Traveling To Austria

[jbanfie]

All,

What's the protocol for taking a 400h on the roads of Europe regarding headlights, and that Auto light thing AFS?

Do I need to put little black triangles on the headlights?, or just avoid driving at night, or can I tell the car I'm driving on the right and it re-configures the left right modes etc????

Anyone have any experience of this?

Cheers

Jon

[williz]

All,

What's the protocol for taking a 400h on the roads of Europe regarding headlights, and that Auto light thing AFS?

Do I need to put little black triangles on the headlights?, or just avoid driving at night, or can I tell the car I'm driving on the right and it re-configures the left right modes etc????

Anyone have any experience of this?

Cheers

Jon

if you come for vacation i would do no changes to the lights. but if you like to be sure i can do some telefone calls and find out for you.

regards

willi

[Monster-Mat]

lexus do sell headlight beam reflectors to change the beam pattern for mainland europe

[ceejay]

I took the RX to the alps recently.

The advice from the dealer was:

1) use our stick on beam "obliterators"

2) turn off the auto headlamp movement

in the end, I actually used the round Halfords light converters - they gave more light - as I was also worried about the headlamp washer dislodging the tape.

It is a bit of an omission to not have a simple lever to flick though! Im sure it would be pretty straighforward with the auto levelling and adjustment that it has already.

Enjoy your trip.

[Tel]

Travel on the Continent regularly & have never altered my lights for years:simply use them responsibly.

Tel

[Dmg]

Travel on the Continent regularly & have never altered my lights for years:simply use them responsibly.

Tel

You can get a fine in France for not having headlight beam reflectors fitted even in Daylight.

I go twice a year with my 1.7 tonne caravan and RX400h ( pulls like a dream and 22 MPG over 100o miles)

Must buy some

[jbanfie]

Never did like the French, we skipped to Belgium as fast as we could, then Germany and on to Austria.

400h was flawless, Sat Nav 100% on the money an absolute breeze.

Touched 133 on Autobahn, it wouldn't go any faster than that.

Wanted to drop by Nurnburg Ring on the return journey for a laugh, but is only open on weekends and we travelled on the Friday.

Cheers

[katabrontes]

See below for answer from Lexus UK. There is no need to do anything.

Thank you for your further email.

I can confirm that the HID (High Intensity Discharge) headlamps on the RX 350 do not need to be
converted for travel on the continent. The set up of the headlamp is such that the light shines in a horizontal
flat beam which has no kick up and as such is not dazzling to drivers of oncoming cars.

As you have suggested, we would recommend that the Intelligent Adaptive Front-lighting
System (I-AFS) is switched off when travelling on the continent.

Yours sincerely

Claire Newman

Customer Relations Executive

[Herness]

Get a vignette for Austrian highway in advance.

[John Walker]

France and lovely so enjoy your trip!

PS : Don t forget to get one of those alchool tests, first aid kit and fire extinguisher (should have a valid expiration date) in case police stops you. Also respect the speed limits as Waze and other apps won t show you cameras/ radars like in UK, it became illegal in France. 

[Malc1]

and RAC or AA cover as appropriate 

Malc

[Herness]

Another thing which should't be forgotten - they have a speed cameras everywhere, so make sure you drive slowly.  Vignette can be found online now rakouskadalnicniznamka.cz , two years ago it still wasn't possible (or i didn't find where to do it). If you want to enjoy speed driving - go to Germany, cause they don't have any speed limits on their autobahn.

[Bluemarlin]

On 12/26/2022 at 10:31 PM, Lepig8877 said:

Great thread and sorry for bumping it. We are planning our trip to Austria and I'm looking for any useful inforamtion. Thanks for sharing experiences. And any other advice is appreciated. 

If you're driving through France then get a toll tag to avoid any queues. I have the Emovis one and it makes going through the tolls quick and  easy, especially the ones that let you drive through at 30 mph. If you're planning any stopovers in France you'll need an emissions sticker for certain cities, eg Strasbourg (about 3/4 euros), and takes about a week or two to arrive.

Also, if you don't have breakdown cover, Lexus Roadside Assistance is around £135 and includes European cover.

[royoftherovers]

18 minutes ago, Bluemarlin said:

If you're driving through France then get a toll tag to avoid any queues. I have the Emovis one and it makes going through the tolls quick and  easy, especially the ones that let you drive through at 30 mph. If you're planning any stopovers in France you'll need an emissions sticker for certain cities, eg Strasbourg (about 3/4 euros), and takes about a week or two to arrive.

Also, if you don't have breakdown cover, Lexus Roadside Assistance is around £135 and includes European cover.

Good stuff Bill.

I found (over 17 years travelling through France to Spain )that;

Toll Tags were essential

30 mph (almost 50 kph ) could not be achieved on many of the designated lanes

The designated lanes were always on the extremem left of the Toll Stations (which is where the fast lanes were for overtaking whilst on the autoroute).

I`m not sure if Lexus Roaside Assist has now been withdrawn for foreign travel. Someone needs to check.

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, Herness said:

Another thing which should't be forgotten - they have a speed cameras everywhere, so make sure you drive slowly.  Vignette can be found online now rakouskadalnicniznamka.cz , two years ago it still wasn't possible (or i didn't find where to do it). If you want to enjoy speed driving - go to Germany, cause they don't have any speed limits on their autobahn.

cause they don't have any speed limits on their autobahn.....oh yes they do, my friend.🤣👍

[royoftherovers]

6 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

cause they don't have any speed limits on their autobahn.....oh yes they do, my friend.🤣👍

and I thought you were hibernating Peter.🤣🤣

[NemesisUK]

11 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

I`m not sure if Lexus Roaside Assist has now been withdrawn for foreign travel. Someone needs to check.

Still available in 44 European (Assistance) Territories

https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/LRA-brochure_tcm-3157-1272758.pdf

[royoftherovers]

2 hours ago, NemesisUK said:

Still available in 44 European (Assistance) Territories

https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/LRA-brochure_tcm-3157-1272758.pdf

Document as at July 2019 ?

I have a feeling that I have read of a significant change somewhere recently.Best if someone intending to travel abroad double checks with Lexus Customer Services in advance, me thinks.

[Bluemarlin]

1 hour ago, royoftherovers said:

Document as at July 2019 ?

I have a feeling that I have read of a significant change somewhere recently.Best if someone intending to travel abroad double checks with Lexus Customer Services in advance, me thinks.

I think this is a newer link John:

https://www.roadsidecover.com/lexus

Just in case though, I just checked the Lexus Roadside Assistance letter I received when I took out my 10 year plus extended warranty. The letter is dated 15 Nov 2021 and states that it includes European roadside assistance in 44 countries.

 

[NemesisUK]

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Document as at July 2019 ?

I have a feeling that I have read of a significant change somewhere recently.Best if someone intending to travel abroad double checks with Lexus Customer Services in advance, me thinks.

The link is from the main Lexus.UK website.... Not that that means much in my experience of other Lexus T&C documents!

[royoftherovers]

2 hours ago, Bluemarlin said:

I think this is a newer link John:

https://www.roadsidecover.com/lexus

Just in case though, I just checked the Lexus Roadside Assistance letter I received when I took out my 10 year plus extended warranty. The letter is dated 15 Nov 2021 and states that it includes European roadside assistance in 44 countries.

 

Thanks Bill. I still feel that I have read something re the facility not being as fully available as if you called assistance in UK.Could it be that it only applies if you are in your own car and not if you are a passenger in another vehicle ?

[Malc1]

I was reading sometime back that my Ls400 is actually BANNED from Paris  .  probably some others too ........  how sad, when i go next I'll just plan very well to avoid all those dreadful places to drive 

Malc

[Bluemarlin]

16 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Thanks Bill. I still feel that I have read something re the facility not being as fully available as if you called assistance in UK.Could it be that it only applies if you are in your own car and not if you are a passenger in another vehicle ?

In can't find anywhere that suggests that, but you might be right John, as Lexus aren't always great at being clear or posting the most up to date information. The only "restriction" I'm aware of is that with the Relax warranty you have to pay if you want it, whereas is comes included with the 10yr Plus Extended warranty.

[Bluemarlin]

20 minutes ago, Malc1 said:

I was reading sometime back that my Ls400 is actually BANNED from Paris  .  probably some others too ........  how sad, when i go next I'll just plan very well to avoid all those dreadful places to drive 

Malc

There's a few French emissions zones Malcolm, and one or two in Germany. 

I actually think their approach is fairer, or at least more honest/transparent when it comes to making it about emissions. If you're not compliant you can't enter, but if you are you can, and only need to display a sticker, which is only 3 or 4 euros. 

Here though, you can drive as much as you like in a congestion/low emissions zone, compliant or not, as long as you pay a daily fee, which makes it more about revenue than emissions control.

Regardless of the rights or wrongs of either, the former at least seems to be directed towards the stated goals,, and not simply an opportunity for a cash grab.

[RobinGBrown]

Regarding the headlights, there's some totally wrong answers up above. You only need headlight beam adjusters if your headlights illuminate the left side of the road. From the RX400h onwards the headlights are 'flat' i.e. they do not light up the left side of the road any higher than than the front. Flat headlights do not need beam adjusters. 

There are more and more low emission zones every year, I've found the best advice on the AA website as they have very clear country specific advice like this and links to all the sites you need to buy lez stickers, vignettes, toll devices, etc: Driving in France and Monaco | AA (theaa.com)

My wife is from Slovakia so we've driven there every summer for the school holidays for the last decade or so (barring one pandemic year) so I have to do the research each year

Other gotchas - dashcams: Austria doesn't allow them at all. SatNavs: France doesn't allow speed camera data. Vignettes: many are available online nowadays. LEZ stickers: take a long time to arrive and don't always turn up - order early*

French tolls can be sped through with a device but getting one in the UK is a bit of a pain and you have to pay an annual fee even if you don't use it at all - you can pay with a contactless card which is as quick as you can get otherwise

 

Simplest advice: always check the regulations for each country before you go

 

*To avoid cluttering your windscreen with stickers buy some 3 inch/7.5cm round acrylic disks and attach the stickers to those then hang them on the window with clips:

Disks: XIWENQUKU 10Pcs Clear Acrylic Sheet 0.04 Inch Thick Acrylic Plastic Disc Transparent Round Acrylic Panel Circle Acrylic Sheets Sign for Picture Frame Painting DIY Crafts (3 inch / 7.5 cm) : Amazon.co.uk: Home & Kitchen

Clips: Wicked Chili 4x Parking Permit, Ticket and Note Holder for Car Windscreen, Clips with Removable Suction Cup, Avoid parking fine, Set of 4 (Made in Germany) transparent : Amazon.co.uk: Automotive