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I took my RX to Lexus Bolton today for the diagnostic check and a satnav update. First off, the general service was on another level. I walked in with my 9 year old, second hand RX that they've never seen before, and was treated like I had recently purchased a brand new vehicle from them. It was just an all round pleasant experience. A technician took the car out for a motorway test, and also did a full inspection. In a nutshell, the car is absolutely fine! I'm not imagining the noise. The tech called me and told me it was the CVT transmission. He said it's normal, and that I don't have anything to worry about. He didn't say this specifically, but I suspect it's basically the sound of an older, high mileage example like mine. He also texted me a link to a video report, which I've not had the chance to watch yet. He also added that he's been servicing the 3RX since its release, and Lexus Bolton have never seen a 3RX hybrid system or transmission failure in that time. Not bad for a 10 year period! To cap it all off, since there was nothing wrong, they didn't charge me anything for the diagnostic session (originally quoted at £120). So all in all, a great result. I will be that little bit more relaxed on my journey back to London tomorrow. Major kudos to Lexus Bolton. Based on my experience today, I'd recommend them in a heartbeat.

My son visited me from the Netherlands and made this video. There is a moment where the joy on my face shows how happy I still am with the Lexus. VID-20190718-WA0000.mp4

It is not a question of taking the moral high ground. In a perfect world, pedestrians would behave perfectly, use zebra crossings, would never get drunk and act irresponsibly or take medication that may impair their reflexes. Children would have the same level of awareness as adults and the same concept of danger. Elderly people would have excellent eyesight, and would not suffer from debilitating illnesses that may cause them to act irrationally. At the same time, drivers would never drive when tired, would not allow themselves to get distracted, and the weather would always ensure perfect driving conditions. No blinding sun, fog, rain... Unfortunately, we're not in a perfect world, and that's why safety features are there to protect us and others. It is the fitment of traction control to new cars that is mandatory. Not its use. Maybe it is the same with pop up hoods. Shada. I accept my comments may have been a bit harsh and I apologise. It's not for me to judge. I spent 3 months in hospital when a teenager because someone who was driving a car with very bold tyres and aquaplaned in heavy rain, lost control of his car and hit me (and my parents) head on. All because he did not want to spend money on tyres because he was saving to go on holiday. Safety features are there for multiple reasons. It's all part of the cost of owning a car. Rant over. Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

Thank you, very helpful info. I think I have made some progress directly. I now have an email from said company quoting what manufacturer told them it starts by saying and includes So in my mind that looks like sufficient evidence of admission to liability. There solution on the other hand looks like a bunch of crap: I have seeked out technical advise from two very good specialist in the area, one of them being a trade AC specialist. And they said exactly what I thought doing a vacuum will not get all the oil out, they also think its highly unlikely that the AC compressor is damaged as yet. The actual proposed cleanup and change of some parts is £750. Firstly they charge £60 for a regas, I do not see how they could even do the job for £100, nor do I believe they have the right equipment or gas/oil to regas and quite frankly I don't trust them to sort it out. So hopefully we are now just in an argument about the correct cleanup. Fingers crossed. Lastly I just want to mention a top top man/business - Steve @ http://www.fullcircleonline.co.uk who I have never done business with, ever, has gone out of his way to advise, get information from other sources, has called me and walked me through all sorts of cases and yet I have not spent 1p with them. Really restores your faith in humanity. I will def be using them for my future business, so damn impressed.

Hi I've just read your whole post have you any new updates ,I'm looking at buying a Rx450H myself.

Whether it can be done or not, still think it's a bit dodgy to remove a safety system intended for pedestrians for the sake of an insurance claim

I realise some would consider this sad, but I've always thought the look alone of the original LS engine was a visual masterpiece. Now they've got plastic over them but I can remember how much I loved the look of my 93 LS engine!

Fed up with the look of my pitted windscreen trim, I decided to wrap it. Before and after pictures attached. Well pleased and only cost £3.89.

The above post on hypermiling reminds me, this is my absolute best effort. It was absolutely exhausting, but over exactly 20 miles I managed the below figure. It can be done and I daresay you could get 40+ out of it every day if you really wanted to. But you’d be a broken man by the end of it, the concentration required is intense. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s great news, happy to hear you’ve had such a result. I’m also relieved to hear the quality of the work at Bolton as my car was serviced there for most of its life [emoji57] Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I've said this before on this forum, I believe the LS lost that classic limo look after the LS430, and really, that's the thing that got me interested in them in the first place. So although I'm sure the LS460 is a fine car, the shape just doesn't appeal to me.

I do like a look of a good engine, no one should have a Lego engine bay. It’s the don’t work on your own car bring it to a dealer world we live in with finance up the eyeballs.

I have a TV, a parking aid on the front bumper which pops up with a blue led, the passenger front seat and head rest folds forward to give the rear passenger loads of room and a clear view, very thick "Celsior" over mats, nice long grab handles on the back of the front seats, the original and unused "Celsior" rear tape deck, and a sensor of some kind on the dash that I've yet to determine the function of. Oh yes, and a DVD player! And something I only discovered recently was cornering lights. And the front fogs are yellow which I like. Also the side and rear windows are very dark tinted. Only downside is the spare wheel is a space saver.

So have you found many quirks that UK models didn't have? Mine has several, most not a great deal of use but amusing all the same!

So you've got wool seats like me. I wasn't sure at first but I'm glad I did it as they just feel so good, so soft. Do you know what year yours was imported?

No it’s the alternator belt, but I know the rule of sorting the water pump while your there just makes sense.

And this for vehicle compatibility with E10 fuels: https://www.acea.be/uploads/publications/ACEA_E10_compatibility.pdf - states for Lexus that: Lexus: E10 petrol is cleared for use in all Lexus European petrol models made from January 1998, excluding: • IS250 2.5 litre V6 with engine 4GR-FSE made between August 2005 and September ACEA E10 compatibility list – August 2018 10 2007. • GS300 3.0 litre V6 with engine 3GR-FSE made between January 2005 and September 2007. • LS460 4.6 litre V8 with engine 1UR-FSE made between August 2006 and September 2007.

Thanks for all the info. Very much appreciated. the car has not been serviced at Lexus since 2016 but owner did own service oil changes spark plugs. Has mainly done motorway miles but needs service now. Was going to get a VHC at Lexus as I don’t know what to look for but another mot will be more comprehensive test. will get warranty for 12 months with warranty direct but they want service in last 12 months. This will be my 2nd car for shopping as I already drive an E70 2011 4.0d as my work car. The alloys need refurb though. what are plastic inserts as was thinking of Matt black on wheels. How do I check for dampers or seized callipers ??

Just had to make sure - they do still sell the J150 here in the UK: https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/land-cruiser/

Ok, so trying to get my head around this. Take a Toyota Prado J150 off-roader. Doll it up with some wood trim, nicer leather and a V8, and call it the GX470. Now turn it back to an off-roader as a "concept"?

Yes you can providing its not under Lexus Extended Warranty. Just remember to take it to the dealer for the £59 annual hybrid healthcheck

After seeing other positive reviews of the RaceX gauge, I have ordered one from Amazon and await delivery. Thanks @NemesisUK (and others) for the advice.

The fuel tank problem is generally related to motor bikes and marine craft that have tanks made of materials other than metal. It is a fact that raising the level of ethanol reduces the number of mpg in a given car. So we pay for petrol that in effect is "watered down", but still pay for as if it was 100% petrol. Most fuels "not all" have had 5% ethanol for some time, but it is not required in law to tell you this at the pumps. However as soon as the 5% level is exceeded it is a legal requirement that the level of ethanol is clearly shown at the point of delivery. Ethanol is damaging to paintwork. It also has an affinity for water meaning it can cause corrosion to metal fuel tanks, and fuel injection components. Ethanol generally comes from crops such as rape seed "it can come from other sources", and many would argue that land should be used for growing food crops. John.

An update on this (albeit slightly belated)..... I went for the 2018 model in the end (Luxury Premium Navigation in Sonic Titanium) and am very pleased with it. Still getting used to how it drives and all the on-board toys but I am getting there. Having read some not too complimentary reviews of the SatNav / Infotainment system coupled with Remote Touch I was a bit pessimistic about that aspect but I have to say that I quite like it. I would agree that it's not the most user-friendly but it's not as bad as I feared. The car itself drives very well. I have seen the term "waft" used in reviews and would agree that this best describes how comfortable and nice it is to drive. I find it has the necessary "ooomph" when you need it too (although admittedly my boy racer days are far behind me 😃 ). So far, so good. Thanks again for the responses and advice. (Now need to work out how to increase the volume of the speed camera alerts 😄)

Don't worry about the traction battery, they're great. If the car has been serviced at Lexus then it will have had a 'Hybrid Health Check' every year as part of the service routine. Even if it hasn't been serviced at Lexus, you can have a hybrid health check done as a stand-alone item for about £60 and it's well worth it. As long as it passes all the tests they cover it for a year. Get it done every year and they cover it right up to it being 15 years old.

Hi All, Thank you all for the replies, they've been very helpful and I'm going to go and have a look at the car this weekend. Is there anything in particular you would say I should look out for? Also, is there any way to check the health of the battery with the onboard computer or are they pretty solid? The health of the battery as its my first ever hybrid (and with it being 6 years old as well) is also something I'm thinking a lot about. Thanks again, Ken

I am just about ready for a new set of tyres. I had some Yokohama tyres but they wore quickly and were screaming on cornering. I am not a boy racer and object to leaving tyre rubber on the road! so I shouldn't be accused of heavy fast cornering. I have used Enduro HT as well but although they performed OK some say I am taking a chance using them on an RX300! In a past life I had BFG A/T'S ON early Range Rovers and a later P38 RR. always had great mileage from them 40-42k every time, never got stuck in the mud and they were very quiet.. I was pleased to learn that the BFG A/T is now available for the RX300 (early one), I just hope that there is not going to be a conflict with the Limited Slip Differential used for the four wheel drive if I have real grippers all round. Am I worrying un-necessarily? Out if interest will the ABS kick in on odd pattern/age/ware tyres on the front? I keep getting that ABS judder in normal conditions.

Ethanol in petrol reduces emissions, going from 5% to 10% will cut emissions by 2%. Over 90% of UK petrol cars are compatible with ethanol, which of course means a significant number are not. All modern/current cars are compatible. Ethanol can soften and adversely affect rubber seals. If concerned fill up with V-Power or Momentum etc, as these do not have ethanol added.

I don't think you will be disappointed with them. Keep an eye out for the Michelin preloaded debit card offer. I have saved £200 on my last 2,sets of tyres. Offer usually around October if you can wait.

There is clearly some variation depending on driving style, road conditions and time of year and also if your journey involves steep hills. I recently recorded my best result on a journey from Surrey to Devon on a Sunday when traffic was not very heavy for latter stage and I used cruise control for around speed limits for much of the time. I got 35.6 carrying my wife and a lot of kit, perhaps equal to carrying one more person. Tyres were set at 2.7 bar. I probably could have done a little better with higher inflation. Now on mixed local journeys it's 32.2mpg. Worst was for short journeys in winter when the figure was around 28mpg. If all figures mentioned in this thread for the 3rd Generation are considered, there is not a great difference bearing in mind aforementioned variables.

Thanks i-s, replacing all my tires with cross climate soon.

Lowered, bespoilered, tubbed, couple of blowers, roll cage - come on man stop being a tease and tell us what you’ve done 😂 Looking forward to this one Jim

So the deed is done - yes, I have updated my profile from 2004 Briarwood Pearl to 2004 Flint Mica. Oh and spent some money . . . The car was not perfect, but pretty sound. 3 keys, and the original PDI document was a bonus. Drove very well, and without any rattles. I am hopeful that once I have had it a year it will be closer to perfect - wheel refurb, paint touch up etc. Five years from now it should have done litres than 80k miles, for two owners, and a full Lexus history, so I think it should still be worth a premium price if I wanted to sell it. Which is unlikely. Thanks for all the input. Jon

Is that a velour/fabric interior? Surely can’t be many of those... isn’t that more highly regarded than leather in Japan? Will be interested in what you do, same colour as mine!

I’ve got a 2010 model and I see around 30mpg usually, but that’s with sitting in traffic for over 20 mins then a short blast up a dual carriageway. Not exactly peak economy run. The best tanks I’ve had I managed 37mpg which is on “extra-urban” 30-50mph runs. On the longest runs it has done (Cambridge to Glasgow) I saw about 33. If I drive a little slower it’ll see 34/5 on a run. Best full tank I’ve ever seen was 430 miles, Worst was 280. Economy is always worse in winter. It’s all down to how you drive it and regrettably I’m just as addicted to the shove of the V6 as I am to the creeping around in silence of the electric motor. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had Crossclimate+ XLs on both my Volvo V70 and my Nissan Leaf (and if ever there was a car where tyre roar was critical, that was it). In both cases they rode very nicely (softer than Pirelli P7 Cinturato Blue, itself a pretty comfy tyre), and supremely quiet inside the cabin. I would have absolutely no hesitation in buying them again.

My 2019 RX f-sport has averaged 31mpg real mpg, but that’s early figures as it doesn’t get used very often. In fact it’s only had 1 decent long run but even that was with a lot of stop start traffic. I’ve still not put 1000 mile on the clock yet. Time will tell, but, I’ll be happy if it remains at/or above the 31 I’m getting at the moment.

Hi Eddy, good call checking in for what to look out for on a test drive. A clean hybrid health check is good and will warranty the traction battery for another 12 months. The GS450h should be pretty much silent even with the v6 running, at least on the standard exhaust. Peek under the rear bumper and check the exhaust Y pipe where it splits to the left/right boxes, this area is prone to corrode/leak so rust/soot can be used as bargaining chips. Dealers like to report leaking dampers and failed calipers but posts on here often show that the dampers are fine (as in my case) and the calipers often just need a clean/re-lube. Once the v6 is thoroughly warmed up, turn down the heater and lift off/go light on the throttle under 40mpg - this should force electric mode. In Normal mode you can hold electric easily on the throttle but in Sport or PWR modes almost any throttle will bring the v6 back online. PWR mode will give you more regen braking vs Normal. Switching between modes can be laggy to load/engage but once set you should then feel the throttle response change. Sport will tighten the dampers a bit. Hit the Info button, then Trip Info to see average mpg, min/max consumption, etc It should be averaging over 30mpg although much depends if the car is primarily driven in or out of town. 40mpg/thereabouts should be attainable on a steady 60pmg+ run. Lower figures might be caused by a traction battery that's on it's way out or 'regular' stuff like sticking brake calipers, vacuum leak, o2 sensor, etc. Check the headlights work as they're quite expensive to repair. If you are looking at an '08 car (in your profile) then is it a facelift with the indicators in the wind mirrors? At that age TPMS sensors might be or start to fail, the reset button is under the dash. Unfortunately alloys can tend to corrode quite badly, check the plastic inserts are all in place and secure. Does the vehicle has a full service history? With Lexus or elsewhere? Good luck and let us know how you get on.

Getting on average 36mpg on rural/suburban roads.

According to my mpg app which was reset when I changed phones in October I have averaged 33.15mpg over 19202 miles. Lowest mpg on a tank was 29.28(only one ever time below 30 and that was when I topped up after 126 miles in November so not a fair comparison) and highest 37.04.

Likewise about 32 mpg for me, a bit less in winter but still 30.5 or thereabouts.

We have a 63-plate RX450h Advance and my average is 32mpg according to the onboard computer. That's dropping my wife at work and picking her up later, plus a couple of local journeys for me as I pick up/drop off work during the day. You've got to remember that it's a 3.5 litre V6 petrol engine and the car weighs about 2 tons, so that's actually a very good figure for what you're driving around in.

Wow. Really. To be consistent, I strongly suggest that you disconnect all the airbags in your car. They cost a bomb to replace and create a real mess when they go off. After all, your chances of having an accident are about the same as hitting a pedestrian, so why should you need costly airbags to protect yourself and your family just because you *might* have an accident. Actually, while you're at it, you should probably also cancel your insurance. What is the point of paying for something you may never, ever need.

Same thing could be said of animals. How often do we hit those? Unfortunately, could be argued that it is a legal requirement, since if there is a frontal collision involving a pedestrian, it's almost certain you'd be "uninsured"

The warranty seems to only apply to the battery, and in any case, the car has done more than 10k since the last hybrid health check in January, so that warranty period has expired. The previous owners thing is probably what has turned a potentially innocuous noise into impending doom 🙂 That said, the dealer didn't hesitate to hand over the VIN so I could check the full service history on the Lexus website. There's absolutely nothing of concern in there.

....a few photos of the day, so far! More than 500 cars booked including a few choice Lexi and the LFA. Good to meet another fellow forum member!

I use one of these, quick, easy to read and accurate Amazon.co.uk