JBPRX400h

...and an odd mixture of tyres!!! JBP

Popped into local supermarket late on Sunday afternoon to pick up a bit of shopping. Was only in the shop for about 45 minutes. When I came out I discovered that some mindless moron had inscribed a nice long scratch with a key or something across the rear offside passenger door, the driver's door and across the front offside wing. B@s@@@d!!! Can anyone suggest a good, reliable, not too expensive way I can get the damage repaired in the Milton Keynes area as I don't think with the excess and loss of no claims it would be worth doing it under my insurance? Has anyone had any experience with Chips Away for instance? Thanks in advance JBP

Hi MarkE Re headlamp washers see PCThug's post of 07/09/10 http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=68877 JBP

Also, in the system settings it allows you to change the colours for both day and night. They both have 'normal' and setting colours from 1 to 5. However, no matter which one i press they all look to be exactly the same colour. Am i doing something wrong? Hi PCThug If you have the brightness control knob for the dashboard disply turned up full (click position) the screen display will not change. you need to turn the knob just off the full on click position. JBP

Hi You probably acidentally pressed and held the unlock button on the key which will open all the windows and the sunroof remotely. It is possible to do this if the keys are in your trouser pocket with something else and you sit down or bend over and the "something else" presses on the unlock button. JBP

Try this link to the USA owners' club http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=65885&st=0&p=416474&hl=mirror&fromsearch=1entry416474 JBP

The "B" gear setting provides you with engine braking to help with controlling your speed when going down steep hills. It can also be used for slowing the car without applying the brakes in ordinary driving conditions such as when approaching a roundabout but be aware that there will obviously be no brake lights to warn following motorists that you are slowing down. One thing to bear in mind is that the "B" setting cancels cruise control and it is easy to forget to return the gear lever to "D" after using the "B" setting as the car still appears to drive normally but the cruise control will not operate. (It doesn't do any damage to the car driving it in the "B" setting. However, the car only appears to drive normally as the engine is still directly coupled to the transmission and the car does not operate in its "natural" hybrid mode.) I'm not sure if you can play DVDs on the front screen in the '06 model (you certainly can on the '08). If you can the DVD goes in the slot in the dashboard. As covered in many other posts it is easy to run down the 12V auxilliary battery if the car is not in the "Ready" state whilst watching DVDs or even just using the radio which has quite a high current draw. Hope I haven't sounded too negative! Just enjoy your car when you get it. I'm sure you will. Regards JBP

Hi PCThug I think you will find those are very misleading figures. As you say there is a lot of stop/start driving at low speeds probably with the petrol engine never getting up to full operating temperature. That sort of driving will slay the fuel consumption of ANY vehicle. I regularly get 400+ miles between fill-ups. The absolute maximum cost of a fill-up being 63 litres (total cap.of tank from handbook) times £1.15 (current price at local supermarket) which equals £72.45. As for tyre wear my '06 400h covered 30,000 miles whilst I owned it and I only had to replace the front tyres once in that time at 24,500 miles. The car had 14,000 on the clock when I bought it and the tyres were probably the originals. However, fuel consumption and tyre wear are both hugely dependent on driving style! Just for information below are the MPG figures recorded during my ownership. All were calculated from brim to brim fill-ups. The lows were mainly in the winter months and the highs in the summer months. (The 39.5 was an experiment driving from Norwich to Milton Keynes using mainly country B roads and driving very economically!) These figures give an average of 30.1 MPG over 30,000 miles and 3 years of all sorts of conditions and are therfore a pretty accurate representation of real life driving. So, don't be put off - go for it. I don't think you will be disappointed. It is a great vehicle. Good luck JBP 30.3 30.1 31.3 27.5 29.5 28.1 29.3 31.9 29.9 30.0 30.0 29.9 25.0 32.5 31.0 28.0 26.1 27.0 30.2 25.6 28.5 29.9 29.2 33.9 33.5 26.0 25.9 28.8 30.5 32.3 28.0 32.6 30.9 30.3 29.0 29.8 33.1 33.3 27.8 26.8 24.5 24.2 28.6 27.5 31.1 30.6 30.9 26.6 34.5 35.5 29.8 28.9 32.2 31.8 32.1 32.0 30.1 32.0 32.4 30.3 30.0 27.4 30.0 32.2 32.3 39.5 33.4 23.1 26.5 29.2 32.2 29.6 32.6 34.0 32.6 31.8 Average = 30.1MPG

Hi PCThug I did post my thoughts on this back in 2007 after we had a worrying moment late at night in Belgium whilst heading towards Luxembourg (for their cheaper petrol!!!) For what they are worth here are the calculations I did when we got back home. Assumed MPG 31.84 Tank brimmed and odometer reset 0.00 Mileage at light on 376.10 Miles to petrol station since light on 3.60 Galls used since light on 0.11 Mileage at fill up 379.70 Galls to re-brim tank 11.93 Galls full tank (data from handbook) 14.30 Galls difference between full tank and amount to re-brim tank 2.37 Galls used when light comes on 11.81 Galls left in tank when light comes on 2.49 Theoretical miles left between light on and completely empty 79.16 But don't take my word for it!!!!! This would give a total range of 455.26 Miles But again don't take my word for it!!!!! Good Luck JBP

Might be a problem with RX300 wheels not fitting an RX400h. The wheels on my '06 400h were due to be replaced under warranty because of the usual corrosion problem. I had a call from my local Lexus centre to say that the new wheels were in and that they could be swapped over while I waited. Well I waited and waited and waited until the service guy came and explained very apologetically that they had put my old tyres onto the new wheels but they could not get the new wheels to fit on my car!!! They said that the wrong wheels had been delivered so they had had to put my tyres back onto my old wheels until they got the proper wheels delivered. Anyway, the new wheels arrived a few days later and were sucessfully changed over. So I can't answer your question with a 100% certainty but I would definitely check further. Hope that helps JBP Hi JBP, i have noticed my wheels have started to show signs of corrosion, 06 RX400h 28k on clock, i didn't buy it new am now second owner, do you think i will be able to get a new set out of lexus ? i bought it back in march and got 12 months warranty, i was going to get them powder coated myself but if i can get a set replaced for free then it might be worth asking them. Did you have your car from new or dosen't that make any difference? Phil. Hi Phil I bought my '05 RX400h as an approved used car from Lexus MK in May 2007 when it was just under 2 years old. It came with 12 months warranty but when that ended I took out a 2 year extended warranty with them and they changed the wheels under warranty in June 2009. I have recently traded it in part exchange for an '08 Rx400h from Lexus MK. This also comes with a warranty until Aug 2011 and as there was corrosion starting on the wheels they changed them for a new set straight away. Hope that helps and good luck! JBP

Hi Fred Update to my post of earlier today. I have just returned from a trip of Milton Keynes to Maidstone to Milton Keynes in my recently aquired '08 400h, this being the first long trip in this car since I traded in the '05 earlier this month. The journey was typical M1 (roadworks, accident with 15 minute hold-up then clear running), M25 (typical variable speeding up and slowing down, M11, A406, A13, Blackwall tunnel, A2, M25, M20 then return via same route in evening rush hour. I was just driving normally as the traffic would allow and not consciously trying for good MPGs. However, overall trip reading on board computer returned 37.7MPG. Well pleased!!! JBP

Might be a problem with RX300 wheels not fitting an RX400h. The wheels on my '06 400h were due to be replaced under warranty because of the usual corrosion problem. I had a call from my local Lexus centre to say that the new wheels were in and that they could be swapped over while I waited. Well I waited and waited and waited until the service guy came and explained very apologetically that they had put my old tyres onto the new wheels but they could not get the new wheels to fit on my car!!! They said that the wrong wheels had been delivered so they had had to put my tyres back onto my old wheels until they got the proper wheels delivered. Anyway, the new wheels arrived a few days later and were sucessfully changed over. So I can't answer your question with a 100% certainty but I would definitely check further. Hope that helps JBP

Hi Fred When we first got our '05 400h in 2007 we drove down to Assisi in Central Italy a round trip of 3000 miles. This was a mix of motorways, main roads, town driving and local running about for a week whilst we were there. The journey included a spell on the German autobahns at 100+ mph (max 120mph just to see what the car was like - very impressed!), down through Switzerland and over the St Gotthard Pass (so plenty of up and down in the mountans - again very impressed!), Italian autostrada where the average speed of the traffic seems to be about 90mph! and, as I said, a week of local tootling around followed by the reverse journey home. The average fuel consumption for the holiday was 31.5MPG. (This was with the outside temperature mainly in the upper 20s) In the winter we drove over to Felixstowe and back from Milton Keynes in the falling snow and freezing temperatures - a round trip of 240 miles with an average fuel consumption of 27.4MPG. Just popping up to the shops and back in the winter with a cold engine gives about 15-20MPG. Best average consumption to date was a drive from Norwich to Milton Keynes 2 weeks ago (outside temperature about 10 - 15 degrees) using ordinary country roads where possible and a very light foot giving a figure of 35.1MPG! To sum up - it all depends on the type of journey, the length of your journey, the outside temperature (and whether or not you have the cabin heater on or off), and most importantly your style of driving! Overall we have been very impressed with the fuel consumption, especially as there is no compromise with the performance of a vehicle of this size and comfort. Hope this helps JBP

Sorry MartyCee but you are only partly correct. The 400h does use a CVT (constant velocity transmission), rather than a regular torque converter type gearbox. However, it is a geared system - not belts, pulleys, cones etc as in some other CVT systems. Here is a link to a site with a clever interactive diagram that describes how the CVT works in the Prius but it is essentially the same as the Lexus. http://www.eahart.com/prius/psd/ Hope this helps. JBP

This has been covered in another thread. See http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/index.php?showtopic=66410 JBP

I have a preowned 2005 400h that I purchased from a Lexus dealer in 2007. It came with a 1 year Lexus warranty. When that ran out I took out a 2 year extended warranty through the Lexus dealer I bought the car from. My quandry is this. The purchase plan for buying the car finishes in November this year but the current warranty finishes in July. I may or may not keep the car in November or I may trade it in for another newer model or I may change from Lexus entirely. It all depends on our circumstances at the time. Now, should I renew my warranty through the Lexus dealer or should I keep my fingers crossed between July and November? Another option is to buy a warranty through Warranty Direct who have quoted £549 for 12 months. Has anybody had any dealings with Warranty Direct? Obviously the true test of any warranty is when something goes wrong. Any help or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you JBP

Hi Gaga The feeling of "let go" when gently braking can happen if a wheel hits a bump or a pothole. It is a quirk of the regenerative braking system changing over to "normal" braking and isn't serious - just takes a bit of getting used to! Don't forget the plus side of the regenerative braking system is incredibly long lasting brake pads as they are little used!!! Regarding the fuel consumption. It is normal for you to notice a drop in the colder months (even in balmy Cornwall) as the engine runs more often to provide cabin heating and to keep the catalytic converter up to operating temperature. Just a thought though. Have you had the 12V battery disconnected for any reason or has its voltage dropped below 7V at any time? If so you may need to carry out an "ISC learning procedure" to reset the engine's normal idling setting. Here is a link to a post from Lemon in Canada on the USA forum. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=58930 Hope that helps JBP

Lexus Milton Keynes 21 Alston Drive Bradwell Abbey, Milton Keynes MK13 9HA 01908 682 400 Have always found them very good, friendly and helpful. (And not too expensive as Lexus main dealers go!) JBP

Hi Just a thought. Has the 12v battery been disconnected or have the battery volts dropped below about 7v in the recent past? There has been some discussion about this on the US LOC forum especially by Lemon in Ontario in Canada where they really do have cold winters! Here is the link to the subject. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=58930 The procedure sounds complicated but is actually quite easy to follow and easy to do. Another reason for higher MPG in the cold weather is that the engine must run more often to keep the catalytic converter up to its correct operating temperature. Hope this helps JBP

Hi I had the corrosion problem with my 400h and the wheels were replaced under warranty. However, when Lexus MK first tried to replace the wheels they found they could not as someone had sent in the wrong wheels. Apparantly the wheels they had got in were for an RX300 or 350 and they said they could not (or would not) fit them! :tsktsk: Correct wheels arrived a week later and were changed with no further problems. The upside of this was that I got 2 different courtesy cars to play with in a week! Best to check with Lexus first. Regards JBP

Just had 40k service carried out by Lexus Milton Keynes. Mentioned that front nearside tyre was showing signs of wear on the outside edge. Had a phone call during the day to say that the tyre wear was because the wheels needed aligning (all 4 wheel alignment) and that it would cost £99 + VAT as this was not a warranty item. Agreed for them to carry out the alignment and change the worn tyre for the spare as that was unused. When I picked up the car I was given a printout detailing all the steering/suspension angles both before and after the alignment. I must say that driving home I noticed that the steering felt much more positive than it had before but I haven't had a chance to really try it out properly yet and of course it remains to be seen if this has cured the tyre wear. Anyone else had any experience of this? JBP

Just returned from a trip to the south of France. Everything great except on the return journey... Outside temperature started at 30 degrees and rose to 33 degrees at one point. With A/C set to max cold we were stewing in the heat inside the car for a large part of the journey. The air blowing out of the vents seemed only slightly cooler than the ambient temperature. Later on in the journey the O/S temp dropped to a more manageable 26-28 degrees and the A/C then kept us comfortable. Now I don't want to have freezing cold air coming out of the vents all the time but I would have thought that setting the climate control to max cold should be able to cool down the cabin temperature to a comfortable level regardless of the O/S temp. Has anyone else had this problem? JBP

Just a few random thoughts from when I last filled up as the reserve light came on only just before the garage I was heading for. Actual MPG calculated from brim to brim fill ups 31.84 Tank brimmed and odometer reset 0.00 Mileage when reserve light came on 376.10 Miles to petrol station since light on 3.60 Galls used since light on 0.11 Mileage at fill up 379.70 Galls to fill tank (adjusted to allow for fuel used driving to petrol station) 11.93 Galls capacity of ta from handbook) 14.30 Galls calculated as left in reserve i.e. difference between full tank capacity and amount to re-brim tank 2.37 Galls used when light comes on 11.81 Galls left in tank when light comes on 2.49 Theoretical miles left between light on and completely empty 79.16 But don't take my word for it!!!!!