400H Servicing

Justin.s · February 25, 2016

Hi Guys,

I am in the market for my first RX400h. I am going to look at one at the weekend, an '06 plate SE-L on 88,000 miles. My question relates to the servicing schedules as there seems to be some conflicting information. Can anyone confirm if the major timing belt service is at 90,000 or 100,000. If its at 90,000 then I have a bit of a bargaining point with the dealer ( non-franchise). Also what are peoples experiences on costs for the major timing belt service as ive had a quick ring round and am getting prices around the £900 mark for the service, timing belt and water pump replacement. Does this sound about right ? I am in the Brighton area so if anyone has any good local garages for Lexus servicing id be glad to get their details.

Cheers

Justin.

RXJasonRX · February 25, 2016

Hi. On the RX it's 100, 000 miles. Good luck. The RX is a fantastic cruiser

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ChrisKaye · February 25, 2016

100k or 10years, whichever comes first - can be a great bargaining point as Lex dealers charge an arm and a leg for a proper job (ie: not 'essential' belt only change!)

An independent will be £500 for belt, tensioner and pump.

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Justin.s · February 25, 2016

This is why i'm getting confused. Ive downloaded a copy of the service and maintenance manual and it shows the timing belt being changed at 108 months or 90,000 miles ??? If its at 108 months then I assume the timing belt should have been changed by now on an '06 model?

ChrisKaye · February 25, 2016

There's nothing to be confused about, it's old and needs changing ASAP.

If it goes, then that = engine replacement.

In my case, the belt had been changed (but nothing else) and not documented, as a matter of course for my own peace of mind I had it changed + water pump + tensioner + spark plugs @ 12 yrs old and 108k miles.

The mechanic found that the water pump gasket was leaking and the tensioner had seen better days, but the belt HAD been changed for a billy no makes brand but looked good.

With all that and the spark plugs done, major servicing bar faults put me good for another 10yrs or 100k miles, a positive side effect of the water pump changes means the coolant is also changed.

tom123 · February 25, 2016

4 hours ago, Justin.s said:

This is why i'm getting confused. Ive downloaded a copy of the service and maintenance manual and it shows the timing belt being changed at 108 months or 90,000 miles ??? If its at 108 months then I assume the timing belt should have been changed by now on an '06 model?

Is that for American cars? In the UK it is recommended to change at 100K.

rayaans · February 25, 2016

5 hours ago, Justin.s said:

This is why i'm getting confused. Ive downloaded a copy of the service and maintenance manual and it shows the timing belt being changed at 108 months or 90,000 miles ??? If its at 108 months then I assume the timing belt should have been changed by now on an '06 model?

Buddy thats not for UK cars.

UK cars is here : http://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgben/Lexus-Full-plus-100-Service-Summary_tcm-3066-418955.pdf?_ga=1.73321425.390821457.1454536791

Justin.s · February 26, 2016

Thanks guys, didn't realise that the American servicing intervals were different 😳 . Can anyone put up the full rx400h servicing schedule? the 100+ service above leads me to believe that the timing belt gets done at 100,00 miles. Can anyone confirm that it's at 100,000 or at 10 years whichever is sooner. This makes a big difference as the car I am looking at is 10 years old on an '06 plate but has only done 88,000 miles.

rayaans · February 26, 2016

3 hours ago, Justin.s said:

Thanks guys, didn't realise that the American servicing intervals were different 😳 . Can anyone put up the full rx400h servicing schedule? the 100+ service above leads me to believe that the timing belt gets done at 100,00 miles. Can anyone confirm that it's at 100,000 or at 10 years whichever is sooner. This makes a big difference as the car I am looking at is 10 years old on an '06 plate but has only done 88,000 miles.

Sorry should have mentioned that the above is 100k/10 years so yes you should get it replaced at 10 years old

ChrisKaye · February 26, 2016

Previous reports from owners state that the engine is usually good on belts - some US owners have kept the original belt for over 130k miles!

The biggest danger to me would be that the belt perishes with age rather than wear as it is only rubber after all and that belt would go through many thermal cycles over the years.

So a change at 10yr mark is only sensible.

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Assa1974 · February 27, 2016

Hi All - first post for a prospective owner. Really glad I found this thread. I tested a 'keenly' priced 400H yesterday. 08 plate with 97K miles. I was trying to work out why it's probably a couple of hundred below trade value and now thanks to this thread I know it's due a 100k service which is going to cost a bit. Looking at an older car tomorrow but it's had the belt change done.

Justin.s · February 27, 2016

Well , the car I initially looked at had the grey interior which unfortunately was showing its age as was the exterior with numerous scrapes n scuffs. I have now bought a black 56 plate which is in great condition and has its full service history. Looking forward to collecting it next weekend

ChrisKaye · February 27, 2016

If Justin hasn't bought the RX yet, he could try and use the 'standard' Lexus dealer pricing for the maintenance needed as a bargaining chip to lower the price - hopefully they'd meet him in the middle then he can buy the RX and take the Lex to a reputable independent garage to do the work for half the dealer's price, that way all parties win and Justin will have peace of mind without being stung...

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ChrisKaye · February 27, 2016

The above is a bit late as Justin's just bought a beaut! [emoji4]

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Assa1974 · March 1, 2016

I popped into the Birmingham Lexus dealer on Sunday on the way back from viewing a couple of 400RXs to inquire about servicing, particularly the 100K service as most of the cars I'm looking at are around this mileage. They quote £645 for the service but the salesman I spoke to (the servicing dept. was closed) pointed out very helpfully that in fact the next main service at 120K miles is more expensive as it's a 60K interval. That's another £745. As I'm doing around 20K miles per year I could easily be looking at £2K of servicing costs in the first year if anything extra needs doing on top. That's a big bargaining chip I intend to use. I'm off to view another car tomorrow which the dealer has promised will have had the timing belt changed if I buy it.

Out of interest can anyone recommend a independent Lexus specialist in the midlands for servicing? I'm going to look into Lexus' service plan but the car I'm looking at doesn't have FLSH, some of it has been done by a local garage (another bargaining chip) so I may opt to go with an independent as well.

rayaans · March 2, 2016

On 3/1/2016 at 1:45 PM, Assa1974 said:

I popped into the Birmingham Lexus dealer on Sunday on the way back from viewing a couple of 400RXs to inquire about servicing, particularly the 100K service as most of the cars I'm looking at are around this mileage. They quote £645 for the service but the salesman I spoke to (the servicing dept. was closed) pointed out very helpfully that in fact the next main service at 120K miles is more expensive as it's a 60K interval. That's another £745. As I'm doing around 20K miles per year I could easily be looking at £2K of servicing costs in the first year if anything extra needs doing on top. That's a big bargaining chip I intend to use. I'm off to view another car tomorrow which the dealer has promised will have had the timing belt changed if I buy it.

Out of interest can anyone recommend a independent Lexus specialist in the midlands for servicing? I'm going to look into Lexus' service plan but the car I'm looking at doesn't have FLSH, some of it has been done by a local garage (another bargaining chip) so I may opt to go with an independent as well.

On cars of that age and mileage you're better off going with an independent anyway, especially at the mileage you're doing each year. The prices should be about half of what Lexus charge you. It won't make much difference come resale time either for the car.

The only reason I have the RX and soon the IS on Lexus service plans is because they are too new with average mileage that it'd make resale extremely difficult if I got them done at independents.