Grey RX

Sounds like not a bad outcome in the end. Well done. I’ll have the excitement of doing this over Christmas.

I’ve always found National Tyre Services have the best deal on Bridgestones for my RX.

Just received a renewal quote on my 2009 RX450H which has increased from £700 to £1000. I know premiums are increasing across the board but that seems a bit steep. Anyone else have any experience with quotes for Ph 3 cars increasing dramatically? I’m wondering if the insurers can’t differentiate between the older, less stealable cars and the later vehicles which seem to be so easy they almost steal themselves. To top it all I had an MoT advisory on replacing the front suspension arms.

On my 2009 RX450H I disabled keyless entry through the steering wheel controls. If you can bear using the key fob buttons to lock and unlock the car then it seemed like the best option to me. You have to hold the key fob right up against the Power button on the dash in order to start the car too. It won't work from your pocket.

Finally tracked down my invoice for this. Sorry for delays but hopefully this will be useful for someone. The error message the dealer uncovered was C1380 Stop light really malfunction. The relay replaced was part number L895A0-30010. The dealer also describes having removed gloves and trims to gain access to the relay. Sad to say my problem has returned. Since I have been getting a lot of misting of the front windscreen and it has been raining a lot more, my suspicion is that there is a leak which is getting onto the relay.

After reading through this thread a few weeks ago I have now experienced failure of the power back door this morning. I'm hoping it is related to the minus 7 temperature but would appreciate any advice on the problem please. Won't open but seems to manage to close partially (enough to hit my head) according to my very quick look before my wife went to work. Thanks Richard

My Ph3 RX450H came with Duelers so have always replaced with them. I've been very happy, no problems, but not really driven much in our current conditions so I can't comment on snow performance.

My RX completely failed to start on Friday as the cold weather hit. It was more or less ok after a recharge but I ordered a new one from Lexus parts direct for £200 including shipping and it should be with me today. Can't take the risk of being stranded and when charging it took hours to go from 40% to 60% charged, and then quickly hit 100%. I think the battery was seriously harmed during the pandemic lockdown in 2020 when it went completely flat and I didn't start the car for several months. Although it has limped on since, I think this weather was the last straw. 13 years old so I can't complain.

I must confess I don't know for sure. It was one behind the glovebox area somewhere. I'll dig out the dealer receipt when I get home and check. I know this is sacrilegious here but I messed around with it myself, tried a couple of local garages all to no avail. My best move was to take it to the dealers where it was fixed in one day.

The top 2 pictures are the lower and centre clips. The bottom picture is the top fastening clip. I think the technique was to slide the top and bottom fixings towards the outside of the car to release and then slide the whole lot up to deal with the 2 centre ones, You have to handle the sticky stuff too of course. Still have some leaks mind, but not nearly as bad. Also think there is a leak at the front since the windscreen is usually very wet on the inside, even when the boot is dry, Can't face investigating that at the moment.

Sorry, just seen your post. The trim panel comes off sideways at the top and bottom fixings (towards the outside of the car) and upwards on the middle two. It's also fixed with sticky tape stuff down the outside edge. I'll add some photographs of the rear of the trim panel since I have never put it back. Ideally I need to replace the white clips but have given up trying to find the part number for them.

Hi, Sorry I didn't see your post sooner. I replaced the brake switch as your mechanic was suggesting but it didn't help. Ended up going to the dealer who diagnosed a faulty relay (an expensive relay). It was replaced and has been fine ever since.

The Autowatch Ghost can be set up to cut the engine after a period of time. Long enough to let the scum get too far away to come back and attempt to persuade you to restart it. We looked into this for an Audi S4 but in the end sold the car. It's probably only beaten by a small explosive device under the driver's seat.

In case it is helpful to anyone else I think I have fixed the water ingress problem. Removing the plastic trim which runs down the back of the C (?) pillar reveals 4 white plastic erm clips that the trim piece clips to. The lowest of these just above the rear bumper was leaking water straight into the boot. I sealed all of the clips just to be sure. The upper clips were actually loose but strangely the lower one wasn’t but it certainly leaked.

Thanks for that info Rod. Sorry to hear it put you off Lexus. I'm trying not to blame the car since I am also trying to fix a similar leak in my son's Astra at the same time. I've stripped out the interior and discovered where the water is eventually appearing inside the car and it's definitely coming in from around the bumper level rather than higher up. I've partially removed the bumper but now my wife has summoned me to go for a walk so will leave until tomorrow. I really hope it's not a seam problem as yours and is just a leaking grommet or something. I've also no idea how long it has been going on since I have never removed the battery in 5 years but when I did recently there was about an inch of water in the battery well. The water seems to seep in very slowly so could have been literally years. I only know of 2 accidents the car has had, both on the rear nearside door - nothing affect the rear wing.

Did you ever get to the bottom of this? I have water definitely coming in the rear left corner (right in the corner) and running down to the battery recess. Tried re-seating the light cluster but it hasn't made any difference. I don't think it is leaking high up in the car but rather low down since running water from the light cluster down results in water appearing inside. Just can't see where from so I'm wondering if I need to remove the bumper next.

Oops. Spoke too soon. Started it again after a few hours - error messages back. Drove around a bit, stopped and started again and messages gone. Think I'll have to get a dealer to take a look - maybe the Toyota dealer less than a mile away can at least check it.

Really appreciate your insight Colin. Tried the car again today before I spoke to the dealer. No error messages. Left running for 10 minutes, went on a ten mile drive. Still nothing so fingers crossed I might well have dodged a bullet. Now I just have to work out where the inch of water in the battery compartment is coming from which I only discovered when charging the battery. Completely dried it out yesterday and some is back today after the rain last night. If anyone is interested this is the part.

There is this. I don't have one though. https://lexuspartsdirect.co.uk/parts/lexus-rx/lexus-rx-phase-iii-2009-2015/lexus-rx-3-engine-service-kits/lexus-rx-phase-3-catalytic-converter-lock/

An update on this plus another question. After two years of no repeat of the problem, returned to the car to find the brake lights permanently on again. I bought a new brake light switch from a nearby Toyota dealer - part no 84340-30110 for £37.00. For anyone looking to do the job then this link was very useful although the partno is wrong. It also skips over removing a black lower dash panel which contains the footwell light and the OBD port. Not at all easy to get to but not impossible. A stubby spanner is a must though. https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-2nd-gen-2004-2009/841199-diy-rx-350-brake-switch-w-pictures.html Having replaced the switch I tried to start the car only to find that the lights had been on long enough to drain the 12V battery so the car threw a fit and multiple errors plus a CEL. I charged the battery (discovering that the battery well had about an inch of water in in the process). Reconnected and all well and good except after 5 mins of driving the Check Brake System and Check ABS messages came up with amber warning lights for both. I don't think the ABS is working either. Brakes have no problem stopping the car though. I'll have to call the dealers tomorrow but wondered if anyone had any thoughts about what the problem might be - ie remortgage expensive. I'm wondering if the warning messages are left over from try to start with a flat battery, I've caused a problem in changing the brake light switch or by some genuine coincidence the braking system (actuator, ABS or something) has actually failed at the same time.

Hi John, Sorry but I realise I wasn't at all clear in my post. I'm not planning on selling the car. I think I'll be keeping it for a long time yet. Both my wife and I love it. I'm pleased with the economy largely I think because our driving is either around town (very busy) or long motorway. Just getting around to wondering whether to change things like the gearbox fluid in an attempt to prolong its life. I had experience of this 'sealed for life' nonsense with a couple of Volvos where other people had boxes self destructing because they believed the manufacturers propaganda. When buying an Audi S4 my son was careful to buy one after the point when they finally accepted that the DSG boxes were not sealed for life (2013) and in fact fell apart without fluid changes. Sorry that turned into a bit of a rant.

After fuel system problems with another car I started using Shell V Power in my RX450H to try to help avoid injector problems. I'm not sure it will make any difference but at least I feel better about it. The car has just passed 100k miles so I will probably be stuck with it until it is scrapped now so want to defer that event as long as possible.

You may already have made up your mind but I thought I would mention that I have a 2010 RX450H which has now done 104k miles. The 100k service wasn't really a huge expense - as already stated but I did need rear pads which pushed the cost up a bit. Also just replaced all 4 tyres. I bought it as a used car from a Lexus dealer about 5 years ago. I had one non-service repair done under the used warranty when the heater fan became very noisy. Other than that no unexpected maintenance costs. it's been a delight and pleasure to own and drive. Average fuel economy around 32mpg over the 5 years. A long run not pushing it can get to 38/39. When the 50mph limit was in place on the M1 around Milton Keynes that did wonders for the economy.

I use these in a couple of cars. Bit too low down for my liking but works well - higher than a CD mount vent. Ideally I'd like my phone stuck to the car's screen really. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Lamicall-Phone-Holder-Universal-Mount/dp/B07GQGX855/ref=sxts_sxwds-bia-wc-p13n1_0?cv_ct_cx=Car+Mount+Air+Vent&dchild=1&keywords=Car+Mount+Air+Vent&pd_rd_i=B07GQGX855&pd_rd_r=5488eb63-03b9-413f-a75d-788257d43951&pd_rd_w=Q74nu&pd_rd_wg=cOEE0&pf_rd_p=2dd2e810-929c-4688-a622-8bf5cd31314f&pf_rd_r=7XWQ5PV72GFCGW5SD8ZV&psc=1&qid=1601993725&sr=1-1-ac3a866f-801f-44fe-9e94-bb9a271cf6b8