Barry14UK

Last service on my 2015 RX450 circa 50K miles revealed rubber suspension bushes beginning to delaminate and to listen out for knocks.

I wipe my blades with the solution that goes into the storage reservoir on the cars and gets sprayed onto windscreen.

12v Batteries need much more careful monitoring these days mainly due to all they have to do and if they go flat it reduces their life or can even cause them to no longer or accept a charge.  If extra drain is imposed by leaving doors open for extended periods, the Battery should be well charged before hand and immediately afterwards.  

I have always been careful not to leave the boot and doors open for long for this reason on my RX.  However, I was surprised when my radio cut out after only 15 - 20 minutes to help preserve power in the 12v Battery.  It really needs to be connected to the hybrid Battery, where provided, so it can draw power from that.

I think the lack of use, especially through the Covid shut down caused a lot of damage to 12v batteries and Lexus  emailed a general warning to regularly charge or at least they emailed me.  As I have said on a previous occasion, bearing in mind what the 12v Battery has to do, it is remiss of Lexus not to include a state of Battery voltage indicator particularly in view of the fairly small Battery.

It's easier to drive into a tight garage than back in and suspend a tennis ball on a string so you know exactly when it touches your windscreen.   If the garage width is OK, might it be possible to increase the door width and fit a wider door?  I did this in a previous property I lived in but the garage was not an integral part of the house. 

I haven't had what you might consider and out and out sports car.  Can't really see the point unless you have deep pockets and want a second car to track or drive in a few places where you can enjoy the experience.  I have owned a number of what might be considered in their day to be sporting versions of a few cars.  The first was an MG Magnette series 2 ZB. There were two Mercedes, an SLC and a W124 coupe, an Opel Monza, an Opel Commodore 2 door GSE,  several Fiat 130 3200 2 door coupes and a Maserati Indy 2 door 4 seater coupe. All other cars have been general 4 door saloons.

Due to back problem need SUV, so too late for sports car now. Have to live on memories of rides in Ferrari, Porcshe, Jensen, Peerless and a few others. 

Certain numbers have proved to be an investment like the one I purchased some years ago, kept for a few years and then sold at a good profit above the purchase price plus inflation. I subsequently bought another plate with a 1 prefix which has graced several of my cars. I could now sell for much more than I paid for it.  I like distinctive plates, as stamp collectors like rare stamps, so each to his/her own. 

Well thank you again for searching.  As it happens I have been told by the NHS Disability people that  they will be coming to see how well various equipment they have loaned is working and I will see if they have any suggestions.  I know I could purchase a lightweight foldable wheelchair to take my wife to the car and stow it in the boot but that means my assisting her from the wheelchair and into the car helped a little by a small step I bought remains the problem. Unfortunately, her legs have buckled on two occasions as she was getting from the Zimmer Frame into the car and even with a wheelchair this transfer part would be the same problem.

If I can find something better, I will post, as maybe  somebody else might be in a similar situation some day..

12 hours ago, katabrontes said:

I have seen various adaptions to either allow a special seat to rotate and drop to make access to a wheelchair beside the care easy or a hoist fitted to a special roof rack which does the same.  A man in a wheelchair used to use something like this to go clay pigeon shooting in Cyprus and it allowed him to be completely independent.  I don't have a source for this type of adaption but I am sure your local occupational therapy department would be able to help.

Thank you.  Yes I will try Mobility outlets but as this is probably a rare situation that few will have encountered for an RX thought it worth asking here.  

Sadly my wife has advanced Alzheimer's Vascular Dementia and I need to be able to get her to part time day care and to her and my appointments. She is finding it increasingly difficult to use a Z frame and get into and out of my RX.  It looks like I will need to use a wheelchair and I appreciate it's probably a long shot but wonder how any members here faced with a similar situation have dealt with it.  I have seen ramps used and a hoist on other cars and there are of course specially designed mobility cars that will take a wheelchair but I don't wish to part with my RX, particularly as the mobility need could be for months rather than a year or so.  I should be obliged to learn whether any other person has met this situation and overcome it in their  RX. 

I have a budget MIG welder which I have used for a few jobs and results OK if not pretty.  I know I could do a better job with a better model and gas.  You could fabricate all the steelwork yourself and fix in place with self tapping screws which is a method I have used, particularly where welding clamps can't be used.  The self tappers can be removed later and and the holes filled with weld.  You could hire a decent quality MIG welder and either do the job yourself or have a professional do that part of the job, which will save paying  equipment hire as a Pro will have good equipment and welds will be better than a novice will achieve.  When I did my last repair which was spot welding, I used 'weld through primer' so it could be worth asking a proposed welder if he wishes this applied before the plating is fixed in position.

There are a number of aspects when assessing reliability and I think a lot depends on what is included/excluded and the weight given to these.  Perhaps the 'What Car survey' is not likely to be sufficiently comprehensive to be taken as fair.  Nevertheless, a member pointed out quite recently that the 3rd Generation RX was reported as being the most reliable SUV, whereas here the earlier versions get the number 1 position for most unreliable. Quite a turn around! https://www.msn.com/en-gb/cars/news/most-and-least-reliable-older-electric-and-hybrid-cars/ss-AA1bMNn5?ocid=BDT3DHP&pc=BDT3&cvid=7f3653a999cc45bbdb28dd73e74962d1&ei=51#image=25

I think there is a rule about lorries having guards to help reduce the incidence of thrown up stones breaking following vehicle windscreens.  This seems to be more effective in some cases than others.  I would like to see it mandatory for ALL vehicles to have such protection.  It would not completely stop  damage but but would certainly reduce it, 

14 hours ago, Sundance said:

 Interesting that the ad details call it an 'Estate' suggesting the owner/seller is not quite sure what he/she has got.

But this car is sometimes referred to as an estate.  What makes it so according to what I have read is having roof rails which the vehicle in question has.  I understand roof rails were only fitted as an extra, so this may be correct.

It can depend how keen you are on a particular model,colour, trim, upper mileage and condition and how sales are going with a particular dealer.  I was in this situation when I first seriously looked for a Premier RX450h 3rd Gen.  I saw and drove a really nice car that met all I wanted.   It had things like adaptive cruise, heated steering and a couple of other things that even few Premier models have.  The asking price was circa £32K.  I offered £30K cash on the spot.  The sales lady said her boss would laugh at her if she put that to him.  She came back to me offering about three hundred off saying someone else was enquiring after it.  It was closing time and I said I would think about it overnight and get back to the main dealer the next morning which I did.  However the car had been sold!  I was very annoyed I didn't pay the asking price and have that car.

If you are less fussy than me and more flexible on variables, you might be able to get a bargain as you will have more cars to choose from.  How long you are prepared to look can also be a factor.

On 11/14/2023 at 12:54 PM, Joebloggs90 said:

Hi All

I wondered if any of your service your own cars and if so how difficult you found it with the Lexus RX450 model. I am not fussed about a service history book with stamps as don't plan to sell it but I would like to try avoid spending close to £350-400 on a full service if I can do a lot of it myself, such as air filter changes, oil changes etc. Spark plugs may be harder but YouTube seems to have videos for it all.

Has anyone done the usual jobs to their cars and any advice / feedback? 

Aheeeeem!  I recently spent £560 with  a main dealer for a full service and that was with club discount and without plugs.  I was charged a further £100 for aircon regas, the gas being a non standard one.

I think it goes to show it's worth having a good look before giving Lexus carte blanche to fit replacement parts particularly where these are costly.

When you have had a 2ton hydraulic trolley jack fail and also on another occasion a near new 2ton Bottle jack fail (the latter I recall when used on a 350SE Mercedes), it makes you rather careful. I actually welded additional bracing into my axle stands also plus put a spare wheel under the car for good measure when working underneath.

I guess I am a bit paranoid about such things having had an uncomfortable experience with an up and over door many years ago.  Another guy and I were entering a lock up with double width up and over door and it collapsed as we entered.  Fortunately, we both threw up our hands which helped break the fall and I have never trusted the nasty things ever since, so replaced with top quality electric roller shutters. 

It goes without saying that axle stands should be used but I had a situation recently where I needed to move a 'dead' car further away from a wall and used the front central jacking position to raise the car slightly while using a scissor jack suitably packed and sideways to thrust the wheel from the wall, then repeated the process for the rear end.  Because of the side force exerted on the lifting jack it had to be frequently repositioned but it did the job.  You can buy wheel movers that are placed under the wheels but not necessary for a single use.  I remained clear of the car at all times so no problem. 

Undoubtedly many cars saw little use during the Pandemic leading to a voltage fall that caused premature damage and shortening of Battery life.  if car is not used for a couple of weeks, particularly in winter, I would adopt the advice Lexus gave me during pandemic which was to charge car every 2 weeks, they said by exposing the 12v Battery to the service Battery as they specify.  However, you can use a smart charger in AGM mode if indeed you buy the AGM (VRLA) one from Lexus Direct.  Alternatively, some use a solar panel charger that you can put on the dash and connect to the OBD port but doubtful this would be sufficient this time of the year. 

 Members who have just opted for a much more readily available and less expensive standard free flow lead acid seem to be happy with them but that's your choice.  

Having had a fairly cheap trolley jack collapse on me, I decided I would buy a high quality 3 ton long reach one from a highly regarded firm.  I probably spent more than I needed to.but I have used it with confidence on a number of cars.  the make is 'Compac' and I paid around £300 for but it's a bit more now. https://www.jbsequipment.co.uk/garage-equipment/351-compac-trolley-jacks-5-20-ton-truck-bus-equipment-jacks-presses.html

Thanks for replies.

The 3 year extended warranty expired awhile ago.

As regards Poly v Rubber bushes, this debate came up when I was an active member of a BMW forum.  Generally speaking, the view was that Poly bushes were easy to insert,  however, among other things they gave a stiffer ride.  Some of the rubber bushes on my E39 are liquid filled and have to be pressed in in a precise position.  In the end, as I did the work myself, as it was not very much more expensive buying the affected arms with correct bushes already inserted.  Including Lemforder, which BMW generally use, there are replacements available from some other well regarded names so prices are more reasonable. So if I do feel replacement on my RX450h is called for, I will check what alternatives bushes are available separately and within arms and would appreciate any further info on what anybody has used.

I think I could do most, if not all the servicing on my car, just as I have on nearly all my previous cars,  but get a Lexus Dealer to do the service Battery health check. It rather depends on how my arthritic back is and who I can find to do specific jobs in need, rather than a fixed price service. 

Just as beauty is in the eye of the beholder so I guess is view Technicians take about need to replace some components.

Last year a local garage passed my RX450h without any advisory in MOT but shortly afterwards at service Lexus Dealership said the rear brake discs and pads needed replacing.  (I did buy the replacements but didn't put them on yet for several reasons that I won't go into here).

This year car again passed MOT without advisory at same garage and following service at same Lexus dealership there was no mention of the worn rear discs and pads (which had served another 4000+ miles in the interim), however an advisory was issued at service for replaceing the rear trailing arms due to bushes beginning to delaminate - this for in excess of £1300 as Lexus only supply bushes in the trailing arms they said and it took a long time to fit.

I only do about 4K miles a year at present, although this is likely to go up a little more in future, so the car has only recently gone past 50K miles.  It is however 8 years old, so I suppose some degradation of the bushes is inevitable.  Anyway, I will take a look underneath in the spring.  I believe it is possible to buy aftermarket bushes (don't want the poly ones), and get these pressed into the existing arms. I wonder if anybody else has done this?

I did ask of my Lexus Dealer when my car was serviced whether  3rd Gen were affected in a similar way to the 4th Gen and was told not - another reason to stay with my comfortable 3rd Gen for a few more years by which time there are likely to be advances in Battery tech and more choice of EV, with better  range and maybe more widespread charging.

As previously mentioned, 'crabbing' is usually more often associated with front wheels when fair amount of steering lock is applied.  It can be a combination of degree of lock, type of tyre, temperature, speed and road surface.  Not sure what the present situation is but there was a class action against Mercedes Benz for this on certain models.   (pages on it if you search google.)  MB were offering alternative tyres.  It was more prevalent on certain right hand drive models than LHD models being put down largely due to a different differential with RHD models.  It also caused premature tyre wear.  There are videos where a camera actually shows the skipping or crabbing and the noise it makes. 

Not sure how much of this is relevant to your car but at least shows this can happen. 

It would certainly be a courtesy to those who offered suggestions and assist others with similar problem if originators of queries came back to say what cause was.