DanD

headache?

Some parts feel younger, some older, and some have fallen off altogether, but overall 49. Only just.

Richard?

My insurance is due for renewal and I have started looking around at various providers. I have been offered £368 (fully comprehensive + protected no claim + courtesy car) from my current (online) provider, which I do not think is a bad deal, following an own fault accident 4 months ago. Do any of you recommend Lexus' own insurance?

Here goes: Autobianchi A112E Autobianchi A112 Abarth Honda Z600 Fiat 127 Sport Mini Renault 5 Turbo Toyota Tercel SW 4WD Toyota Corolla Volvo P1800ES Maserati Biturbo Fiat Uno Turbo Fiat Tipo 1.6 Fiat Tipo 1.9TD Renault Twingo Mitsubushi Space Runner Seat Alhambra (x2) Daewoo Matiz (as second car) Seat Toledo Renault Scenic Peugeot 107 (x3) (as second car) Lexus RX400h

Thank you for this. I will look into it further. In particular because, while the article is interesting in the sense that it higlights common practice within the insurance industry, it does not actually state that said practice is unlawful... unless I have missed something.

Really? - do explain... What if, in the small print of my insurance T&C (which incidentally I have not checked) it does state that I will use their nominated workshops or have to pay £x?...

Jon, assuming you are referring to my comment about having to use the workshop assigned by my insurer... You are correct, I could have used the workshop of my choice, but my insurance would have charged me £350 for doing so.

Check this out... might be of use to you: http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/80238-bulb-failure-alert/?hl=bulb

Ah. I was referring to the auto-lock function. Soz.

The age of the car is pretty much irrelevant I think. What is relevant in this case is when the coating was applied as it should be covered by a one year warranty. You should have received a certificate to that effect at the time the coating was applied. You may find that the paint has not faded, but that the coating was not applied properly. Back in September, I was involved in a small accident. One of the front wings and doors had to be resprayed, and the coating re-applied. This was not done properly and in certain lights it looked like the paint had faded. I complained and the job was re-done... this time successfully. P.S. Note that the repair work was not carried out by Lexus. Had to use the workshop assigned by my insurer.

~You were going to check with your local dealer... As mentionned by Duncan further up, there is another thread on this. Have you checked it? It looks like my previous comment may have been incorrect: not all MKII were fitted with this facility and it could be that it was made standard on cars manufactured later than yours.

Same. Two black keys, one grey, the latter being the "concierge" key

Being the nosey person that I am, I just had to phone my friendly local dealer, Lexus Hedge End (Southampton). standard 70k service..., RX300: £260 all inclusive RX400h: £233.50 all inclusive. Service dept could not explain the difference in cost, but there you go.

Times are hard. Even Lexus dealers are open to negotiating on service and repair costs. Try it.

Actually, this is a good point, confirmed by the fact that the hybrid has two electric motors. One over the front axle, the other over the rear axle. I am sure I remember reading somewhere - it may even be in the owner's manual - that while the front power train can be powered by either the petrol engine or the electric motor... or both, the rear power train is powered by the rear electric motor only. I would still argue that, ultimately, both versions are AWD, although power delivery is different. Another key difference is the gearbox as I do not believe the petrol only version use the CVT gearbox that is in the 400h... but that's another story ;-) This would go towards clarifying Alan's comments above, where he suggested that the RX300

Worth getting sorted: you may encounter a more serious problem and not know about it because the light on your dashboard is already on.

If you only do short journeys, you may be disappointed by the fuel consumption of the RX400h. This is on the basis that the car will not run on battery power only until the petrol engine has reached its normal running temperature. The time it will take to do this will vary considerably depending on the outside temperature and the demands you place on the car (air con, heated seats, heated rear window, lights etc). The car really comes into its own in town and on A/B roads once warmed up. As an indication, my wife tends to use the car on a day to day basis, but only for short trips (less than 5 miles). She achieves betweeen 25 and 26.5 mpg. On a longer run, either of us will get between 27-29 mpg. You will find on this forum that other drivers achieve better figures, but I must say that we do not drive the car to beat records. Given this, you may decide that the hybrid is not for you after all, but you also ought to take road tax, insurance costs and resale value into consideration. This may tip the balance back into the hybrid's favour,. With regards to the battery issues, you will find that they tend to affect cars that have an old(er) battery, and/or cars that have left standing unused for a while. Depending on how the car you want to buy is, you could insist on having the battery replaced.

Actually, I did not know there were 2 versions. If you have the AWD version, the system is not manually switchable and is governed by the electronics. The car will normally be running front wheel drive only to reduce fuel consumption, and the rear wheels will only engage when the car feels that they need to. However, as per previous comments, the car is not designed for the rough.

Do you get any kind of warning or lights on the dashboard?

Seth, can I ask you to comment on the Tahara upholstery? I understand it to be a green alternative to leather, with the benefits of leather but without the nastiness of the vinyl of old. How does it compare to leather in terms of comfort, wear and tear (I know... bit early to say), etc. Does it require any kind of maintenance? Your comments would be welcome - and that of other Advance owners - as I would imagine that Lexus will no doubt consider making available on other models at some stage. I have this article, which is interesting... http://www.thegreencarwebsite.co.uk/blog/index.php/2012/11/12/lexus-introduces-eco-upholstery-in-the-ct-200h/

this is somewhat irrelevant: as I said, the auto lock function deactivates in the event of an accident. You would welcome the "misguided help" should you find yourself in a burning car, as has happened to me. I would much prefer misguided help, than no help at all. Any time.

Surely a mad man is more likely to be outside than inside the car!? At any rate, auto lock function is supposed to dis-engage in the event of an accident.

I would also say that the oblong box you are referring to sounds like after market reversing sensors. As for the switch, I have no idea, but it sound like an addition. You should have two rotary switches for the heated seats (left and right), and to the right of those you should have a switch for the headlight washers. Further along is the cigar lighter. I have attached a pic of my car so that you can see what the standard set up should look like. Could it be a on/off switch for the reversing sensors?

I like the idea of using an interest free credit card a lot.