in good condition and working. - carpets are dry - rear tonneau cover restracts properly - that the tyres are evenly worn Also, You will have an expensive service hitting you at 100k miles...

Interesting... I would say that my MPG has improved since the recall work, although the dealer tells me it should not have made any difference. I noticed a big difference to start with, and in doubt reset the computer. Now I find that over the few 110's miles covered since the recall work, the consumption has averaged out to what it was before the work was done... with a slight improvement.

This is for information only... While my RX400h was at the dealer for scheduled recall work, I received a call from them advising me that the water pump was leaking and that they recommended that it should be replaced. Given that I was going on holiday to France the following day, I authorised the work. For future reference, cost of pump + fitting was £385. Note that I am not questionning the validity or honesty of the dealer: they have always proved to be reliable and trustworthy. This is purely informational and for anyone who may have or will have problems with their water pump.

Hear! Hear!

Pretty much the going rate for the 100k service as it includes cambelt change.

Urban traffic is where hybrids come to their own. You will get better MPH in town than on the m-way where you have to rely more on the petrol engine. Don't worry to much about the mileage, but check that the cambelt has been changed if around 100k. Or ask for it to be changed as a condition of buying. Also check whether or not the car is subject to the current recall - see other threads on this. Personally, I would buy from dealer, even if it means higher miles and a slightly older car.

You will find that in most if not all recent cars, you need to switch the front fog lights on in order to switch the rear one(s) - assuming, of course, that your car has front fog lights. In fact, in a lot of new cars, all fog lights deactivate when you switch the headlights off. This it to prevent drivers from "forgetting" to switch their rear fog lamps when they are no longer required. Not sure about the correlation between the power of the reversing lights and their position. A lot of SUVs have high mounted reversing lights, including the RX450h. Are these more powerful than in the RX400h?

???

Mine is also a 2009 Limited Edition. Went in for the recall work yesterday. My understanding is that it takes 1 technician around 4 hours to complete the work. Dealer told me that this will keep them busy for the next 3 to 4 months... which also indicates that, whilst this needs to be done, it is not urgent and while the chances of a breakdown exist.... there are relatively small. Of course, the definition of urgent may be different if you are a car dealer or a customer. In the mean time, I got to drive a IS300h Premier. What a lovely car. Picked up my car first thing this morning. Valeted. Tin of sweets. With £25 worth of petrol for the inconvenience. Steve C-D. Don't understand why you would need to wait one hour for a decision on the fault. Does not make sense. Your dealer should be able to tell you TODAY whether or not your car needs to be recalled. All they need is your registration number. Also don't understand why you were told it would take 2 days.

Sorry. Got my posts confused. No EV switch on RX400h. Only on RX450h

ah ermm... I was pretty sure that the RX450h, like the CT200h, had a EV button that allowed you to switch to electric power only. Am I getting my Lexuses/Lexii confused?

I can confirm that you do not need the letter. Your dealer has all the details needed for them to check whether or not your car is affected by the recall. Incidentally, when I entered my registration details on the Lexus website, it was not recognised. I am told that it's probably because the previous owner had private plates, and that the registration number I now have is likely to be different to what the original would have been. The letter is sent to all relevant owners. We are "privileged" in some way, because through this forum we get information earlier than others, but plenty of other owners will not be aware of the recall until they receive the letter. If their car is not subject to the recall, they will most likely remain oblivious to it.

What do you mean by "I wish it had more control/optionality regarding getting more mpg". It is all done automatically for you an in an optimum manner... Yes, there is a button marked EV which allows you to run on battery power only. However, the system will override this if the battery needs charging up. You will not be able to run on electric power only until the car has reached normal operating temperature.

"Over the years, I have had numerous cars and had some serviced at dealers and some at independent little garages. To date, I have not had a complaint with anyone (except maybe a slightly lazy Hyundai dealer)." Ah well, you obviously have never owned a Peugeot! :tsktsk:

I concur with all the above. It's just a great car. Petrol consumption was not the main reason I bought the car and for that reason, I pay little attention to it and make the most of the power and gadgets. With this in mind, my petrol consumption is around 28-29 mpg, which I don't think is bad for a car this size and power, but I know is lower than that achieved by others. I must say that it was fun watching the display at first, but I soon got bored with it (I also found it too distracting!) With regards to servicing costs, I would recommend that you sign up to a service plan, as mentionned by Isee. Depending on the age and mileage of the car, and based on the number of miles you cover per year, your dealer will be able to work out how many services you will need to have done, and also the type of services. They will then translate this into a monthly fee. The advantages of this is that you typically save around 15% on the costs of the services (because the dealer knows you will be going back to them for the work), and also it's inflation proof. Services are every 10,000 miles by the way.,