Just bought a 2011 RX450H - Questions

[Joebloggs90]

Hey all - I joined the Lexus club - purchasing a beautiful black RX450 from 2011 with cream interior and pano roof! I have some initial thoughts and questions please. If you know any answers please just answer what you can. Thank you very much!

1. The leather seats have got really worn out and cracked everywhere leaving long black scar like lines. It looks like this is an issue many lexus owner have faced. Is there anything I can do to try fix this (Without changing the leather) 

2. I've been really struggling to pair my phone so I cna make calls. When I go to pair it, it says "disconnecting you from audio bluetooth". So it seems there are two different bluetooths one for listening to audio like spotify another for phone connections. Is that right?

3. Does the UK sat-nav allow you to put full post codes in? For example I can go SW19 5 but then cannot get the final two letters for specific address. The satnav tech is pretty lame and I doubt I will use it much as it is so unintuitive but I guess it is an 11 year old car!

4. The car came with a large panoramic roof. I was surprised when the dealer told me it doesnt actually open, its just a fixed close pano roof for letting light in. I thought it would be able to open!

5. I am also a bit surprised the car does not have quick touch indicators. Need to get used to this (pressing them all the way down and up)

6. Although the car drives pretty smooth I did have to unhook and take the parcel shelf off and stow it away as it caused so much rattling in the vehicle it was crazy. Wondered if this was just maybe a loose bolt or they are always that noisy on bumpy roads. Seems strange for a luxury car to make so much rickety noise on unsmooth roads.

[rayaans]

1) With the leather seats I think you need to give them a good scrub with leather cleaner. Itll reduce the appearance of the lines. The lines are part of natural leather ageing, nothing really you can do with those to be honest. 

3) I believe some of the older Lexus vehicles wouldnt let you put a full 7 digit postcode in. It definitely had it on the facelift 2012 models but not on the earlier cars.

4) Yes it doesnt open on the 3rd generation of RX. There was an option of an opening sunroof or a full length fixed panoramic roof.

6) Ive always found in the RX that you need to fully close the parcel shelf to stop it rattling. Otherwise it rattles when its left open all the time

[royoftherovers]

47 minutes ago, Joebloggs90 said:

Hey all - I joined the Lexus club - purchasing a beautiful black RX450 from 2011 with cream interior and pano roof! I have some initial thoughts and questions please. If you know any answers please just answer what you can. Thank you very much!

1. The leather seats have got really worn out and cracked everywhere leaving long black scar like lines. It looks like this is an issue many lexus owner have faced. Is there anything I can do to try fix this (Without changing the leather) 

2. I've been really struggling to pair my phone so I cna make calls. When I go to pair it, it says "disconnecting you from audio bluetooth". So it seems there are two different bluetooths one for listening to audio like spotify another for phone connections. Is that right?

3. Does the UK sat-nav allow you to put full post codes in? For example I can go SW19 5 but then cannot get the final two letters for specific address. The satnav tech is pretty lame and I doubt I will use it much as it is so unintuitive but I guess it is an 11 year old car!

4. The car came with a large panoramic roof. I was surprised when the dealer told me it doesnt actually open, its just a fixed close pano roof for letting light in. I thought it would be able to open!

5. I am also a bit surprised the car does not have quick touch indicators. Need to get used to this (pressing them all the way down and up)

6. Although the car drives pretty smooth I did have to unhook and take the parcel shelf off and stow it away as it caused so much rattling in the vehicle it was crazy. Wondered if this was just maybe a loose bolt or they are always that noisy on bumpy roads. Seems strange for a luxury car to make so much rickety noise on unsmooth roads.

Welcome Joe. Good to have you with us.

I would wish to know if you bought the car from an official Lexus Dealer, when and what warranty were you given with it ?

[Joebloggs90]

@royoftherovers No - just off a used car dealer. Car seems to be in good knick and has a partial service history most of which is Lexus, some of which is not.

Thanks for welcoming me

[Joebloggs90]

@rayaansthanks for the feedback.

[Spottedlaurel]

I too find the boot area quite rattly. For me it's not so much the luggage cover but how securely the centre seat is fitted, it needs to be securely in place otherwise it rattles. Getting three foldable seats which can be moved forwards/backwards and reclined was obviously a bit of a design challenge....

I also put a couple of bits of self-adhesive felt trim on the little plastic flap where the tailgate latches onto the boot floor, that stopped some squeaking.

I think the above are exaggerated by the firm ride. I assume they had to give what is a pretty heavy, tall car quite stiff springs to give it reasonable handling.

Do you have lane change indicators? If flicked up/down but not fully clicked then you get just a few flashes, I think the number can be varied (can it even be set to zero?).

[Bluemarlin]

Hi Joe, I'll answer what I can.

1. For the leather seats, have a look at the Furniture Clinic, they do a leather repair paint. They can match to colour code, if they have it, otherwise they can match to a sample. On mine I found that I could cut a bit of excess leather from one of the front headrests after removing it. I've used on a previous car with ivory leather, and on my current one with pale grey, and found it will cure all but the worst cracks/creases. It's simple to use, just wipe on with a sponge and leave to dry, takes about a minute a seat.

3. I found the satnav awful to use, and so I stick to using Google maps or Waze on my phone, which are much better.

6. You need to make sure the parcel shelf, and the rear seats, are firmly locked in place to reduce any rattling. You could also try sticking some thin padding in the mounts if yours is bad.

[Barry14UK]

On my car, which is probably the same as yours from the short flick of flasher/indicators, I used the menu to change mine from 3 flashes to 5 but found this too much so reverted to 3. I would have preferred an option for 4 flashes but this is not available.

I found the Sat Nav the worst aspect about the car so transferred the 6 inch TomTom from my BMW. This called for some ingenuity to fit and making up a frame to carry it.  It works much better that the Lexus one, provides free updates and speed warnings and is easier to see than using an app on a phone.

 

[Prince Bob]

21 hours ago, Joebloggs90 said:

Hey all - I joined the Lexus club - purchasing a beautiful black RX450 from 2011 with cream interior and pano roof! I have some initial thoughts and questions please. If you know any answers please just answer what you can. Thank you very much!

1. The leather seats have got really worn out and cracked everywhere leaving long black scar like lines. It looks like this is an issue many lexus owner have faced. Is there anything I can do to try fix this (Without changing the leather) 

2. I've been really struggling to pair my phone so I cna make calls. When I go to pair it, it says "disconnecting you from audio bluetooth". So it seems there are two different bluetooths one for listening to audio like spotify another for phone connections. Is that right?

3. Does the UK sat-nav allow you to put full post codes in? For example I can go SW19 5 but then cannot get the final two letters for specific address. The satnav tech is pretty lame and I doubt I will use it much as it is so unintuitive but I guess it is an 11 year old car!

4. The car came with a large panoramic roof. I was surprised when the dealer told me it doesnt actually open, its just a fixed close pano roof for letting light in. I thought it would be able to open!

5. I am also a bit surprised the car does not have quick touch indicators. Need to get used to this (pressing them all the way down and up)

6. Although the car drives pretty smooth I did have to unhook and take the parcel shelf off and stow it away as it caused so much rattling in the vehicle it was crazy. Wondered if this was just maybe a loose bolt or they are always that noisy on bumpy roads. Seems strange for a luxury car to make so much rickety noise on unsmooth roads.

I had a similar rattle, it was actually the rear seat. Fold the seats, unfold them and make sure they are secured. The rear seats slide and recline and if they aren't locked in place properly you will get an irritating rattle.

[Joebloggs90]

Appreciate all your replies above.

I spent hours cleaning the car today and tomorrow I shall try to find all the sources of rattling.

The car is super comfortable to be in and I am happy with the purchase however I did think the ride would be a bit smoother. I do not drive SUV much and just assumed as it is a big car that I would not feel as many bumps on the road but I was surprised to find the drive quite firm. So all the comfort I get from being in the seating position is negated by the bumpy roads and harshness of the drive in certain areas.

Do you guys agree with this? Sorry I do not see a way to reply to your individual posts so I assume I just write this as a new comment 🙂

[ColinBarber]

1 hour ago, Joebloggs90 said:

Do you guys agree with this?

Yes to a point. An SUV needs stiffer suspension compared to a luxury saloon otherwise it leans too much in the corners.

What size wheels to you have on your RX, and what are the tyre pressures?

[Barry14UK]

I run my car about 3 psi below standard with no obvious signs  off excessive or uneven wear on 19" wheels with Michelin Cross Climate tyres, the latter making the most difference in improved ride and comfort over the Dunlop Sports it was bought with. It would no doubt be even more comfortable on 18" wheels/tyres but I don't find the car unduly uncomfortable as to warrant the change.  However my car has air suspension and the characteristics probably are a little different to the steel sprung ones.