Shornw

26 minutes ago, Herbie said:

The only reason for an AGM battery is that the acid is absorbed in the glass mat rather than being in free liquid form. Because the battery is in the boot of the RX, if the car ever rolls over in an accident there's a slight chance that free liquid acid could drip/run into the cabin and be a risk to anyone in there, hence the preference for AGM.

It makes no difference whatsoever from an electrical point of view.

I thought it would be worth looking into AGM benefits and it seems there may be a connection - high currents on demand and faster charging seem to make for technical advantages appropriate for Hybrid charging, longevity and deep discharge capability are nice to have's.. What do others think? 

AGM batteries have a very low internal resistance, are able to deliver high currents on demand and offer relatively long service life, even when deep-cycled. AGM is maintenance free, provides good electrical reliability and is lighter than the flooded lead-acid type. It stands up well to low temperatures and has a low self-discharge. The leading advantages are a charge that is up to five times faster than the flooded version, and the ability to deep cycle. AGM offers a depth-of-discharge of 80 percent; the flooded, on the other hand, is specified at 50 percent DoD to attain the same cycle life

1 hour ago, RX450HPrem said:

LOL Don't think you have ! had mine over 6 years and this is the only thing that's gone wrong.

So its either you have been out and the battery has charged up again ? if it wasn't at first. but suspect of that.

Or its aMoisture issue (which I feel mine was).  And  your trip out has dried up the moisture.

Its quite an easy job to drop the rear headlining to have a look at the Motor ECU and check for any damp, if your so inclined.  see pics of mine    

I put a brand new Battery on it on Friday afternoon so I don't think it was that, although I was told that it didn't need an AGM Battery but reading this thread it appears it may be that it does 🤔

Attached is a picture of the original Battery - does this look like an original? I read on the thread that Panasonic was the right one. Although it doesn't say AGM on it anywhere

So this morning I thought I'll check the parking sensors again and sure enough the front offside was constantly whinging... Took the car to get fuel and while I was stopped, cleaned all the sensors. Re enabled the sensors and.... blissful silence 🙂... Feeling on a bit of a roll, I pressed the PBD.... and it opened immediately 🙄. Part of me wished it hadn't because I can't raise a claim against the warranty company if the bloody thing is working fine 🤷

I keep looking with a little longing at my GS450h sitting on my drive... it never caused me a single issue after the Battery ran low (only happened once) and never once missed a beat - have l made a colossal blunder?? 🤔😉

2 hours ago, RX450HPrem said:

Rob, In answer to your previous questions - I did in fact take my old unit to an electronics firm to have it checked out, the guys said it would cost about £110 per hour,  two hours work and if the chips were programmed they would not be able to rep-program them. hence I went down the route of a second unit cheapest I could find. As for protection from Wet - my new electrical unit is wrapped in protective cling film and tape now and I will look at adding further water protection form above and round the new unit just to make sure 🙂 good luck Monday  

Thanks for all your help and into.... Sounds like you've checked out all the options (as I would have) before going the new parts route. 

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

After Market Warranties are often not worth the paper they are written on.

There is one however which is issued by the Gov`t in the form of a Statutory Warranty and as such is backed by Law.

For more, consult a Solicitor, Or the Trading Standards Body, or the Internet and be perpared to pursue the crook via the Small Claims Track of the County Court. Not expensive ,but worthwhile.

Being a cynic in inclined to doubt the validity of after market warranties, that said, I'm also aware that people only usually comment or review when things are rubbish and not when they're good. The warranty I have is with WMS group who get expectedly poor reviews so I'll see how I get on on Monday and report back

1 hour ago, RX450HPrem said:

Rob 

 the part number you need it 68910-48023 its the latest part number 

Paul

 

Thanks Paul.... Very much appreciated 

It was from a trader who insisted on providing a warranty as he said he was liable for any repairs... I'm not sure how much faith I should have in these after market warranties as everything seems to be fair wear and tear from sendai I've heard. I'll vintage them on Monday and see how it goes but I'm interested to have an alternative option too

Once again, all thoughts greatly appreciated 

Hi Paul, 

Glad to hear that you got it sorted even if it was at substantial expense. 

The car was parked outside for the two weeks I was away but can't imagine that there was more chance of water ingress than over the last 13 years 🤷

If, as has been suggested, the issue is caused by water ingress, is there an opportunity to provide a higher degree of waterproofing? Maybe a coating or two of waterproof lacquer or spray on plastic coating or even shielding the vulnerable side from moisture with a waterproof deflector maybe? 

Can l be really cheeky and ask what the part number you ordered from UAE was as it feels like I've spent recent days reading and re reading this thread and my eyes fell like they're about to bleed and my head explode not to mention my elevated depression levels, having only had the car since 24th December.... And I was away for two weeks after that 🙄

Once again, thanks to all for the work and effort put into this, and all other threads. 

It stopped raining finally so I tried disconnecting the Negative, waited a full minute and reconnected it, shut the door manually then posted the car on - got the 'loading system, do not power off' message then tried to open the door with the the inside button, the remote button and the back door button. No sounds nothing except the external button locks the car. 

Having read through the thread a couple of times I still don't feel any closer to understanding what the problem is. To summarise my thoughts.. 

1. It was working fine before the Battery ran low

2. It worked AFTER the faults were reset and a new Battery was fitted

3. The following morning it was completely non responsive

The above would indicate that the components are all working but there is some form of communication issue between the PCB ECU and the main ECU as the car doesn't recognise that the PBD is open (any other door being open is registered on the display and l can lock the car when it's wide open) - I know electricall issues can be seemingly random but some logic has to apply.... It may be coincidental but the front offside parking sensor also started playing up after the initial low Battery issue. 

I haven't yet lookied at getting access to the ECU and motor but logic suggests if there was a component failure this would have occurred before the low Battery and also wouldn't have worked after the new Battery was fitted 🤷

It's both surprising and disappointing that, considering the number of instances of this issue, Lexus haven't identified the cause and a reliable resolution. In now not really sure how to progress. Do we know if anyone has taken this to a specialist motor electrical specialist? 

Thanks for your patience and for any ideas

I have a similar issue but slightly more annoying. PBD was working fine before I went away for two weeks. When l returned the car (2010 Rx450h) wouldn't start. I had to manually open the rear door to get to charge the Battery and got the car going... The PBD wouldn't open after that. I made sure the glove box switch was set properly and checked everything I could find. I cleared down all error codes and bought and fitted a new Battery yesterday as it should hold enough charge for more than two weeks. After this the PBD opened and CLOSED no problem (According to Colin Barber's Post, removing the Battery and cuneiform a new one would have initialized the ECU) .... This morning however, nothing no beeps and the car does not recognise that the rear door is open when opened manually. I've always thought the powered back door to be a gimmicky lazy thing and this really does seem like a flaky and irritating system as the only way to get the door open is to clamber over the back seats to operate the manual unlock. 

I will try disconnecting and re connecting the Negative terminal when it stops raining but is there something I'm missing? I guess it could be that the ECU started playing up as the Battery got flat not that seems very coincidental

Thanks for reaching and for any ideas anyone may have

On 12/24/2022 at 1:14 PM, John Walker said:

PPS : The warranty on the hybrid battery it goes to 15 years without mileage restriction as long as you get the hybrid health check at Lexus every 12 months or 10.000 miles. The warranty for the whole car goes up to 10 years or 100.000 miles as long as you service your car at Lexus every 12 months or 10.000 miles. 
 

Also i wouldn’t buy from a dealer as you get to pay a big premium and you don t get much. If you grab a bargain if you buy privately just make sure it has full Lexus service history (a Lexus stamp in the service book every year or 10.000 miles) and also very important it should give you a Hybrid Health Certificate with PASS written on it not older than 12 months or 10.000 miles, this way you make sure the hybrid system is still in warranty. 
 

I ll give you an example, my friend bought a 2016 RX Premier end of 2019 from Lexus Twickenham for 35k. Two years later he sold the car back to Lexus Twickenham with 28k (and 20k miles more) and they advertised it for 35.500). It was there for a couple of months but eventually sold. This is just to make an idea of the profits dealerships are making. 
 

I would encourage everyone who wants to sell their cars to do it privately. It will be a win-win situation. 
 

Rob maybe you should post an advertise here on the forum stating that you re looking to buy an RX and you might have a nice surprise. 
 

Good luck! 

thank you for some great detail, thoughts and opinions - I really do appreciate it

On 12/22/2022 at 1:49 PM, Bluemarlin said:

I'm not familiar with adaptive cruise control, so I may be talking nonsense,  but isn't there a visible button for it? If so then you could look at the pictures on Autotrader to see if it's there or not.

this is precisely what I did - I narrowed the search to SE-L (adaptive was only an option  fitted to SE-L Premier up to 2014 and not all sellers know that they have the Premier variant)  then trolled through each advert checking piccies for the little 'farting car' button on the right hand side of the steering wheel and the ML logo on the audio system.  Not all had clear piccies of the steering wheel but I managed to identify several that did and identified the below as the likely candidate..... full dealer history, immaculate condition  and never failed an Mot - plus it's considerably less than 20K so makes a good test, tht way if I get on with it I can look later for a lower mileage model, although to be honest, the mileage doesn't scare me with the service history and the fact that these are often seen with 200K miles on them.  I had no choice regarding air suspension if I wanted ACC....nearly all Premier variant had it but the dealer won't sell it without a warranty as the law has changed and you can now take a vehicle back long after purchase and they have to put it right so that's a bit of comfort.

I figured I could see how I get on with the SUV thing without spending loads - it's done most of it's depreciation and if we get on, I'll look at a later one in the future 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211241961755?make=Lexus&radius=1500&onesearchad=New&onesearchad=Nearly New&onesearchad=Used&aggregatedTrim=SE-L&maximum-mileage=90000&model=RX 450h&postcode=rh123xh&advertising-location=at_cars&include-delivery-option=on&sort=price-asc&page=1

5 hours ago, Barry14UK said:

I have a 3rd Gen Premier which like most 3rd Gen doesn't have ACC. 

I think it is misleading that sellers just list what is a full lists of what can be had on the RX (or other cars come to that), without the car they are selling necessarily having all the options listed.  So be sure to ask about anything car must have before viewing. 

Thanks for this.... I know exactly what you mean regarding the misleading adverts with all options ticked - particularly when it's a trader. .. I've even been told on the phone that their vehicle had ACC but when asked if it had the distance setting button it turned out not to - all the more reason to go to a trader or main dealer who knows what they are talking about

7 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Main dealer 3rd gen models seem to hover around the £20k area (and Steven Eagell are offering £2500 off used cars for a week or so after Christmas). You should get a decent one for that.

To get the ML audio and ACC it looks as if you need to go for an F-Sport or Premier, and even then it appears that ACC was optional.

Premier has air suspension, which can be a bit of a liability.

I briefly contemplated a GS450 when I bought my RX, but the lack of practicality was an issue.

I like my 2014 model. It offers a different sort of luxury to my older LS400 (which I think would be more like your GS) but it's still very capable and satisfying.

Thanks for this - I'll definitely have a look at Steven Eagell for one.

The air suspension did scare me a little 😬

When you say 'a different sort of luxury' how do you mean? I thought the later ones were even better than the earlier ones

8 hours ago, Spock66 said:

Ok that's likely to be a 3rd Gen in that price bracket, there's 195 RX450Hs currently listed on Auto Trader up to £20k, that's probably a good place to start.

now why didn't I think of searching Auto Trader for a Lexus RX450 with a max price filter of 20K - DOH!!!

I downloaded a.pdf I foud on here but itwon't open 😔

I don't know much about year/generation of the RX - obviously I'd like the latest/lowest mileage possible with a budget up to 20K

Hi and seasonal greetings to all,

I currently have a 2010 GS450h SE-L which I have owned for a couple of years and absolutely love but need more space now.  The logical progression (in my tiny mind anyway) is the RX450h.  There are a couple of things which I want on the RX but trying to sort out which model is a bit..... Confusing!!!  I DEFINITELY want Mark Levinson AND Adaptive Cruise control as I have these on my GS and am not prepared to do without either but a lot of Auto Trader adverts say 'adaptive cruise control' but they just have standard cruise control

Can someone help with advice on which model variants I need to look for please.

Many thanks 

Rob

I am in the market right now for an RX450 of around this price point but I am looking for a few specific things (I have a GS450h currently and these are things I have and am not prepared to do without any more)

adaptive cruise control (I know this wasn't fitted to most of the RX450h range)

Mark Levinson audio

Rain sensing wipers (probably standard across the range)

cooled seats would be nice but not a deal breaker

Thanks all for invaluable info. 

This is the response I got from ToyotaMaps - $176 but no option to have a 2Tb SSD for extra music storage. 

13 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

Illuminates blue, although I thought they appear slightly blueish even when off. Either way the fact that you can store music on the HDD means it has a HDD based sat nav which is only dealer upgradeable unfortunately - and wouldn't be worth the cost IMO because it would be at least £150+.

Thanks for this... a shame cos it also means I can't upgrade the HDD to a 2Tb SSD... and I'm certainly not paying Lexus map update prices 🤐

10 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

If you have a blue start button then it is a later 2010 model with a HDD based nav system.

Thanks for this.

When you say blue, do you mean the actual button is blue or illuminates blue?  Mine has a black buttoin which illuminates blue.

I know there a HDD in the car as I can save music to it... it never occurred to me that the Sat-Nav could also use this disk.  I was hoping to upgrade the HDD to a faster SSD with more capacity 

10 hours ago, Sherra said:

I had the HDD in my 2010 Avensis. The nav can only be updated via the dealer at great expense  through a special piece of kit and a single use heavily protected usb, Took about an hour.

typical lol - thanks for the info, it wasn't quite what I was hoping for but good to know tho

I do, however, have more questions, the answers to which aren't apparently obvious:

1.   Does the SatNav run off a DVD? - I haven't found anything to suggest it does and if I select Update on the menu it suggests that update will be downloaded
2.   Can the internall HDD be upgraded easily to an SSD?  Judging by posts I've read, the HDD uses a non standard disk format but if you insert a non formatted disk will the head unit take        care of it automatically and just format (or prompt to format) it

On 2/24/2020 at 10:56 AM, subman said:

Enjoy your car and go burn some fuel, just remember it is a performance hybrid so if you are hot on the accelerator it will still cost you   🙂  

Grin on face, priceless 

Yeah - I found that - still cheaper to run than my other car even driven like a madman 😊

Completely loving the whole Lexus experience

On 2/23/2020 at 9:35 PM, Britprius said:

 

Rob admit it you have found the power mode switch. Now try the hybrid power at the same time.

John.

.

I confess - I have..... now - which is most fun...??? using them both or just enjoying the Mark Levinson experience 🤗