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What floor was he on ? ... just so I know the highest level I should park mine on.. .just in case lol ... sounds like an interesting accident. 4th floor!!! Elderly woman survived with minor cuts and bruises

To be honest, when I bought my RX400h I didn't really check it over at all. I had just assumed that the Lexus dealer would have inspected it to the standard that their website advertises. I now realise that an 'approved used' car has basically just been valeted and that's it. I noticed my RX had a blowing centre exhaust section a few months after I bought it. When I asked the selling Lexus dealer (Exeter) if they would like to replace the section, given that the fault had occurred within the first 6 months of ownership, the service manager told me that she had never heard of the Sales of Goods Act, and said I would have to pay £1100 for the repair. I ended up paying £50 at an exhaust shop for a stainless steel section to be welded on. I have never taken my car back to that dealer for a service, and I will never buy another car from them ever again.

No Ncap rating - doesn't matter though - no deaths in the US in the RX. One car even fell from a multi storey car park on its roof and the owner survived!

I bought mine from Lexus Manchester. They were a bit disorganised (assumed I didn't want to collect the car when I went in to pay for it) but otherwise ok. They "fixed" a loose headlight with glue (not ok), but they neglected to mention the centre exhaust pipe had a big hole in it, covered with bandage. So a few months later when I realised, I returned the car. They investigated, found the hole and tried to get it through the Lexus manufacturer warranty. Obviously the warranty people told them to bugger off, so then they said I'd have to pay for a new exhaust. I told them to bugger off, they said their manager would be in touch. I gave them an hour or two, they didn't get back to me, so I went onto Facebook and Twitter and sent Lexus UK pictures of the exhaust, together with "Lexus Manchester won't pay for this". Lexus UK couldn't have been more apologetic. I think they must have expressed their concern to Lexus Manchester's manager, because the latter immediately contacted me to say "of course we'll replace it". When I collected the car, the manager told me he wished I'd contacted him first before going to Lexus UK, he said they'd gone through the warranty first "to keep the cost out of the dealership". I thought that was a particularly deceitful way of doing business - it's their purchase, they either didn't check the exhaust or simply sold it to me and hoped I'd never notice. I'm never going back. For your service needs, I suggest you go to Charlesworth Motors near Glossop. They're only a small garage but their rates are very reasonable and I'm entirely satisfied with the service I've received. For what it's worth, I have bought cars from Volvo, Audi and Lexus dealerships. I have had poor experiences with all of them. I have a very, very low opinion of main dealers - the only reason I bought the 400h from one was because I was concerned about the hybrid system's complexity and the potential pitfalls (which I've since learnt don't exist) buying privately. Either they were being deceitful when they sold the car to you, or they were incompetent by not checking the car properly before selling it to you as an approved pre-owned car. Not good either way. I always find it surprising when dealers act like this - they have lost a potential customer for life over something they could have sorted easily and were legally obliged to (Sales Of Goods Act).

I bought mine from Lexus Manchester. They were a bit disorganised (assumed I didn't want to collect the car when I went in to pay for it) but otherwise ok. They "fixed" a loose headlight with glue (not ok), but they neglected to mention the centre exhaust pipe had a big hole in it, covered with bandage. So a few months later when I realised, I returned the car. They investigated, found the hole and tried to get it through the Lexus manufacturer warranty. Obviously the warranty people told them to bugger off, so then they said I'd have to pay for a new exhaust. I told them to bugger off, they said their manager would be in touch. I gave them an hour or two, they didn't get back to me, so I went onto Facebook and Twitter and sent Lexus UK pictures of the exhaust, together with "Lexus Manchester won't pay for this". Lexus UK couldn't have been more apologetic. I think they must have expressed their concern to Lexus Manchester's manager, because the latter immediately contacted me to say "of course we'll replace it". When I collected the car, the manager told me he wished I'd contacted him first before going to Lexus UK, he said they'd gone through the warranty first "to keep the cost out of the dealership". I thought that was a particularly deceitful way of doing business - it's their purchase, they either didn't check the exhaust or simply sold it to me and hoped I'd never notice. I'm never going back. For your service needs, I suggest you go to Charlesworth Motors near Glossop. They're only a small garage but their rates are very reasonable and I'm entirely satisfied with the service I've received. For what it's worth, I have bought cars from Volvo, Audi and Lexus dealerships. I have had poor experiences with all of them. I have a very, very low opinion of main dealers - the only reason I bought the 400h from one was because I was concerned about the hybrid system's complexity and the potential pitfalls (which I've since learnt don't exist) buying privately.

New to the forum I've been lurking for a bit working out what I'd need to look out for when it came to purchasing an LS. If you've not seen my new members post I'll be honest as to the reason I wanted an LS. I just wanted a donor to put the engine into a Sierra. But that's not going to happen now. The car was on eBay but luckily for me the seller had put it in the wrong section and the car was listed under "manuals". There was another I was watching that needed stuff doing for an mot which sold for over £500 I went down to Huntingdon to view the car I eventually ended up with, a 96 regency green four owner car that its latest owner had only had a couple of months. Always worrying when a new owner wants rid. The description was pretty sparse so it was a gamble. Turns out he'd bought it as his better half wanted a Lexus, but just not that one as it was about 19 years too old, he'd got the from a friend who'd had it a couple of years so I was starting to feel better. The first thing I noticed was the poor paintwork condition, lacquer peel and badly faded paint. The alloys were in bad shape too, I wasn't feeling too disappointed as I'd planned on scrapping the rest of the car once I'd liberated the running gear. But inside everything was in good order and in fine fettle. The owner didn't know much about the car not graving had it very long. He'd put it through an mot four weeks before and everything on the test drive seemed good. I could hear a slight blow somewhere from the exhaust which I pinned down to the egr pipe starting to crack. All the fluid levels were fine and clean. There was some history and a folder full of paperwork but the owner had never looked through it. All seemed good so we agreed on £600 and I came back for it a few days later. I picked up the car which was really low on fuel so after driving it away and putting £50 of fuel and spent half an hour playing with the seats and cd changer. It was the drive home where I began to like the car more and more, everything worked, it was comfy and went really well! The more I drove it the more I loved it. So now instead of breaking it I shall be improving it and making it suit my taste and driving style. I have some interesting and perhaps controversial things planned for the car ;) Some pics of the car as it stands currently.

Potentially 151k miles old!

Have been promising some photos of my LS 400 MkIV - so here they are:- Before anyone asks - no this is NOT an advert to sell!

I think the reifnment offered by any EV/hybrid drivetrain is now a deal breaker for me. I simply cannot understand why anyone wants to put up with rattle put out by even the best diesels when there are simply better solutions around.What's the point of having a really nice interior if when stationary the engine sounds like it's going to shake it self apart....Walk past a brand new F30 330D BMW today, sounded just as awful at idle as our old Honda Civic diesel. If your loving the reifnment of the Lexus hybrid I urge you to try a full battery EV. It takes things to a whole different level. For the price of a Paceman your be able to pick a Tesla Model X (when it eventually starts production some time in the next few months). I can guarantee it'll be quicker, and more reined than anything Jaguar or Lexus can come out with.

Thanks for that. I think I'll leave it and look for amother mk3 gs300

Women drivers ! ... lol

I think that will cause problems with the curtain airbag. For my 400h I used a Brodit proclip holder which fitted to one of the middle air vents. No marks left behind. I now use another one for my IS.

No just looking at options and noted these people mention Lexus including an Rx service schedule and wondered if anyone had any experience of them. Car seems to be running fine at the moment. CJ

I've sorted through the history, it turns out it's been serviced on the dot, the previous previous owner has included a separate booklet with all the services and parts it's had since it left the first company owner in London, it also has every mot from its first to back up the 125k miles. I'm very pleased with it to say the least. I even found the owners handbook in the cubby hole under the passenger seat.

What's a starter motor ? ... lol ... ;-)

Amazon will have to pay me !

. and a new MOT too Malc

Thank you. The 'thing with the mirrors', just seemed to make the mirrors adjust more easily and smoothly - blow away the cobwebs, as it were...

The only down side so far of the Lexus for me is the storage... Unless there are hidden ones I have yet to find. For things like my keys, sun glasses fuel receipts coins for toll roads etc. that could be improved on.

Get your head behind the rear hub and turn the disc you will see what I mean. If the scraping is coming from the dust guard then whip the caliper and disc off and give both a good clean up.

Scraping noise at the rear might just be the dust guard. They have a lip on them that slips inside the back of the drum/disc and as this corrodes it expands and rubs. Give that check before getting new rear calipers.....

That's a very good point Tom. Unfortunately my experiences with main dealers (not just Toyota/Lexus) has always been as PoD described. They are either Lazy or deceitful... However when compared to most non-franchised dealers, they are the lesser of two evils!: 1) They won't "go out of business" and then re-open under a different name (to evade tax/sales of goods obligations on faulty vehicles) 2) They care about their image, so try to avoid negative PR at all costs 3) They use proper parts during repairs rather than patch or bodge items (although sometimes this can be a negative point when a grommet comes as part of an assembly and can't be bought on it's own!) It's particularly bad for RX shoppers as the mark ups on the used vehicles at Lexus seems ludicrously high especially in light of the original poster's issue. The only thing you can do is thoroughly check any potential purchase yourself (or a mechanic/AA etc). You may get some points you can haggle with or at least have the items rectified before you have the keys handed to you...

Thanks for the info...beautiful car and well looked after. The new owner is one lucky buyer.

I too am a 'newbie'. The welcome and the goldmine at your fingertips on the search function and the archive are brilliant.

I agree that a premium car like a Lexus is very good value for money when they are older. The repair bills can be worrying if you are trying to run the car as cheaply as possible. If you own a £20,000 + car and get a bill for say £1,000 - you would be prepared to pay it. Get that same bill on an LS 400, where the value of the car can match the cost - then psychologically you consider it not worth it. From reading other owners comments, once certain issues are sorted the car will go on for a long time. The hard decision is when to say - enough is enough - am I throwing good money after bad? At the moment I have a BIG smile on my face when I take out the 400. For what it cost, it is a tremendous car. And when you consider its age, I doubt many similar aged cars could match it for comfort and refinement.

Stu I didn't let him test drive no, he fully understood that too. I took him out on an extra long blast though at all different speeds and using the different modes and he seemed happy with that. He left me a good size deposit through online transfer before he left that eve. We then arranged for him to come back Saturday as I had to put plate on retention and he had to move funds around. He then came back on the Saturday and sent online funds again to the same account for the remainder which is instant. Once I could see all the money together as the full agreed price in the one account, I gave him the keys, did the docs which is all online now and instant, he did his tax, I gave him a walk through of the controls and off he went! All safe and slick. Wouldn't do it any other way in future.

Send a mailshot from my local dealer franchise the other day and within it was an offer of £6.5k saving off an RX F Sport. All that was find but included was a picture of the yet the be unreleased series IV RX.

The Techstream software Toyota/Lexus use doesn't need to be unlocked to test the AFS (headlight system). One simple test you can do yourself is park nose 6-10ft away from a wall (preferably as it gets dark!) Turn off car completely & remove keys. Turn stalk so headlights are on (not just sidelights or Full beam). Whilst you Insert keys and turn to the position just before starter motor kicks in and the dashboard lights up - watch headlight pattern on wall. Both beams will do a little dance, outwards, inwards, up and then level... If this works it shows that the light computer and both headlamps themselves are working (the most expensive bits!). The likely cause would then points towards the height level sensor on the rear wheel struts (one each side) or the steering angle sensor (really unlikely as you're VSC light would also be on!) Hope this helps!

I've had the SE and the SEL and think the SEL is a lot better - the adaptive headlights that 'look' round the corner are great. The different heights available via the air suspension makes road driving better - i like being lower on the motorway - less drag! The stereo is much better in the SEL - on my SE the music seemed distant. If you do go for the SE the Sat nav with reversing camera is a must - the camera makes life so much easier in carparks and tight situations. My first SE was minus the sat nav - for me that was a big mistake. All the touch screen controls are nice too. Hope this helps!

Many thanks for all the suggestions. My local dealer had a look and freed the motor up. The car had been sitting for a month and for some reason the motor, which redirects the airflow had stuck in one position. It is recommended to run through the program every so often to keep it free.