DanD

Tom, I had to call my dealer this morning to book my car in for MOT, so I took the opportunity to ask a couple of questions re your dilemna - no name mentionned of course. What I was told was that the hybrid system is so reliable that Lexus is considering extending the warranty to making it a lifetime warranty. To date, nothing official has been communicated to dealers, but the unofficial expectation is that in the event of a problem with the hybrid system, Lexus UK would pick up the tab. Incidentally, the person I was talking to stated that in the 11 years they have worked for Lexus, they have never come across or heard of a hybrid system failing. Not sure whether this helps in any way... Obviously, I do not know your car, how you treat and maintain it and how much mileage you cover, but the RX400h being such a reliable car you should consider what is likely to go wrong with your car over the next year (based on most common faults and failures), and the likely cost of repair (maybe going to an independent garage), bearing in mind that wear and tear related failures will not be covered by an extended warranty any way. Personally - and I cannot emphasise this enough: this is my own personal view - I would be inclined to put the £1000 in a savings account and keep my fingers crossed. Consider this: a potential fix may cost you £1500. It will cost the warranty company £1500... £1000 of which will be what YOU gave THEM when you took the warranty out. Of course, without this warranty, you will be liable for the whole £1500, but on the other hand you may not experience any problem... and still have £1000 + interest in the bank this time next year. Note that my advice would be different if you were talking about a different brand. (I have just re-read my comments above and I am concerned that they may sound a bit patronising - it is not my intention to be so)

Sorry to hear about this Chris. Good luck with it all. Let us know how you get on.

It might be worth considering taking it to a Lexus dealer just for them to take a quick look at it. They may be able to give you some indication as to what is wrong without charge. Depending on who you are dealing with Lexis dealers can be very accomodating and you may find that your problem is easy and cheap to fix. If it is not, it may be useful to have the information / diagnostic from the Lexus dealer to take to the garage who sold you the car, or to the Trading Standards. If you have a 3 month warranty and only have had the car two weeks, surely things are in your favour. P.S. - The threat of going to Trading Standards or of writing to the specialised press such as Top Gear, What Car, Auto Express etc "for advice" can often lead awkward dealers and garages to reconsider their way of thinking!

Careful! - If you mess up one step, the self destruct sequence will initiate and your cherished Lexus will blow up within 1 minute. Still, you will have the key to remember it by. (Can I have first refusal on your key? - the casing of mine is cracked!)

you do not say whether the car was purchased from a Lexus dealer or how old it is... Any chance the dealer you got it from may be willing to contribute towards the cost?

Why would you want to do this yourself? - Surely the work you have had done is covered by warranty? At worse it should be fixed for free, at best you should get some kind of refund!

Wow... this is some achievement! - I have never managed to get such good MPH, although I have to admit that I am not particularly careful in the way I drive the car. I am in the Southampton area too. I definitely recommend the Hedge End dealership should you need anything doing.

Mine were refurbished by Lexus - twice. I cannot tell you what procedure they followed, however beware: the first time the work was carried out, the wheels looked brand new. However, a few months later I had new tyres fitted and some of the paint/lacquer flaked off in the process. It would appear that, when the wheels were re-lacquered, the work was done with the tyres in situ. This resulted in a "proud edge" to the paint, which caused it to flake off each wheel as the tyres were removed. Lexus agreed to have the work done again at their cost. In short, it is worth double checking that, before the procedure is carried out, the tyres will be either completely deflated, or removed altogether.

If you are thinking of changing, you should take a look at the car reviews on whatcar.com, or the Top Gear.The Antara is apparently pretty poor and is a rebadged Chevrolet Captiva... which was previously a Daewoo. I think that if you want something smaller and cheaper to run, without compromising on quality, refinement and dealership professionalism, you should look at a Honda CRV.

Why not talk to someone at your local Lexus dealership? -

You should be able to play DVDs in the front 6xCD/DVD changer, however for obvious safety reasons, this will only work with the foot brake on, or to be more accurate, unless the foot brake is applied you will get sound but no picture.

I was not aware of that! - Sorry, but I can't help you. Hopefully someone else will pick this up. If not, you might want to try the US site.

I agree with previous comments. You really need to see the cars. Two things you are not telling us is their age and whether they are from Lexus dealerships. You could ask the dealers to send you pictures of the cars, but ultimately you really need to see them to see how well they have been looked after. A car owned by a retired non smoking couple will look very different to one owned by a family of chain smokers with kids and dogs. In particular you will want to know whether the leather has been looked after or is discoloured and cracked, and what the light interior looks like. I was dead set on buying a car with black leather, but at the end much preferred the lighter one when I saw it. A deal clincher you may want to consider: there is a very expensive service at either 90k or 100k (can't remember off hand). You could try and push for this to be done for you as part of the deal.

I am not sure I understand your question. All the RX300/350 I have seen have the same rear light clusters as the RX400h... all of them LED. The only difference I am aware of is at the front, where the fog lamps are of a different shape.

~I always use http://www.wiperblades.co.uk/ and get excellent service. If you are not sure of what you need, give them a call, they always offer good advice.

Seems like a drastic course of action given that you are not sure where the noise is coming from. You may find that the rattle does not come from there, AND that you will have introduced a new one when putting the console back! Any chance you could get someone else to drive the car while you move around from one seat to another trying to find the definitive source of the noise? I have an annoying rattle in mine which I thought came from a front speaker, or an air vent. Took me days to work out that it came from the cowling over the rev counter (still not fixed... not sure what to do). With regards to your comments, it may not have anything to do with the hearing duct, but more with the noise frequency/vibration that changes as the engine warms up. Have you checked: - the cup holders compartment (cup holders themselves and the compartment lid). Does it make any difference if the compartment is closed or open? - the console lid and its open/close switches? Does it make any difference whether the console is closed or open? - there should be a removable plastic insert within the console. Have you checked that there is nothing wedged underneath it like a coin? Have you tried taking it out (it just pulls out) - Is the lighting within the console working (I think there is an orange lilght within the console and a blue one within the cup holders). If it is not, maybe one of the little bulbs has worked itself loose - Have you tried sliding the console back and forth to check that nothing is wedged underneath? Does the rattle increase/decrease depending on the position of the console? CAn't think of anything else...

In the current weather and under these conditions, you will be relying essentially on the petrol engine. The hybrid system will be of little use until the car has reached its normal operating temperature. You should find that the fuel economy is much better on a longer trip.

This is a well documented topic. I suggest that you do a search on battery charger, battery problems, etc...

Agreed, but recent members may be able to contribute their own experience. If no one respond, so be it.

Thought I would revive this old thread since a number of people have joined the club since it was last updated. So... - standard unleaded or super unleaded? Is it worth the extra cost? Does it really make any difference? - Premium brand petrol vs supermarket fuel ? Is it worth the extra cost? Does it really make any difference? I personally consistently use standard unleaded in my 400h from either ASDA or Sainsbury, simply because I have easy access to either. I have never had any problem. I once used super unleaded because my local supplier had run out of the standard fuel and I can't say that I noticed any difference in consumption or performance. Thoughts anyone?

~There are plenty of arguments for the hybrid model... do searches on consumption or running costs. Transition from electric to petrol power is seamless and just about inaudible. The hybrid motor gives additional power. Tax is much lower. Petrol consumption is also much lower but is dependent on a number of variables that are well documented in these pages like outside temperature, motorway vs urban driving, short vs long trips and style of driving. To some extent you have to "re-learn" how to use the throttle to maximise the use of the hybrid system. I have never ever achieved more than 30mpg, but usually manage 27-29mpg. I think it is excellent given the comfort, ride, gadgets, reliability etc, and I don't strive to reach record breaking consumption: I want to enjoy my car! If low consumption had been my priority, I would have gone for a smaller, diesel powered car.

400h coped admirably with the snow in the depths of Hampshire over the weekend, in fact far better than I had expected. I live at the bottom of a hill that was not gritted and had no problem getting to the top. No doubt performance was helped with the fact that I had 4 new tyres fitted (Dunlop SP270) fitted earlier in the week.

...and you have to consider any unknown impact on the multi media system and Sat Nav, and more importantly the usual insurance implications should you be involved in an accident while a DVD is playing.

Yes, mine does this also. I did take it to the dealer and they stated that it does happen with some vehicles and is nothing to worry about. Apparently it is related to the ABS system. They said that if it became too annoying, they would look at rectifying it, but from what I gather it is quite an involved job. It does not bother me, so I've decided to ignore it for now but will be asking them to take another look at the next service... while the car is still under warranty.

There is a number of companies that deal with buying and selling left hand drive vehicles. Although yours is not LHD, they may be able to give you some advice on what you need to do. Try the Left Hand Drive Place in Basingstoke (they bought a LHD drive car from me when I moved back from Germany some years ago), but there are plenty others.