JBPRX400h

We are now on our 12th Lexus! No, we didn't own them all at the same time! 2 x GS300 1 x IS200 1 x IS250h 3 x RX400h 2 x SC430 1 x RX450h Gen 3 1 x UX 250h 1 x RX450h Gen 4 F Sport The only other repeat cars we had were Reliant Scimitar GTE SE5 Reliant Scimitar GTE SE6a Middlebridge Scimitar GTE (Middlebridge bought the rights to the GTE when Reliant went bust) They were sporty, practical and, by today's standards, basic mechanically so it was easy to do our own maintenance. We owned the SE6a for 21 years and including absolutely everything the tax, insurance, MOTs, petrol, tyres, parts and even the original cost of the car came to a total of £22,175. That works out at just over £1,000 per year!!! Really miss those old cars. JBP

Not the double beeps you were referring to, Herbie but still on the subject of beeping. A few weeks ago on our Gen4 RX when I pressed the start button instead of the usual "Beeep" for the ready state I kept getting a "Beeep-bip" before the ready state. Then a week or so later the car failed to start - flat battery. RAC (courtesy of the warranty) attended and started the car and I gave it a good run followed by an overnight charge and all is well again. Back to the original "Beeep" when starting. The car had been used 2 or 3 times a week but only for short runs because of this damned virus. This could be an early warning indicator that the 12V battery is getting low. JBP

On our Gen4 RX450h FSport the cruise control is the same as all our previous RXs in that it can only be set above about 27MPH. On our UX the cruise control can be set as low as 20MPH which is really handy with all the 20MPH speed limits springing up all over the place. Is there any way the RX cruise control can be modified so that it can be set to lower speeds? One would have thought this could be just a software fix. So come on Lexus, how about adapting this to suit the real world? JBP

Did this for our new UX. Manuals arrived in the post. Also downloaded the manuals from Lexus online. Sometimes it is easier to find what you are looking for on the laptop by searching for a key word in the e-manual. JBP

Hi Gary I have a 2017 450h and have just had a service at 17600 miles. Tyre wear as follows NSF 4.1 4.1 4.1 OSF 4.5 4.5 4.5 NSR 5.6 5.6 5.6 OSR 5.6 5.6 5.6 I think they are the original tyres and show even wear across the treads but like yours NSF worn more than OSF. We live in Milton Keynes and I put this down to the abundance of roundabouts we have here effectively giving more "right hand bends". JBP

It doesn't open but downloads as a PDF. JBP

Just tried this on our UX. Works!!! Haven't been out in our Gen4 RX to try it yet so will have to wait to see. Thank you. JBP

Looks like Lexus one Audi nil. Hope it all goes smoothly for you. JBP

This week in Lidl they are selling boot liners for £6.99. They are a one size fits all and don't have a lip round them HOWEVER they would be quite useful to put underneath the proper bootliner and used to pull up to protect the other carpets when the back seats are down for carrying rubbish to the tip etc. JBP

Hi Jason Driving in France is an absolute pleasure compared to the UK. Just avoid big cities, Paris, Lyon etc. We regularly (except for this year) drive down to just north of Limoges which is about 400 miles from Calais avoiding using the Autoroutes (Peages). The journey takes about 1.5 hours longer than using the toll roads but saves an awful lot of Euros! Also, it is much more relaxing and you see much more of France. Toilets used to be a problem as they were few and far between if you didn't use motorways but there are plenty of McDonald's (other fast food establishments are available!) all over the country now. Just be very aware of the various speed limits. The French used to drive like maniacs but the majority now abide by the speed limits. The speed limit in villages and towns is generally 50KPH (30MPH) but there are not necessarily speed limit signs as you enter the built up area. The speed limit starts at the village name board (the board with the red border) and ends at the "crossed out" village name board as you leave. Nearly all single carriageway roads outside built up areas are now 80KPH (used to be 90KPH). LeClercs and Super U hypermarkets are generally the best places to buy petrol. Much much cheaper than the motorway service areas. Just relax and enjoy but don't forget to drive on the right! JBP

Don't forget that the extended warranty also includes UK breakdown recovery, European breakdown recovery and, I believe, MOT tests which when taken into account makes the £900ish for the two years a bit more of a bargain! JBP

Lidl did do cross bars that would fit a Gen 2. It was a couple of years ago but they do come back into stock every so often. If I remember correctly they were only about £30 to £40 and appeared to be very good quality. Worth looking out for if you don' t need them straight away. JBP

A few years ago my daughter's IS200 wouldn't lock/unlock on the drive outside our house. We eventually discovered the problem was caused by the remote control buttons for the house alarm which had one button stuck in so that it was constantly transmitting. Unstuck the button and car was fine again! Something else to check? JBP

Hah! Memories of my first vehicle back in 1969. A Ford Thames 15cwt van. It was unusual in that it had a 4 speed gearbox. However it would not stay in first gear and would just drop out under load. One weekend in the early seventies we decided to drive from Ambleside up to the Kirkstone Inn, a narrow little road with several 1 in 4 hills. All went well until we reached the final steep bit and the poor old van just couldn't make it in 2nd gear so we turned round in a gateway and stormed up the last ascent in reverse. Only trouble with that was it was (for the Lake District) a hot sunny day so the engine overheated and we arrived in the carpark opposite the inn in a great cloud of steam and to a round of cheering and applause from the customers sitting outside in the sunshine!!! Happy days! JBP

Could it be something as simple as the steering lock preventing the key from turning? Have you tried wiggling the steering wheel backwards and forwards whilst gently trying to turn the key? Be careful as the plastic on the key is quite fragile and easy to break. Sometimes disasters are not as bad as they first seem. Good luck!

Spiders, flies, other insects? We have had this occasionally after taking garden rubbish to the tip. JBP

Have you thought about taking out Lexus extended warranty? (2 years for the price of 1) Includes recovery and homestart and also European recovery. Also IIRC 2 x MOT tests. JBP

If you want to just disable the key at night without having to put it into a Faraday pouch so that scroats cannot enter/steal your car hold down the lock button on the fob whilst pressing the unlock button twice. You can check to see if it works by trying to open your car using the door handles. To use keyless entry again just press the unlock button on the fob. This certainly works on a Gen4 RX but it might on a Gen3 as well. Happy new year JBP

My 2017 Gen4 RX450h has just developed its first foible. When the rear hatch is opening it judders slightly but opens fully and then closes smoothly. It has been doing this for a few weeks now but doesn't seem to be getting any worse (or better!) Took it into Lexus Milton Keynes this morning and they have tried lubricating the struts (do the struts contain the motor?) and all seemed well when I left. However, when I opened the hatch this afternoon the judder was back again. They did say to bring it back if it started playing up again so will try again after Christmas. Has anybody else experienced this?

Also covers breakdown cover abroad. JBP

Thanks, Dan, for the tip you posted on the UX forum regarding disabling the key fob when not in use. Just tried it and it works for the RX450h. Was just about to buy a Faraday pouch following the article on the radio today. JBP

You can adjust the "stickiness" of the mouse controller somewhere in the setup menu. This causes the pointer to jump to and hang on more securely to the item on the screen that you are aiming for. I think it is called haptic control. JBP

Is the gear lever in the "B" position when you can't get cruise control to work? Used to catch me out sometimes when we had a 400h! JBP

As Lex Loafer said set daylight saving to off. Did ours on Sunday and was amused to see the analogue clock wind itself back one hour. I'm easily pleased, though! JBP

Never had a problem with our 400h overtaking. 50 to 70 (and beyond!) acceleration was better than most other cars. The initial sound of the high engine revs before the acceleration takes off does seem strange at first but you soon get used to it. This seems to be the thing that most auto journalists do not like and they always criticize it in the magazines. Just be aware of the torque steer, though. JBP