Easylife

Steve, I don't know where I'm going with this mate. I'll email you my location but as there's a ferry trip involved it would probably be easier if I brought the car up to you/your company. Its the principal now, charging £2,600 for a kit that is not working as it should and to be honest is a pain in the back end to use anyway, seems like Lexus or their installers are taking the mick.. My letter has gone to Lexus GB now so it would make sense to sit tight and hear what they have got to say. If it gets resolved that'll be fine, if not I will take it all the way. Pete..

Yeah, I thought that about Silver !!! Brechin looks very nice though.....

Happy Motoring...... What colour did you go for in the end?

Oh dear mate, you think that Lexus are pulling the Wool over my eyes. That would really P*## me off I can tell you. I have spoken to the dealer again this morning and get the impression that they think I'm whinging about something and nothing. So now I'll drop a line to Lexus and ask them to explain, 1) Why It is not made clear to buyers that the kit is aftermarket and 2) why the proposed solution to the noise problem is to simply turn up the player volume. If things get a little heavy, at the risk of taking liberties, I might come back to you for some help. Thanks again.

Hi Andy, I've had my SEL for five weeks or so now and paid a little less than you. I think list was £40,800 with ICE and I paid just under £39k. That said its an 04 model so not sure if the price has gone up since. You have probably read my posts about the ICE. I don't think its worth the money and unless its changed in the past 5 weeks the install takes place in the UK and not at the factory. That said its nice to have and my kids love it. The kit is branded Lexus and the handbook is all Lexus too, so its keeps things consistent and will probably reasure any subsequent buyer. Also the warranty is assured. The main drawbacks with the system are; Accessability/use-You put a disc in before you set off on a trip and press play...fine, but start the engine and the whole thing switches off and unless the kids are older than mine (5 & 8) you will be jumping out again to get it going for them. By now they will be sat in the car and you are on your hands and knees fumbling under the seat. The headsets do not auto shut off so unless you remember to switch them off after the journey the batteries go flat. (happened twice on mine) PRICE!! I am sure that certain after market kits will be better but I prefer to be able to pass any problems on to the vehicle manufacturer. Picture is good and the sound is great (now). Also the player has a kick cover fitted with Lexus printed across the front, nice touch. You are really going to love the RX Andy, its a seriously nice car in every respect. Best choice I ever made (in car terms anyway!!!)

Really !!! I thought they were like 'Get you home' lights and went off after a period of time. Thanks for pointing that out.

Thinking about it, the DVD player is independant of the Audio system and as such is not connected to any speakers. Does this mean that without speakers to drive turning the volume to MAX is not actually running the unit at full power??

Thats the official Lexus fix..... I questioned the fact that the DVD player would be working at full power but the dealer read the fix to me over the phone and thats the solution given. When I told the the dealer rep that it was a crazy solution he said "Lexus are not in the habit of issueing technical bulletin without first carrying out extensive testing" Wot do I do now ?? As Joe Easylife I must accept everything my dealer tells me, because they're the dealer and I'm just a customer. I don't have the knowledge on vehicle/ICE electrics to fight it with Lexus UK. I'd just end up making a prat of myself. Any suggestions would as ever be appreciated. Whatever, thanks for the input so far. Lexus owners are a fine bunch of peeps.

My dealer has now come back with the solution. Turn up the volume to MAX on the remote control and just use the volume control on the headsets instead. Don't know why but it works. :)

Just checked out the mods on your car Duncan. Very nice mate

Hi Duncan, No the noise only picks up through the headphones. The cars Levinson system sounds spot on at any volume. SteveAudioX has come up with some likely solutions, so if Lexus don't come up with a fix I'll check these out. Pete

OK now I feel stupid, I have the pics but my IT skills have let me down again. Don't know how to post them!!

Can do if you think it'll help. Post them Sat morning. Thanks

Good Choice Realspeed, you will love it. Enjoy and happy Lexin' :D

Don't keep quiet Damian, I was only kidding. Lexus are at fault here for not ensuring the system is worth the money they charge for it. My dealer told me that I could get an SE-L with ICE quicker than one without (this influenced my final decision). Looking back this was clearly not true as the ICE is fitted in the UK. Delivery was actually delayed as a result. All in all I'm not very happy with my dealer.

Oh cheers Damian, you know how to make a guy feel bad don't you. In defence of the system and my pride, the quality of the screens and the player is high and the install is perfect even doen to the roof mounted infra red thing in the roof complete with a row of red LED's. Its just the interference that spoils it all. If you turn up the volume it sounds great. But thats not too good for my two youngsters ears. That said if anyone is thinking of ordering the ICE system from Lexus you would probably be wise to save your money and go for portable units.

I did and they referred me back to the dealer !! It would be good to know if any other owners have experienced this problem or whether its just me. Thanks anyway Colin, I'll give Lexus GB another try.

Yes, I ordered it with the car and it says Lexus on the screens and headphones. I think the system is fitted to the car after build and on arrival in the UK.

Having spent £2,600 on ICE for my RX to keep my kids quiet, I am a bit hacked off that they keep complaining about interference being picked up through the cordless headphones. If you rev the engine at standstill the phones pick up a whine like an old car radio with a dodgy suppressor. Apparently the whine is there when travelling along the road too. My dealer says that there is nothing they can do. Any suggestions would be appreciated. My wife thought I was nuts spending that much on two tiny screens and a DVD player, I just hate her being right...

Is there any advantage in running my RX on Super Unleaded fuel. I imagine a knock sensor would make any neccessary adjustments to the engine, but would it help performance/fuel consumption in any way???

Huh !!! Dieter ML arn't you on the wrong website !! Sorry nobody has mentioned the Merc ML . So will you be buying the new ML next year or are you going to come and play for the Lexus team??? Is that right about the power distribution on an RX400?

Funny how people view things so differently. What most folks forget about BMW is that the standard spec car with say Leather, Auto & Metallic looks a sound proposition on paper when considering residuals but add; Sat Nav, Sunroof, Multi CD, Privacy Glass, alloy upgrade, Xenons, Adaptive Lights, Auto dim Rear View Mirror, Rain Sensors, Electric Folding Mirrors, Electric Tailgate Lift (don't think you can) etc..etc, then see if you can get your money back!!!! Suddenly the depreciation argument falls apart. I know I have seen it all too often with mine and my companies BM's, Mercs & Audi's. I am yet to find a dealer who will give added PX value on optional extra's. Prove me wrong !!! BMW play a clever game, we are told that the 5000 or so 1 series BM's destined for the UK this year are all 'SOLD' prior to launch. My partner went to our local dealer on Saturday and was offered a choice of spec & colour for this year. Same story with X3. Its a great way to prop up your residuals.

Nice demo !! Makes the UK site look dull. Interesting that some models have a green background to the menu display, I hate the brown one on my RX - it looks dated.

Not sure what you mean by 'bulk the interior up a bit' have you looked at the average X5 interior? and OK an XC90 has two extra (Kids) seats but thats all. As far as power goes, how many 4.4/4.8 litre X5's do you see around? The most popular model (and justly so) is the 3.0d which aside from being a diesel has no real power advantage over the RX. A V8 RX would be great from an aspirational point of view but who would buy one? I had another look at an X3 today and am left in no doubt that the RX is closer to an X5. I still like the X5 though, trying to figure out how I can get some 19" wheels with 255's on my RX like the X5 sport has as standard!!!!

I notice in most car mags that the new Disco is being pitched against cars like the X5, XC90, Land Cruiser and VDub Toerag, the RX is as ever conspicuous by its absence. When the X3 was tested they often put the RX in the pot alongside the LR Freelander. This is where I get confused, surely the Freelander is in a different market to the RX?? More RAV 4 territory. The XC90 is only marginally bigger and is similar to the RX in so much as it offers true refinement and comfort over off road performance. The X5 has a dynamic advantage on road but I suspect most owners would never push the car to the extremes required to find this out. So the new Disco is King off road - great....apart from the motoring press who really cares? Does anyone with a £35-£40K car really want to stuff a boulder through the undersides or put go faster hedge rash down the sides? Nah course not. Surely what most SUV owners want is Style, comfort, good on-road manners and the ability to carry on driving in a bit of snow or across a wet and muddy field (rarely) Strange that the new Disco gets critisised for being too heavy (over 2 tons), too slow (109 mph), too Military (over functional cabin with no luxury touches) oh and it rattles too, yet somehow it still comes out on top!! See why I'm confused? The RX suffers none of the above and beats almost all SUV in the build, quality and refinement stakes. It was good to see an RX in the recent TV series Waking the Dead, now I think Lexus should push a little harder on product placement and get the motoring press to recognise the car as a true contender to the X5, XC90 brigade, Only What Car? seem to have cottoned on so far. Auto Express preffered the X3 while most other mags say the X3 has poor build and ride. Strange.