vrodman

Hi Peter I had my RX400h 60k/6yr full service done by my local Toyota main dealer H.W.Moon and it cost £364.21p - that's everything including new spark plugs - that was 18 months ago. I had it serviced again about six months ago and it was £103.12p - I presume that was a lubrication or intermediate service. No issues to report. I don't know if Moons are your local Toyota dealer but they are very good - I bought a new Hi Ace van off them thirteen years ago and they've looked after it ever since - I think the only repair I've had on it that wouldn't be classed as normal wear and service is a new radiator about four years ago. It's now done 126,000 miles (nothing for a Hi Ace van I know).

Never had any problems with the car not starting when stood unused but I think the longest it has been left is for about 12 days when we were away on holiday, however....... ...... a couple of months ago the wife went to work and parked in the multi storey, as usual, came out from work at 5.30 and got in the car and switched the ignition on (but not all the way to the 'READY' position).... and then decided to phone her mother using the cars bluetooth system - on for about 40 minutes (wtf !) when she had an incoming call from her friend, which she took - on for a further 20 minutes (WTF !). Of course, you guessed it, when the time came....no starty ! By this time it was 6.30pm, the car park closes and is locked at 7.00pm (no exceptions from mr Jobsworth car park attendant) and I only have my Hi Ace van.... which is too tall for the car park ! A quick call to her friend, who has a Ford Ka, saw us dash round to the car park and get the jump leads on and the car started with about five minutes to spare.... phew ! ...if only everything in,life was as reliable as a Ka ! No further problems, car started next day fine but to be on the safe side, a week later I booked it in to my local Toyota dealer and had a genuine Toyota replacement battery fitted - £93 all in. Dan

Hi Chris I use Falcon Workshop Supplies for ss nuts, bolts, washers, screws etc - cheaper than cheap but not sure if they do multipacks of common sizes. They have thousands of items listed so maybe have a search through. I bought the bolts for my roof bar blanking kit rather than buy Lexus ones - about a tenth of the price ! I would think that everything would be metric on a Lexus but I don't know for sure. I'm also renovating my '81 TR7 DHC which has a mix of UNC, UNF and metric and Falcon have been able to supply everything I need. They also have stuff like flanged bolts which manufacturers seem to use. Cheers Dan

Had the same problem with mine over the last couple of months - drivers mirror was only dipping about 20% of what it used to and the passenger about 50%. So, this morning whilst parked on my drive and with the car switched on, I selected reverse and then pressed the adjustment button to maximum downwards position, then back up to maximum upwards position and then back again. I did this a few times with each mirror to run them through the full range of travel to 'exercise' the motors - the result - both mirrors now dipping normally, as they did when I bought the car. I can't say whether the motors were lazy or whether the mirrors just needed adjusting, if that's possible, but it's fixed them.... at least for the moment. Dan

Does my 07 RX400h have a low tyre pressure warning light? I can't see it mentioned in the owners handbook but I just had two new tyres fitted and they didn't change the valves (even though it was specified in the quote) so am wondering if it has anything to do with it.

I always read it as All Wheel Drive... ...also, it always intensely annoys me how dealers have a '4x4' section where you typically find that virtually none of the cars for sale are actually four wheel drive (think Kia Sportage etc, yes, they do an awd but it's a rare beast on the forecourt). Surely 4x4 means four wheels, four of which are driven ? Could the dealers be guilty of misrepresentation ? rant over ! :megaangry:

I agree the grill is hideous and spoils an otherwise great looking car Meh you'll get over it - everybody does lol - the initial reaction will be fun though. Everytime I brought a Lexus to a dinner party, its always about how great it looks - I doubt that'll change. I took an RR Sport for a test drive once. Happened to be the same day I went to a dinner party, my friends didnt even give it a second look. In fact - I was asked where my Lexus was to which I replied "im just test driving the RR Sport for the weekend". It all ended with "you're seriously not going to buy that are you?". Shows what non car folk think of RR and also what they think about Lexus Call me a snob but....I would NEVER go to a dinner party in a Reliant Robin.... !! Dan :)

Dammit.... I feel really boring now ! :D Dan

It's just passed one year since I bought my pristine 08 RX400h and I thought I would just post my figures and experience with the car for anyone who may be considering buying. I needed to change my ageing 3 series BMW and decided I wanted a Lexus RX so I started looking for a late low mileage example in silver. After about six months of checking adverts and dealer stocks of just about every RX for sale in the country I finally found a one family owned private sale with full Lexus history. It was about 120 miles from where I live so when I went to view I took along a means of payment and all arrangements made so that I could buy it there and then and drive it home. It's a RX400h SE-L with wood trim option and is in mint condition, silver with black leather interior and I haggled and got it for £14850. At the time there was nothing in any main dealer in the country of the same year/mileage/spec for under £17k so I took a chance on a private buy and saved £2-3k. I bought it on the 1st Feb 2014 and the first thing I did was to drive to a petrol station and fill up and record the mileage. I claim a portion of my mileage for business use so I keep and record all my petrol receipts. Here are the figures mileage 01/02/2014 37494 mileage 31/01/2015 46986 Total miles driven 9492 - 80% short commuting and town driving - 20% longer distances of 100 miles or more Fuel used 316.48 gallons (1438.75 litres) - supermarket fuel mpg 29.99 (I'm gutted I didn't quite make 30 mpg !) Other costs Bought a rear bumper protector on ebay from Lexus Sheffield - £48.80 Fully comp insurance for me and the missus (both in our fifties with no claims or convictions) - £266.70 Mot - sailed through with no advisories - £45 Road Tax - £255 Decided to remove the roof rails to avoid corrosion issues so a blanking kit from my local Toyota main dealer - £69.68 Full 6yr/60k service including new plugs at my local Toyota main dealer - £364.21 Absolutely love the car and like a customer of mine said, who has one, 'it's like driving everywhere in first class'. No issues at all, nothing has broken or failed - the only exception being the alloy wheels are starting to bubble slightly in one or two places so will need repainting at some point. Dan

Take a look at this Youtube vid - it's for a RX400h but you may pick up some useful tips. The guy who posted it seems like one of those really obsessive types who knows his stuff good luck Dan

Hi Richard I've just had my 60k/6yr full service done yesterday by my local Toyota main dealer and it's cost £364.21p - that's everything including new spark plugs. There were no other non-service items required. It's the first service I've had done on it as I've only owned it since February, all other services were done by Birmingham Lexus for the previous owner. I asked my Toyota dealer about servicing my 08 Lexus RX400h when I first bought it and enquired whether the fact that it's a hybrid made any difference and the service manager said basically it's just a big Prius, so nothing they aren't dealing with on a day to day basis I'm lucky in that my local Toyota main dealer is absolutely first class - I've been using them since I bought my brand new Hi Ace van back in 2003, which has now covered 120k miles and has full service history. Not sure if it's the quality of the van or the quality of the dealer service but in the 11 years and 120k miles that I've owned it, the only non-service repair that I've had on it was a new radiator about three years ago. Dan

You could try here

Anyone got a good method of cleaning the green algae that forms around the edges of the light clusters where water gets trapped between the light fitting and the bodywork ? I've tried to feed the edge of a cleaning cloth between the plastic and the bodywork but the gap is too small and a toothbrush or paint brush won't get in there either. I don't want to take the lights off and thus possibly disturb the seals due to the propensity they have for leaking water in - any ideas ? Dan

There is another possible option.... go bald ! For about the same price as a replacement end cover you could get all four blank plates and brackets and just remove the roof rails altogether. No good of course if you use them but I know that I will never carry anything on my roof so I just took 'em off and stored them. Can't believe how much easier it is to clean the roof and sunroof and it also gets rid of the possible corrosion issue. I also think it looks better but that is just my personal taste, some do.... some don't.....

Yeah, I need to know this too. Is there a way to have it set so that if I drive the car it auto connects to my phone..... and if my wife drives it auto connects to her phone? This of course then begs the question - what happens if we both get in the car with our respective phones? I've had a bit of a try to get my head round it but..... it's only easy if you're twelve years old..... Dan

Maybe exploded parts diagrams would help - you can see them all here.... http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=796613&ukey_make=1082&ukey_model=15677&ukey_category=21743&ukey_trimLevel=19114 .... American spec but I'm sure most of it is the same Dan

The parts are also available from Toyota dealers, same part nos, as they are also used on a model of Toyota (not sure which one). Bet it's loads easier to clean the roof and sunroof glass without the rails on - hmmn...think I'll do mine as I know I'll never use the roof rails ! Dan

I bought my '08 400h on 1st Feb and as soon as I got it home I went to my usual petrol station, made a note of the mileage and filled the tank. Insert petrol nozzle as far as it will fit and hold trigger 'til it stops filling. Remove pump. I've used the same pump, at the same station since then and kept all my receipts ( I claim for business use, so not quite as anal as it seems!) Filled up again in the same way on Saturday and to date I have covered 1014 miles and used 37.8 gallons (171.86 ltrs), full tank to full tank. If my maths don't desert me I reckon that to be 26.82 MPG. That's about 80% urban use, shopping, work, etc and 20% longer trips. On the last fill I did a measured 307 miles and got 26.35 MPG - the trip computer told me I'd got 29.1 MPG and it's seems to have been consistently optimistic by about 3 MPG. All this is assuming the speedo odometer is accurate - which I don't think it is. It feels a lot slower travelling at 30MPH in the RX than it did for the same indicated speed in my 3 series Beemer - so if the speedo is also optimistic then the MPG is even worse. Dan

No, this isn't available on the RX400h..... ...... it does have one very similar..... but not one that says '36.6 MPG' !! :winky: Dan

I'm not that clued up on car brakes but is it the part on here called 'Dust Cover' (pt no 47781/2) http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/showAssembly.aspx?ukey_assembly=776976&ukey_make=1082&ukey_model=15677&modelYear=2005&ukey_category=21744&ukey_trimLevel=19114 These seem to be priced up at $52.98 and I can't see there being such a big difference twixt US and GB prices.... so maybe I got the wrong part Dan

Good to hear BB Hastings Direct are certainly cheap (£233 for me and the missus, fully comp) and they do generally get a good review, however.... it has to be said that about 90% of the reviews aren't worth a carrot as they are from people who have simply purchased their insurance from them but not had any reason to use them, so of course they are going to be good... at taking the premium !! The only reviews worth reading are the ones where people have had cause to use their services (such as yourself). I think, in fairness to HD though, it's important to remember that people are far more likely to report a bad experience than a good one. So, did they respond to your bad review on Reviewcentre? Did it galvanize them into a flurry of activity... or did you still have to haggle like a demon to get anywhere? Dan

Try this for bigger diagrams Vic.... http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/productSearch.aspx?&ukey_make=1082&modelYear=&ukey_model=15677&ukey_trimLevel=19114&ukey_driveline=0&ukey_Category=21743&numResults=50&sortOrder=Relevance&isOnSale=0&isAccessory=0&isPerformance=0&searchTerm= .....you can search any part of the car and click on the diagram with an option to display it full size. It's a US site but I'm sure there will be a lot of common parts... Dan

Any particular type of bikes Dan? I also keep myself busy in the man den, with mainly old XT's and DTR's,Working on a 92 DTR that I've managed to shoehorn a Belgarda 4dl TZR engine into at the minute, all started up just a bit of snagging work to finish. A real mixture Nev - my show winning bike is a '54 jampot Matchless 500 competition replica which I bought as a rusting, crashed and stripped basket case for just £70. Amongst others, I've also restored and exhibited a '77 Suzuki GT750 kettle and a '79 Honda CR250 Elsinore Red Rocket. Currently on my bench and undergoing surgery is a 1980 Harley Ironhead Sportster that had been stored unused for ten years in the corner of a customers garage - he practically begged me to take it away for £500 ;) My current road bike is a Yamaha TDM 900 and I also do a bit of trail riding and the occasional off road competition on my Honda XR250 Unfortunately nothing of any real value, no Broughs or Vincents but great fun to tinker with. I also have in my garage a 1981 Triumph TR7 convertible which I have owned for over thirty years since it was ten months old (can't sell it - too many memories, if you know what I mean ;) ).... and on my drive, my newest acquisition, a mint 2008 RX400h with just 37k on the clock which has every conceivable extra you could want except, I hope, for the rear cargo swimming pool option, like Simon's !! Dan

OK thanks, pictures would be great. I don't know what it is about plastic snap-together parts but I always struggle. Hell, I even have to fight to get the back off my Nokia phone !! Having said that I can handle the spanners when I need to - my passion is classic motorbikes and my restorations have been exhibited many times and have even took best in show.... but plastic parts.... I always end up breaking something ! Dan

Simon can you tell me what the dismantling sequence is to check inside the rear cavity? Where do I start? I managed to find a link to clearer exploded parts diagrams http://www.lexussouthatlantaparts.com/productSearch.aspx?&ukey_make=1082&modelYear=&ukey_model=15677&ukey_trimLevel=19114&ukey_driveline=0&ukey_Category=21743&numResults=50&sortOrder=Relevance&isOnSale=0&isAccessory=0&isPerformance=0&searchTerm= but I'm not sure how it all comes apart cheers Dan