OldStoat

Shortly after buying the RX400h the rain sensor dropped off the windshield. It caught on the re-view mirror, and has remained there for the last 3 years.

During a moment of peace, caused by an internet outage, I went to Toyota and ordered a replacement 'sticky pad' for £30 quid or so.

This morning the internet has been restored and I checked for 'rain sensor pad' and found them available for about 1/10th the price.

What is the story with these sorts of spares are they  usable?

I have bought it now - but am feeling a bit like Spike today... perhaps someone else can avoid being skinned... or can they?

) 

36 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

1 - no, it would clear itself after a maximum of three ignition cycles, if not immediately.

Was the sensor faulty? That is only used for vertical alignment of the lights, if there is a problem with the left/right steering then the problem is elsewhere. Ideally you need to know the error code to diagnose the problem.

 

2 - self levelling must work and beam alignment must be correct. The warning light because of the swivel action not working shouldn't be a failure.

Thanks Colin! The sensor itself wasn't faulty I don't think, but the adustment rod had broken - I'd asked someone else to do it and they wanted to fit a replacement item - fair enough. Now I think it is a couple of turns on the adjuster away from working - but idk!

In the early part of summer we had to drive from Norwich to Scunthorpe.

Filling the car at the end of the journey we found that we had covered 300 miles on 35 litres of fuel.

That worked out at over 38 mpg - which thrilled my Scottish heart! 

What is the best economy you've had?

In the early part of summer we had to drive from Norwich to Scunthorpe.

Filling the car at the end of the journey we found that we had covered 300 miles on 35 litres of fuel.

That worked out at over 38 mpg - which thrilled my Scottish heart! 

What is the best economy you've had?

I've had to replace the sensor on the rear suspension that manages AFS.

I'm fairly confidant that the sensor is doing its thing correctly, however the AFS light still flashes.

1) Is it necessary to delete the error code via OBDII to correct this?

2) Is it part of an MOT?

3) Is there a recommended way of adjusting the adjustment rod?

I've owned an RX400h for a couple of years and still find it a real pleasure to be in.

Recently there has been some quirky behaviour from the cooling/heating systems, including the previously rock solid temperature gauge fluctuating between just below 'norm' and nearly into the red.

Eager to wick some heat from the engine I opened the windows and turned the heating up full - but the air was at most ambient. The gauge gradually returned to a more reasonable temperature again.

I think that a failing thermostat would be fairly binary in its affect - it would either work or not work, not work a bit sometimes. I don't think blockages in the heater core - because I know the car has been very well maintained.

There are some comments on the US site about air-flow servo - accessed via the glovebox (is that driver side for UK models?). 

Can anyone comment on the symptoms please - or advise about sensible course of action?

I have just had my RX400h serviced at a local garage. 

I was told that there is 'alarming levels' of corrosion around the wiring loom as it exits the rear axle.

He seems convinced that this would be terminal for the car when it eventually let go.

Does anyone have any experience of corrosion in this area? If the cable does part company - will the car still operate to get me home?

Will it be an economic write-off?

Thanks for your time.

On 4/11/2021 at 9:07 PM, royoftherovers said:

Google for your local exhaust specialist and /or contact Tony Banks in Leeds Chris.

Wow - super impressed by Tony Banks response.

- has anyone opted for any of their tuning services?

Wafting through the green lanes of Norfolk yesterday I accelerated over the brow of a hill and boom! The exhaust broke and was dangling on the tarmac, parting as the pipe enters the box on the long section including the cat.

I'm loving owning and driving this car - but found that my go-to online parts supplier (europart.co.uk) had no Lexus exhaust parts listed for my car. 

Is this the case? OEM only? Am I really looking at 4 figures GBP for a section of exhaust?

Hi all,

I was advised that the car I bought at the beginning of this month will require a service. 

It seems that it should include sparkplugs at this time.

Does anyone have an idea of the cost of this service @lexus or @localmechanic? It looks like about 2 hours work.

I'm tempted to do it myself - are there any pitfalls I should be aware of or anything I should do 'while I'm there' ?

Thanks in advance.

Is it possible to play music though the Mark Levinson stereo without major surgery to the dash?

I guess I can go cigar lighter -> Usb power ->  apple connecting gizmo + Iphone -> cassette.

Is there a more simple route?

TIA

On 3/2/2021 at 2:12 PM, OldStoat said:

I've got a 2007 RX 400h booked in for diagnostics at Norwich Lexus - they have quoted me £60 inc VAT. and state it takes about 1 hour.

I may have misheard but I understand they run a two tier charging structure for their more elderly cars.

 

Great service - The Hybrid fault had cleared by the time they tested it. The £60 was waived and the car was washed. Wow!

Just having the best day! 

I bought the car privately on Saturday - Hybrid warning and VSC came on while driving back 'briskly'.

Booked it into local Lexus dealer in Norwich - quoted £60 for diagnostics.

No fault found, FOC, car washed to boot... AND the car returned > 37 mpg driving back through Norwich at 17:30 - albeit lockdown.

Thank you very much for the advice!

#BestCarIveOwned

#TopCustomerService.

@m4rkw 

I've downloaded the Techstrean Software from  Lexus.eu  and am installing it... Still haven't ordered a cable yet.

A couple of questions - 

1) Is there a recommended cable? The site offers a cable at about £800 and provides dire warnings about cheap cables.

2) Does the install set for TechStream not include drivers?

I was impressed with your blog re: VirtualBox - to he honest I would use VMWare for preference - but at the time, price was a factor for the client.

TIA

3 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

If you have an intel mac and enough disk space I would strongly recommend using Boot Camp and installing windows natively. VirtualBox was highly unreliable in my experience, and if you're messing about with talking to your car you really want stability.

You can download a windows ISO here: https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/software-download/windows10ISO

You don't need a product key as its free to use if you don't want to customise it.

Just run Boot Camp and give it the ISO and it should do everything for you. After windows is installed it will pop up a dialog to install the boot camp drivers - just click Next until it completes.

After it's done it will boot straight into windows every time, which is annoying. You can fix this by rebooting and holding the option key until you get the boot menu, select the macOS disk to boot into macOS. Then when you're back in macOS, go to System Preferences -> Startup Disk, unlock the pane and select the macOS volume, then click back to come out of that pane. Then it will default to macOS on startup and you can boot into windows by holding the option key.

Once you've got windows installed give me a shout and I'll chuck you the driver bundle.

You are very kind indeed, and thorough! - thank you. I'm a bit short of space as docker (64Gb) Win10 (32Gb with nothing installed!) occupy much of the meagre drive I specced it with. However I am hopeful that i can get it to be steady/reliable as we have managed to get the Dynamometer working reliably at the local Ducati garage, along with Ducati service software - all running Win10 64 Pro on Debian hosts. I think the key has been perhaps a lucky combination of Extension packs and in those cases a pci-e USB board. I'm super impressed with the support and general helpfulness of this lexus club. Thank you all very much.

16 hours ago, m4rkw said:

I have the mini-vci drivers for win10 64bit if you need them. Depending on the VM technology you use you might find the connection isn't very reliable. Vmware worked better than virtualbox in my experience, but if you want to be as stable as possible your best bet is to use bootcamp and dual-boot windows. This is only available on the intel macs, they removed it from the M1s due to the architecture difference.

Yes indeed Thank you M4rk for your kind offer, I have an intel mac with some experience of Virtualbox... any help is very welcome.

18 hours ago, Herbie said:

The absolute best thing is to use Techstream, which is the very same diagnostic software that Lexus techs use in dealer workshops. However, I'm 99% sure it's Windows only, not Apple.

If Apple can run virtual machines then you'll be able to run Windows 7 or even Windows XP in a VM.

You'll need a miniVCI cable from eBay or Amazon and most of these will come with a pirated copy of Techstream. I can't condone the use of pirated software but you can freely and legitimately download it from here https://www.lexus-tech.eu/DiagnosticTools/Setup and pay for a block of time to use it. Either way, you'll need that cable so it's a matter for your own conscience where to go from there.

I'm so impressed with this as a solution! Specialist software as a service @ 5 Euro a day - a bargain I'd say. Do other manufacturers do that?

1 hour ago, Herbie said:

The absolute best thing is to use Techstream, which is the very same diagnostic software that Lexus techs use in dealer workshops. However, I'm 99% sure it's Windows only, not Apple.

If Apple can run virtual machines then you'll be able to run Windows 7 or even Windows XP in a VM.

You'll need a miniVCI cable from eBay or Amazon and most of these will come with a pirated copy of Techstream. I can't condone the use of pirated software but you can freely and legitimately download it from here https://www.lexus-tech.eu/DiagnosticTools/Setup and pay for a block of time to use it. Either way, you'll need that cable so it's a matter for your own conscience where to go from there.

I've got a Win10 VM on the laptop - which will do fine. TQVM

Can anyone recommend an OBD2 reader for Lexus/Toyota? To be honest I would recommend Snap On - but I could probably replace the car for what they cost.

I've got an RX400h so something which can read / understand the hybrid - and ideally work on an apple product. e.g iphone/macbook - other operating systems are available.

I've got a 2007 RX 400h booked in for diagnostics at Norwich Lexus - they have quoted me £60 inc VAT. and state it takes about 1 hour.

I may have misheard but I understand they run a two tier charging structure for their more elderly cars.

1 minute ago, ColinBarber said:

If the vehicle hadn't been used much then maybe the 12v battery was partially discharged which can result in spurious errors being generated. Check the battery, charge if necessary and see how it goes - hopefully the error won't return.

If it does then you need a better code reader than you read non-engine systems, specifically Toyota/Lexus codes.

Its the first car I've owned in the last 10 years that is young enough to benefit from a code reader! I've had booked it in at Lexus Norwich for £60 inspection - which I think I'll still attend. Probably money well spent.

Just had the car read with a cheap OBD reader - no faults found in the ECU. He cleared the memory anyway and the Hybrid light has gone out.

Happy days.

Thanks very much John - I'll update this thread when I know more.

I bought it privately, but from a lovely couple who had owned the car for nearly 10 years and seemed completely genuine and actually sad to be parting with it.

I'm 60 this year and perhaps trust my instincts too much - but they tell me (still) that it was a genuine sale and that perhaps I've disturbed something on the admittedly brisk drive back home. Anyway one way or another it will be fixed. I hope by me but if not then Lexus.

The stereo! 

Well that took rather longer than I had hoped - but I've finally bought an RX 400h - I think it is a Mk2 version ('57)and the word I would use to describe driving it is 'Lush'. The most comfortable car I've owned - surpassing the Saab 9000 which previously held that honour.

I'm super happy with the car, but unfortunately it announced a Hybrid error on the way back from picking it up. There were no symptoms; but it declared a VSC error and a Hybrid error at once. I was in a contraflow at the time and so had to drive several miles before I could pull over. 

I switched the car off - and then back on again - which has worked on computers for the last 40 years and the VSC light cleared; but the hybrid error stayed on.

The Battery seems to charge OK according to the dashboard - so I've booked it in with Lexus Norwich for some tests this week.