New to me RX400H

[adrian-gregory]

Hey

Always thought the RX400h looks really nice. so long story short after looking for the last three weeks I bought a nice grey one in London last night. Paint looks amazing in bright sunlight.  I’m not sure it has ever left there - doing around 1500 miles or less each year,  has been serviced every year initially at Lexus then at an independent garage for more than a decade. Previous oner has upgraded to a newer RX hybrid.  That’s a lot of oil and filter changes in the 45000 miles it is showing.  good mot history as well and a ticket on it until June next year.  It has been a long time since I had such a low mileage car.  

Underside is remarkable.  I’m used to battling with the tin worm on the older stuff.  and usually spend several days wire brushing and wire wheeling things. then a good dose of hydrate 80 to slow it all down and then a coat of Lanoguard every season.  this one has so little surface rust - so i guess not been out on salty roads much. That, the low mileage and the annual service is what really sold it to me. It’ll get the clean up and the treatment in the next month.

Thoroughly enjoyed the uneventful and very quiet drive home. the only part that was a drama was trying to find a petrol station with a working airline to get some air into the back left tyre. I found 4 garages that didn’t. Averaged a respectable indicated 38.3 mpg on the display over 214 miles home. had been at 39.4 when i was in slower moving traffic in the early part of the trip.  I’m amazed how little the engine revs (gotta love the eCVT box).  Using car scanner app and a Carista dongle I set up a couple of dashboards to monitor things.  it is an interesting app, that and the Dr Prius app. Engine was around 1200 rpm on the flat at 59mph.  

Checked the hub temps after 4 hours when i stopped for a rest.  they were all cold to touch so nothing binding which is good.

I’ve spent the day going over the car and tidying up some niggly stuff.

Some things I have attended to and a few things, one in particular that I need some guidance with (the power tailgate):

The Open button is missing on the centre console.  you can still open it but would ideally like a button.  Worst case i’ll buy a complete unit on eBay and scavenge the button, might try local breakers but the cars are pretty rare.

The bonnet pull plastic lever is missing.  cable is there and an easy pull.  I have ordered a replacement.

The sunroof was noisy and did not one-touch open and tilt.  I noticed on the invoices I examined a new 12v Battery. So i did a reset on the sunroof, and did the ICS reset before i left London last night as well, once the engine was warmed up. (I have been reading up a lot on the forum whilst looking for the right car). 

The plastic cover for the left towing hook eye is missing. I will check with my local Toyota garage if they can get one.

I noticed that there had been a water ingress mentioned on an invoice - that ended up being from blocked sunroof drains.  I removed all the plastics in the boot and had a good look.  no water under there and little evidence of it being there for long.  I will monitor and keep an eye on things and address them as required.

Some scratches on the bumper and a dent above the rear bumper on the back wing.  I’ll get a pal of mine to see what he can do.

Cleaned and fed the leather seats. Not that they needed much. 

The one that has me most puzzled is the power tailgate.  nothing happens. car doors unlocked press and hold the button on the dash.  nothing, no beeps.  same for the button in the tailgate and the fob.   tested the 30amp fuse for continuity, seems fine.  swapped it for another fuse. no difference.  checked the on-ofI t switch on the edge of the glovebox.  it is in the on position. 

any suggestion on what to check - I don't want to buy a replacement motor needlessly. is it worth unplugging the 12 Battery for a few minutes and then resetting the windows, sunroof and ics as well as seeing if the tailgate springs to life?

I am getting some Toyota ATF WS tomorrow and will be changing the fluids in the box and the rear diff.

I am also getting some Toyota Extra long-life coolant and will swap the engine and inverter coolant.

Engine oil and filter were done 1500 miles back.  i always do my cars at 5000 miles so this can wait a few more months.

The timing belt and water pump were done about 15000 miles back but that was 10 years back. so I am inclined to replace the belt again soon. 

Spark plugs were done about a year back. 

I am pleased so far with my purchase. 

Thanks for reading and any suggestions.

[Russell Wheeler]

Looks good, the power tailgate is problem. I have just given up on mine and manually close it. At the age it is, check for water leaks, there is plenty of information on here and if water gets under the Battery pack, it can kill the car.

[adrian-gregory]

Thanks, Russell

I am happy to open and close it manually.  I am more curious than anything to see if I can fix it.

I will be keeping an eye on the water problems.

[BarneyTT]

Great post and an enjoyable read Adrian.

I've always liked the look of the RX400h/350 and the 350 was going to be the model I went for but high road tax and water leak issues made me up my budget and go for a Gen3 instead.

Sounds like you have found a real gem and it looks lovely. Hope you can sort out the few gremlins it has and it rewards you with many years of enjoyable service.

[adrian-gregory]

Hey Barney

Thank you. I hope it will too, but if today is anything to go by, then my time with it will be short-lived.

Gremlins started today funnily enough.  Driving my daughter early on to the hospital for surgery, I noticed the car hunting a bit around 40 mph driving up the big hill out of my home town. Then about 15 minutes later on a slight decline, I felt the slight hunting again pretty sure it was running on Battery and then out of the blue, the car powered off, showing check hybrid system and check vsc etc,  no power steering and no throttle response. so dead basically.  

as luck would have it there was a layby on the other side of the busy road with room for the car, and a gap in the traffic.  fortunately this coasts well and I was able to get it into the space before we lost all momentum.

called a taxi for my daughter and her partner so she would not be late.  cycling the key did nothing. so I  pulled the negative terminal clamp 12v Battery and waited 5 minutes.  all then worked as it should. so I gave it a pretty brisk run home, traffic permitting.  i was certainly not light on the throttle when I was able to.  remembering it ran fine on the 230 odd miles home Saturday night, but aside from the first part of the trip and the last 1/2 mile on Saturday the petrol engine was contributing most of the time.  

ran fine on the way back, which thankfully was only about 11 miles. i did notice it hunting a bit around 40 again so I avoided that speed where possible. 

since getting home I have stripped out the back seats and exposed the hybrid Battery case.  i can see previous evidence of water but nothing there now.  drains were a little blocked. i have cleared the ones I could see. i pulled the carpet up in the back footwell and the sound deadening is pretty wet.

so now we have my trusty dehumidifier doing its thing for the next 3 or 4 days to get it bone dry in there.

i am going to get the 12v Battery drop-tested later.  

I have also removed the roof rails and siliconed where water appears to have gone in (from the bolt corrosion) and the same for the rear door gas struts. i will double-check the sunroof drains and the backlights later.

It is a shame really because other than that I was really enjoying the serene ride. I am hopeful that drying it out, and preventing future leaks, can resolve the fault.  I do think, though, that once I get it sorted and working properly I will run it for a little while to make sure all is well, and then I think I will let it go.  

In the meantime my trusty Rav4 diesel or my Landcruiser amazon, will be the transport of choice. they never miss a beat.

 

 

 

 

 

[adrian-gregory]

12v Battery drop tests fine.   am pulling apart all the electrical connectors I can find in the back and cleaning with contact cleaner. all look ok so far.

[Scotlex]

Great to buy a low mileage, well cared for car. 😀

I bought a 10 year old car with 12,000 miles (a few years ago) it was a great car. Drove like new.

[adrian-gregory]

Seems to have a good flow of coolant in the inverter tank when in ready mode.

interestingly after refitting the 12v Battery when I first attempted to "start" I got Check Hybrid System and the red triangle.  I turned the key off and then tried again and the car offered READY. 

I'll leave it drying with the dehumidifier for a few days and then we shall see what gives.  any other connectors anyone things I should pull and inspect?

[adrian-gregory]

next stop is to remove the top cover of the Battery. i want a look at the Battery controller which is where I have a hunch the problem will be.  it’s a bit bigger than the Battery in the prius I briefly had three years ago but no doubt will be similar insides. if it is the control unit I'll get another and fit it and away we do. 

[BarneyTT]

Bugger, spoke to soon😔

Annoying I'm sure, but it seems such a nice example to repair and simply move on, hopefully you can get to the bottom of the issue without too much more grief and you will be back on your RX ownership course.

Changing the subject, would that be a Gen2 Toyota Rav4 you have? Not that I'd sell my RX but have found myself interested/ looking at the Gen2, three door petrol version (day-dreaming of a project car!) and would be interested in your ownership experience.

[adrian-gregory]

More progress:

Removed the traction Battery cover.

This ECU looks OK:

 

but have a look at the area under the main Battery relay:

so, carefully removed that to look at the extent of the rust

scraped all the surface rust off, then vacuumed the debris. there was a fair bit so water has been in there for a good while.

Then out with my favourite rust treatment. Bilt and Hamber Hydrate 80.  I used it for years on the other cars to slow down the tin worm. Gave it a good coating

Once it dried (I helped it along with a heat gun on about 100 degrees c so not hot being careful around the wires and batteries).

As I examined the relay it appeared not to have been too deeply immersed, and more immersed in water at the front end.

you can see the rust stuck to the rubber feet.

cleaned up the outside, I opened the clips and cracked the case open about 2 mm and sprayed a liberal dose of contact cleaner into the downward-facing side and let it run out and dry.  did the same for the remaining 3 sides. Then, I did the same for the connector areas. one of the ones for the Battery pack to the relay had some green corrosion. Not very clear on this photo. Hmmm, I wonder if that could cause the system to detect a fault and then switch off the really - which is what happened the previous day. it was like I had turned off the key while driving.

The photo is after my first round of cleaning.  i spent time with contact cleaner and a q tip in this area.  and then in the connector itself several long sprays of contact clenaer and left it to drip out and then dry.

After refitting the unit. If you don't know the hydrate 80 stabilises the rust and turns it a brown-black. Great stuff and easy to clean the brush and spray with water afterwards. Unlike Dinitrol.

So, I have put the car back together for now and it immediately provides me with READY when I turn the key.  I will drive it around for a few days and see how it goes.  I still have to add some sealer to the rear welds and work out something for the rear lights.

I'll also probably remove the seats again, maybe also the front and life the carpet to ive the under soundproofing a good drying out with the dehumidifier in the car..

I have my fingers crossed.

[Russell Wheeler]

Loads of topics on here about water ingress. Basically the 400h leaks like a sieve from the back end and causes the problems you have. Drying everything out "should" sort things. Mines the same age so wondering what life is left in the Battery pack, and what errors it will show when it starts to fail.  Spark plugs are supposed to be done every 60k, but it's such a PITA of a job they are often missed.

[adrian-gregory]

3 hours ago, BarneyTT said:

Bugger, spoke to soon😔

Annoying I'm sure, but it seems such a nice example to repair and simply move on, hopefully you can get to the bottom of the issue without too much more grief and you will be back on your RX ownership course.

Changing the subject, would that be a Gen2 Toyota Rav4 you have? Not that I'd sell my RX but have found myself interested/ looking at the Gen2, three door petrol version (day-dreaming of a project car!) and would be interested in your ownership experience.

You are quite right.  Thank you.  I have rebuilt many older cars that were abandoned or far from right and brought them back to their former glory. all take many thousands to get them the way they should be, and when done they are nice motors and run well for years. I don't think the Lexus will take all that much.

Here are a few projects. This first is Mk 4 PD130 golf I rebuilt for my youngest daughter. Was a worn out abused car when I bought it with a blown head gasket, knackered suspension, brakes, electrical faults, worn-out camshaft and leaking rad and on and on.

A pd150 I built for myself (found this in a very sorry state abandoned in a garden). Drove lovely and was wicked quick after the 200 hp and 320 ft lb remap I added. also retuned high 50's to the gallon on a run so best of both worlds. 

 

Bought this with not too many faults but a leaking fuel pump, a few electrical gremlins, stuck sunroof, and a rattle on the engine that sounds like big ends. but with just 80000 miles on it it couldn’t be.  turns out it was a rattle from the engine mounts. they sounded like castanets when I took them off and shook them. That rattle took me a good while to figure out.  a very easy fix. i enjoyed that old tug.

 

someone had tried to make an off-roader with this Suzuki Jimny and whilst it looked the part it hardly drove. death wobble, crap suspension (he had used nylon blocks to create the lift on worn-out suspension, and it blew a spark plug out of the head on the way home do I had to get that helicoiled. looked well and drove level afterwards. made a nice hand throttle for offroading using a gear shifter from a racing bike attached to the gear lever.  worked really well off road. lots of smiles per mile. 

 

RAV4

The rav I have is a Mark 3 diesel.  I think the Mark 2s are better cars in many ways. A Mk 2 petrol would be a great project car in my opinion.

They also seem to handle rust better than the Mk 3's.  I  had to have the rear sills welded this year, and spend a day each year wire brushing the underside areas, ad subframes applying bilt and Hamber hydrate 80, and then a liberal does of lanoguard (which stays opaque so I can keep an eye on the tin worms appetite). My observation is the Mk3s are made of thinner poorer steel than the Mk 2s

It was a reluctant starter when I got it, and had a loud injector which was a sod to get out of the head. The D4D engines are not, in my opinion, Toyota's finest work.  They need the washers (seals) replaced every 30k or so and no one (even toyota) seem to do it. so the injectors, combined with the hateful egr (see this pic of the intake on the car before I cleaned it and then made sure it cant happen again).  the last injector took three of us almost three hours to get out and we broke 2 slide hammers. we have to fashion a third with some creative welding and some extra weight, it came out, but was not suitable for reconditioning at that point...

With all that said. Once I got the injectors done (£560 to recon three and buy a recon unit from Diesel Bob and £180 for gaskets and seals from toyota), get the starter motor reconditioned (the long outer bolt ends up working us an earth and the starter hardly turns the engine, and the bolt welds itself to the body, do removing it was time-consuming).  The Rav has been largely faultless and since then has cost pennines to maintain.  It always starts, handles any weather really well. is a nice place to be. It does thump over the bumps a little, but, even though I have a lovely Landcruiser amazon I find myself using the Rav the most often. small and easy to park. and returns 50+ mpg on a run (I drive slow).  I am undecided about selling it to be replaced by the Lexus. We shall have to see.

Good luck with your project.

 

[adrian-gregory]

2 minutes ago, Russell Wheeler said:

Loads of topics on here about water ingress. Basically the 400h leaks like a sieve from the back end and causes the problems you have. Drying everything out "should" sort things. Mines the same age so wondering what life is left in the battery pack, and what errors it will show when it starts to fail.  Spark plugs are supposed to be done every 60k, but it's such a PITA of a job they are often missed.

I have been reading everything i can on them being sieve like. Correcting it does not seem to be too difficult.  Plugs were done about 1800 miles back from the receipts. it does look like a time-consuming job.  

From what I can tell overheating is another killer of the Battery pack more than miles. so keeping the vents clear of debris and the filters clean, and making sure the fans are working well should help that area.  the Dr. Prius app and a carista dongle are what I have been using to monitor Battery temps. 

[Russell Wheeler]

Yes, make sure the air con is working, as it uses the cabin air to cool the batteries, as you have spotted the vents are below the back seats. Mines been in the family since 2009, and has 144k on the clock. It had been main dealer serviced until was bequeathed it in 2020. Main dealers had charged £2.5k for reconditioned brake calipers in 2019, and they hadn't even swapped the flexy pipes. 12v Battery is a pain also if you don't use it often. Being so small it discharges quickly.

[adrian-gregory]

How nice you have had it so long.  £2.5 k for recon calipers!!! that’s rich. Am glad I do most of my own work and a very close friend is a mechanic of 30 + years when I get stuck am too busy with other stuff, or need to use a ramp. 

the Battery looks small enough to be on a motorcycle.

Aircon is nice and cold

[adrian-gregory]

Good thing I hadn’t forgotten to plug in the power steering cable to the relay controller. LOL. When I went to move the car I saw the PS light and felt the heavy steering. was amusing hefting into the garage so I could work out of the rain.  So seats etc back out once again. 

Since then I have been driving the car about mixed driving for the last 30 minutes and it seems to be behaving itself. I have not noticed that odd hunting I felt previously, but then again there was little at 40, much at either 20 or 50 mph where I am.   Also, we shall see how my sealing of the leaky areas works out since it is raining now.

I'll pull the trays out of the boot tomorrow and see if anything has crept in. Still have the rear lights to work out how best to seal. 

The Lexus is also parked nose up on the drive which is on a reasonable incline. 

[Greisingel]

As a 400 owner who had considerable leak issues and the dreaded POA66 INF codes (Hybrid Battery isolation). So I dried the car out and LSXed the rear ingress area seams and hinges. I have a hygrometer in the HB cavity reporting humidity.

Noted about Hamber Hydrate – excellent heads up!!

I haven't had any trouble since the TIS code clear. Oh yes while there I cleaned the 3 cooling vents under rear seats – a lot of sh**e gathered.

Did my own brake caliper pulls (a bit pitted – but regreased and sliding nicely). New rotors and pads of course.

PITA are the rear bank 3 plugs. Water pump and belt should be doable through driver's wheel arch. Those are on the list next. Great car. 0-60 test 7.15 seconds – quite tasty.

Never found it hunted on the e-CVT (this is vastly superior to Nissan's daft steel band).

Keep us posted with your 400's behaviour.

[adrian-gregory]

Hey Greisingel.

Thanks for the message, I feel reassured by that.

Even though cambelt and waterpump on mine was done about 15000 miles back it was a decade so I plan on doing that soon.

Great idea on the hygrometer. What set up do you have please?

I checked the boot this morning and no surprise found water on both sides. right side (from driver's view) was worse than the left.

So stripped the back out, lights off and then took the bumper off and had a good play with the hose. 

Applied silicone to every hole, clip, the top edge of the airvents on the sides under the bumper for good measure having read they can also leak.

 

That slowed the water down to a trickle. The worst offender was the body seam right side in several places.

after 3 hours in all messing about I can leave the hose running on both channels above the lights and nothing appears inside.

if it ever does again I think I will drill some drains into the boot area.

[adrian-gregory]

Polished the headlights - they were yellowing on the top.

 

 

 

I noticed the top tab on the nearside was broken. So, some araldite on that now. hopefully, it will hold.

--

Sunroof drains appear to be clear. 

[ColinBarber]

9 minutes ago, adrian-gregory said:

I noticed the top tab on the nearside was broken. So, some araldite on that now. hopefully, it will hold.

You would be better off getting the accident repair bracket instead which screws into the two posts.

[adrian-gregory]

Not heard of that, Where might I acquire one?  many thanks!

 

[ColinBarber]

19 minutes ago, adrian-gregory said:

Not heard of that, Where might I acquire one?  many thanks!

 

Your dealer, or eBay etc.

Here is the part code:

[adrian-gregory]

Thank you Colin.

I've just ordered it from Amayama.

[BarneyTT]

Adrian, thanks for the details and information regarding the Gen2 Rav4, should I ever venture down that route (sort of unlikely given age related health issues) it sounds as if the Gen2 is a decent model although I'm sure age related issues would be present, my research points to underside rust being one, having said that I'm sure decent examples do exist.

Fair play to you regarding your RX, you're obviously adept with mechanical work and I admire the belt and braces approach which I hope rewards you in the long term.

Quite shocking to see pictures of the rust build up and not a good scenario for hybrid batteries, I've heard and read about it but never seen the results😱

Continued best wishes and will keep my fingers crossed for a positive outcome.