Window shopping again (450h) !!!

mcleish · May 9, 2016

I'm browsing again for a RX450h.

I am looking at 2012 SE-I models instead of the L because of possible future issues with the special suspension (I may be wrong here). I've noticed the word ADVANCE on some models, what's the difference (is it the sunroof ?).

When viewing cars on line I have noticed that some have the reversing camera in the rear view mirror instead of the main dashboard screen, is this on older or newer models ?

Also, at what year was there a face lift or any noticeable changes, is 2012 a later enough year for me to be looking at ?

My budget restricts me to the 2012 year model, I am looking at any colours other than black (inside and out) and preferably with a sunroof. For this year and my budget the mileage seems to be from 70k upwards, I could go for a older model with lower mileage I suppose ( any negatives on this idea)?

I know by buying from a Lexus dealer I'll be paying more, but it should come with a Lexus 12 month warranty for piece of mind and could maybe strike a deal on a longer warranty.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

rayaans · May 9, 2016

12 hours ago, mcleish said:

I'm browsing again for a RX450h.

I am looking at 2012 SE-I models instead of the L because of possible future issues with the special suspension (I may be wrong here). I've noticed the word ADVANCE on some models, what's the difference (is it the sunroof ?).

When viewing cars on line I have noticed that some have the reversing camera in the rear view mirror instead of the main dashboard screen, is this on older or newer models ?

Also, at what year was there a face lift or any noticeable changes, is 2012 a later enough year for me to be looking at ?

My budget restricts me to the 2012 year model, I am looking at any colours other than black (inside and out) and preferably with a sunroof. For this year and my budget the mileage seems to be from 70k upwards, I could go for a older model with lower mileage I suppose ( any negatives on this idea)?

I know by buying from a Lexus dealer I'll be paying more, but it should come with a Lexus 12 month warranty for piece of mind and could maybe strike a deal on a longer warranty.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

The SE-L ones have air suspension and therefore best avoided simply because they could go wrong at any time at those mileages and they come with a big bill if they do go wrong.

2012 models are the late pre-facelift models as there was a facelift in May 2012 when the newer cars came out. Therefore you can rest assured that any niggles in the earlier models will be sorted out completely.

If you can, stretch to a facelift model. These cars have a slightly different suspension and handle better as a result.

What sort of budget are you looking at? I'll take a look on the Lexus used website for some good example for you.

mcleish · May 9, 2016

Excellent feedback, thanks.

Budget is £20k maximum, but if these are as bullet proof as people say, I may spend less for a FLSH well looked after higher mileage ( they do exist).

Lexus Reading have a silver 2012 with the light leather for just under £20k.

I'm not interested in anything black.

Cheers

Bobby

PS: as usual I get more for my money if I buy anywhere north of Watford !!! Or in other words, out of the Thames Valley area !!

rayaans · May 9, 2016

5 hours ago, mcleish said:

Excellent feedback, thanks.

Budget is £20k maximum, but if these are as bullet proof as people say, I may spend less for a FLSH well looked after higher mileage ( they do exist).

Lexus Reading have a silver 2012 with the light leather for just under £20k.

I'm not interested in anything black.

Cheers

Bobby

PS: as usual I get more for my money if I buy anywhere north of Watford !!! Or in other words, out of the Thames Valley area !!

They are pretty bulletproof, pretty much as bulletproof as you can get! The 3rd Gen RX was the most reliable vehicle in the latest 2016 Autoexpress reliability survey too which shows! Mine is currently on 40k and its not had a single issue, the brake pads are still on 30% worn lol, thats regen for you! And tyre change is every 26-30k mile which is great for the size of vehicle.

The Lexus Reading one looks in good nick. Cosmetically the Advance models get shadow chrome effect wheels and the front and rear under runs which make it look nicer.

The seats look great for 75k miles (I suspect someone small and light has been driving it). It also seems competitively priced and should take another 100k miles no problem.

The only issue I can see with the car is that it should have a grey glovebox, but it has a black one. I suspect thats because it was scratched from knees or something and they couldn't find a replacement?! But, its hardly that bad, looks good regardless

mcleish · May 10, 2016

Thanks for that, would never have noticed the glovebox colour, but does look OK.

Very tempted to pop up to the Reading dealer and have a touch and feel !!!

But it's raining !!

Do you really see any issues with buying a well looked after FLSH with 100k on the clock ?

mcleish · May 10, 2016

For instance..

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201604193122663

DanD · May 10, 2016

Have a look at the attached file, which was kindly sent to me (or posted on the forum... I can't remember) by another club member when I was looking to change from RX400h to RX450h...

Lexus RX Series III.pdf

mcleish · May 10, 2016

Hey, that's very useful, thanks.

So how do I know which model an Advance is ? Because I don't see the words SE, Luxury, F Sport etc in their descriptions ?

rayaans · May 10, 2016

14 minutes ago, mcleish said:

Hey, that's very useful, thanks.

So how do I know which model an Advance is ? Because I don't see the words SE, Luxury, F Sport etc in their descriptions ?

An advance will be labelled as an Advance on the V5 and dealers will call it an Advance.

They usually are the SE-I with added sunroof and cosmetics. Usually you can tell that it's an advance due to its shadow chrome wheels

The autotrader one has missed a lot of its services. They should be every 10k. Not sure on how others feel but my car is serviced at 10k intervals or earlier but this car has been doing almost 16k in one of its early services and has consistently done more than 10k between some.

Boxbrownie · May 16, 2016

Funnily enough we about the consider jumping back into the Lexus RX again, the last one was a 2003 Mk1 we owned for 9 years and 90K miles, sold it just before we moved to Pastyland...we both miss it a lot, and have just noticed a rather nice 2013 450h locally which is exactly how we like our cars, not to dark outside and very light inside, very tempting, so much so we are going for a test drive tomorrow...I know we will like it, and we have been looking around recently at F-Pace, Evoque, Discovery Sport (all new) but quite frankly the new Ingenium 2L diesel engine in underwhelming, especially so in the F-Pace.

The RX again just feels like a "sitting room on wheels" compared to the rest, and I'd love to get back to a Hybrid drive as having an Audi A6 Hybrid a couple of years ago I miss the drive characteristics.

Wish me luck!

Boxbrownie · May 18, 2016

Well drove the RX, and came away very underwhelmed, nice and luxurious but the driving experience was a huge let down, the throttle input felt like they had a three second delay all the time.

rayaans · May 18, 2016

6 hours ago, Boxbrownie said:

Well drove the RX, and came away very underwhelmed, nice and luxurious but the driving experience was a huge let down, the throttle input felt like they had a three second delay all the time.

Was it in Eco mode or something? Nothing like 3s on mine. The Eco mode really dulls down throttle response and there's no significant benefit in fuel economy.

You wouldn't be saying it had a delay in throttle response in Sport mode as I feel sometimes its "too" responsive, reacting to the smallest of throttle inputs.

Boxbrownie · May 20, 2016

Nope, I tried each mode and the result was much that same, not just the delay but the throttle pedal travel seemed to have little relation to the reaction of the engine/drivetrain, obviously there was not a 3 second delay built in but felt very far from my old RX300 and Audi Hybrid I had a few years ago.

Extremely disappointed as we both had pretty much set our hearts on the spec and car we found...

rayaans · May 20, 2016

Dont really know what you're talking about - never had an issue with it reacting differently to throttle inputs. Generally, the more you put your foot down, the faster it goes. I swapped my RX300 for it and can't say its any worse, in fact that RX had a more hesitant gearbox

Boxbrownie · May 20, 2016

The throttle didn't react differently in the different modes, it just felt (in all driving modes) like there was a disconnect lag between throttle input and anything actually happening.

I find it odd your previous RX300 (assuming it had the TC auto) was worse, as the original RX300 Mk1 was tested and set up for the US market in as much as the auto had very fast pick up reaction from standstill, not at all a "slush box" as the European market likes.

I am happy your happy with the RX450h you have but our test drive was a real downer.

rayaans · May 20, 2016

6 hours ago, Boxbrownie said:

The throttle didn't react differently in the different modes, it just felt (in all driving modes) like there was a disconnect lag between throttle input and anything actually happening.

I find it odd your previous RX300 (assuming it had the TC auto) was worse, as the original RX300 Mk1 was tested and set up for the US market in as much as the auto had very fast pick up reaction from standstill, not at all a "slush box" as the European market likes.

I am happy your happy with the RX450h you have but our test drive was a real downer.

Mine was the 2nd gen RX300. It had a hesitant gearbox at times, not always.

You didn't test a 2013 did you? I believe the 3rd gen 2013 had a built in throttle delay due to the "unintended acceleration" problems.

The 2016 RX and 2012 RX doesn't have this

Boxbrownie · May 21, 2016

Yes it was a 2013MY....so they cocked it up there then, certainly no unintentional throttle action and very difficult to get intentional throttle action also

rayaans · May 21, 2016

1 hour ago, Boxbrownie said:

Yes it was a 2013MY....so they cocked it up there then, certainly no unintentional throttle action and very difficult to get intentional throttle action also

I think it was on the 2013 reg onwards in the 3rd Gen. The facelift came out on the 12 plate, they had some issues in the US with unintended acceleration so built in a throttle delay to all RX's after.

Interesting you say its difficult to get the car to move - mine literally just goes like stink with the foot to the floor. It weighs 2 tonnes and its a NA petrol so needs revving.

Boxbrownie · May 22, 2016

That's fine but I do not want to put my "foot to the floor" at every roundabout just to slip into traffic flow, it should only need a touch to get the vehicle to accel enough.

May 22, 2016

Our 2014 Advance model is more than fast enough no hesitation, the power is there when you need it we love the drive of this RX 450.

rayaans · May 22, 2016

4 hours ago, Boxbrownie said:

That's fine but I do not want to put my "foot to the floor" at every roundabout just to slip into traffic flow, it should only need a touch to get the vehicle to accel enough.

That should be OK then. If I put my foot to the floor it'll scare cars which are rated at 0-60mph in 5-6s. Lets not forget that the RX is faster in mid range acceleration than a Porsche Cayenne Hybrid with 400+hp!

ISJason · May 22, 2016

Hi. Mr box brownie sir. I think you should try another RX 450. Like everyone says here, the RX goes like the proverbial clappers. Try another. Preferably at a dealer.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

JeffL · May 22, 2016

On 21 May 2016 at 11:11 AM, rayaans said:

I think it was on the 2013 reg onwards in the 3rd Gen. The facelift came out on the 12 plate, they had some issues in the US with unintended acceleration so built in a throttle delay to all RX's after.

Interesting you say its difficult to get the car to move - mine literally just goes like stink with the foot to the floor. It weighs 2 tonnes and its a NA petrol so needs revving.

So is it best to buy a 2012 plate facelift or a 2013 plate onwards when looking for a used RX450h? Also, what does NA petrol mean? Thanks.

Boxbrownie · May 22, 2016

3 hours ago, ISJason said:

Hi. Mr box brownie sir. I think you should try another RX 450. Like everyone says here, the RX goes like the proverbial clappers. Try another. Preferably at a dealer.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk

This was at a main dealer, and when I pointed out to him my thoughts after the test drive he said no one else has commented upon the "dull" throttle, he seemed to think the way it drove was normal, to be honest my Mk1 RX300 had better response (if not outright performance) from the drivers throttle input.

I have driven several RX400h a good few years ago and as far as I remember they were fine, but the 450h was basically a poor drive. Can only put it down to the above stated in built throttle delay.

Boxbrownie · May 22, 2016

41 minutes ago, JeffL said:

So is it best to buy a 2012 plate facelift or a 2013 plate onwards when looking for a used RX450h? Also, what does NA petrol mean? Thanks.

It would appear so, and NA = naturally aspirated...ie, not turbo/super charged.