Fatts

As depressing as this topic is ; it is strange that Lexus has still not found a permanent solution. Many of you may remember that am one of the unfortunate ones whose beloved 2022 RX was stolen from my driveway on June 15 last year. Almost a year to date. As everyone has commented the police never attended my house and the car was never recovered. Luckily my insurance provider at the time paid out the full settlement but  I have got stung with subsequent insurance renewal as I have to declare a “theft claim “ for the next five years even though the theft wasn’t my fault but the crazy insurance industry will continue to penalise me for the next 4 years. For all that want to know the best quote I got on my current car (BMW) was £1700 for a year with Direct Line. LV my insurer at the time of the theft quoted £3500; and this is me a 59 year old Architect living in Hertfordshire with 15yr NCB.
In conclusion there are many of us Lexus lovers who are suffering in silence because of our love of the brand I personally owned four Lexus RX prior to the stolen one - but may never return to the brand unless they get their acts together on the security vulnerabilities of their cars.

8 hours ago, Sybaris said:

Sorry to hear about your RX.  It is very disappointing that such a design flaw exists IMHO, and that Lexus seem to me to be more worried about admitting liability than protecting their customers.  I guess that is how businesses work.  We are just income to them.

That’s the disappointment, Lexus UK attitude, they’re pretending that the problem doesn’t exist, even the response / email from them when i reported (not that I was expecting them to do anything) was carefully worded and did not mention the word Canbus they just stated they are sorry and that the matter is for my insurance company to sort. 

Just to provide an update to members on this forum from the awful experience of having my beloved car stolen from my driveway. 

• The Police only gave me a crime reference number and today more that a month following the incident no local bobby have thought it fit to drop by. Though i have received the customary text message £soory to learn you have been a victim of Crime"
• Thankfully my insurance company settled my claim in full within 10 days. (not sure if am allowed to name them but they were brilliant
• I have been able to buy a new 23 plate BMW which I have fitted a Ghost 2 Immobiliser and a tracker. (Tessa Certified). My insurance company even kept my policy open for 60 days after the settlement thus I was able to simply notify a change or registration number to get my new car insured
• I have also had to install CCTV on my property to provide added deterrence. (more for my own reassurance rather than insurance requirement)
• I have decided to give the Lexus brand a wide berth for the foreseeable future, sad to say after owing a GS450 h, an NX, and five RX's between 2014 -2023. My dealer from who I have bought my last four RX's tried passionately to persuade me to buy the latest RX but i told him no amount of sweeteners/ dealer contribution would tempt me to stay unless Lexus UK address the the inherent vulnerability of their cars to CAN bus thefts. (They  offered me a whopping £7k discount+dealer contribution  on the new RX450h+ to keep my business but I still declined)
• I have decided to keep my Forum membership going for now but will continue to read the posts that interest me, but am now registered on several BMW forums so would probably keep more active on those.
• Finally I would like to thank all members of this forum who sent me their commiseration & best wishes last month when I reported the incident on the forum, thankfully my story had a happy ending thanks to my brilliant Insurance company.

Am sad to report that my beloved RX was nicked from my driveway last night. I can only suspect Canbus attack as we heard nothing, only woke up this morning to find the car missing. Matter now in the hands of my insurers who have been great thus far.

The car is good but Lexus will find it hard to convince existing owners of the current 3.5V6 engine to switch to a four cylinder that cost more and doesn’t really do anything better than the 4th generation model.

This looks wicked imo 

On 4/6/2023 at 9:10 AM, eric skerritt said:

BrettMRC. The best of both worlds. I'm thinking green.........ah just my envy.

On 4/3/2023 at 7:02 PM, Linas.P said:

Just a name of the tyre - Dunlop used to make SportMaxx RT and later RT2, both are obsolete now, but at the time (~2014-2016) they were my favourite UHP tyres. RT2 itself was basically identical to Goodyear Asymmetric 3, but Goodyear later replaced them with Asymmetric 4, 5 and now there are 6. So by that regard RT2 would be good UHP tyre, but 3 generations old.

Goodyear owns - Dunlop, Sava, Debica, Cooper and few more brands... Specifically Sava UHP 2, Debica Presto UHP 2, Goodyear F1 Asymmetric 2-3 and Dunlop SP Sportmaxx RT-RT2 seems to be nearly identical tyres, with just different names stamped on them and maybe some purely cosmetically differences to the thread pattern. I know for a fact - Sava and Debica makes Dunlop and Goodyear tyres in the same factories, just maybe on different lines. It would be fair to assume that Debica and Sava maybe do not get very best of the best compounds, so despite being launched around the time of say RT2, they maybe lack in performance slightly and are more comparable to RT, but then there was little difference between RT and RT2 anyway. But at the same time they still benefit from latest technology and know how, so maybe they won't beat best premium tyres like Continentals and Michelins, but they are strong mid-range by performance and definitely miles better than budget tyres in terms of safety.

Same can be said about Uniroyal - it is owned by Michelin and will be similar with last gen Michelin Products. So let's say Rainsport 5 I would expect to perform like Pilot Sport 3, and Rainsport 3, like Pilot Sport 2 (there was no Rainsport 4).

Same for Gislaved - owned by Continental. I guess you get the point by now...

Oh... and if it wasn't confusing enough, then Goodyear and Sumitomo has a deal which allows them to use each other brands... so some of Dunlops in Asia are made by Sumitomo, whereas Sumitomo and Falken could be made by Goodyear in US... and Europe from time to time can get tyres from both!

Linas - I applaud the extent of background research you put in your write ups. As much as I am a committed petrolhead, I never knew Goodyear own the Dunlop brand . Keep up the good knowledge share👍

44 minutes ago, Chris UXe said:

Carfile discounts on the 2023 UXe are £4195 to £5059 too. Having had a look at Autotrader, Mercedes are offering a £9000 deposit contribution on 'used' EQC models, including nearly new which are already heavily discounted. I think Lexus will have to discount too given the general price reductions of (some) EV's but could be wrong!   

Exactly all the 2023 Lexus prices seem to have a £15k mark-up and I suspect if they don’t offer significant discounts on their cars , they’ll loose sales to other marquees 

6 hours ago, John Adams said:

For info, I had my first service on the NX 450+ yesterday and spoke to the dealer about test drive and delivery of the RZ. He tells me they don't expect to get a demo car until early May but is still expecting delivery of mine to be in June. He has said I can have the demo car for a day to test what the range will be. I must admit I'm getting slightly impatient now waiting to try one

Don’t know which part of the country you live John but Lexus Ipswich has an RZ demonstrator since the beginning of March 2023. 

On 3/5/2023 at 1:26 PM, Lexnew said:

Hello Jonathan,

Thank you for providing an interesting unbiased review of the new RX450+.I have read several online reviews about the new RX model, most of the reviews seem to  positive. The only negative points seem to be the "buzzy" 4 cylinder engine, overcomplicated electronic door locks, and the fiddly touch sensitive controls mounted on the steering wheel. From what you have said the new RX  seems to be more refined and quieter than the previous model. During your test drive did you find  the 4 cylinder engine as quiet as the old RX 6 cylinder engine? 

I test drove the new 450h+  just over a week ago in Ipswich and surprisingly it was quieter than my current 2022 450h Takumi. They must have put in extra sound deadening stuff on it. The other edge it has is the 40miles range of pure electric driving which is more than enough for my local journeys.

On 2/6/2023 at 6:34 PM, rayaans said:

I think theyve missed a trick not offering the f sport design pack on the 450h+ as that would be the best of both worlds

Totally agree 

I assume you have your Lexus Link account already set up? If that is the case you can perform your phone link with the car if you first pair the car multimedia system to your home Wi-Fi thereafter you can pair you phone with the car via wired connection . Ensure to use genuine cable 

54 minutes ago, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

The 450h F Sport has 21" wheels.. & pricey 235/50/21 tyres! Its got heated & cooled rear seats, the same touch screen radio as all the other recently refreshed lexus cars, I really dont like that they put the heater controls into the touch screen, if its blowing cold air in your face first thing in the morning because you had it set to that when you got home yesterday you have to wait until the radio boots up to turn it off. The tail gate shuts a lot easier than the old ones. Progress.

The heater has 2 knobs to control each zone 

3 hours ago, Spock66 said:

It's a small world, I was there on Friday having my 4th Gen serviced, saw the Bronze 500h in the car park.

To upgrade my 5-year old 4th Gen with <20k miles would cost around £50k, something I won't be doing in a hurry, I would plan to change at 10-years when the Relax scheme expires.

I guess that scenario you described will apply to most of customers as nearly all new cars seem to carry a £10k to £15K mark up. Am of the opinion that dealer incentives may come in later this year once the euphoria of the new model wears off and dealers are keen to close deals 

4 minutes ago, mohsinb said:

Yeah I have I will try the Android phone.

I am plugging into the usb front port also 

 

there is a setting in the car play app I removed the Lexus device but now it is not detecting it in the app to add .

 

any other ideas?

 

 

 

I believe you should be plugging into the usb port inside the centre arm rest, the front port usb ports I think are meant for charging only (at least on the RX; may be different on the ES)

2 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

It might just be my age but, having bought a new RX in 2021, I struggle to believe that a new one, however good, could really enhance my life. I’m definitely not going for a test drive any time soon…😇

Great reviews @Fattsand @Spottedlaurel - many thanks!

I do get your point as the current 4RX is a very good car already, however the plug-in set up on the 5th Gen is a new power plant which is even more economical (40+ miles of pure electric driving) ensures less frequent visits to the petrol station especially if you top up the Battery at home. So might save a few bob in the long run. Happy Sunday 

11 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Were you there today? I had a drive of their dark blue RX450h+ just this morning!

I've never had the pleasure of even driving a 4th gen model, let alone owning one, but in my mind that's what I saw myself moving onto when my current 2014 RX eventually needs to be replaced. However, now I've tried this new one I think I have something else to aspire to, it was very impressive.

I had a go in the NX PHEV last year, but that wasn't enough to sway me and I feared that this new RX might feel the same. However the smoothnes and refinement are in another league, and the full electric mode certainly adds to the feeling of calm and hush.

I'll get a few of my photos and more considered impressions up tomorrow.

Yes - I test drove that same blue one with the premium plus package. The interior was nice even though it wasn’t the Top spec Takunmi

Courtesy of Lexus Ipswich, I had the pleasure of test driving both the RX 450h+ and the RX500h FSport performance. I can report that in my personal opinion (as someone who’s had one 3rd Gen RX and three 4th Gen RX) am pleasantly surprised that the new 4 port does not disappoint as feared. The engine note was barely audible; the 450h+ was as quite as my current car and when you push down the groaning noise of the current Gen 4 cvt has been addressed. The 500h on the other hand with its 6speed gearbox was smooth revving and the gearing was okay though I felt an 8speed could have given better ratios. 
The 500h performance was exhilarating not X5m or GLE63 kind of class but it demonstrated that Lexus can produce performance SUV’s if they choose to, we clocked 0-60@5.8s (a lot quicker than official figure of 6.2), the 450h+ is not too far behind in the performance stakes, it actually feels a lot quicker than the official quoted time of 6.5s. 
Looks wise, I liked the 500h better as it looks much muscular especially when viewed from the rear. Am sure some may like the elegance of the 350h and 450h+ both of which the dealer confirms cannot be specked in Fsport trim (don’t understand why given that I have seen some North American models with FSport trims)
There is obviously some other experience I took away from the test drive such as ride, cornering, the agility round bends & effect of the direct 4, turning radius , seating comfort but time won’t permit me to elaborate all here as I have to give verdict on each car separately. But in summary I would encourage everyone who is interested to go and test drive these cars and not just rely onthe comments from some YouTube journalists. In my case the test drive allayed  my apprehension about the change from V6 to four pot , and I came away feeling yes I would be happy with either of the models. They are clearly two different cars each with it’s own merits and few negatives. 

In my experience apple CarPlay always displays the map in full screen whereas Android Auto doesn’t. I have a Samsung work phone which I use for work related journeys and my personal phone is Iphone 13. 

7 minutes ago, taxiboy said:

When i put down a £500 deposit for my new ES in June last year, I was offered a 3 year service pack for £940. On picking up the car last week, I was then told that the price presented is no longer available and was told the cost is now £1,620. I am obviously quite upset with a 72% increase. 

Does anyone know if there's any other alternatives? I am in the MIlton Keynes area, thank you

That’s alarming if it becomes a trend, I suppose they will blame the increase on inflation. Am not sure you will have a room to wiggle as the Service Contract is indeed a “stand alone contract” distinct from the car purchase. However you are not obliged to take out the service contract- you can simply pay for your yearly services whenever they are due, but you loose the other benefits that come with a service plan such as 10% off parts and free puncture repairs etc. 

On 1/17/2023 at 4:54 PM, Julncamp54 said:

I have a 2022 build with the blade scan headlamps . They are nothing less than awesome.  Not aware of any oncoming traffic  being dazzled  but system auto illuminates  the LHS and picks out road signs and pedestrians and bicycles with ease. 
 

fabulous Japanese Lexus technology…..

I have similar blade scan on my 2022 RX and they work faultlessly . They don’t dazzle on coming cars and are very bright. 

Correct- Bluetooth is automatically disconnected once CarPlay or Android Auto is connected. That’s how both systems are designed to work 

The RX 450h+ Takumi looks very expensive at almost £80k for a four pot engined car

Am innocent 😇 I’ve got the evidence from the Lexus Link analytics. I hope it will be admissible in court