katabrontes

I hate new cars. I have only had three I'm my lifetime and all were troublesome. My secondhand cars have never been a problem.

Absolutely Malc1. The business case buying a new car doesn't stack up unless someone else is paying for it.

Why not keep what you have? My 2006 RX 350 is still going strong and has been trouble free. A little more petrol but a lot less invested. £60K in a two year fix at 6% would more than cover the extra VED.

Could it all be a hack?

Golf looks like a write off! Some justice in the world!

I suspect it might be linked to an inbuilt data link which Lexus has stopped supporting. My TomTom GO has a built in SIM card which provides free access to TomTom data services (speed cameras, live traffic, petrol prices etc) but the new ones do this via BlueTooth link to your own phone so that they use your data link at no cost to TT. No doubt Lexus is now doing the same.

Good advice Chris.

What's your point John? Mine is that the older TomToms while possibly slightly behind the latest 'technology' (which is probably not noticeable) have several advantages especially for people like me who do not use their phone very much so have PAYG contracts which means that using a phone to feed the live services is pretty expensive in addition to the need for a TT subscription. My GO5200 is certainly better than its predecessor and my much older Garmin "brick" in that rerouting is faster and it has the very useful live traffic and petrol prices accessed free by its own built in SIM. In my opinion the "latest technology" is a definite downgrade.

Get a TomTom. If you can pick up an older GO5200 you get lifetime updates of maps and free lifetime traffic and speed cameras with free updates for both. The newer ones link to your smartphone for traffic and petrol prices so you need a live mobile data link as well as paying an annual fee to TT for the services after the initial free year. It's a great Satnav and sitting on top of the dashboard it's in your eyeline rather than buried at chest level.

I get this from time to time on my 350. I have replaced the levelling sensor which didn't stop it. It seems to be intermittent and it's hard to remember to check if the dipped beams 'swing' with the steering as the light goes off after a while. I just ignore it now.

I might have been thinking about my old Toyota Surf when referring to this manual override to close the sunroof. If so apologies for raising your hopes. However given that both are made by the same company and many (? most) parts are shared between Lexus and Toyota it does seem odd that the same system isn't common to all Toyota/Lexus sunroofs. Clearly failure is inevitable from time to time and an open sunroof is a pretty serious problem.

I think you can close the sunroof with a mechanical crank via a hex socket on the gearbox. As I recall the key is clipped under the cover plate for the mechanism

About 35 hours of labour by the dealer who sold it to me.

If this is the cable that drives the sunroof it is a big job as you will need to remove the whole sunroof to fix this. I assume this is the same problem as I had and the broken cable was caused by the sunroof jamming and the cable getting overstrained until it snapped. My motor had also burnt out so you may need to replace this as well. To remove the sunroof you have to remove the headliner and to do this you need to remove the sides as well. It is a big job and the parts are quite expensive. photo of mine halfway through the job attached. if you can trace the power supply to the sunroof motor and reconnect the multi plug but isolate this ( or just don't press any sunroof buttons) you might find that the seat memory works again.

It sounds like a reset problem if the seats are affected as well. My sunroof failed soon after we bought our 2006 RX350. The motor had burned out and the caused was traced, eventually, to a broken small plastic part which had jammed one side of the mechanism and one of the tapes that move it had broken. It needed the whole assembly to be removed which took about 35 hours of labour. Fortunately covers by the dealers warranty! Does the handbook have anything about resetting. It seems to be a common problem with the windows and tailgate after the battery has been disconnected. Maybe worth trying to disconnect the small service battery and then reset everything according to the handbook.

Not sure as I couldn't read the codes. It was all done by Lexus agent in Bordeaux.

Rather like what happened to me in France a few years ago. After a few failed attempts it was tracked down to one faulty coil on a plug by Lexus Bordeaux. I was rather surprised that their diagnostic system couldn't pinpoint the fault to the actual faulty component.

Hi Ezzie interstingto hear about your Saabs. I had quite a few Up to 2002 when I sold my 900 turbo (1989). I kept it long after it cost more to maintain than it was worth as I loved it. It had to go after we kept catching the exhaust on bumps in the road after a trip toFrance when we had loaded it with a lot of wine. I changed it for a big Toyota 4x4 and that one went when the AC condenser went and it would have cost £1K to have a new one made. Then moved up to Lexus RX350 and love it. I will keep it until it breaks or HMG makes everything illegal.

I had a compressor fail on my Saab 900 about 25 years ago. It was an expensive replacement (about £850 as I recall). Because the blades had broken up and jammed the compressor there was a lot of debris in the A/C system which had to be flushed and the filter changed as well. As yours still works it might be possible to have the compressor rebuilt but the system will still need to be flushed etc. As this will be needed for the condenser anyway it would be wise to replace the compressor at the same time.

Having done a quick Google search it looks as if the sensors are now pretty cheap. Probably worth replacing it anyway while you do the linkage which will make sure you don't get any more problems later.

As long as the sensor assembly is fine there is very little load on the linkage. Make sure you check that the sensor arm moves very freely. If it doesn't you will have to replace it. Take care with the securing bolts, they will certainly be corroded so give a good dose of penetrating oil before you try to undo them.

If the link has broken it's probably because the attached sensor has jammed. This happened to me and I replaced the link and the sensor quite easily (in 2018). I found the parts on eBay but I had to get the sensor from USA (cost about £80). I think the only option from Toyota or Lexus is the whole assembly which I recall cost £300+. if you Jack up the car and take off the offside rear wheel it makes it much easier to access the parts. I would also pack the connector to the levelling sensor with silicone grease to prevent corrosion. The sensor is a simple potentiometer and I believe the newer versions have much better sealing against water ingress than the original.

I am puzzled by the references to dazzle et with LED bulbs. My RX has twin headlights, one with original HID bulbs is the low beam and the other which was originally filament bulb is the main beam. When the lights are dipped this one is off. I can understand complaints about dazzle from drivers who are both inconsiderate and presumably illegal in their behaviour and fail to dip their lights when approaching vehicles get within, say, 3-400M and ditto is following close behind other cars. If proper, and presumably legal, practice is followed then no oncoming cars would be dazzled.

I have seen several posts about this and most suggest it's a scam an either achieves nothing or is detrimental. I think the US Toyota specialist Utube has something on it (? The car nut)

This is interesting. I note that on the box it did state that the LED bulbs were 'for off road use only'. My RX has passed its MoT regularly ever since I upgraded to the HID conversion and recently since I changed this to the LEDs. Evidently there is some flexibility in the way testers interpret this.