fogey

I have only noticed misfiring on start up of my 400h once in all the 7 years I have owned it. It soon disappeared and ran smoothly on idling before I even drove away. It sounded to me as if the mixture was too rich. I would have thought that misfiring over any extended time would soon start to poison the cat, so rather than being good it would be very bad indeed. This is the main risk if you miss the 60k plug change, you may end up with a very expensive bill for a new cat of course ! As the plug wear is more related to mileage, then it may not be so risky to miss the 6 year plug change if you do very low mileage. Unfortunately you cannot use that logic for the rather costly10 year cam belt change, unless you have enough cash reserve to buy a new engine !

I remember trying this out some time ago when I was looking at a used NX, they seem to be quite rare on the used market. I found it helped me climbing aboard, by first stepping onto it (with my right foot I think) before stepping into the car, but when I tried to exit the the car I remember it was difficult to see the step from the driver's seat and so I got down in one (rather large single jump) step from the car to the ground, thus avoiding this aid. So is there an easy way that you can step onto this, when leaving the car, to make the descent easier, instead of more difficult, ( as I found it tended to get in the way )? On my 400h I use the spare memory seat position to set the seat in the lowest position and further back too, so I have the easiest entry and exit route. The second seat position is optimised for my driving of course so I select this once aboard. When I want to leave, I select the lower position and then it is also optimised for my next entry. When I remove the ignition key, the steering wheel also retracts automatically too of course, thus making it even easier for getting in and out. I have had sciatica twice now and then I find it far easier to get into an SUV, so I would always choose this body style now of course. It is always in my left leg, so I think it would have been very difficult to operate a clutch with a manual gearbox !

This would explain hcimc's dilemma in trying to understand the label on his car and what is in his handbook. It might also explain why my car came back with 36psi, even though the Rx400h handbook states 32psi for the 18inch wheels, which are standard throughout the whole Rx400h range ... So potentially an area for much confusion. ...even within Lexus it seems. So the question now is what is the actual pressure now in his 19inch wheels ? If he has measured 36psi then that will go a long way to explaining his ride difficulties and Lexus have supplied his car with the wrong tyre pressures ! And it seems if he opted to change his wheels to 18inch and then set them to 36psi he would gain little ride improvement, based on my experience with such an arrangement. So the ride in the 450h is always going to be worse than the 400h, either due to the larger wheels or the 18inch wheels running at 36psi. It seems that the Rx450h has been set up for a bias towards improved handling rather than optimum ride comfort and this goes a long way to explaining some reviews complaining of an unsettled ride, particularly around town, where the road surface is typically worse and the car always has to be driven slower. Such road imperfections would not be so noticeable at higher speed of course. Perhaps this is even more so for the F-sport variant as I would guess the car suspension there is even more biassed towards better handling.

Yes there is a lot of clever psychology at work here. In the past, the grille at the front of the car was used to define the status of the car, so something as mundane as a BL Allegro could be upgraded to a Vanden Plas by swapping the front grille and then doing little else! Some marques such as BMW and Alfa Romeo have already done this for a very long time, but Lexus have just relied on their special L symbol and managed to increase their market share based on their reputation for producing very reliable and high quality cars. The spindle grille is a new way of increasing their market share by creating a new brand image, essentially by using a new funky huge grille that dominates the front of the car. This caused a very strong reaction at first and so gave Lexus a lot of "free advertising" In the comments columns below the press reports many existing Lexus owners expressed strong disapproval and several commentators remarked that Lexus might end up "falling between two stools", meaning that they would not attract sufficient new buyers to replace those that they might lost due to such an outrageous "face" at the front of the car. It seems that this has yet to happen of course ! However at the moment there appear to be some sort of contest going on to see who can produce the most funky new car design, so Lexus are already into this game before it really took off, and in doing so they are already "ahead of the curve" The influence of the media can eventually be so strong that it effectively tells people what to think. Lexus are depending on this, using their persistence of propagating their new image throughout the whole range. So after a while it becomes accepted as the norm, especially when everyone else is in the same game. This is what good marketing is all about of course.

When I collected my Rx400h from the last service I had a very bumpy ride home so I checked the tyres and found them all at 36psi. My handbook states 32psi for normal driving and this is where I usually run them. I can get an even better ride at 30psi but then fuel consumption starts to suffer. So if your tyres are up at 36psi too then I am sure you might find most of your problems disappear if you drop them to 32psi. It's strange that your car sticker and hand book both give 36psi .... as strange as I found mine there at the last service. I too was looking for those Michelins when replacing my tyres, but couldn't find any at a competitive price, so I kept with the Dunlop Sports, as I needed new tyres rather quickly for the pending MoT. From the date code it seems my tyres were still the original fit (as at 2008, so 7 years old) and although they were not down to the wear markers they were rather perished with small cracks appearing within the tread. I don't find the tyre noise intrusive at all and it certainly doesn't spoil the very quiet ride I enjoy when driving the car. So as always its a matter pf personal preference. If you still want to know what 18 inch wheels feel like on the base model, I guess you might need to search for a used one, I think its the SE for your 2011 model year and I think there must a few around, its just a matter of finding one. I am sure Lexus would let you do this, if only for your peace of mind, otherwise try another trader or even a private seller as they are usually very obliging.

I remember someone commenting on his first drive in the Rx450h that Lexus had ... "ruined the ride" ... so that he could feel ... "every ridge and bump in the road" ...(presumably compared with his Rx400h). Certainly the reviews on the Rx 450h frequently complain about the unsettled ride, whereas on the 400h these criticisms are notably absent. One reviewer commented that the top model 450h with 19 inch wheels and air suspension gave a worse ride than the base model with standard suspension and 18 inch wheels. I guess you could look for a base model with 18 inch wheels and then ask to drive it, to see how it felt to you, before committing yourself to smaller wheels. I also remember someone experimenting with tyres pressures too, saying that the optimum ride was very dependent on this. So I guess that was also someone else who was in the same position as you are now. Certainly experimenting with tyre pressures is the easiest thing to try first. With the 2011 model I think you will still have the traditional tyre valves too, so you will not have to play around with that pesky Tyre Pressure Monitoring System which would complain if it thought the tyre pressures were too low. So what you are saying is in line with everything I have read so far and it always seems that 18 inch wheels are indeed the way to go for maximum ride comfort. It seems to me that there is no advantage at all fitting larger wheels to the Rx, except perhaps from the perceived cosmetic angle. The Rx is aimed at people who prefer a smooth, quiet ride and an effortless driving experience. Cars fitted with larger wheels and low profile tyres are more suited to drivers who wish to spend a lot of effort driving along twisty country roads to see how fast they can go before they end up in the ditch. Such ludicrous driving is more suited to the younger generations and like you, I definitely do not belong there. So you think very much as I do and support my inclination to remain with my older Rx400h rather than "upgrade" to the Rx450h. Please let me know if you do find a way to make your Rx450h ride as well as your last Rx400h as I might follow you there some day, although I do have other reservations about the Rx450h which I would also need to address.

Yes these recent posts all have a sense of deja vu about them ! The problem with the 400h battery was that it did not have the 45Ah capacity that was specified for it. It is rather difficult to measure, but you can quickly produce an estimate by seeing how quickly it discharges to a specific voltage with a given load. With the intelligent charger, a constant current is used, so if you know this current you can then time how long it takes to fully charge back again, when an LED indication is shown on the charger. I used both methods and got close agreement in the result. My "new" replacement battery was around 15Ah ... just one third of the specified value ! These batteries are designed to have a very low self discharge, so it is not likely to be due to a long shelf storage prior to shipment. It is impossible to reject them back on the supplier as there would endless arguments about how this capacity test is performed of course. But it is difficult for me to see how my estimate could be so far out and as it also provides a credible explanation as to why there were so many problems with the 400h 12v auxiliary batteries, I sense that my result may not be that far out. I guess Lexus had designed the 400h on the basis of the specified value being correct. It's a pity that they didn't do more real time tests on the actual performance of the batteries on the real market! Perhaps the batteries they were "given" for their development tests were not representative of those that were supplied much later, in the production run ! I expect the true story will never surface of course. There are a lot of suspicious activities in the motor trade, as the recent scandal with VW emissions tests has revealed. Of course it is all a matter of saving as much money as possible, all at the expense of the end user, who never receives what is promised, because every effort is used to conceal the truth. But now it seems VW are going to have to pay for their deception and that is going to cost them billions ! I think the Bosch 45Ah battery is much better from the reports of users fitting this, but apparently Lexus were not prepared to do this as they may have a fixed contract with their own suppliers. It is not surprising that many 400h owners have chosen to fit their own Bosch batteries when their existing batteries expire yet again ! So the question now of course is what is the real capacity of the 450h batteries ? It is specified as 60Ah, so it might actually be 20Ah with a little luck ! Well even that is 33% more than the 400h battery ! So of course the answer is that you always have to manage what you are given.

Low batteries seem to be a frequent source of problems, so you really need a very cheap but effective way of testing them. When you first open/close the car doors or open/close the bonnet all sorts of things are going on for up to several minutes later.. So if you check the battery voltage or current it will be all over the place ! To get an accurate battery voltage reading you need to measure it at least one hour after everything has settled. This means opening the drivers door and releasing the bonnet so you can lift it from the safety catch. (No need to fully open it until you need to access the battery check terminals). On the 400h this is easily done once the battery cover is removed. I understand there is a battery check point on the 450h, where you can connect an external charger without going directly to the battery terminals in the boot. So then, having released the bonnet, make sure all the doors are closed and nothing in the car is switched on ... and wait for at least one hour before fully opening the bonnet to access the battery check terminals. In this way I have measured an eventual standing current of around 20mA on my Rx 400h. At this load level, the open circuit voltage of the battery will be almost the same as the voltage measured with the car left in the above state for one hour. As a useful approximation, the battery is around 25% discharged when the voltage reads 12.40 volts and even at this level it may start to lose capacity due to sulphation, if left in this state for any length of time. At 12.20 volts it is around 50% discharged and poses a significant risk of problems arising in the near future, unless it is quickly recharged. A suitable multimeter for this is available from Maplin for under £10. Using this simple check regularly, I have kept the new replacement 12v battery for my 400h in a good state for over 4 years now. I do not use the car much in the winter so I connect the car battery to an intelligent charger every week the car is unused. Whilst this is connected it keeps the battery voltage above 12.80 volts, once it is fully charged. Hope this helps.

I first became aware of this recall in October 2013, when I had my car serviced by Toyota and they flagged it up . This was probably because their dealership ( Motorline ) also sold Lexus at other locations, and this is the dealership where I originally bought my car, around 5 years ago now. So it seems they share records with Toyota in this instance. Nice eh ? I got the official Lexus recall letter the following month and had the work done in late December 2013. I had to wait for that as there were quite a lot to do, according to Lexus. Even so it was reasonably quick eh ? The work is done free of charge, but as it takes 4 to 5 hours, a free courtesy car is offered, so I took advantage of this and just had to pay for the petrol I used. The work involves removing the inverter and replacing some parts within it, as apparently there were a number that had failed due to bad soldered connections. It is quite possible that many that were recalled would never had failed anyway, but as it is a very expensive part to replace, Lexus were very kindly recalling any that they thought might be at risk and identifying these from their build records. Really good PR job then eh ? I believe this was not a safety issue, so it is not listed on the DVLA recall records. As I understand it, the car is put into a limp mode, so you can still continue to drive it, but I guess you would have a problem restarting it, as the traction battery and inverter are used for this. So it is certainly not a fault that you can fail to recognise. It's remotely possible there are a few cars out there where the recall work has been missed, especially if the official letter did not find its way to the latest owner and the car was not serviced by Lexus after October 2013, when they would have automatically flagged it up. So, as stated previously, contact Lexus as they should be able to check if you car has been done and sort this out for you for free, if it has been missed. I am pretty sure your car would have been done, but to put your mind at rest it is best to check eh ? Hope this makes you feel a lot better now as that inverter is really expensive to replace !

Well I suppose I really belong on the Rx forum, as all I own is the 2008 Rx and I am not lucky enough to own more than one Lexus. I spent a lot of time there, as a visitor, before buying my 2008 Rx and have only just returned there in earnest today, as I see you now already know eh ? But I have been spending nearly all my forum time here recently, just browsing the Nx posts, as I am still not ruling one out entirely ... that's why I am here asking awkward questions about the clock and the "front bumper" as these are things I don't like at all, so I need to talk around them to see if people can change my perspective ! I also have other issues, but have not raised specific questions about them here yet. As I have spent most of my motoring life in the last century, my perspective is strongly influenced by this. I think most people here are younger than me, and for some, by one or two generations, so they do not always understand what I am talking about, as I have already seen some replies of ..." ??" .... and so they may just think I am making a fuss about nothing eh ? But I expect that and that's why I am " fogey" and it's not a problem here for me. Aha yes, I think the first "spindle grill intrusion" into the "proper Rx bumper" started with the later 2012 model ? ... which I guess is the one you have eh ? So when I talk about the Spindle Grill Image, I am really thinking about the new Nx and Rx, where this now seems to dominate the entire front of the car. I believe you do not yet own either of these at the moment, but I sense you may have reservations about them for reasons other than that massive grill eh ? I call it an image as I believe it is a new way in which Lexus hope new ( younger) potential customers will see their latest cars, and so change the earlier perspective which mainly attracted the older generations, such as myself. My view on this of course is just my own personal opinion on this particular thread and obviously people who may have already bought into this will not agree with me here. On the matter of the insurance, I always opt for the lowest cost option, as my last claim was well over 20 years ago now and now I can't even remember what it was for ! Great situation to be in eh ? , so I will be looking to see if my next car has any weak spots where I might be forced to claim due to other people hitting it, perhaps when I am not even there. Let's hope we do not invite the wrath of the moderators here by going too far off topic. Sometimes it's the only way to make progress here, isn't it eh ?

Mine is just coming up to 8 years old and I've owned it for the last 5 years. I don't use it much in the winter, so it's still only 50,000 miles on the clock. Nice eh ? Only things needing money so far are a new set of tyres, a pair of front windscreen wipers, a new 12v battery (which has lasted 4 years so far) and a new fuse for the 12v power outlets. I found those outlets were not working soon after I bought it and as I had never used them, the fuse had obviously gone when I bought it. I got it changed when I had the inverter recall work done. Lexus had the cheek to charge me 10p for the fuse, although they fitted it for free and that's when they fitted the wipers free for me too, so just paid for the parts. Great service eh ? Still drives as well as it did 5 years ago, very fast, very quiet and exceptionally comfortable in the driver's seat. Nice eh ? No problems with the brakes at all and the pads seem to last forever as the regenerative brakes do nearly all the work. No problems with water ingress either. Very reliable as long as you look after the 12v battery, so in the winter I regularly connect it to an intelligent charger ( around £15 from lidl, when they are in stock). The front door opening switch sensor contacts can sometimes fail to close properly if you don't use them frequently, so the car will automatically lock again 1 minute after you have unlocked the front doors ! Take care never to leave the keys inside, unless the key is already in the steering lock ! ( doesn't need to be switched on, as the car knows you are inside via the automatic steering wheel retraction facility). You can clear this problem just by pressing the switch buttons a few times to mechanically clean the contacts. If you are spending a very long time with the car doors open, perhaps when loading or unloading the car, it is best to leave the ignition switch on, (ready light shows on the dash) as the internal lights may eventually discharge the 12 v battery. Similarly if you are using the radio/CD/ tape player,. When the ready light is on, the traction battery will always keep the 12v battery charged and if the traction battery gets low, the engine will start and charge the traction battery. Still not found anything better from my point of view and plan on keeping it for a few more years. Would easily recommend someone to buy used, especially when they are such good value now. There are usually a few used ones around at under 60,000 miles if you go for the later ones (late 2008, early 2009).

That's good to know eh ? My wonderfully quiet and comfortable Rx 400h is already approaching 8 years old and I am planning on keeping it for a few more years. Nice eh ? Lexus haven't yet lured me into the new Spindle Grill Image they are promoting to try and entice younger drivers into the brand. I am thinking of creating a new post on the Rx forum as to why I am thinking this way at the moment, so Lexus won't be seeing any more of my cash for some time yet !. From what I have seen about your comments here, I suspect you may be thinking the same way at the moment eh ? Bad new for them eh ? I hate paying for Car Insurance and as I always buy used now, I opt for the maximum voluntary excess on top of the compulsory excess to get the lowest quote. Protected NCB is also out too, as I see all insurance money as dead money, being used to subsidise other people's prangs. The bumpers are usually the first things to get hit, sometimes when you are just parked and my luck may well run out soon. In this case it would definitely not be an insurance job, if I could get it fixed so cheaply at my own expense. But I can see why you would not want to go down this route on a nearly new car, with the crack in a much more prominent position, the cracked Nx chrome inlay would probably look even worse on a low cost repair. However if you bought an older used Nx in a few years time you might well prefer to go down the low cost route, or even just leave it. The older a car gets, the less you worry about the dings and scratches that eventually come with age eh ?

Yes Alex has managed to shave around 1.5 secs off the Lexus figures for both the Nx and Rx. Impressive stuff eh ? Some of this can be explained by his trick of forcing the engine to start whilst stationary, prior to the launch, so both the the power of the battery and massive starting torque of the motors is directly solely to the best launch, rather than wasting it all in starting the engine during the launch. Smart idea eh ? He also makes frequent comparisons with the (2015) Rx in the major driving characteristics to help someone decide which is better suited to their needs. I would guess the major driving characteristics are not so different for the latest Rx. In passing, and slightly off topic, he does make mention of the increased Nx driving noise whilst accelerating and climbing mountain grades !! , but does not make a major issue of it. I guess this a subjective consideration of whether you can live with it or not, so you need to try it for yourself, if you can find a suitable location.

Alex Dykes managed to get 7.8 secs in his excellent review ...

Just a £150 repair job then eh ? Well if the insurers could get it bodged it up for that, then get their repairers to mark the cost up a bit, they might even make a profit out of it, as I think the compulsory excess on this new Lexus Nx would probably be more that that ! To do a decent job at that price you need to find someone very special indeed eh ? Someone who works for next to nothing as he enjoys the work so much. Someone who can repair cracked bumpers with a few layers of fibreglass and then paint them up so they look like new eh ? Such a miracle worker would soon be very famous indeed and he would probably be called Edd China

Aha a proper crumple bar eh ? Behind the number plate and the grill eh ? So did this crumple much in this instance I wonder, or is it intended to cope with much more severe direct frontal impacts ? As the damage appears restricted to the drivers side, perhaps the impact was not a direct head on collision, but more angled towards the driver side of the car ? It seems in this case that some of the impact energy was taken by the flexing of the huge spindle grill surround at that side, which then caused it to crack in several places and rack up the repair bill considerably. So yes, I had seen that bar but could not see how it could protect the front of the car from a very expensive repair bill, even in the event of a very minor collision. The main issue here is that it cost 3.5k to repair the Lexus but absolutely nothing for the old Honda. I had read earlier that it was also necessary to feather in the wing with new paint too and I am not sure why that was needed, unless the impact had also damaged the wing in some way ? Only 3.5k eh ? Understandably the insurer was very surprised at the cost of the repair, given the nature of the collision and presumably very relieved to learn that the Honda had suffered no damage at all, as that would have been an additional cost for them, given the cause of the collision. If this happens too often then expect the Nx insurance premiums to creep up further. In any case, it looks essential to pay for NCD protection every year and then change your insurer if you have to claim for this event, in order to contain the follow on costs. So now factor this into the annual running cost of your new Nx eh ? On this matter I don't have NCD protection as I have had no need to claim for well over 20 years now, but even so, my insurer wanted to increase my premium by 25% this year. I found a new alternative quote for less than I was paying for the previous year ! Nice eh ? Aha yes, the Hillman Super Minx, a great car with a nice chrome front bumper eh ? My father had the series VIII with a two tone blue and cream finish ... and later on the Series V. Nice eh ? I had two of the follow on Hunters, the first of which took me over 100k miles.... Another great car with a very strong chrome front bumper. They don't make then like that anymore do they eh ?

So where is it eh ? That front is a rum do isn't it eh ? so not sure why more people here are not talking about it ... Well I have just got some new specs and am now looking to see what is supposed to protect the front of the car from minor impact collisions, which is what the front bumper is intended to do isn't it ? I remember someone here running into the back of an old Honda Civic at around 5 mph and sustaining over 3k of damage. This is the sort of incident that a good bumper design should protect against and it seems the old Civic was able to do this, as it showed no sign of damage at all. Had thought about adding this to that post but it didn't really seem to fit now ... as that post had moved onto different subjects altogether, such as mpg and 200T ! So ... just let me know when I am doing anything wrong with my posting here please should I be linking to that earlier post ? ... but its very easy to find I think ? NX Back from hospital Started by DJP, 18 February ... so here lets see ... its more about front bumpers now eh ? My trusty 1940 Austin 10 had a sturdy bar running across the whole front of the car and it was bolted to the chassis in two places. It was positioned a few inches ahead of the rest of the car and so protected it from minor collisions. Well as the car only had cable operated drum brakes all round it was rather essential you see. It was also chrome plated to give a pleasant appearance, but needed regular polishing to remove surface rust. Come to think of it, nearly all the cars I owned in the last century had front ( and rear ) bumpers like that and they were quite effective at doing what a bumper is supposed to do. ... so really smart thinking in those days eh ? Well except for the Chrysler Alpine, which had a sort of composite material bumper and was a sort of cream colour, so I remember cleaning it with windolene as chrome polish didn't work too well on that. But it was a very effective bumper and you could easily see the paint colour of any other car that had come into contact with it. So why is the Nx not able to do this simple task eh ? Well perhaps the front bumper has morphed into something else eh ? Looking around at other modern cars I find it difficult to see where their front bumpers are too.... So there seems to be something here which has changed ... so here I am thinking of how the full size spare wheel has slowly morphed into a can of fix-a-flat with a shelf life of 5 years... now that's really smart thinking for today eh ? Fortunately Lexus haven't followed the lemmings over the edge of the cliff on that one ... yet ! Now then where are we now eh ? Perhaps someone else knows eh ? Eccles where is the front bumper eh ? "Umm just a minute I got it written down here on a piece of paper ... A nice man wrote it down for me this morning in case anyone asked for it ... Aha It is writted on this piece of paper .... morphed into spindle grill ... " Spindle grill eh ? What is that supposed to be eh ? Well it seems it has changed the front bumper into something as useful as ... .... a 5 year old can of fix-a-flat .... so yet even more smart thinking for today eh ? Update ! .... shame it is not possible to fix this by sticking a properly designed front bumper to the front of the car using sticky pads eh ? ...well some things you can fix easily and some you can't eh ? Always pleased to see lots of useful solutions to problems here

What time is it eh ? Supposed to be a clock here somewhere ... Aha whats this small dial here eh ? Looks like this is supposed to be some sort of decoration with all those ornate markings ! It might be some sort of posh timepiece too eh ? You know .. like them spensive designer watches !!!! Exciting stuff !! I need a closer look !! ... Now wheres me reading glasses eh ? Aha yes now I can see it better ... What times it trying to say eh ? Good job Im not driving eh ? My trusty 1940 Austin 10 had a clock like that !! ... but it had proper numbers and was the same size as the speedo so you could easily read it whilst driving ... Smart thinking in those days eh ? Yes, my wonderful mobile armchair Renault 30TX also had a clock like that too ... but again it was the same size as the speedo. It was all set in a beautiful wooden veneer facia ... Nice eh ? That was was when Renault could really make large cars that were reliable and good to drive ! The later model 30TX replaced that clock with a digital display which was much smaller, but as the hour and minutes were now glowing in a wonderfully clear digital readout it was much easier to quickly read the time whilst driving ... Smart piece of design improvement then eh ? Nowadays digital clocks can be made for next to nothing of course ... So now they are really common and cheap looking eh ? Right !! ... that wont do at all ... especially in a posh brand new state of the art car eh ? Now thats really smart thinking for today eh ? Now then where are we now then eh? ... Lets see if any body else knows... What time is it eccles ? Um just a minute I got it written down here on a piece of paper ... A nice man wrote the time down for me this morning ... Aha ... Its writted .... Back to The Future .... Now whats all that about then eh ?