Gliderpilot

I thought that when I got my kit but the Westfalia and Lexus part numbers are the same for 09 to 15 as the kits on PF Jones website and the kit fitted with no problem. Lexus is not plug and play both the car I have now and the 400h I had previously where not equipped with a towing socket wiring already in the loom. the 400h was worse as I had to run cables from the battery in the front to the rear and also a connection had to be made above the roof lining in the rear. It was a swine to do.

You'll find the instructions for the dedicated kit here. https://www.pfjones.co.uk/pfjoneswiringkits/19670502PF_Lexus_RX450h_RX350_RX270_12-16_7PIN_PF_Jones_Towbar_Electrics.pdf it may not be of much help.

Hi I've just had one fitted to my 450 and I was advised to get the dedicated kit and when it was fitted I can see why. Yes it cost a bit more but in all it was far easier to fit. the only wire to cut was the one to both rear fog lights as the bypass electronics cuts out the car fog lights when the trailer is fitted. I had the 13 pin unit and the lighting all went through one connector which had a jumper connector to fit between the plug and socket in the car loom. In my opinion the 13 pin connectors a far superior to the old 12N and 12S plugs. I have a paper copy of the instructions for the fitting of the bypass unit which is an all-in-one box which does the lighting bypass, split charging and sound for indicators. Worth the investment I think.

I got a service plan when I got me Lexus a couple of months ago. I got it from a Toyota garage, so I'm paying just over £20 a month for a 3 year service plan which includes a hybrid health check done by Lexus and 3 MOTs. I also got an 18 month warranty thrown in for free.

There's a button on the steering wheel that pages through the centre display to give you fuel consumption etc. If you press and hold it for a few seconds it brings up a separate menu where you can disable easy access partially or fully. See section 6 of the user manual.

I did the replacement on my previous 400h myself after looking into the workshop manual and finding that Lexus say remove the engine and transmission as the very first step. It was not easy and required the engine jacking up once the mounting was loosened and also the subframe dropping to the last few threads on the bolts to get enough clearance to remove the engine mount. Not an easy job.

They are HID lights.

I've noticed that the cutoff of my headlights is a little low so I don't see much ahead on the road. my 400h had a scroll button to adjust the height of the beam. Is there on on the 450h, as the manual doesn't seem to show it being adjustable?

Just done over 2000 miles on a French holiday and found the fuel gauge to be fairly linear from 90% to 10%, it lies at first and doesn't drop quickly from full and the fuel light seems to come on with about 10 litres left in the tank too. I averaged about 35 mpg as well.

After watching this video there is no way I would even think about changing to plugs.

Thanks for the heads up, just ordered one from PF Jones to be fitted at my home with a dedicated 13 pin wiring loom.

Herbs is right, the satnav is not worth putting a newer Lexus unit in if it will fit. the newest Lexus satnav unit you can fit is still useless and maps are very expensive.

by "self levelling" they mean air suspension, if you've got it you will know, there are no springs visible and there is an adjustment switch low down next to the front door. If you have air suspension then good luck getting a towbar as only the Westfalia detachable bar will fit your model,(this is what Lexus fit) and there are none in the country at the moment. I'm trying to get one for mine from PF Jones but due to a merger or something between Witter and Westfalia there are none available.

Just read the article and if it came from Lexus then they need to get their fact right. Quote "Our free* Lexus Hybrid Health Check is designed to do just that, we first analyse the status and condition of your Lexus “traction” battery. This 400 volt pack is the battery that powers your car’s wheels, and is separate to the 12v starter battery that’s used to start the engine." The 12 volt battery is only there to provide power to the 12v auxiliaries and to "start the hybrid system". The engine is started by the hybrid battery via a separate motor generator.

I'd let Lexus or a trusted specialist do it, Lexus do it for a fixed price unless you want to change the water pump and followers at the same time. and then as the strip down is already done you will only pay for the parts and maybe an extra 1/2 hour. The work will also be guaranteed as well.

Try coming up North, around the Tebay area M6 it's a complete dead spot, (DAB & FM)

I think Bluetooth was included on all newer 400hs but it only does phone only and you have to download the address book manually if you can. (phone may not let you, my iPhone wouldn't)

Got Hybrid assistant, also occasionally if I go over a bump while slowing down the regen stops until I re-apply the brakes. Hybrid assistant is good but it's a pain to use as I have to make sure that I unplug the OBD reader or the car lights up like a Christmas tree when I restart it.

What can cause the intermittent regen when braking, I can put my foot lightly on the brake pedal and nothing happens i.e no regen, re-apply the brakes and then get full regen. There are no faults showing on my reader and hybrid assistant says everything is working OK. Any ideas.

Both mine came loos, sounded like a tin of nuts and bolts rattling round the car. Took them off, cleaned them and refitted them with some penny washers. Been OK for the last two years.

I think some earlier 400h cars were fitted with "ordinary" lamps. I can confirm that my beam pattern is flat though.

If your RX has HID headlights then it doesn't need any adjustment or replacement lights as the beam is flat and does not kick up on the left. I'll attache a copy of the Lexus bulletin which is in French and English. Lexus advice re headlights in France - anonymised for distribution (French & English).26-7-2014.pdf

Don't get a 350 get a 400h hybrid, less to go wrong and slightly better fuel economy.

The majority of all driving in the RX400h and 450h is done in front wheel drive only, the rear motor only cuts in when the car thinks it's needed, the rear motor also regenerates to charge the HV battery during braking. There is no centre diff or front to rear prop shaft to bother the difference in wheel speed front to rear. My local garage got bought out so when ~I took mine for its MOT the tester had not come across a hybrid before so as well as trying to test the emissions which he couldn't as you can't rev the engine, he was reluctant to use the brake efficiency rolling road, thinking it would damage the "centre diff".

Don't know where you get your prices from for an XP laptop ones on e-bay are £50 up to £150. I do have two laptops but they don't have serial ports and usb adaptors don't work with XP.