Rx400H Reversing Lights (Or Lack Of !) Lexus Email.

[billygarrett]

I have tried all of these modifications. I have fitted LEDs and removed the light deflector. That alone was a vast improvement, but the light is not directed to the ground. As for the camera, I am told there is no Lexus night vision unit that will replace the existing reversing camera. I also understand that a suitable after market unit has not yet been found (the guy who fitted my after market parking sensors is still looking).

So far, the best I can get in terms of reversing light is: fit LEDs, remove deflector, switch on rear fog lights and touch the brake a lot to switch on the brake lights. There is no street lighting where I live and this works well for me.

Although reversing at night is a nuisance, it is the only niggle with an otherwise great car.

When reversing in the dark, try putting on your 4 way flashers and your rear foglights!

My son has my rx400h now and I have moved on to a Tesla MS85. The reversing camera has brilliant night vision, so if you get hold of an aftermarket one and install the monitor on the dash that should solve your problem.

Good luck!

[Crowtree]

Have I set any records with the number of replies this post has had yet lol ?

[comedians]

I'll add one more to help your record !

I live in dry stone wall county (Yorkshire) and have only 14" either side along the road to my driveway. If you meet another vehicle then, dependant on how far you are down the lane, one has to reverse. For all the 6 years with my RX400h SE-L reversing at night, in pitch black, has been a nightmare. There only needs to be one stone sticking out and there goes another £150 for bumper repair, and I've had two done. Before anyone chips in with some wisecrack as an advanced driver for 49 years & holder of police class 1 I think I know how to reverse but in this car it is an experience in the dark you never hope is you have to do.

Your initial point about the revering lights being crap is totally correct and quite honestly I think some people on this forum have never had to reverse in those situations.

I removed my deflectors within a couple of weeks of buying the car, made some difference but not enough to save my rear bumper !

[energyman]

I am in complete agreement with all those that say they're a bit rubbish. I'm in Norfolk as well and street lighting is ver often confined to towns only. Many times I've missed walls and trees by the skin of my teeth. Talking about teeth!

It reminds me of when I bought some O*** B toothpaste the other week and it describes how it will remove 80% of tooth stains within a fortnight. It didn't, so I wrote and complained. They wrote back to say that their toothpaste removes surface debris, enhancing the look of the teeth, but does not have any whitening or bleaching effect whatsoever. Now is that misleading or what?

All manufacturers will come up with something to get themselves off the hook!

[Barry7]

How about putting the toothpaste on the reversing lights to make them whiter.

Class 1 Police driver reversing into a wall....... tut tut, mind you, I watched a class 1 Police driver take the beacons off of a Transit, now that was funny!

[Boxbrownie]

Class 1 driving a Transit? Bit of a come down from the Subaru :D

[PCM]

About to install the LED reversing bulbs. Just wondering whether the LED bulbs on their own will provide much more light than the original bulbs, or whether I need to remove the reflectors as well to make a significant difference.

Could there be any potential issues with the MOT if the reflectors are removed?

Now it's getting darker...

Did using LED help the reversing light... light?

Was it easy?

The idea certainly appeals!

[katabrontes]

I used these

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-X-CANBUS-ERROR-FREE-CREE-T15-W16W-921-LED-SIDELIGHT-REVERSE-LIGHT-/331683944280?hash=item4d39e75758:g:BDAAAOSw0vBUic19

after trying a few others which weren't very good. I note that there are now 11W and 18W versions on eBay although they all claim 8000 lumens which is odd.

No problem with MOT since I removed the shields. Its passed twice since I did it. Last time with the new LEDs as well.

[tom123]

About to install the LED reversing bulbs. Just wondering whether the LED bulbs on their own will provide much more light than the original bulbs, or whether I need to remove the reflectors as well to make a significant difference.

Could there be any potential issues with the MOT if the reflectors are removed?

Now it's getting darker...

Did using LED help the reversing light... light?

Was it easy?

The idea certainly appeals!

Still have the bulbs in their packet lol. Thanks for reminding me!

I'll fit them in 2 weeks when I get a chance and let you know if they make any difference. I'm not sure about removing the reflectors though, as I'm not sure it wouldn't technically be an MOT fail if a sharp-eyed tester noticed they were missing.

[katabrontes]

I can't see why removing the shields would be an mot problem. Not all cars have them. They direct the light upwards away from the ground so markedly reduce the available light for reversing (unless of corse you subscribe to the "official Lexus" line that they aren't intended for this anyway!

[bcollinson]

took my reflectors off 2 MOTs ago and it has passsed fine each time. I think they only check to see if they work. Also fitted bright LEDs (ebay) and that is much better but still a long way off what my mates Prius does at night.

[Boxbrownie]

After the RX (and even my ML) the Q3 reversing camera is chalk and cheese.........it has LED bulbs also.

[rajmirch]

Hi, just signed up after getting an '06 RX400h and first thing i wanted to address was the lack of light for reversing at night!! Can someone please post the actual PDF or the instructions for taking out the shield as although i've signed up on the US forum it wont let me access it ;o(

Many thanks

Raj

[DanD]

Some weeks ago, I followed a RX300 down the M3, and the owner had fitted some kind of spotlight under the rear bumper. No idea how efficient this would be, or the work involved in fitting one, but those of you with problems might want to look into this.

It was fitted in such a way that it was barely visible under the bumper.

[DDow]

On ‎17‎/‎01‎/‎2015 at 11:31 AM, tom123 said:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/W16W-T15-5W-HIGH-POWER-LED-REVERS-TOP-CREE-CAR-BULBS-/331030397707?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item4d12f3030b

Are these the ones you got?

I just fitted the above, without removing the shields, with poor results as all you get is a thin beam of light, like a torch through the hole in the end, with no light coming from the reflector. What is needed is an LED bulb that has illumination evenly all round the sides, like the original shines all around, so that the light is reflected by the reflector at the correct beam width and direction. Something like this but with the correct fitting.

[lurch]

Changed my rear bulbs to the l.e.d ones listed earlier and removed the shields and must say a big improvement thanks for the previous posts great help. Fingers still hurt mind whilst trying to pull body panels off !!!

[Lydiamight]

Save you fingers by investing £1.43 in a set of trim removal tools    http://www.amazon.co.uk/TOOGOO-BB-FR-2-Panel-Audio-Removal/dp/B009YDZ3TM/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1456141269&sr=8-4&keywords=vehicle+trim+removal+tool

They seem to get pretty good reviews on Amazon---no connection etc--just though that they might be of use

[lurch]

Thanks lydiamight I did use a set of them but was still tough on the fingers, good quality clips I suppose !!! Deffo worth changing the bulbs though.

[ChrisKaye]

A good tip I saw was to warm the plastics with a hair dryer or wait until it is warm out. Cold makes the plastics more brittle and prone to snapping, although somethings can't wait until the summer (should we ever have another one!!) ;)

[Keithyrob]

I found some 50 Watt eveready G6.35 bulbs.

With a bit of modification they fit into the original socket

Bright enough.

Concerns

1. I am a bit concerned about overheating but as the light is only on for short periods I think it will be no problem

2. I am also aware of the law which states the maximum single bulb wattage is 24W for reversing lamps.

I

 

[sorcerer]

I've not read all seven pages on this topic so what I'm about to say may be complete rubbish, or it may even have been mentioned earlier but, as a relatively new owner of a 2005 RX300 (had it two months now), I'm also disappointed about the amount of light at the back of the car when reversing in darkness. However, I think the lights themselves are bright enough but it's the photochromic mirrors to blame.

The 'porch light' at our house comes on when it's dark but when I'm trying to reverse up the drive I can hardly see anything at all due to all the mirrors going dark. I drove a van for many years when I was a telephone engineer on BT so I'm more comfortable and more used to using the mirrors to reverse rather than twisting around to look out of the rear window (plus my back injury makes that movement a painful one!). Also, the brightness of the reversing camera screen, if my eye happens to catch it, can then make looking into the dark mirrors even worse than normal. Photochromic mirrors are a great idea while driving but should be disabled when reverse gear is selected, in my humble opinion anyway.

[TigerFish]

I've not read all seven pages on this topic so what I'm about to say may be complete rubbish, or it may even have been mentioned earlier but, as a relatively new owner of a 2005 RX300 (had it two months now), I'm also disappointed about the amount of light at the back of the car when reversing in darkness. However, I think the lights themselves are bright enough but it's the photochromic mirrors to blame.

The 'porch light' at our house comes on when it's dark but when I'm trying to reverse up the drive I can hardly see anything at all due to all the mirrors going dark. I drove a van for many years when I was a telephone engineer on BT so I'm more comfortable and more used to using the mirrors to reverse rather than twisting around to look out of the rear window (plus my back injury makes that movement a painful one!). Also, the brightness of the reversing camera screen, if my eye happens to catch it, can then make looking into the dark mirrors even worse than normal. Photochromic mirrors are a great idea while driving but should be disabled when reverse gear is selected, in my humble opinion anyway.

They do disable in reverse on my 2001 GS430 Sport, I'm surprised they changed that feature. There is also a button on the rear view mirror to turn it off.

Sent from my Iphone using Lexus OC

[Monte]

19 hours ago, sorcerer said:

I've not read all seven pages on this topic so what I'm about to say may be complete rubbish, or it may even have been mentioned earlier but, as a relatively new owner of a 2005 RX300 (had it two months now), I'm also disappointed about the amount of light at the back of the car when reversing in darkness. However, I think the lights themselves are bright enough but it's the photochromic mirrors to blame.

The 'porch light' at our house comes on when it's dark but when I'm trying to reverse up the drive I can hardly see anything at all due to all the mirrors going dark. I drove a van for many years when I was a telephone engineer on BT so I'm more comfortable and more used to using the mirrors to reverse rather than twisting around to look out of the rear window (plus my back injury makes that movement a painful one!). Also, the brightness of the reversing camera screen, if my eye happens to catch it, can then make looking into the dark mirrors even worse than normal. Photochromic mirrors are a great idea while driving but should be disabled when reverse gear is selected, in my humble opinion anyway.

You can disable them by pushing a button on the rear view mirror.

[mbriex]

I had a pair of powerful w21w cree LED on my rx400h and It was really better than basic LED lights.

You need to remove the shield as it's a bit longer

[sorcerer]

@TigerFish and @Monte

Cheers guys, yes, I know I can turn off the photochromic mirrors manually, but that's just SO last year