katabrontes

I would press your claim. If this is a crack as opposed to corrosion you can reasonably argue it is a failure of the component and not due to wear and tear. Quite a few specialists will make a bespoke exhaust system in SS which although expensive may be a lot less than the price you quote from Lexus. Alternately in view of the overlap between them have you thought of trying a Toyota exhaust? (not sure if there is a Toyota equivalent but it seems from other postings that there is quite a lot of crossover in parts between Lexus and Toyota as you would expect.)

Very good point Jaspersilus (about the tyres)

HI Messi 51 is getting on a bit but for a good car I would not agree with Mr Roberts (who in my experience is always rather negative in his comments). I am still using a Toyota Surf M registered (1994) which, although scruffy, is mechanically sound and has only let me down once (recently when the batteries gave out). If the RX 300 has been well maintained and has not done more than about 100K I would buy it if it was cheap enough. Expect it to be thirsty and check the structure is sound (? get AA/RAC inspection or knowledgeable friend to look it over if its a private sale). Check when the cam belt/chain was last changed and be prepared to do this if in doubt if its a belt (not sure about this - seems to be a bit controversial on the 300). May be best to avoid the SEL in case you get problems with the air suspension. Bon courage Mike

Mr Roberts claims extensive knowledge which, unfortunately, he seems unwilling to share. I have read all the posts in this thread which cover about five years. A few are well researched and contain useful evidence others seek more information. Perhaps Mr Roberts could, more usefully to members, consolidate the present state of knowledge about battery life in a "sticky" which would be very helpful. I suspect that the changes to the 450 go beyond simply a larger battery. I have addressed this point and do not need to repeat the argument. I feel rather like David Frost in having asked the same question several times and still not been given an answer. Perhaps I will be forgiven for repeating one last time. I do not have any interest in the problems of the RX400 which are historic and irrelevant to me since I would not contemplate buying a hybrid at the moment. The economic justification is too weak. Does the RX350 have the same problem of excessive battery drain found on some (? many) versions of the RX300?

I am sure there is some truth in what you say. I cannot, however, see the point of reviewing 5 years of forum posts into a problem that, it appears, only Lexus could solve by fairly radical recall of all the RX400s which have the problem. Since it clear from some posts that this is not universal it follows that those which are affected are defective and it falls to Lexus to resolve the fault. Unfortunately as it is not a safety issue they seem to have ducked this obligation. In the long term it may not be a good judgement. However, my question was about he RX300 and RX350 and did not involve consideration fo the battery capacity since I understand it is 75AH on these. Several posts have clearly stated that the problem has been found on some RX300s and various suggestions have been made (auto headlights, standby drain of satnav and alarm etc). There may have been faults on some of the RX300s affected, this is not clear from the posts. Lexus agents seem to have persistently failed either to identify faults (on either RX300 or 400) or to deny that there were any. It is a;so clear from several posts that there is a degree of confusion and mixed messages from agents and Lexus themselves about the safety of various solutions that have been proposed (booster batteries, different brands of battery, solar chargers, blocking diodes etc). This is unhelpful to owners and reflects no credit on Lexus who seem to have signally failed to support their products. The problem does not, yet, affect me and may never do so if I decide not to go ahead and buy a 350. It would have been helpful if Mr Roberts had actually answered my question instead of fending it off with an unhelpful smokescreen which would have taken up more time than it was worth. It was a simple question and I hope someone else will be able to give me the answer which should take only a few words.

Not quite accurate Mr Roberts. You will see several posts relating to RX300s where the problem seems to be related either to the Auto headlights function or the alarms. While part of the problem with the RX400 is certainly the small capacity of the battery using a larger one will only improve the available downtime quite modestly (from say 9-10 days to about 2 weeks which is still pretty marginal if you go away and park in an airport car park. It is pretty clear from the threads that the problem is not only the battery capacity but the excessive standby drain caused by the various electronics in the car not being shut down when they are not needed. Hence my question remains pertinent and I would be interested in a more thoughtful and reasoned response.

Does anyone know if the problem of battery drain applies to the RX 350 and RX 450. All the posts seem to for the earlier versions so maybe Lexus has resolved the problem on the newer versions. I cannot believe that Lexus does not know the cause of this problem and their continuing denial and false reassurance certainly does them no credit. I am seriously reconsidering my decision to buy one and I suspect so will many others if they have read this series of posts.

You might try to contact either Sanjay (07795348161) who is selling a Lexus RX350 in Leicester and may know someone reliable or Craig at Braunstone Crossroads Motor Co (0116 239 0347 who sells them. Good luck