Herbie

Cheers Piers Seasons Greetings one and all. May you all have a very Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year

Thanks for your reply Stephen but sadly, that video doesn't go far enough. Getting the head unit out was the easy bit but I did find out how to gain access to where I wanted anyway and I can say that I would never have been able to remove the side panel in the way you would logically think. It turns out you have to go in from the top because of the screws arrowed below, although once the top came off I found a way of routing the cables that meant I didn't need the side off at all anyway. Believe it or not, the worst thing now is that the main harness of the Vline only just reaches but it's under a bit of strain, so I'm going to cut it and splice in about 9" of new wire.

Thanks Barry, that looks to be a great solution. And yes, the search facility on this board is abysmal.

I do tend to bang on about it a bit but like lots of other people, I'm just so disappointed with the OEM stuff. Android Auto does have its faults but it's a dream compared to the Lexus system and there's the added bonus that it does so much more too

I missed the photos Barry, any chance you could link to them please?

The infotainment and navigation systems have long been the Achilles Heel of Lexus and are quite abysmal. However, given that you have a 2021 car you can get the Android Auto/Apple CarPlay upgrade done at the dealers for about £80 if it isn't already available on your car. I know where you're coming from and I feel your pain but the first Lexus I had was a 2005 RX300, then a 2013 RX450h and now a 2018 RX450h and I can say that they infotainment and nav is only marginally better in the latest when compared with the earliest. Not only that, AA/ACP is not, nor ever will be, available for my 2018 car, which is why I've just splashed out £500 for a Grom Vline 2 third-party solution.

I installed a dual front/rear set in my RX, a Viofo A129 Duo. Pleased to say that it went without a hitch and no interference or nav inaccuracy whatsoever.

You may find that a higher variant (Takumi?) has them. You will indeed need to fit ballast resistors (50 ohm, 6W if memory serves) or swap the flasher unit for one that specifically deals with LEDs.

The last time I used W3W was on my phone, before I entered the world of AA in the car but yes, if I remember correctly I had a 3-word reference so I opened W3W, typed in the ref and then shared it to Waze to do the actual navigation. In a town or city where one postcode covers a small area, I agree. In fact, we live in a cul-de-sac with just 18 houses and our postcode only covers just these 18 houses. However, out in the sticks where one postcode can cover a couple of miles with not a street name in sight, then it really comes into its own.

Sorry Liam, but just in case someone worries about what you've written and it frightens them, I have to say that it's not correct in this context. The negative battery terminal is strapped directly to the car body, so in effect the whole of the body becomes the negative terminal anyway. From an electrical point of view, a few inches of steel isn't going to affect the passage of current in any appreciable way whatsoever. As mentioned above the only reason for this advice is to avoid the (infinitesimally small) chance of an explosion. Now that is true. If the jump leads are connected with reverse polarity, big bangs are indeed likely and a few things may even need replacing.

It's a question of safety rather than anything electrical. A charging battery can give off hydrogen gas and if it's present in the correct proportions it can be ignited or explode. The rationale is that if you place both leads on the battery terminals, if there are any sparks as you disconnect the leads then this could cause an explosion. If the negative lead is placed far enough away from the battery then any sparks created will be inconsequential. I have to say though, that in more than 45 years of driving and being an amateur hobby mechanic and messing about with batteries, I have never known anyone to actually cause an explosion in this manner, nor do any family members or friends know of it ever happening in the real world. I have always connected directly to the battery terminals and will always continue to do so.

Even if you got a map as up to date as yesterday you'll still be running it on a 14 year old operating system that is clunky, slow and counter-intuitive because map updates are just that, not software updates. A much better idea is to just use your phone and use Google Maps, Waze (both of which have free and frequent updates) or Sygic - all of which are a gazillion times better than the abysmal Lexus factory nav system.

The infotainment/navigation systems built into Lexus has long been their Achilles Heel and, like Peter, I doubt they ever will. However, given that your car is a 2020 model, can you not have the Android Auto/Apple CarPlay mod done to it? I've seen people say that the dealerships charge £80 for doing it and not only will it allow you to use W3W but it'll be a gazillion percent better than the factory system anyway. I've got a 2018 RX and no chance that Lexus will ever sort out AA/ACP for these cars, so I've just splashed out £500 on a Grom Vline 2 unit to provide that capability. After a few teething problems I'm almost finished getting it set up and I'll be doing a video of how it works and performs, hopefully in the next couple of days, so if you're interested, keep your eyes open for that. This is what it looks like at the moment but I still have some setting up to do:

Welcome to the club Donald Sounds like you got a great bargain and have done an excellent job, well done sir

2018 RX450h - does anyone know how to remove the side panel from the centre console? This photo shows the passenger side but if it's easier then I can take off the driver's side panel instead. I want to run a couple of wires from behind the multimedia head unit into the empty space below the storage bin of the centre console but need one or other of the side panels off for access.

I don't know as I've never fitted one, but Youtube is probably your best bet for 'how-to' videos.

As I said above, go to any garage that is known to be good (ask family members for recommendations etc) and if necessary, they'll do the job at a much reduced price compared to a main dealer. It may be a Lexus but it's 'just a car' with a braking system like millions of other cars. So far you've only mentioned the labour charge and not the cost of the replacements, but if the new parts are also extortionately priced, I think I'm right in saying that you can even get your own made up at any branch of http://pirtek.co.uk

Well I don't know for sure and I suppose the only people who do know are the warranty people, so you really need to ask them. I was just going off the fact that anything going rusty after 12 years can't really be said to be faulty.

Somehow I doubt it but if it doesn't, just take it to any good and reputable garage to get it done. I'll bet it's half the price of the dealers.

Service plans are not designed to be cheaper; their benefit lies in the fact that you can lock in today's price and pay for it monthly, interest free.

Anything here (eBay) that helps you?

Braver man than me! I didn't mind pulling the dash apart but cutting it would be a step too far for me. I have to say that the Grom Vline 2 seems to be the best of the aftermarket devices. A lot of people seem to be happy with it and they say that it works well, which is why I intend to persevere with it, but it is expensive at just over £500.

The garage should have been able to reset it but it'll go out on its own anyway after three driving cycles, assuming there really isn't a fault.

I apologise for doubting you Tom and it's never our intention to laugh at anyone - the only silly questions are the ones never asked, so you'll hopefully find us a helpful bunch. Any impatience on my part stems from the fact that, generally speaking, a car is a car is a car. However, a hybrid is so different from any other car one might have had before, you really need to read the manual from cover to cover. This is both for your own benefit to get the most out of the car and also learning what you can and cannot do so that you don't damage it. Anyway, welcome to the club

I thought the same thing to be honest, but over the time I've been a member on these forums I've often been left shaking my head in bewilderment about the lack of knowledge of their cars that some people display. They buy a hybrid with absolutely no knowledge whatsoever of what that even means. They go out to buy 'a car' and come back with 'a car' without knowing what they have. Some people have had their cars for six months or more and don't even know that it doesn't have a starter motor or alternator, and they haven't got a clue how to drive a hybrid or how to get the best out of it. Having said that though, not knowing what READY mode is does seem to take the biscuit.