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I'm just reading this with interest as I've said the same thing many times, rarely do members comment on how good their air suspension is, and how reliable it's been. And I suppose in reality these forums exist primarily for trouble shooting. For that reason I don't think we should be put off buying a car with air, but maybe we should buy with the understanding that Lexus will always be an expensive car to repair....if it goes wrong.

Hi Steve, My experience may be relevant. I've had my SEL since March 2005 when it was new. Now it has over 97,000 miles on the clock. Apart from normal "servicing" I had to have new front calipers as one seized after driving through flood water. Nothing else has been changed. Not the battery and not even a bulb (yet!). Everything works as it did the day I bought it. My wife and I LOVE the car and will try and keep it going for as long as we can. No idea what to replace it with at all. You're right that people don't come on here to say how pleased they are with something. I've been reading this forum for 11 years now and I know air suspension gets a lot of mentions but so does the battery on the RX 400h. It wasn't a risk for me to buy as the 1st RX I bought was coil sprung and the ride was horrible. I've had 10 years of sublime driving and when it packs up I'll get it fixed. The car is so worth it. Alan Just remembered there was a brake master cylinder recall but all vehicles had that work done under warranty.

badge snobbery is unreal in the UK, Lexus make very good cars. The LS400 Is legendary. It is better than many recent BMWs. I compare this snobbery to people buying iphones, they are not very good and way over priced, specification a few years old etc, but its just people being brainwashed into thinking they are getting something that is superior, which is often far from the case.

The standard pioneer stereo isn't bad, the Mark Levinson is definitely better. Damned by faint praise a little, the Mark Levinson sound system is awesome for a 7 year + old car, imho

The Black is a new shade apparently - called Graphite Black. Other new colours are the Atomic Silver (Sonic Titanium), sonic silver and the Red pictured above (unsure whether this is Matador/Mesa red or Infrared/Sonic red) Interior colours are Black, Brown, Beige and a very light shade of Grey called Moonstone. F-Sport gets Black, Red and possibly Grey depending on market. The Silver 450h is a Premier model. In the second picture you can see another Silver RX with different wheels. These will be on the Luxury models. These were taken in Austria at a Lexus training event with 20 ex-racing drivers. The RX was tested against the new XC90, BMW X5, RR Sport and the Mercedes ML (or whatever they've changed its name to). It handles much better than before, has become even more refined and quieter and the transmission on the 450h has been changed. It is only slightly slower on the slalom compared to an X5 but leaves the XC90 and RR Sport for dead. Worth looking out for!

TP can I just advise that you complete the popla process and maybe have a look at this. http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/reclaim/parking-ticket-appeals The forum is also excellent and they guided me through a successful appeal. Hope you can gain some satisfaction on your original parking bay issue. Photos and video are really powerful ways of making the lack of manoeuvrability point. V66 Sent from my iPad using Lexus OC

Doesn't sound good but please keep us updated with how things progress.

OK, it's the height of summer - and time once again for the Highways Dept. to resume their assault on the County's motorists through their loose gravel resurfacing programme. And, once again I have a crack in my windshield - caused by a stone thrown up from a vehicle that had just passed in the opposite direction (it was clear in front). They put up signs several days ago (Loose Chippings / Skid Risk / 20mph) BUT NO ACTUAL START DATE. Furthermore, they NEVER put the signs up BEFORE the last turning for an alternative route - so you find yourself in this hailstorm of bullets before you can avoid it. There absoultely has to be some deal going on between the corrupt councils and the insurance cos. As far as I'm concerned, the practice of spraying the road with loose gravel is simply irresponsible, indefensible and - knowing the risks without giving drivers the chance to avoid it - criminal. I now have to consider whether I want the hassle of getting a repair or new screen on the insurance and trying to claim back the excess from the evil Council.

Just returned from a week in Budapest Almost one in 4 or 5 cars I saw was an RX of some sort of different years. 3 or 4 IS's and one LS - popular place for them...

Hello and welcome to the LOC, nice choice of both model and specs :)

If you really want to make a point Geoff, then write to the Chief Constable with a copy to your M.P. expressing your views and if you do not receive what you consider to be an appropriate response, then write to the Editor of your local paper enclosing copies of all correspondence to date. The pigeons will be very upset by your cat! We are all being reminded that as citizens we need to take responsibility. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing" Dashcams provide us all with the opportunity to take responsibility seriously and demand that those we elect do the same. Regards John I would agree with writing to the Chief Constable and MP, perhaps especially your MP. I know MP's don't generally have much of a reputation when it comes to serving their community, but about 3 years ago I contacted my MP regarding an unfair contract I was in with a waste disposal company, the Federation of Small Businesses legal staff were next to useless, My MP got me out of the contract within days, with over £1,000 of alleged debt cancelled, so they can work for you. Easy enough to email your MP, and maybe ask him/her to contact the Chief Constable.

Using the LS400 and Auto combined ,gives 150 taxed and 93 on sorn ,for 1993 model year , so not a lot but a few more than the 94's .

Hi & welcome David, I'm sure you won't be disappointed with your new purchase :D

I got mine back last Friday, £405 inc VAT for timing belt, tensioner, water pump, coolant change and dreaded spark plug change - I supplied all the bits, tho. Not happy with the garage tho, as they didn't change all of the coolant in the engine block, nor attach plastic under-tray correctly (a bolt snapped, so they cable-tied it badly). Bolts on under trays go for a pastime (on my older MR2) so can sympathise, the lazy fix was not what I expected or worthy of my poor Lex! On a plus point, the car had had a timing belt change at approx 100k mark but this was undocumented in the history! The belt they put on was incredibly cheap but looked new when removed for my pukka Lexus/Toyota belt I bought. The previous owner was fleeced tho, as it was almost the same story with the spark plugs, the top 3 easy to get to ones had been changed, but the rear 3 buggers hadn't! Tensioner was the original one and looked in good condition, as did the water pump - after 12yrs and 108k miles the pump looked "new" inside and had no play or visible wear. Engine internals are good for another 100k/10years! Hope this info is of use to someone!

You can adjust/recalibrate this with the Toyota/Lexus Techstream software - but it is incredibly long winded! So much so, I haven't attempted it! It involves working out how much the car is out of alignment by measuring from points on the suspension by the wheel rotor to the top of the strut, and then subtracting from the factory values for the car's technical manual for ride height as designed, then inputting this value per wheel into the air suspension computer. For a trained technician whose a dab hand at this, it's no more than 30mins work. For a normal Lexus tech, maybe 1.5hrs and me probably half a day!!! No parts or screwdrivers required tho. If you have £100-150 burning a hole in the pocket, head to the dealer! Out of interest, just because car is like this when you get in, are you sure it doesn't level when the engine starts? A way to check (Lexus workshop manual info) is to take car somewhere really flat, leave car in neutral with hand and foot brakes off and engine running, put height control to Hi, wait until it adjusts, then put height control to Normal, wait for it to adjust, then hop out and look at the stance and gap between wheel and wheel-arch. Let us know how you get on! Chris.

Tyres wear out, air suspension wears out, normal spring suspension eventually wears out. It's a fact, sorry! If you have the above attitude, then you have realistic expectations. Air suspension uses rubber air bags, these seem to be most prone to wearing out around 10-12yr mark or around 80-110k miles. The RX is heavy, so assuming their aren't any manufacturing faults with the bags, they will always eventually wear or perish. My car when I bought in Feb was a 53 plate SE-L with 103k on the clock. The air suspension did work faultlessly on the hour test drive BUT in the last 3 weeks, the compressor is literally on every time I start the car or whenever I'm driving and when I come to a stop. The biggest culprit is the rear nearside air bag, you can hear the air escaping from it, so will need replacing asap. The part alone from Lexus IS £660. Front air struts are currently £760 each. Sure there are other things that can go with the air suspension (height control modules, solenoids and compressor) but on my 2003 car, they all look and work great. I paid £4000 for my RX knowing that I'd have to spend money to get it to a known good condition to keep for 3yrs+. I, like you, also read all those things about the air suspension too - so went into it with my eyes open and adjusted the purchase budget accordingly. If you do the same, then you can't lose. I love the RX and so does the misses and little boy, it's not particularly sexy but it is undeniable fabulous. As for the air, if it goes, it goes. I'm currently making slow progress researching alternative, cheaper components to fix the air bag issue... Watch this space! Ta, Chris

Could be the parking brake shoes. Just had EXACTLY the same problem with near side rear wheel on our 53 plate celica, changed pads, cleaned up disc and totally refurbed the calliper and noise was still there! Wound the cog so parking drum shoe was totally backed off, spun wheel by hand and hey presto, noise gone. Readjusted cog so drum shoe was back in the right position and balanced with the offside, spun wheel again and annoying light "grinding" sound was back! Hard to explain the noise but VERY similar to the sound a pad makes against the disc when only the backing plate is left... When I can be bothered to take it ALL apart again, and finally fix it, I'll let you know what & how! Rest assured it is merely annoying and not life and death. Hope this helps, Chris

Wax is the last thing you put on. The ultimate finish is due to all the other bits you do beforehand.

Yes indeed although that is more of a yearly cosmetic update rather than a major facelift.

Thanks again for your reply. i have seen few 2007 models but they do not have that Hybrid Badge? does that mean they are not facelift models? They have been taken off, doors replaced in accidents etc. There shouldn't be a 2007 registered vehicle that wasn't a facelift unless it was in a showroom unregistered for a very long time.

Badge on the tailgate is also different Pre-facelift badge on the left, newer one on the right

They were also facelifted in 2008. Chrome door handles & darker headlamps is the way to tell.

There are a few differences, the easiest way to tell is hybrid badges on the rear passenger doors which are only there on the facelift models. Other changes include MP3 playback on the stereo, revised indicator/wiper switches, new instrument cluster, new sat nav generation with improved screen, faster processor and a few extra features, improved reversing camera, acoustic windscreen and improved rear ICE system.

After Sales Consultant And RRG is? Regards John RRG is the company that owns that Lexus dealer.

I'd go for a late 06 or 07 plate if you can, the vehicle was facelifted in April 2006. 2005 to 2006 - The SE-L gets the Mark Levinson premium stereo, Sat Nav with reversing camera and rear ICE DVD player/screens over the standard SE. The SE optionally can have Sat Nav with reversing camera and the rear ICE. With the facelift the Mark Levinson stereo could also be specified as an option on the SE. The standard pioneer stereo isn't bad, the Mark Levinson is definitely better. The rear ICE system isn't great - it is certainly possible to have an aftermarket system added which would be better than the standard system. Better still just to get a couple of tablets with cases that fit around the headrests.

Well..principally i agree with you. One should maybe not tamper with nature. But as you know the car already lowers automatically on the highway for better aerodynamics/handling so my thought was to decrease the overall height say with1 cm. That means the normal height level with be closer to the lowest. This should then only improve the handling. And I cant remember when I last used the top level height.. Only an idea. If I'm actually going to do it, that's another story :-)

Just checked my wheels, the height varies from 45cm to 47cm with the car on level ground and has been idle overnight. Although there is a difference between the heights it is not apparent when viewing the vehicle either from the side or rear. I currently have the Easy Access mode switch enabled and the height select switch set to N. Hope this is of some help.