Vicmeldrew

I have a Se L model and it certainly doesn't have air suspension. Hope you get sorted soon.

I asked about shock absorbers at the trade motor parts dealer I use this am while buying timing belt kit for my Rx400h. Left and right are available for trade, £96 each inc. vat. I believe they are KYB make. This might be of interest to any one in need.

This would make total cost approx £407 for the two complete units. Would be interested to know how things turn out if you proceed with purchase. May need to do mine in the future!

My understanding of import duty is (cost of shocks+shipping/insurance) x 4.5% vat payable would be (cost of shocks +shipping/insurance + import duty) x 20% Any idea of shipping/insurance cost for these shocks?

Have a read through http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/87267-water-ingress-rx400h-2006/ further down the page. There are a lot cases of water in boot and numerous solutions to the problem. I eventually stopped water in my boot but it took a lot of work and I'm not sure where it was actually getting in but it's still dry thankfully.

I remember that thread - didn't you virtually take the car apart to fix it? I'll look it up and check mine...thanks. Pretty much. Everything I did is posted in the thread you found. It is still dry, I do check it after periods of heavy or prolonged rain. Hope you can find your leak and post any useful information.

. I had loads of moisture on my windscreen after rain. It turned out to be water in the boot well. There's a thread from last year, if you look for something like "water ingress" you should find it. I'm not saying you have same problem but it solved my condensation problem.

I'm hopeful that I may have cured my water leaks. I sealed under the tailgate rubber seal and around the tailgate hinge brackets that attach to body. Water still came into boot at the same place as before. Did water testing from the bumper upwards and found that water only found in boot when I ran water on roof around the rear roof bar bracket, I removed the bracket, cleaned the whole area up, put some sealant under bracket, gasket, bolts and on the bodywork seam along side the bracket. It was impossible to be certain that this seam was intact , it looked a bit dubious in a couple of places, thats why I sealed it. Re assembled roof bar and done 2 water tests since and NO WATER in the boot.......................................at the moment! I am hopeful that this might be my answer to my problem. Time and rain will tell. This info may be of some help to anyone still struggling with this problem.

I removed the bumper today and sealed anywhere I thought water might be getting in, seams and grommets and refitted. Also removed and sealed the gas strut brackets on the body, nothing wrong with them though. Removed and sealed the 3 rubber grommets on the body that supply electric to tailgate. Did a water test expecting boot to be dry, but no! Water again appearing in the same place of the boot. Pulled the tailgate rubber seal off the body and it was wet underneath where the boot/body seams meet. It looks as though someone has previously put a sealant of some sort on this seam, its only spot welded in a few places so water could possibly pass through the seam. Why water is on the seam under the rubber seal I’m not sure, it could be when water runs off roof it could get under the rubber and capillary action keeps drawing it up and then it runs down to boot. I don't know. I’m going to clean and dry the seam and rubber when I get something suitable to try and seal it with, I’ve run out of sealer today. Vic

Vic Take a close look at the seam under the bumper once you remove it, you wont miss it. It only takes a pin prick hole for water to find its way in. i spent a lot of time pouring water over certain areas to treble check, being methodical and working from bottom to top. As you can see by the pics i used tape to go over the holes etc to eliminate them, also rather than a hose, fill a watering can or bottle and pour this seemed more effective in locating the leak. Good luck and hope you find something, please let us know spurty, I'm itching to get on and solve this now. Thanks for tips. Will certainly let you know when I've done it.

Hi spurty, Thought I'd give the car a wash this morning, just a usual wet over with hose and washed and rinsed. Just like magic water appeared running onto the boot again! I am planning to take the bumper off, waiting for friend who offered another pair of hands. Shud be this weekend but I can't pin him down to day/time. Your pics and description are very helpful, I dislike pulling plastic trim about too much in cold weather so its good that temp has warmed up and sun pokes thro to warm it a little. I'm really hoping you are not going to see anymore water in boot and that mine will also be dry after I seal everything that can be sealed. Did you find a particular seam/area that you'd think was the leak?

Hi vrodman, Many thanks for that link, looks to be very useful. vic

Removing the bumper isn't too bad, some clips with screws in the middle which you can see when you open the tailgate, some black plastic clips underneath, but the pain ones are there are some hidden screws under the rear '***** shield' located under the rear wheel arch. to get at these you have to do a bit of man handling of the shield and bumper. The bumper is held on by a couple of brackets which help locate the bumper into the correct place, don't forget to disconnect your rear fog lamps though! Hi spurty, Thanks for that info, I may have to wait until weekend for help so that I don't damage the paintwork. The diagram you've posted looks extremely useful but it is so small I can't really see it very well. I'm on a mac using safari browser. Any idea on how I can view this in larger format or is it available to download? By the way, I cannot work out what '*****shield' is, can you enlighten me with the letters and I can perhaps rearrange them to a word I'm familiar with?

Sprayed about 10 gallons of water over rear of car at roof level today and checked inside and found 3 very small drips on one side. Could have dropped in when I opened tailgate but seem to be in one of the original drip lines. Tried more water over but not seen anymore drips. Looks hopeful but a period of rain will be the best test. ( Not looking like any this week! ) To recap, I've put silicone on seams above tailgate brackets, siliconed plastic plugs and screws behind plastic trim alongside the light clusters on the body, not the tailgate. Gaskets looked good on these so put them back without silicone, might order some new ones to be safe. I'm wondering if there may be a small leak somewhere behind bumper. Anyone found anything there and whats involved in removing bumper?

Hi Vic, I can see your point. I had a previous IS200 for 5 years and that was absolutely rock solid and what led me to maintain my loyalty to the brand. This episode has shaken my confidence and I'm watching further developments with interest. My (fixed?) car should be back this week. Hi Paul, I know what you mean about brand loyalty, I left several happy years of Audi and Toyota to treat myself to the Lexus. However my dissatisfaction with this problem and to a lesser extent the auxiliary battery has made me disappointed. Hope your car is returned soon and the problem solved. I did phone Lexus dealer to enquire about TSB or their experience of this problem but they didn't admit to knowing anything about it. Vic

I think I was a bit hasty in stating water was still coming in, I think it was perhaps just the last residue of earlier test. I tried water over clusters again this pm and nothing appears in car! I have siliconed the seams just above strut brackets as shown in pics from Spurty. Have had a few gallons over each side just above these seams and the inside of the car is still dry........................at the moment. When time permits I'll try water on roof and see what happens when this runs down as it would when raining. There are some grommets along the top which look Ok but can't see the roof side of them to be sure. I have not found anything I would say was the problem definitely , but for peace of mind when I had the plastic trim off alongside the light cluster, I removed 3 of the plastic clips, cleaned and dried with airline and put silicone on and around when I put them back. The rectangular plastic clip didn't want to come out easily so I teased it away from body and cleaned/dried in situ and managed to get silicone under edges. I think they are suspect for leaking. This is my first Lexus and this problem has knocked my confidence in its build quality considering the price of them. If I'm honest as a result of this I don't think I'd buy another one. Seems that a lot of these are suffering water ingress and Lexus only want to know about solving it if I book it in and pay their hourly rate while they look for a leak and fix it.

Gently spraying water on light cluster and just above, water is appearing in boot from 1 of the 3 stained marks in boot well. Removed light cluster and plastic trim alongside, cleaned plastic, bodywork and clips, put silicone around all these, reassembled, gently sprayed water over same area and still water coming in. Cluster gasket appears to be dry and not the cause of leak. I'm wondering if leak is lower down around the bumper, will have to get my head around its removal and see what if anything is visible there.

I agree duct tape is not up to much for this but thought bit might just stop or reduce any ingress temporarily. Wrong! I gently sprayed water from hose over rear of car and water appeared in boot well almost immediately. It is possible that the water is leaking in elsewhere as the tape is well stuck and i don't think its letting much through, if anything. Will try again tomorrow, starting from low level near light cluster and working up to roof and try and see when water appears. Presume it could be roof seam or roof rail drains?

I have followed this topic with interest, never once thinking I had a problem. Looking back I now realise I had more condensation on screen than was reasonable. Took the plastic boot well apart as per the brilliant photos and low and behold pools of water each side, brown stains just as photos show. Have checked the seams above strut mountings and they look as though they may have 'pin hole' cracks in them, inconclusive. I don't have any suitable sealant to hand so have cleaned and dried the join and put duck tape over as a temporary measure. Will see what happens when it rains again. Might put hose over if we are now into a dry spell! Removed one light cluster to see if that was leaking but its not looking as though thats a problem, although it was wet on outside edge of gasket. Thanks for all the info on this subject, will post an update later.

Thanks for that, had a look on website and emailed for price. It is the same model as the one advertised by Towsure who claim to fit on site for £299. Not sure if I want to proceed with this idea now because its another drain (albeit a small one I would hope) on the small battery which isn't satisfactory anyway.

Not seen it yet and I've been looking on few occasions, seen digital radio , accessories etc but nothing to do with cat converters. Do you know which company the link led to.

Yes, it wouldn't be so bad if it had something relevant to my question, unless I'm missing something.

Its an idea but not the route I want to take, I foresee too many problems with that and I don't have a problem with the standard alarm. thanks for your reply though.

My neighbour had the catalytic converter stolen off his Kia Sportage during the night. I know there are a few alarm systems around for cat. converters on the market. Does anyone have any experience of fitting one to RX400 and feel able to offer any advice/ recommendations on makes and installers around the Suffolk/Essex border? I dread to think what the cost of a replacement system would be.

I agree, my reversing lights do not light up my drive sufficiently, I usually open the door and peer into the gloom to see where I'm reversing.