buying a 2010_2012 rx450h

[needy1]

hi everyone,  I've just signed up so I can get some first hand advice, I'm considering buying a rx450h,  I was wondering about running costs , servicing,  has it got to be serviced by someone you does hybrid cars or will a mainstream garage be ok, how long can you expect a hybrid Battery to last and how much is a replacement. I've read about a lexus service plan that covers everything,  please share your knowledge 

thank you

[PCM]

Then I was looking for a Lexus, I read this forum front to back... 

It answered the questions I didn't even know I had!

Maybe also search on:   RX450h?

Good luck.

[Nick W858]

Hi - we bought a 2011 Rx450h in 2014 when it had 72k on the clock - ex co car fully maintained etc. 5 years on we have added 50k miles, car has been serviced each year at Lexus - total cost £3870 which included the big 100k service, all tyres and discs/pads too. The only spend outside of service and tyres/ brakes has been two new shock absorbers which is included in the total figures I have mentioned. I never worry about the hybrid Battery - all healthchecks have been fine on it. It's a great car, my wife loves it and she wants to keep it forever, I have a 20 year old LS400 with almost 300k on the clock and I believe the RX will still be in our household at the same age/mileage. I don't think you will regret purchasing one. 

[flookyk]

I bought a 2011 RX450h a year gone Oct.

It saw a Lexus dealer with the month .. to get the SAT NAV updated.

When I got it I discovered the previous owner had missed getting the spark plug change at 60,00 miles

Both it and the services have been done, in my ownership, by a local garage near to where I work .. the owner of the garage owns a Merc hybrid.

The only thing it has needed apart from that is two new front tyres and the bracket for the height sensor for the headlight adjustment welding (fitted to the rear right suspension)

I get an average of around 30mpg .. driving it on mixed roads … errr .. enthusiastically.

Have had around 35 mpg or more on a long steady journey on the motorway.

[Nigel-Lexus Owner]

12 hours ago, needy1 said:

hi everyone,  I've just signed up so I can get some first hand advice, I'm considering buying a rx450h,  I was wondering about running costs , servicing,  has it got to be serviced by someone you does hybrid cars or will a mainstream garage be ok, how long can you expect a hybrid battery to last and how much is a replacement. I've read about a lexus service plan that covers everything,  please share your knowledge 

thank you

Dear Piers,

RX450h is a very good and reliable SUV. 

I have purchased one RX450h 2012 Advance in May 2018 with 161,000 on the clock and all Lexus stamps. One company purchase it new and use it to go four times around our planet( I am joking, they used it mainly on a motorway journeys, hence the high mileage)

The economy was not on our list when we were looking for SUV with over 2000kg empty. If you are driving carefully in the summer you will get 35mpg in the winter 30mpg. We ruled out diesel options for many reasons, but mainly problems with particulate filter because of our short trips and the government turn on diesel cars which will become very difficult to sell in 3-5 years time. Our options were limited. I wanted Prius + or Outlander PHEV, we test drive both and no chance compared to the RX450h.

The car is so smooth and relaxed, you will like it. If you need to go fast or overtake, there is a lot of power on demand from the V6 and the 2 electrical motors. The CVT is absolute gem and pleasure to drive. Very smooth and linear acceleration without the jerkiness of the auto box. We got a courtesy LL Discovery Sport with 240bhp diesel with 600miles on the clock and 7 seats for a week while our insurance company repaint a scratched door on our Lexus. Me and my wife did not like the Discovery Sport compared to the RX450h.

Most of Lexus owners look after their cars well and in Lexus garage. The customer service from Lexus is top class. You will not find a better place to service your Lexus( please note I am not working for Lexus)

When you do service with Lexus they offer a free health check on the hybrid system with 12 months warranty. I would recommend that to you. If you budget for Lexus services, then your other expenses will be low and mainly consumables like tires, break disks, light bulbs etc.

It is very important what are you planing on using the car for. If you are going to do short town trips as we do and a rare motorway trip the car is perfect. If you are going to do over 20,000 mainly motorway miles, then you are not going to have the full benefit of the hybrid system which is for low speeds and stop and start London's traffic.

Keep us updated and send some photos when you manage to get one. You will not be disappointed.

On the last fill up, we did 350miles from 55 litres, which is around 29 mpg but I like to use my right foot deeper and to feel that acceleration. Our previous petrol 1.8 Toyota Verso could not do 29mpg

 

[Guest]

You won't go far wrong with the RX it is just a great all round car that does everything well.

[Spottedlaurel]

I recently bought an RX450. Despite being low miles and slightly newer than you're considering, it had picked up some impact damage to the exhaust and a scraped undertray held on by a cable tie. Maybe a previous owner thought it was more of an off-roader than is really the case?

As such, I'd say do give the underside a good look as well as the interior, bodywork, service history etc.

In the current cold weather with lots of short journeys and cold starts, having to let it warm up while I clear frosty windows, I'm getting something like 28-29mpg. On longer runs I'm getting more like 32-33mpg.

On the one I bought when I picked it up it was showing an average of 29.6mpg. Because of the exhaust issues and questions that raised about how it was looked after I'm now looking to exchange it for another model, and the alternative car is showing a more healthy 31.8mpg average.

[needy1]

thanks everyone for all your helpful info, the garage I use is just a standard back street garage, don't get me wrong they are very good and I've known them for over 20years so a lot of trust, do they need to have a knowledge of the hybrid system to service it , also with the car tax laws changing for car over 40k will the lexus fall under this or does it just apply to new cars

[Nigel-Lexus Owner]

1 hour ago, needy1 said:

thanks everyone for all your helpful info, the garage I use is just a standard back street garage, don't get me wrong they are very good and I've known them for over 20years so a lot of trust, do they need to have a knowledge of the hybrid system to service it , also with the car tax laws changing for car over 40k will the lexus fall under this or does it just apply to new cars

Lexus hybrid is a very complex car. I have a very close friend who is a car mechanic for over 20 years and up to the Lexus was looking after my previous cars. When I asked him to service the Lexus, he said I am not experienced with hybrids and you are better off to go to Lexus or another hybrid specialist. If you do not want to go to Lexus main dealer you have to find someone who knows Lexus hybrid systems.

[Farqui]

On the whole hybrids can be serviced without specialist knowledge. If you have any concerns then theres a very knowledgeable indi just up the road from you
http://www.lex-tekautos.com

[Passerby]

Had a 2010 version for a little over a year and certainly don't regret it, agree with all that has been said. If I have one grumble it is the lack of a heated front screen, a real omission at this time of the year, amazed at its absence given the original purchase price...

 

[Nick W858]

6 hours ago, needy1 said:

thanks everyone for all your helpful info, the garage I use is just a standard back street garage, don't get me wrong they are very good and I've known them for over 20years so a lot of trust, do they need to have a knowledge of the hybrid system to service it , also with the car tax laws changing for car over 40k will the lexus fall under this or does it just apply to new cars

The 40k tax rule is a fairly recent thing which won’t affect you if the car is pre April 2017

[olliesgrandad]

11 hours ago, Nigel-Lexus Owner said:

Dear Piers,

RX450h is a very good and reliable SUV. 

I have purchased one RX450h 2012 Advance in May 2018 with 161,000 on the clock and all Lexus stamps. One company purchase it new and use it to go four times around our planet( I am joking, they used it mainly on a motorway journeys, hence the high mileage)

The economy was not on our list when we were looking for SUV with over 2000kg empty. If you are driving carefully in the summer you will get 35mpg in the winter 30mpg. We ruled out diesel options for many reasons, but mainly problems with particulate filter because of our short trips and the government turn on diesel cars which will become very difficult to sell in 3-5 years time. Our options were limited. I wanted Prius + or Outlander PHEV, we test drive both and no chance compared to the RX450h.

The car is so smooth and relaxed, you will like it. If you need to go fast or overtake, there is a lot of power on demand from the V6 and the 2 electrical motors. The CVT is absolute gem and pleasure to drive. Very smooth and linear acceleration without the jerkiness of the auto box. We got a courtesy LL Discovery Sport with 240bhp diesel with 600miles on the clock and 7 seats for a week while our insurance company repaint a scratched door on our Lexus. Me and my wife did not like the Discovery Sport compared to the RX450h.

Most of Lexus owners look after their cars well and in Lexus garage. The customer service from Lexus is top class. You will not find a better place to service your Lexus( please note I am not working for Lexus)

When you do service with Lexus they offer a free health check on the hybrid system with 12 months warranty. I would recommend that to you. If you budget for Lexus services, then your other expenses will be low and mainly consumables like tires, break disks, light bulbs etc.

It is very important what are you planing on using the car for. If you are going to do short town trips as we do and a rare motorway trip the car is perfect. If you are going to do over 20,000 mainly motorway miles, then you are not going to have the full benefit of the hybrid system which is for low speeds and stop and start London's traffic.

Keep us updated and send some photos when you manage to get one. You will not be disappointed.

On the last fill up, we did 350miles from 55 litres, which is around 29 mpg but I like to use my right foot deeper and to feel that acceleration. Our previous petrol 1.8 Toyota Verso could not do 29mpg

 

Interestingly today I drove from Gloucester to Walsall and back on the motorway a round trip of 131 miles . I decided to go gently as I wasn't in a rush. Cruising at around 58mph(cruise set to 60) The computer recorded an average of 40.7mpg.

Normal driving tank to tank I get 32 mpg in winter. 

[Herbie]

Yes, the hybrid part of the car is very complex and if anything should go wrong with that then maybe an 'ordinary' back-street garage would struggle, but the rest of the car is just a car. If you have a leaky radiator, if you have faulty wipers, if your central locking packs up, if a wheel bearing needs changing etc., etc., etc., none of this involves they hybrid system and any decent mechanic can do these jobs.

[olliesgrandad]

17 hours ago, Passerby said:

Had a 2010 version for a little over a year and certainly don't regret it, agree with all that has been said. If I have one grumble it is the lack of a heated front screen, a real omission at this time of the year, amazed at its absence given the original purchase price...

 

I think that Ford own the worldwide patent to heated front windscreens as no one else has them 

[ColinBarber]

5 minutes ago, olliesgrandad said:

I think that Ford own the worldwide patent to heated front windscreens as no one else has them 

That is no longer the case but was when the series 3 RX came out. VW, BMW, Vauxhall etc. now have them as well as Ford and some of its previous companies such as Volvo, Aston Martin etc. Some are a slightly different design but achieve the same thing.

[Britprius]

I had a heated front screen in my Rover 3500 coupe in the late 60's. It had very fine "thinner than a hair" vertical wires running down the glass sandwiched in the lamination, and made by Pilkington.

John

[Passerby]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

That is no longer the case but was when the series 3 RX came out. VW, BMW, Vauxhall etc. now have them as well as Ford and some of its previous companies such as Volvo, Aston Martin etc. Some are a slightly different design but achieve the same thing.

I had a P38 Range Rover, 2000 vintage as then owned by BMW - it had one

[rayaans]

On 2/14/2019 at 9:14 PM, needy1 said:

hi everyone,  I've just signed up so I can get some first hand advice, I'm considering buying a rx450h,  I was wondering about running costs , servicing,  has it got to be serviced by someone you does hybrid cars or will a mainstream garage be ok, how long can you expect a hybrid battery to last and how much is a replacement. I've read about a lexus service plan that covers everything,  please share your knowledge 

thank you

Generally speaking servicing can be done by any garage. Be sure to get a hybrid healthcheck done at Lexus for £60 though to give you 1 years additional warranty on hybrid components. I wouldnt really worry about the hybrid Battery, it should last the lifetime of the car and on the 450h, Im yet to hear of a failure. 

The service plans cover the services. Whether they are worth it is up to you. You could get the Lexus essential care service plan which is cheaper servicing for cars over 5 years old.

 

[rayaans]

19 hours ago, Passerby said:

Had a 2010 version for a little over a year and certainly don't regret it, agree with all that has been said. If I have one grumble it is the lack of a heated front screen, a real omission at this time of the year, amazed at its absence given the original purchase price...

 

Im not, they're absolute rubbish at night and cause significant glare. Downright dangerous.

The VW ones without wires are the best ones. 

[ColinBarber]

57 minutes ago, rayaans said:

1 years additional warranty on hybrid components

1 year additional warranty on just the hybrid Battery.

[Passerby]

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

Im not, they're absolute rubbish at night and cause significant glare. Downright dangerous.

The VW ones without wires are the best ones. 

can't say I ever noticed in 6 years of driving the P38