Keeling54

Just to update this one, the man that I found that could weld sorted it for me, not the best job I've ever seen, but after I covered it in bilt hammer hydrate 80, a coat of paint then some tetroseal, it got another years ticket. 

This is the only photo I have, he was just in the process of seam welding the top section and adding some more welds to the lower jacking point.  

With the cover back on no one will ever see it. 

I managed to find a mobile welder, he's fabricating the plate and sill repair section tomorrow. I'll post up some progress photo's when he's done. 

Buying a welder and doing it myself was my last option, fortunately I found a man who can. 

LED are horrible, the glare for oncoming drivers is terrible, stick with new HID lamps. 

I used D2S HID's from amazon on mine, visibility at night is brilliant. 

I had the same with mine, it's been off the road since its failed MOT in October, tried to start it the other day and it was completely dead, fitted a new Battery and the dash lit up like a Christmas tree, AWD warning, Hybrid Battery waning, all sorts, turned it off and just turned the ignition on without starting it, the warning lights then cleared one by one. It was fine after that. 

It's being welded tomorrow so we'll see if it does it again when they've finished patching it up. 

Still not had the welding done, the mobile welder guy has let me down, 2 body shops not interested due to the amount of fabrication works needed. I did tell them they could plate over both but they weren't interested. 

I'm now looking for a body cut so I don't need to fabricate from scratch, I'll then buy a welder and give it a go myself. 

On 11/13/2023 at 4:35 PM, Greisingel said:

Yikes! I am crawling under my 2005 400H with cleaner, de greaser, and hammerite.

That is quite scary. Do you live by the sea?

No, miles from it, previous owners were no where near the coast either. 

2 hours ago, Russell Wheeler said:

It is hidden under the cover sills, so weld plates on, then put the cover sill back on. You won't see it. Is the otherside similar ? - Might be worth rust proofing it (unless it's already too late)

There is a small section under the rotten bit just next to the jacking point that caused it to fail the MOT, when I get that fixed I'll get the hole plated over and put the sill cover back on. I'll also Waxoil the void both sides.

According to the body work guy and I tend to agree with him, the rear corner was badly repaired at some point and has rotted from the inside out. The other side is fine. 

2 hours ago, Russell Wheeler said:

15 years old, the underside of these cars does not seem very well rustproofed. I have been out with a wire brush, hammerite and waxyoil with mine - and it was quite rusty - commented on the MOT

The underside of mine is fine at the front but unbelievably rotten at the rear. If I keep it going I can see it needing a new rear subframe at some point soon. 

I added one to my Lexus Rx400h, I used an eBay supplier from Germany, it fits to the rear of the unit via a splitter cable, works brilliantly. Can make calls with it and play music. 

Grom units are silly money, this one was £40. Splitter cable another £15. 

I'll find the link and post it. 

I had the same issue with struts and springs, appears Lexus supply only unless you happen to be in the states. 

Drop links are a silly price from Lexus, £175 each when I looked, I ended up with FEBI ones from an eBay supplier. 

Thought I'd update my previous post. 

The MOT was re booked for the welding to be done, the tyres, drop links and binding brakes had been sorted. 

Got a phone call 10 minutes after I dropped it off, only to go back and find this. This isn't actually what it failed on. I have a welder coming to take a look and a body shop putting a price to it. Wish me luck. 

I wasn't so lucky with mine. 

And that wasn't the MOT failure. 

I went for Avon ZX7's, fitted by Tyres on the drive, got 4 fitted at home for £455.00.

I've had them before and they've been fine. 

My 2006 Rx has just failed the MOT on a crusty rear end and needs some welding done. Quite a few place steer clear of welding hybrids but my local guys are willing to give it a go. I've told them to disconnect the 12V aux Battery, pull the HV plug and get on with it. 

I'll report back when they've finished.  

Not sure if anyone else has had this issue. I swapped out both rear dampers on my Rx400h last year, brand new items ordered from Lexus parts direct. 

Unfortunately one of them has failed, the car has done less than 5k miles in that time and the part is only just over 12 months old. 

Lexus aren't interested, they told me the warranty is 12 months on all parts, so tough. The fact it had probably been leaking for some time but I've only just noticed is a bit annoying.  

So, if fitting new dampers your self, take note of the bought date, install date and mileage and check them before they have been installed for 12 months.  

Mine is doing exactly the same in the same spot, I've ordered one of these off eBay, I'll either cut in half and then clamp the 2 halves over the offending area, after filling it with gum gum. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/253781813427

From what I have measured the exhaust pipe appears to have an OD of 2.25" or approx 57mm. I'll find out when it arrives. 

On 12/23/2020 at 9:53 AM, impero said:

When i meant high voltage i was talking about HID.

HID bulbs also use high voltage, so as i recall voltage there is even higher then on battery.

Sorry, I should have realised that. I was tempted to disconnect the Battery but decided leaving the lights switched off was safe enough. I did test the new lamp before refitting the head light though.  

I never came across any of the Battery wires when swapping out the headlight bulb, just the wires to the rear of the headlight. 

Just swapped out one of the HIDs on my 400h. It's a pain but straight forward. 

The wheel arch liner needs pulling back, a torx screw needs removing first. There is then a 10mm screw bolt that is fitted vertically holding the corner of the bumper in place against the wing. Remove this and pop the corner of the bumper away from the wing. 

Move to the front and remove all of the little black trim clips along the top of the bumper in front of the rad. You can then pull the bumper forward and down.

The head lamp is held in with 3 10mm bolts, 2 on top in the engine bay, the 3rd is on the side, an inch or so below the wing/bumper join line, 5 inches ahead of the wheel arch sitting behind the bumper. You can get to it by pulling the bumper corner out and down. Remove this bolt and then jiggle the head lamp out. The HIDs are covered by a circular cover, turn it anti clock wise and the cover comes off. The next step is to remove the lamp holder, again turn it anticlock wise and it'll come off. There is then a spring clip holding the lamp in place, squeeze the clip at the top and it hinges down. The lamp can then be removed. 

Fit the new lamp and put it all back together in the reverse order to above. 

It took me about an hour, when I do the other side it'll be a lot quicker. 

Only ever seen them on eBay or facebook. I did pick up a decent set with nearly new tyres recently for £400, will run these while getting my originals refurbed. 

That's what I thought. We are expecting high Temps again in the next few weeks so will monitor it carefully. It doesn't throw any codes or lights but is a bit worrying. The 12V was replaced recently, died after a week on non use, then wouldn't hold a charge. 

Has anyone noticed their hybrid Battery suffering with the heat. 

During the recent hot spell, the hybrid Battery on our Rx400h appeared to discharge slightly over a period of a couple of days of no use. I'd park it up with a 90% charged Battery only to use it 2 days later to find the Battery charge indicator at around 30%. 

 It charged back up fine when using it and its fine now the Temps are 20 and below. 

I fitted one of these and it works really well. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Bluetooth-Audio-Musik-Adapter-LEXUS-IS-ISF-GS-RX-LS-300-350-400h/264004475652?epid=6025037608&hash=item3d77e49b04:g:KGIAAOSwVFJbzvUu

Hybrids don't get emissions tested, the MOT man will just look to make sure the exhaust hasn't been changed from original and still has a Cat below the drivers seat. I have read on some forums straight through pipes passing, I guess it depends on your local tester. 

I got an after market Cat from the Catman in Southampton, https://www.catman.co.uk/?gclid=Cj0KCQjwnv71BRCOARIsAIkxW9H-Y7q-z40mVDK-gozMz_Xg4iJzvFUHaSQKKawHVOAiAd6SYEe9cysaAt81EALw_wcB

You'll need the exhaust flange welded to it but it's pretty easy to fit. 

I aslo got a straight through pipe from him just in case the second one gets nicked. 

If you can't get Denso try valeo blades, they are pretty good. The bosch ones I tried previously split after a couple of months.