johnmac1956

Rattle,banging or other noise from rear of car when in motion,may be related to exhaust heat reflector. Mine was!!! Check that exhaust reflector is secure and not dropping onto top of exhaust

Modern cars can take high miles if serviced correctly. When I had to work,(no more,yes!!) I took my last car (Rover 75) to 220k with no serious issues. My RX400 now has 90k on. Some people in the states take them to serious mileage +400k. http://www.edmunds.com/lexus/rx-400h/2006/consumer-reviews/review-204401699/ 24k a year should not be a problem. Might suggest getting a fully serviced +100k model.(Make sure cam belt is changed) They can be picked up at good prices. many people do not like to purchase high milers.

Nice photos Chris. My sensor switch was in much better condition than that shown in your photos and was still showing a fault. I wonder how many easily repairable switches are thrown away each year by Lexus dealers!!!! John

Hi Thought I would add a note to this old thread. My AFS light started flashing recently. Inspection showed that the linkage on the rear sensor switch was in place ,so I removed the switch stripped it and all looked to be in good condition. It is easy to remove 5 mins. I replaced the switch,the AFS light was still flashing. I then started to think that maybe it was another part of the AFS system,which was causing the fault to occur. I took my car in for a essential care service(another story behind this!!!!) and asked them to quote me for repair of the AFS system. I was told that 99% of the time the rear height sensor switch is the cause of the AFS light flashing. It was also the same in my case. I was quoted £560 for the supply and installation of a new rear height sensor switch. Now knowing that it was definitely the rear height sensor which was the cause of the issue. I again removed the switch opened it by removing the 4 screws. Again all looked in good condition. It was very clean with minimal signs of wear or contamination.(80K miles). The electrical contact inside the switch is performed by 3 independent coil springs. I tested the resistance(avo) between the individual springs and the plug connections. I found that although the springs and spring base were in good clean condition. The electrical connection was intermittent. Basically what was happening is that wear must have taken place around the outer circumference of the copper base where the coil spring sits.This was causing an intermittent electrical connection. To cure this I bent the last wire of the coil spring so that it went across the middle of the coil spring. Doing so made a good electrical connection between the coil spring and the base of the copper pin connection. Did this on all 3 springs,replaced cover and 4 screws. Refitted to car (RX 400) and no more flashing AFS light. The whole job took me approx 30 mins. You can access and remove the switch without jacking up the car. But be careful. Handbrake,Keys not in ignition and ideally chock your wheels. So £560 saved to spend elsewhere. Hope this may help others. John