RX450h premium problems

AlanETM · January 21, 2017

My RX450h premium is now 10 months old and the only main issues I have experienced are intermittent failure of the lane control and auto high beam both of which use a common sensor i.e. camera.

The dealer can find no faults as every time a check is made the car starts off as normal and everything works. Failures tend to occur after a period of time driving anything from 1/2 hr or more. Failures on average occur once evry three days. All very frustrating.

Another item that is inconsistant is the radio when the vehicle is switched on will be OFF and not as it was last left on a station or Ipad via USB. Again this is intermittent but not so frequent as the lane control issue.

Coupled with the above the passenger seat aircon setting will also show a blank on start up rather than the setting i.e. 22 (degrees) swithching the air recirc auto on and off sometimes will bring it back on.

Again the dealer cannot find anything wrong.

All the above may well be software problems but I am told I have the latest software for the vehicle.

My gripe is really that Lexus do not seem to take these issues seriously enough to fully investigate ...it cost the dealers time and money .....and if there are software bugs Lexus are unlikely to admit to them as they then have to issue a software update ...again time and money. So my reveiw of the car does not give Lexus the stars it would otherwise deserve as in all other respects its a good car and I am now on my fourth model all from new so I am still faithful to the brand......but for how long?

Oh and by the way don't believe the quoted MPG my average over the 10 months is 36.9. The winter months have bought it down from 37.6 and I think my driving is careful no foot down or high speeds and thats on ECO all the time.

malcolmw · January 21, 2017

I assume that you have the latest model RC450h as yours is only 10 months old. I also have the new version now just under 5 months old.

Regarding the radio changing settings, is it possible that you are using a different key to open the car? The audio (and climate) settings are memorised per key and not overall.

The passenger side aircon and the auto passenger seat heating is dependent on the passenger door being opened and the seat occupied. It does not operate if only you are in the car. However, If you open the rear doors then it seems to come on even if nobody is in the passenger seat. I have not yet worked out exactly how the logic works.

There are some other annoying and silly things. For example, the wood insert steering wheel on the Premier model only heats up on the small leather areas and not the wood (where you need it). Why didn't they fit the electrically heated windscreen (or parked car heating) on the premier model? I can't reach the middle of the windscreen to scrape the ice off.

Regarding economy, I have got 32.7mpg overall so far and currently about 30mpg in the cold weather. I never use ECO and typically drive "brisk" journeys of 10 miles on varied roads. The car computer is pretty much dead on verses brim-to-brim refuelling checks.

I hope this is of interest.

ISJason · January 21, 2017

Hi Alan.. as Malcom says, I think that you might find those items are just idiosyncratic of the cars' systems and not a fault.... specifically I was thinking of sensitivity.. just a thought. Hope you find the problem.

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rayaans · January 21, 2017

3 hours ago, malcolmw said:

I assume that you have the latest model RC450h as yours is only 10 months old. I also have the new version now just under 5 months old.

Regarding the radio changing settings, is it possible that you are using a different key to open the car? The audio (and climate) settings are memorised per key and not overall.

The passenger side aircon and the auto passenger seat heating is dependent on the passenger door being opened and the seat occupied. It does not operate if only you are in the car. However, If you open the rear doors then it seems to come on even if nobody is in the passenger seat. I have not yet worked out exactly how the logic works.

There are some other annoying and silly things. For example, the wood insert steering wheel on the Premier model only heats up on the small leather areas and not the wood (where you need it). Why didn't they fit the electrically heated windscreen (or parked car heating) on the premier model? I can't reach the middle of the windscreen to scrape the ice off.

Regarding economy, I have got 32.7mpg overall so far and currently about 30mpg in the cold weather. I never use ECO and typically drive "brisk" journeys of 10 miles on varied roads. The car computer is pretty much dead on verses brim-to-brim refuelling checks.

I hope this is of interest.

Because ford has the patent for heated windscreens and I don't believe Lexus has been given permission to use it.

The MPG is never going to hit claimed mpg. That's with all cars, not just the RX

katabrontes · January 21, 2017

Sounds to me like a good argument for buying a good used one when most of the problem will have been sorted out by the 1st owner! The only new cars I have eve bought (3 of different makes) were a lot of trouble. The many more used ones since have been very little or none.

rayaans · January 22, 2017

Worth pointing out that software updates don't happen overnight either so it'll take a while. They'll be coming out circa 1 year after any incidents have been noted and logged

Normski · January 22, 2017

10 hours ago, rayaans said:

Because ford has the patent for heated windscreens and I don't believe Lexus has been given permission to use it.

The MPG is never going to hit claimed mpg. That's with all cars, not just the RX

I've been told this ran out around 2010 so more and more vehicles are now coming with it. Such a great feature. Shame Lexus hasn't introduced it.

rayaans · January 22, 2017

4 hours ago, Normski said:

I've been told this ran out around 2010 so more and more vehicles are now coming with it. Such a great feature. Shame Lexus hasn't introduced it.

It'll probably have to reach Lexus reliability standards first. They'll test their version so much it'll be around 2020 before it makes it on Lexus models

GSLV6 · January 22, 2017

I've seen a few cars with this feature since the patent ran out, including Landys & jags, and know that the newer Golf, some Nissans, Minis and Vauxhalls also have it. There's nothing much magical or not understood in the formula for engineering a realiable and safe heated screen, so I doubt it should take that long to implement. It's probably more a case of any versions that they have now, ready to fit, will, as Rayaans suggests, have to go through exhaustive trials, paperwork, committees, more paperwork, more committees, and these things tend to move with all the speed of a glacier.

However, I doubt they make their own screens, so one wonders if the company who makes them for Lexus don't already make them for Nissan or other car manufacturers too?

Normski · January 22, 2017

Ahh you can't beat good ole meetings and paper work to get things (not) done

It is strange how folks like the VW group have it but don't implement on all models. E.g. My Cayenne has it but I don't believe the Q7 has.

Going back to the new RX450...what's the tank size/fuel range you folk are getting these days?

rayaans · January 22, 2017

10 hours ago, Normski said:

Ahh you can't beat good ole meetings and paper work to get things (not) done

It is strange how folks like the VW group have it but don't implement on all models. E.g. My Cayenne has it but I don't believe the Q7 has.

Going back to the new RX450...what's the tank size/fuel range you folk are getting these days?

The one in the Ford is right annoying. At night you can see the wires due to oncoming lights from cars and also in bright sunlight.

I believe they're a PITA to sort out if you happen to crack the windscreen and some insurance companies are saying the excess of approx £70 for a new screen applies to standard screens only.

Tank is 62L on 3RX and 4RX. It should be getting roughly 400-500 miles per tank but the cruising range is very cautious. When it shows low fuel, Ive still only managed to fit around 47L in

Stalin01 · January 24, 2017

On 21/01/2017 at 4:57 PM, AlanETM said:

My RX450h premium is now 10 months old and the only main issues I have experienced are intermittent failure of the lane control and auto high beam both of which use a common sensor i.e. camera.

The dealer can find no faults as every time a check is made the car starts off as normal and everything works. Failures tend to occur after a period of time driving anything from 1/2 hr or more. Failures on average occur once evry three days. All very frustrating.

Another item that is inconsistant is the radio when the vehicle is switched on will be OFF and not as it was last left on a station or Ipad via USB. Again this is intermittent but not so frequent as the lane control issue.

Coupled with the above the passenger seat aircon setting will also show a blank on start up rather than the setting i.e. 22 (degrees) swithching the air recirc auto on and off sometimes will bring it back on.

Again the dealer cannot find anything wrong.

All the above may well be software problems but I am told I have the latest software for the vehicle.

My gripe is really that Lexus do not seem to take these issues seriously enough to fully investigate ...it cost the dealers time and money .....and if there are software bugs Lexus are unlikely to admit to them as they then have to issue a software update ...again time and money. So my reveiw of the car does not give Lexus the stars it would otherwise deserve as in all other respects its a good car and I am now on my fourth model all from new so I am still faithful to the brand......but for how long?

Oh and by the way don't believe the quoted MPG my average over the 10 months is 36.9. The winter months have bought it down from 37.6 and I think my driving is careful no foot down or high speeds and thats on ECO all the time.

On 22/01/2017 at 11:33 PM, rayaans said:

The one in the Ford is right annoying. At night you can see the wires due to oncoming lights from cars and also in bright sunlight.

I believe they're a PITA to sort out if you happen to crack the windscreen and some insurance companies are saying the excess of approx £70 for a new screen applies to standard screens only.

Tank is 62L on 3RX and 4RX. It should be getting roughly 400-500 miles per tank but the cruising range is very cautious. When it shows low fuel, Ive still only managed to fit around 47L in

Thank you great honest review! I was thinking of swapping my land cruiser for 450rx will look at Volvo instead

ISJason · January 24, 2017

I wouldn't let that review sway you.. the RX is superior to the Volvo.. I have tried both and its way superior, from comfort to reliability and everything

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malcolmw · January 24, 2017

On the latest RX450h, the fuel tank is 65 litres. When I fuel up to the brim, the range meter typically shows 420 miles. When the range is showing 50 miles left you can get about 52 litres in. This means that 13 litres or 2.86 gallons are still in the tank. At, say, 30 mpg this shows that even if you run it down to zero range you have about 35+ miles left to refuel. This is an unsurprising safety margin.

I have had several cars (but not a Ford) with the heated windscreen and I have never noticed any problem from the wires. Perhaps the other manufacturer's implementation was better.

However, parked car heating is by far the best solution.

rayaans · January 24, 2017

3 hours ago, malcolmw said:

On the latest RX450h, the fuel tank is 65 litres. When I fuel up to the brim, the range meter typically shows 420 miles. When the range is showing 50 miles left you can get about 52 litres in. This means that 13 litres or 2.86 gallons are still in the tank. At, say, 30 mpg this shows that even if you run it down to zero range you have about 35+ miles left to refuel. This is an unsurprising safety margin.

I have had several cars (but not a Ford) with the heated windscreen and I have never noticed any problem from the wires. Perhaps the other manufacturer's implementation was better.

However, parked car heating is by far the best solution.

Yeah thats what I meant - had a typo saying 62L!

Both 3RX and 4RX have 65L tanks. I think my cruising range is about 25 miles and then starts showing Low fuel. At that point I fill up and I can only fit 47-52L in.

Mine albeit a 3RX seems to show a maximum of 340-350 miles on a full tank but goes down really slow at first i.e. 1 mile after every 5 miles or so.

GSLV6 · January 25, 2017

16 hours ago, Stalin01 said:

Thank you great honest review! I was thinking of swapping my land cruiser for 450rx will look at Volvo instead

I looked at Mercedes, Jaguar and Volvo when looking to replace my GS. The RX is better built than any of them with better panel alignment, and higher quality interiors and more comfortable than the Merc at any rate. The only Volvo which comes close for comfort and toys is the top spec XC90 which is a good vehicle, but is an oil burner which I didn't want. The only Volvo with an interior to match imho is the new V90 which is very impressive but fashion and design have limited it's rear load area height which was a deal breaker for me. I'd say that the V90 redefines interior comfort and build quality it's that good, just a shame that the car is more an exec load lugger (ie designed for golf sticks and a suitcase) rather than a true family car. Stick with the F-Sport or (3RX) Advance if you don't need or want the complicated extra toys or air suspension worries.

Stalin01 · January 25, 2017

Thank you for all your help! It's the MPG that worries me, I get 30/31 from my Lcd5 land cruiser now nearly 7 years old 80,000

just a couple of problems in all that time. Ok not quite as refined as my son Discovery but less than half the service costs and so reliable.

rayaans · January 25, 2017

8 minutes ago, Stalin01 said:

Thank you for all your help! It's the MPG that worries me, I get 30/31 from my Lcd5 land cruiser now nearly 7 years old 80,000

just a couple of problems in all that time. Ok not quite as refined as my son Discovery but less than half the service costs and so reliable.

You'd probably get the same or better with the RX. Remember that it weighs roughly the same as an LC and its also a 3.5l Petrol engine, not a diesel.

the RX is more refined than a discovery. They dont even come close to the refinement in the RX so worth bearing in mind.

ISJason · January 25, 2017

That's right, they don't come close

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ISJason · January 25, 2017

That's right, they don't come close

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ISJason · January 25, 2017

That's right, they don't come close

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GSLV6 · January 26, 2017

18 hours ago, Stalin01 said:

Thank you for all your help! It's the MPG that worries me, I get 30/31 from my Lcd5 land cruiser now nearly 7 years old 80,000

just a couple of problems in all that time. Ok not quite as refined as my son Discovery but less than half the service costs and so reliable.

You'll get about the same in colder weather, more on a long run and more in warmer weather. My best over the past 3 weeks in cold weather was 37mpg on a longish run and an average including a lot of stop-start motoring, short runs and town work (from cold where the EV wont work until the engine warms up) is about 28mpg. Those are honest figures. Even if you took a low 32mpg average, that gives a pretty good 435 mile range. Real world mpg from something like an XC90 wouldn't be much different but you'd be spewing more particulates into the atmosphere and down the line would be looking a PDF and DMF replacements at some stage, both of which are far from cheap. Also, most spanners now advise that diesel EGR valves are cleaned at the annual service to avoid loss of efficiency, problems with injectors and gummed up inlet manifolds. You get none of these issues with the RX450h. Boringly, you just put petrol in it and drive it.....for many years....in total comfort

rayaans · January 26, 2017

4 hours ago, GSLV6 said:

You'll get about the same in colder weather, more on a long run and more in warmer weather. My best over the past 3 weeks in cold weather was 37mpg on a longish run and an average including a lot of stop-start motoring, short runs and town work (from cold where the EV wont work until the engine warms up) is about 28mpg. Those are honest figures. Even if you took a low 32mpg average, that gives a pretty good 435 mile range. Real world mpg from something like an XC90 wouldn't be much different but you'd be spewing more particulates into the atmosphere and down the line would be looking a PDF and DMF replacements at some stage, both of which are far from cheap. Also, most spanners now advise that diesel EGR valves are cleaned at the annual service to avoid loss of efficiency, problems with injectors and gummed up inlet manifolds. You get none of these issues with the RX450h. Boringly, you just put petrol in it and drive it.....for many years....in total comfort

Also worth bearing in mind that the government is now looking into MOT tests to detect presence of a DPF.

Currently its just a visual check and 9/10 they wont spot a removed one. It seems to be a thing where people just chuck the DPF out if they have multiple problems with it but it won't be possible any longer once these tests come out! All for the better I say.

mick4545 · January 27, 2017

To get back on topic, I too have problems with the LKA camera. I've figured out that condensation on the inside of the windscreen, and possibly the camera lens as well is the problem. After a few hours driving the condensation clears and Lane Keep Assist works as designed.

The camera housing prevents normal fan clearance and there is not enough room to clear it by hand. I expect less trouble in summer.

OP I assume your car is kept outside?