mikesands

It's frightening isn't it? I have a microlight and because of environmental rules the Germans had to stop making rubber fuel tubes the way they always had. I replaced old fuel tube with new thinking I was being 'safe' only to find after 10 months that the new stuff crumbled internally, fed bits of rubber through into the carb and stopped my engine while I was climbing at about 500 feet. Fortunately like you I still had the old pipes, put them back on and they are still hunky dory 5 years further on. The Law of unintended Consequences comes to mind when I think of environmental laws being passed for safety reasons. Surely rather than force manufacturers to use different materials for the safety of their workers and the envirnoment, they should instead be forced to look at their processes so that they can deal with the more offensive (but fit for purpose) materials. Mike

You are right there seem to be some good tips there - but does the RX400H have eco mode or EV mode or power/sport mode .... if so I haven't noticed. Mike

well in my defence I have to say it only lights up green if you press it. And anyway I was looking on the Climate touchscreen which seems a more obvious place for it, Mike

Owner's manuals - they are for wimps :-) Mike

Derrrr ... will have another look when I get back in tonight Thanks Mike

.... 'cos if there is I can't find it Thanks Mike

Yeah that's what I have read too. If you look at the Bridgestone Potenzas fitted to the RX400H 18 inch wheels they are like balloons but they make for a lovely ride. I was going to give up on Lexus SUVs after trying both the sprung and air versions of the 450H but then tried my pal's 400H and found the ride quite acceptable. Sorry to be the bearer of that news but I think you are stuck with the problem. Finding some 18 inch wheels and fitting fatter tyres will probably help, but you'd need to check with your insurance I guess. I would be interested to hear if you get it sorted because in a couple of years I may be looking for a 450H (but only if I can improve the ride) Mike

Colin, have you seen my other post - my guy has discovered what's wrong with mine. Sounds like a simple fix but only a cheap one if he can find a second hand strut. I mentioned to my guy about your spark plug problem and that you might be interested in him swapping my engine into your car (that was before we knew he could fix mine). His reaction was the same as Lexus - it's definitely fixable and he's fixed them himself - doubt he'd charge anywhere near £700. Anyway if you want mine it will still be going cheap even when he gets it fixed as I have now moved on. Mike

My guy Chris has diagnosed the problem. He says its the near side shock - the air bag is goosed. I am very surprised that this didn't show up on either his or Lexus's diagnostic kit. Price of the new part from Lexus is £760 but if anyone wants to buy it off me and pay Chris to fix it (he thinks he may be able to get a part from a breaker), then please contact me. If that fixes it, it's a perfectly good car with an MOT until October. Mike

Hi Ian, That would be good of you. This is the advert please, and anyone can PM me mikesands: Despite spending a couple of weeks trying to get my LS430 back up on its suspension my guy can only get the front to come up, and even then that's by manually operating some kind of air direction relay. He can't afford to spend any more time on it so before I put it on ebay, I thought I would ask if anyone on here would like to make me an offer for it. It's a 2001 LS430 premium pack with an LPG gas conversion and has done 130k miles and it has a valid MOT until October. (Burgundy red with sussex grey interior bodywork is fine - for a 12 year old car) It has a full service history (not all lexus but Lexus did the cam belt at 100k miles). The only thing that is wrong with it that makes it an unusable car is that the air suspension has deflated and we can't get it back up (there are no error codes showing when Lexus put their diagnostic on it). There are some minor other faults with the car - The rear air con was leaking so I got that capped off, and the engine warning light has always come on since the LPG conversion was done 40k miles ago (my guy can explain why it does it if anyone is interested). Other than that it was in fine fettle until this suspension malarkey. I even refurbished the wheels a couple of months ago (and they are fitted with 4 winter tyres with another season's life left in them. It's now sorned and because of the suspension issue anyone wanting the car would have to pick it up (in Stockton on Tees). Thanks Mike (enjoying the RX400H but missing the super luxury)

It's more serious than that though Ray, as the system is not allowing me to post in the cars for sale section even though I have paid my £40 for Gold membership about 5 days ago. I would be extremely grateful if a moderator would at least allow me to post in that section as I want to offer the car on here before putting it on the auction site. Thanks Mike

Thanks Vadre. Yeah the noseweight problem is bothering me a bit ... will have to do a bit more research on that. But the V5C document came last week and it lists my car (executive limited edition ) as 2115kg mass in running order. So even if the caravan was loaded to the full 1800kg it would be 85%. But that's 240kg of payload so I don't think I would be up at that level. Thanks for the info. Mike

I think I did email Steve a few days ago. Mike

I paid for a one year subscription a few days ago and my profile hasn't changed and I'm not allowed to post in the cars for sale section I would appreciate it of a moderator could see what's wrong Thanks Mike

I'm thinking of getting one with a miro of 1560kg and a Max of 1800kg I know the towbar limit of the RX400h is quite low at 80kg so if you've towed something heavy have you been able to balance the extras to get it down to 80kg.? Thanks Mike

I have renewed my Gold member status so I hope that posting this advert on here is not in breach of the rules. Despite spending a couple of weeks trying to get my LS430 back up on its suspension my guy can only get the front to come up, and even then that's by manually operating some kind of air direction relay. He can't afford to spend any more time on it so before I put it on ebay, I thought I would ask if anyone on here would like to make me an offer for it. It's a 2001 LS430 premium pack with an LPG gas conversion and has done 130k miles and it has a valid MOT until October. (Burgundy red with sussex grey interior bodywork is fine - for a 12 year old car) It has a full service history (not all lexus but Lexus did the cam belt at 100k miles). The only thing that is wrong with it that makes it an unusable car is that the air suspension has deflated and we can't get it back up (there are no error codes showing when Lexus put their diagnostic on it). There are some minor other faults with the car - The rear air con was leaking so I got that capped off, and the engine warning light has always come on since the LPG conversion was done 40k miles ago (my guy can explain why it does it if anyone is interested). Other than that it was in fine fettle until this suspension malarkey. I even refurbished the wheels a couple of months ago (and they are fitted with 4 winter tyres with another season's life left in them. It's now sorned and because of the suspension issue anyone wanting the car would have to pick it up (in Stockton on Tees). If this post is in the wrong place I'm sure the moderators will move it Thanks Mike (enjoying the RX400H but missing the super luxury)

as stated earlier I tried the 'matt cockpit shine' http://reviews.halfords.com/4028/535120/reviews.htm from halfords but it didn't work (maybe the clue is in the name :D Might try a different make because on a bright summer day, the glare from mine is quite bad Mike

Well blow me - that pale blue shape at the bottom of the screen is indeed the bumper :D - I thought it was a graphic of some kind. Mike

Well I used some matt cockpit cleaner and it is just as shiny. I used black velvet years ago and it worked so maybe I'll get another piece. The glare is distracting Mike

..... mind you I do miss the smart key, and wafting air con :D Mike

The main reason I'm checking and asking the questions is to establish if the car has been set up right, because if not then I would ask Lexus to take a look at it. What this thread has shown me is that my car is probably pretty average and therefore probably set up right. I must admit the car is growing on me, and I've just come from a LS430 (deceased). Apart from road noise from the rear, this car is at least as quiet as the LS. Considering the suspension is springs and the car's CofG is considerably higher than the LS, the handling is miraculous. But the most surprising thing to me is that the RX400H seems to have much more zip than the LS. If you want to drive the LS430 fast and get some seriously rewarding thump in the back acceleration, you can, but IMHO only in manual mode. Drive it in auto (even Sport mode) and the delay between asking for power and getting it, is far too long. The response on the RX is instant - just like it used to be on my GS300. Mike

Can you Radoslav? I will take a look at the image more closely next time Mike

Yep Mike - that's what I was getting and I could refill with 74 litres (Think mine was a 90 litre tank). It did raise the boot floor by an inch which was at first annoying, but never really caused any problems. Mike

is it possible to adjust the rearview camera so that the red line is in the right place. If I line it up with (say) a wall, when get out and take a look I am at least 18 inches away from the wall. You might think the easy answer would be to put the red line 18 inches beyond the obstacle, but that does not look easy to judge. Thanks Mike

yeah I think you are right Colin. i will ask him to do the experiment properly Mike