Barry14UK

Hi, Assume you do not wish to involve Lexus as they have a dealership at Sidcup. Nevertheless, if no other suggestions are forthcoming you could ask where Lexus get's their minor bodywork done if they lack this facility. If it's just minor paint work you need you could check out work of local 'Chips away' or equivalent. (I seem to remember Herbie used similar service). Another suggestion is use local guide and follow up on satisfactory results. When I lived near Sidcup many years ago, I had paintwork done satisfactorily on my SLC MB at a shop near New Eltham but I can't remember the name now. One last suggestion is go to a seller nearest you of decent quality cars and ask where they get their used cars prepared for sale. I did this down here in Devon and the bodyshop they recommended did a good job on my RX.

When I bought my 3rd Gen RX450h from Lexus Cheltenham the pull out cover, flexible shelf or however you describe it, was lying diagonally under the hatch. When I arrived home I attempted to fit it but without success. I then closely examined the item and noted a small label on it marked 'Honda'. I can only conclude that whoever cleaned the cars had transposed the part between a Honda and my Lexus. Anyway, Lexus sent me the correct one and didn't want the Honda one back, so I must put it on ebay.

I suppose most people go for lowest or near lowest quote and you don't find out how good in regard to processing a claim until you are involved in an incident. A claim I had with LV with whom I had been insured with many years was satisfactorily dealt with by them about 5 years ago. I left them after they put the renewal of my RX up excessively for no good reason. At present I am on hold to AXA. They paid for the repairs to my car, claim handled by Auxillis when I was T boned back in May but despite Auxillis again requesting AXA reimburse me minor Taxi bills (much less than car hire) they don't reply so I am now down to third in the queue. Coincidentally, I am also insured with AXA as well as the driver who was at fault. Not sure I will renew with AXA but believe all insurers are under administrative pressure.

I also don't think a slightly worn wheel bearing would cause such a drop in MPG although the colder weather would account for some of this. Maybe a bit of a lesson here about 'Relax' but if it's not too bad and you are a little late getting it serviced, see if they pick it up and if not go back soon after the service?

I assume that there are parking pawls in the transmission that work like conventional auto boxes when in 'P'. The fact that Lexus and some other manufacturers are fitting automatic hand/parking brake,(call them what you will), indications how the manually operated brake where fitted , should be used. Relying just on the parking pawls puts a strain on them when you are on a gradient. The potential downside is that if you are hit hard enough whilst parked, with the pawls engaged without or to a lesser extent with the hand/parking brake employed, you risk damage to the pawls/transmission.

I find the seat and general comfort excellent, the main reason why I bought it as I have a back problem. If the mod shown works, that is great for the owner. It's like getting comfortable shoes. For most people a certain shoe might generally be found to be most satisfactory, but a certain individual might have a slightly unusual shaped foot or a problem such as Plantar fasciitis which requires orthotic insoles to make it more comfortable.

I used to have the 'two shots of Redex upper cylinder lubricant' many years ago but oils have improved greatly since then. Some people also used a very high proportion of Redex as a way of decoking vehicles. However, with catalytic converters, I understood the idea was to stop oil and crude passing through the converters to maintain efficiency. As regards E10, there is a lot of information on how it adversely affects, gaskets, and seals and eats its way through rubber and has other downside effects. The effect is magnified with the changed ratio of ethanol. The presumption that E5 didn't do any harm is incorrect. This was established when motor cyclists who had fiberglass petrol tanks were finding that they were delaminating. Doubling the amount of ethanol in the mixture means it is not advisable to use in many older cars and there is some opinion that it may, albeit more slowly, detrimentally affect later cars.

Isolate screw head and use mixture of baking powder and super glue to attach very small nut. Use magneto spanner or similar to wind out or alternatively bond small crosshead screwdriver to wind out. Another method would be to carefully drill very small hole so you can start 'Easy Out' extractor if you have a small enough one. By the way, WD 40 is not a release agent and I wouldn't advocate a penetrating oil in this situation anyway.

The component parts of Lexus cars with air suspension are expensive to replace if not covered by warranty. As regards at least the RX, some members faced with the high cost have removed the air suspension and replaced with conventional struts, be it after market or from a scrapped model, thereby avoiding any further potential problem that might occur with the air suspension as well as replacing the immediately failed component. On some makes of car this would be a substantial downgrade but from all accounts this change makes less difference with the RX so is worth considering.

Agree with what Bill suggests. What sort of mileage has car done?

Yes this subject has been discussed previously and I raised the contra logical situation of Toyota providing a 5 year warranty on their bread and butter range but only 3 years on their more up market Lexus models.

Merry Christmas from me to all also. I wonder if the much delayed meet at Gaydon will go ahead next year and some of us can meet up.

I bought one rubber only for £6 delivered as a trial (not much to lose if problematical). It seems to be OK but took about a month to arrive coming from former eastern block country. I will now order one for the other front. I have not posted details as I don't know how long these will last. Also, this is from a very large store where motoring forms a small part and there have been a lot of bad reviews. They do make specific wiper rubbers for the RX and other models. I will update in the spring.

Results can differ depending on who does the testing and some models may work better on some cars than others. My used car came with the type of Dunlops option fitted as standard. Although there was quite a bit of tread on these, they made a horrible noise rather like a worn wheel bearing but was assured by the Lexus dealership that was well known with this sort of type. I asked what they recommended and was told that the CC Michelins were very popular. They also did well in some tests I researched so got some fitted. These were a revelation after the Dunlops improving ride, feel, handling and comfort and losing that worn wheel bearing like sound. I can't say they are the best because I haven't tried the others but I am very happy with them and they have been used in different weather conditions now with the recent snow. You have to remember that when you buy all season tyres slight compromises have to be made over a specifically designed summer tyre set plus a winter set which is what really hard drivers might prefer but I find the CC Michelins meet my expectations and driving style which is probably about average nowadays. (Long past my sports car days). In any case you can't drive an RX like a sports car regardless of tyres fitted.

ACC is shown on stalk as variation to normal CC I have noticed it is widespread practise for dealers to show all options cars have in general description of a car for sale, some say it does not necessarily apply entirely to vehicle they are selling and may just emphasise certain attributes separately. I do agree description should precisely match the vehicle. It has to be said that there are so many features on a car nowadays that understandably not all of these are mentioned but this is different to giving the impression that a car has features it doesn't have.

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.

I have to have my eyesight checked when I renew my licence as I have declared Glaucoma. I also have cataracts forming, yet I can pass the driving eyesight requirement by reading a number plate at the prescribed distance and the indoor approved test without even using my distance glasses which I did out of curiosity. I normally have my eyes checked extensively every 6 months at a hospital Glaucoma unit but have been waiting some two years for this apparently delayed due to Covid. Coincidentally, I have this much delayed appointment tomorrow. I am not very happy about the very bright light test but hate the field tests where you have to press a button each time you spot a light briefly shown in different positions on a screen as part of a sequence. Your finger is almost twitching over the button and I am sure I sometimes get this wrong. However, I am told the light is repeated within the sequence, so errors of anticipation or undue delay in response tend to take this into account. I was also told my hating the field test is quite common.

There are many people who find driving at night becomes more stressful with passing years. In addition to aspects that have been raised already, good though headlights may be nowadays, there is less time to see animals that suddenly appear. Also, spray from other vehicles makes it more difficult to see temporarily even with wipers on full speed. I keep a pair of the yellow night driving glasses to hand and these can help in certain lights. (Can't suggest source as bought mine from a trucker's shop in the US some years ago). The more elderly among us may remember that at one time in France it was typical to see headlights showing yellow and I believe this was a requirement at the time. Certainly, the more powerful lights nowadays, particularly where badly focussed, can add to the problem and it can help if you shut one eye, (assuming your sight in both eyes is good) until an offending oncoming vehicle has passed. When you then open the closed eye, you regain focus more quickly. This is something I remember from military training.

If I correctly recall, the Lexus manual that came with my 2015 RX450h says to connect charger negative to earthing point but I have always connected direct to battery on this and other cars. Good idea to get a 'smart charger' giving maximum charge of 5amps (this will stop overcharging that shortens battery life. You use the mode appropriate to your battery and this will adjust charge as battery requires.

Luck escape for you! I travelled back to North Devon from Surrey on Saturday evening and there was more snow on the roads in Devon than I have seen in the dozen or so years I have been here. My RX450h coped very well with this but it is shod with Michelin Cross Climates so I expected it would. What is worse is where the snow melts and subsequently freezes leaving patches of black ice. I live on an untreated steep hill and regardless of tyres there is the possibility of car just sliding to bottom if road freezes so won't risk using it for as long as necessary. Note to self. Must get out those metal spiked overshoes that haven't seen the light of day for years so I can walk to shops!

You say Standard Pan D23 battery fitted to your car is not AGM anyway but think this is incorrect. It does not say AGM on it but says VRLA (Valve Regulated Lead Acid) which means the acid is absorbed within the glass mat which makes it AGM rather than free flow lead acid. The main advantage is that with AGM batteries in a serious accident there is not the potential for the acid to affect anybody within the cabin as with full flow batteries of the type you have now fitted. However, it has to be said that the risk is quite small and I understand that even Lexus are now fitting free flow lead acid 12v batteries to some cars. These are more readily available and less expensive and generally size for size contain less lead than AGM batteries. Rather than enlarge the vent hole on your new battery by drilling, with the possibility of any claim on it being rejected on it due to modification, you could have bought a smaller adapter off ebay for under £3 as others like me have done and fitted this to the Lexus tube. Incidentally, this vent only comes into effect with the AGM batteries where the regulating valve releases over gassing usually due to overcharging.

I don't know whether it will make a difference to help stop corrosion on discs but I plan to drive slowly with my brakes lightly on for the last 80 or so yards to my home if I have gone through pooled water or it has rained. (I don't power spray the wheels when cleaning). Hopefully, the friction of doing this will will dry off the discs. I think it much more likely that the disparity between genuine Lexus discs with regard to corrosion, is down to varying factors to which these have been subjected, rather than in the actual material. I have seen how a salty atmosphere can accelerate rust for example or what driving on salt sprayed roads can do.

BMW have fitted Run Flats for many years, may have been first or thereabouts to fit them and this subject has come up many times on BMW forums. Certainly RF's have improved over the years and there are a fairly small number of BMW owners that find them acceptable. But most owners on forums at least, either change to normal tyres when replacement is called for or change before then as a friend of mine did. (Fortunately my E39 has a full size spare). So down to personal choice, although having driven a UX with it's miniscule boot, I can understand greater acceptance of RF tyres for this model.

What rotten luck! Can damage be repaired or does it mean a new screen? Must say I tolerated a repair on an old car but always aware that it had been repaired. It may need a new screen if crack is too extensive and one is always wary of how well this will be done, perhaps involving Lexus in need.

I run my car about 3 psi below standard with no obvious signs off excessive or uneven wear on 19" wheels with Michelin Cross Climate tyres, the latter making the most difference in improved ride and comfort over the Dunlop Sports it was bought with. It would no doubt be even more comfortable on 18" wheels/tyres but I don't find the car unduly uncomfortable as to warrant the change. However my car has air suspension and the characteristics probably are a little different to the steel sprung ones.