GSLV6

Where I live, there's steep hills in all directions so from cold, doing the school run = 16mpg there (3 miles of uphill with one section at an average 12% for 1.5 miles), but I get 50mpg on the way back! It's only a short trip so not really representative. On average, each tank gets me between 27 and 29mpg. On longer motorway runs it's more like 32 to 33mpg (indicated 75mph...I checked my speedo against GPS at an indicated 77pmh is a true 70mph). Oddly, travelling at higher speeds (not excessively so) makes little to no difference. The real economy is between 55 and 65mpg where I get 36mpg on the flat on a longer run if I'm really gentle with the gas pedal. By way of comparison, a friend's BMW X3 diesel (3 litre) manages 28 to 30mpg locally and up to 37mpg on a motorway run. Not a lot in it and his only weighs about 1900 Kg so we can't expect more than high 20's on local run-abouts or low to mid 30's M-way. Lexus figures are hopelessly optimistic, but so are those of all other manufacturers because they test them without wind resistance on a rolling road at a steady 56mph which is just not representative of true load and drag.

The regeneration though I thought had nothing to do with the battery. It is not directly hooked up. The effect on any battery is the same...they can only be charged via the inverter and charging circuit or direct from the hybrid battery via a charging circuit II'm not sure which in this cas e to be honest but it has to be one of those) which steps down and regulates the voltage. Any differences will be purely down to the charging efficiency of the battery type under deep cycle load conditions. There is no good argument for insisting that the OEM battery will be the best...that's a misleading statement and simply is not true as many alternatives will meet or exceed those specifications. ANY battery that meets the specifications required ie deep cycle of sufficient AH will be more than adequate and I've already proved the life of the wet battery I replaced my panasonic with has been longer. The incidences of anyone being injured by a lead acid battery in the cabin I suspect are probably so low as to be statistically irrelevant, and whilst the outcome could be locally serious but still relatively minor, the risk is so low as to be negligible. There are many other outcomes of serious accidents that are likely to cause far greater injuries or risks to long term health. I speak as someone involved in a very serious accident whilst a passenger. You accuse Rob of Hyperbole Barry but you have to admit that your viewpoint has little factual basis to support it and the risks you mention are much exaggerated. Just saying. no offence intended.

Hi Great car and still one of the best cars I ever owned. The things to be aware of, if not already done, at this mileage are shocks do fail on these sometimes rather too prematurely. They were under specified by Lexus who for reasons known only to themselves refused to ever properly address the issue. They are not cheap top replace and if one is weeping, then it's time to replace not just it, but both as a working pair. It transforms the handling when you have these renewed. The other bugbear is the exhaust at the point it splits from one to two at the Y junction. This is a point of stress and the welds tend to fail here eventually. Mine went at 67K miles and cost £750 from Lexus for a new back box and Y junction (no aftermarket parts were available). Finally, the TPMS on mine was very temperamental, and eventually the transponders in the wheels failed, setting me back £284 to replace. I took the opportunity to powder coat the wheels as all Lexus cars of this period had awful laquer quality, not up to British winter driving. The salt destroys the allows once the lacquer starts to bubble. Other than these issues, mechanically the cars are solid and that engine is an absolute peach. Much more economical than the 4.3 V8 and really not a huge amount slower.

My current battery is a conventional deep cycle wet battery Rob. I saw little advantage in paying the extra for an AGM and equally little disadvantage to my current wet battery.

My long term average is 27pmg based on the trip computer, and I don't have a lead right foot. No doubt it would be better than that in a flatter area. On several 200 mile trips, mostly M-ways at 70-75mph it returned 32mpg. Cross country it delivers closer to 34-35mpg in light traffic with infrequent stops. Such a heavy vehicle will be very sensitive to how gently or not the right foot is used. The old Rav4 gets closer to 36mpg average and on longer runs, closer to 42mpg but it is a whopping whole tonne lighter! Sorry to the OP for the extended thread drift.

Hi John yes, it was an official warranted Lexus vehicle bought at Lexus in Cheltenham. They have been excellent throughout and most work was in fact covered under warranty (I took the extended warranty out). I have nothing but praise for their customer service but they're really as disappointed and surprised as I am with these series of events, and have no answer for the failures other than bad luck, which I am prepared to accept. The more complex these cars get, the more I guess we ought to expect problems, especially at the 5 years plus age when many sensors and electronic devices have reached their designed and specified reliability age. I, for one, don't need nor value the electronic powered rear door...I'd much prefer an simple centrally locked manual rear door. That would have put paid to the cost of the latest failure. Expectations of customers dictate these things though as people tend to compare features when car buying without really thinking about the true benefit to cost/reliability issues. As for the control arms, I put that down to the plethora of speed humps and raised sections at local pedestrian crossings. 2.3 tonnes is a heavy vehicle and unfortunately it does give things like suspension bushings are hard time. I aim to keep my 2014 F-Sport RX for another 6 or 7 years, having already owned it 4 years, as the value to me was in long term ownership and running costs. To date it has proved rather expensive to run...poor on petrol in the hilly area I live in and over complex. I recently re-invested in a new extended warranty after leaving it 6 months after my last one ran out, due to my lack of faith in ongoing reliability based on experience to date. As you say, it ought to capture anything more that happens. People who don't take it out I am afraid could be selling themselves short so I now consider it as a mandatory part of annual running costs, plus the AA breakdown covers all vehicles we own and of course there's the free MOTs. All in all, it's a small price for peace of mind. Had it been any other car other than Lexus, I'd have moved it on, but customer service is second to none and my confidence is less with the vehicle and more that any serious issues will be swiftly dealt with in a professional and dedicated manner by Lexus Cheltenham. None of their other current vehicles appeal to me. The ES being FWD put an end to my interest in their saloons. I was a big Mk2/3 GS fan but things have gone downhill since the mid noughties when their top spec GS models were almost on a par with the LS.

Yes. In 20K miles from date of purchase...and bought at 15K miles, I have cared for my RX almost obsessively, had it regularly serviced at Lexus and driven it regularly but not to any high mileage. It gets between 5 and 6K miles per year. In that time I have had the following go wrong: . Steering rack and motor replacement (under warranty) after a fault was spotted during a service. It had started knocking and makind off noises for a few months previous which was reported; . PBD motor and ECU failure (recently); . 2 nr control arms (suspension bushes shot); . rattles due to trim issue needing work on main dash facia looked at with an attempted repair (unsuccessful); . ECU reflashed and update to main info screen due to recurring lag issues on start up . Axiliiary battery replaced after one year's ownership when it failed almost overnight. It had not been run flat...ever in my ownership until then; For the UK's most reliable SUV, that lot added up to almost 4.5Ks worth of repairs. My previous GS300 suffered similar electrical, suspension, exhaust and other less serious minor niggles, plus failure of several hydraulic tappets at 60K miles. Some night just say I've been unlucky...Lexus dealership thinks so, but I have never before owned any car (I usually change them after 4 years ownership) which has given so much trouble at such low mileages other than a volvo V60 which was plagued with reliability issues (powerpacks to doors failing, throttle body failure, engine mount failures, constant blowing of light bulbs, drive shaft failures). We are fortunate enough to own 3 cars between us. Our Honda Civic has had zero issues in a similar ownership period and same miles. My 16 year old Rav4 has had no serious issues in 100,000 miles of motoring and I will run that one into the ground. It is the single most reliable car we've ever owned. The RX not so much but it is superbly comfortable which matters to me on long runs as I have serious back injuries which mean terrible pain in most other cars if I need to drive for more than 40 minutes or so. You can only speak as you find but cost of purchase or marque is no guarantee of reliability imho. I appreciate many will have had very few issues and are understandably delighted with their RX's. I am not one of those people....but I still like the car and body-work and interior wise it is one of the best quality screwed together and well thought out cars I have owned. Electrical and the off mechanical issues have let it down.

Manufacturers could come up with tricks like retractable side rails that prevent people from getting under the cars in the first place on big cars like RX's. Our way of dealing with it is that we NEVER park the RX at any supermarket or ride and park or any other high risk theft area. We have an old banger used for local runs to these sort of places for things like shopping runs. I gave up parking the RX in supermarkets shortly after buying mine as it wasn't long before I started to notice small dents and scratches appear due to the other "scum bag" part of humanity, the low life shopper with a trolley who couldn't give a damn about other people's property. I couldn't care what happens to the banger. Replacing it costs less than the cost of my current repair bill for the PBD eco & power pack....in fact, RX UNreliability issues have cost me more than any damage or theft...to date. I digress though. The police are not interested in following up car park damage unless they have an open and shut case presented to them with all evidence. I once had a lovely little vRS badly dented and scratched by someone in a red car (red paint left on my car) who side swiped 3/4 of the side of my little Fabia in our local supermarket. It took several requests to get anything out of the supermarket re CCTV and the police were just not interested in doing anything. I am afraid the signs are right. Either park at these places at your own risk or be prepared to take the law into your own hands.

I fitted leads to the auxiliary battery terminated in a proper ipx rated (covered) twin terminal connector which lives permanently accessible in the boot. If the car is parked up for a week or more I simply connect my CYTEK charger to it. No messing about under the bonnet and takes seconds to connect up to. Open rear door, pull connector from under boot liner (where I keep it hidden) connect to charger, close door and forget. Leave as long as you like or just overnight for a quick top up. It's no different in that respect from just about any battery maintenance on just about every other car on the planet. Just don't let the battery get so flat it won't open the rear door. They really oughtn't be left longer than a week without some sort of trickle charge as let any deep cycle battery dip under 50% and you lose efficiency and battery health. Letting older ones dip under 50% charge can kill them off.

I think mine is about 800 pages too so perhaps is the full manual. Not enough for home mechanics but good enough for checks and specs etc.

Well, I can report now on this topic which will cover ALL RX's with power rear doors. I spent an hour at Lexus and had a chat with the mechanic/service manager and there are only a small handful of reasons for a failure of the remote operated PBD, which are exactly as I thought and highlighted above. These are: flat or disconnected battery needs a reset for the remote power pack and ECU for the PBD as per owner's manual; button in glovebox needs pressing; Relay operated by PBD activation switch in glovebox has packed up resulting in no power to remote ECU/powerpack; 30A fuse (box type B or C, I think) blown, needing replacement or fused buzzbar connection (later models but include my own 2014 model) blown needing replacement; power pack and/or remote ECU have packed in. Anyone who experiences problems with the tailgate at all, it can only be for one of the posted reasons above, so check them in that order as the first two on the list are 60 second fixes. In my case, and unfortunately for me, it was found that my rear motor/powerpack/ECU has packed in. I hope you don't get the same issue because the cost is astronomical! I was quoted £1,138 for the replacement of which £745 was parts only. The power pack and ECU are actually under the roof lining which needs removing to get at them so it's quite a big job taking several hours of labour. Perhaps this can become a sticky (or part of it can) as it should cover this not uncommon problem that many owners have reported. I was told that it was extremely rare for a power pack or ECU failure. This is the second "it is extremely rare" repair bill costing the thick end of £1200 I've had with an RX which has only just covered 35K miles so not impressed. I have taken out an extended warranty in case of any other unexpected failures. It goes to show that even if you have a genuinely low miles example, it's a lottery making the warranty very worthwhile folks.

I don't need to as I have paper ones already for mine. It was a comment on new ones coming in without them I was making above.

It's a sad inditement that when one buys a luxury SUV from Lexus there are excuses for not supplying a paper manual. Cost cutting. If it were a green thing then it's gross hypocrisy! Nine times from ten, when I want to reference a manual it's when the head is buried under the bonnet or I'm otherwise engaged with the car looking for something or fault finding. It's bad enough that most modern manuals lack the detail of say a 1980's manual, let alone not supplying a physical one and just not acceptable given the new purchase price.

+1 to all of that (being a past E46 owner too!) added to which most of the latest chargers work on a maximum 4A dropping to a fraction of that as they approach full charge. In reality most battery types will work but a deep cycle of any description will have a longer life...or so you'd like to think. 2 years from my Panasonics was pitiful!

I simply replaced mine with a leisure (deep cycle) battery which from memory was about 60Amp Hours, for way less than the Panasonic. It's lasted 2 years so far. My original Panasonic died after 2 years from new.

I fitted Yokohama Geolander all terrains to our RAV4 which were superb in the snow...really on a par with winter tyres imho. Good in the wet too and quiet as my last road tyres on dry roads I am going to see if they do a similar model for the RX and if so, that's what I'll be fitting next.

+1 for the relay issue. The clue is if you operate the glovebox switch, you should hear an audible click as the relay operates. Mine isn't making any noise and no power is reaching the rear compartment including PBD and courtesy lights. These are all supplied from one relay supplied by that fused link. No click=no power even if the ECU calls for it. Mine's in Lexus tomorrow to try and get to the bottom of it, but I'm crossing my fingers it's a £40 relay blown and not the megabucks PBD ECU gone awal. Lexus will usually offer a free 30 minute diagnostic session...at least my dealership does.

Sorry for tardy late response...have only just returned here after a long break! I didn't bypass it on my GS but I did on my VRS Fabia (diesel) and yes, it flew through emissions testing! It also improved throttle response, idle and fuel economy. The EU regulations have made cars less reliable, over complex and shorter lived imho. Every car up until my Lexus cars that I've had, suffered in some form or other with the same EGR issues, some after short miles. Town driving and short trips are worst of all as the engine is in a fuel rich state when cold and this recirculates a lot of carbon deposits. I'm not sure if Lexus would permit the ECU to be reprogrammed to chip out the EGR valve once disconnected though hence I have left well alone on my RX. which we reserve for longer journeys anyway. Our ancient RAV4 is one car we've had zero issues with, nada, not a thing...ever since owned. IMHO, a simple, robust, well put together and over engineered car...one of the most reliable ever made.

I have the same problem. Let my auxiliary battery go flat over the last 2 weeks (I know I ought to have hooked it up to my charger). I connected the battery (insitu) up to my CYTEK "intelligent" charger after Lexus confirmed it didn't need to be removed to recharge the battery (it won't damage electronics doing this). No rear courtesy lights work, reset as per manual doesn't work, disconnecting battery -ve terminal to reset the ECU didn't work, toggling the glove compartment button doesn't work. It used to operate a relay in the fuse box, but I hear no relay operating and if I am lucky it is just a blown relay which could have occurred when I attempted to open the tailgate one morning it was freezing (causes overcurrent which could trip the relay or burn it out). I have the later buzz-bar high amp common connector for power feed in the fusebox, covered with the green plastic top which I cannot see how to remove. Called Lexus and they say I've done everything that they would have tried but they have offered a 30 minute free diagnostic session tomorrow. My warranty ran out in July and as we couldn't use the car anyway (we were using a smaller runabout for shopping etc during lock down and self isolation) I didn't renew it foolishly. I suspect it's one of two things: either 1) a blown relay as nothing in the rear is getting power, or 2) the rear (separate) ECU which operates the rear lock and power door motor/sensors. It might even be a faulty rear sensor which I guess is a micro-switch buried under the rear panel somewhere. Whatever, I am crossing my fingers it's nothing seriously expensive! I despair with Lexus. Every time I've had a flat battery on any of my lexus cars, something like this ALWAYS happens! The only car that has been faultless is our 16 year old 105,000 miles Toyota Rav4 which is just indestructible and utterly reliable. If this is a big bill, I will have to seriously consider keeping the car. I am now relying on it for longer runs to hospital as my wife is a cancer patient (as of November) and we have to depend on the RX.

Happened twice with me...turned out to be a spider making a web!

Nextbase themselves included advice to regularly reformat SD cards. If that has changed due to reliability improving, that's fine. I just followed their advice when I purchased mine which was a few years ago and it has been working faultlessly since then. Haven't re-formatted mine in a while though as it seems to have been working fine. I had a glitch early on, reformatted it then and all has been fine since that time.

You can only speak as you find I guess Malcolm. We had our 16/60 for some years without any issue and that engine had done over 140,000 miles and was perfect. My father replaced a headgasket a few times (rather he annealed a copper gasket and refitted it) and once he removed the head and polished the ports and reground the valves, and that motor purred like a cat. He was fastidious about oil changes and it had bodywork protection added. As we didn't own it for as long as you owned yours then I can't say what condition it would have been in 11 years down the road, but when we owned it, it was lovely in all respects. I'd happily take a restored one now if I had garage space. It remains one of my favourite classic BMC models. Mind you, he also owned a Triumph 2000TC Bullnose which after a few years and close on 100K miles developed very expensive engine trouble needing new pistons, but I liked that too, so much so I bought a Mk2 and that turned out to be a huge mistake. I bought on the cheap (mistake nr 1) and bought the later BL made Mk2 (mistake nr 2) and just about every panel underneath, including sills, wings and floor plates all needed welding work or replacement. Plastic bags filled with horsehair were used for noise insulation and placed in between inner and outer wings which did a fabulous job of speeding up terminal rust! The engine had to be taken apart, the head reground and the engine rebuilt. I also put a new exhaust on it a new distributor, the sides needed re-spraying and I re-carpeted the whole interior and saw to damage on the woodwork finish. It cost me a small fortune. The suspension bushes were also all knackered, and then the thrust bearing on the clutch went. That was the last straw. I sold it and made a small loss after my costs were taken out. I loved the engine and the shape of the car but buying a BL made anything was bound to end in tears. Earlier bullnoses were, by and large, better made I think. The LS400 I think was my 2nd favourite of all time Lexus cars. My favourite was the equally well appointed non CVT GS300V6 which I rate as the best car I've ever owned.

I think it's true that the days of the most reliable petrol and certainly diesel lumps have been and gone. Early to mid Noughties designs I think may have been the pinnacle. Ever tightening EU emissions (and I'm not one that buys the whole emissions controls thing as being as significant as claimed and certainly not when compared with central heating!) , over complexity and limited operational serviceability or redundancy life of certain components effectively encourage and promote the changing of vehicles rather than economic repair. As any mechanic what the value of any of the current crop of 3 cylinder tiny engines is, and they'll likely tell you they're disposable units. Give me an LS or GS 6 or 8 pot lump any day, looked after they run to extraordinary mileages.

The only car I remember fondly from my youth was one my Father owned. It was a Woseley 16/60 in Maroon, I think a 1962 model with full leather seats, wood everywhere and a lovely series B 1600 engine. It was one of the most reliable cars I can remember that we ever owned right up until the 1980s, and easy to home service. At standstill with the engine running I well remember people remarking that they couldn't hear anything other than a gentle ripple of tappets. It was a wonderful car and an example of one of the very best to be produced from the BMC stable, although styled by Pininfarina which was no bad thing. I remains to this day one of the few classic cars I'd own in a heartbeat. Other than that, I can't remember many vehicles from my youth or my early work days which I remember with as much fondness as most of my early cars, bought well used, were all trouble in one form or another. The first really reliable car I owned was a 1980's Mk2 Cavalier 1600 GLS. Whilst many of my mates drove around in fords, I felt like a king driving in opulent luxury in plush velour seats with (for the day) all the gadgets and the Mk2's 1600 lump was smoother than the equivalent ford and quicker as I seem to remember. It remained reliable and easy to home service. I had a mk2 Opel Manta GT after that which again was reliable, punchy and a bit different and I covered big miles in that car pretty much trouble free. The same cannot be said of the 2 litre GT/E which I replaced it with. It fell to pieces with rust and developed a nasty rear differential whine. Those engines though were good and far more reliable than the VW's I bought in the 1980's. I had three of them . A Mk2 sirocco gti...unreliable, with electrical issues, it blew the head gasket twice, snapped drive shaft bolts, had failed suspension at modest miles and I got fed up with break downs so sold it for a diesel passat estate needed for the space. Similar story...cracked block, engine knackered after modest miles and it needed a new gearbox when that failed which I replaced myself. I vowed I'd never own another VW after that. Roll on many cars since then and now and my current 450h has been the most reliable of anything I've owned bar some warranty work for a failed auxiliary battery and a steering rack replaced because whilst it worked fine, there was a slight knocking so it ticked the warranty box and cost me nothing. I preferred the previous GS300 to drive and it was more luxurious inside, quieter and quicker imho, but I didn't want to part with what the gov't highwaymen wanted for annual tax and the RX was bought on the claimed economy savings over the GS...which in reality are neither here or there. I don't hear of many headlamp units failing but if it happens, and the rest of the cart is sound, I'll pay for it and drive the car into the ground. All cars cost in the long term. There aren't many that over a 10 or 15 year period won't need at least one or two expensive items or services. For what it is, the RX is probably one of the cheapest SUVs in class to run longer term,providing regular maintenance is carried out, which makes them so popular on the used market. By comparison, I well remember my uncle's 1990's Jag xjr needing a new headlamp bulb or replacement unit and it costing him £1000 back then which he was spitting teeth over.

I replaced both front control arms on my E36 Barry, including labour for the price of supply of just one control arm from Lexus. That was from a local motor factors. I don't think I can justify their prices if they decide that it's not a warranty item. For a 5 1/2 year old car, that is the only thing I've had to pay for since I bought it so I suppose I can't really complain.