GD1

I’ll try the WD40, but the car has RAC breakdown and is under warranty so I’ll arrange for that.

The fob has power, so I don’t think it needs replacing. 
 

regarding the manual method - I’m thinking this is the issue. I’m worried if I push it harder I’ll snap the key as I can feel the metal starting to flex and twist. 
 

Hi,

hope you can please help. 
 

I’m trying to open our RX450h that hasn’t been used for a few months. It’s a 2018 model (new shape). 

it was serviced 5 months ago and had a new Battery installed. The Battery has been on trickle charge and I can see the trickle charge unit inside the car reporting the Battery is green and healthy….so I know the car Battery is good. 
 

the fob LED flashes red when I press unlock, but doesn’t unlock. The usual keyless entry unlock doesn’t work either. 
 

the manual says that after a while you need to reset the key fob by holding down lock and pressing unlock twice and the fob flashes four times. This doesn’t happen, and instead the LED just continually flashes when the lock button is held down. 
 

we’ve tried manually unlocking the car, but although I can insert the key and twist it behind the door handle, the door catch doesn’t lift or unlock. 
 

can anyone please offer any advice as to how we open the car?

I love the anti theft measures, but they’re a pain when you can’t even get into your own car….

Did your local key cutting shop have the 3 button Lexus replacement though? I can see that cutting the blade could be a challenge (although the local keysmith chain I used cut it first time fortunately!), so I'd rather buy the key and cut from the same place.

I believe error 4 is related to the CD system and is usually a problem with the mechanism. If so, I reputable car stereo company should be able to repair it for you and it might be that the sensors are dirty. Bannings in Guildford have fixed OEM stereos for me on previous cars.

Please note that the extended warranty does not cover your audio system, only new car warranty does.

Ok thanks, that's great feedback.

My car is a little more planted, so I must say I tend the grip the wheel a bit tighter when driving the wife's Lexus.

Got to say I think your brake noise sounds pretty normal to me as well. I thought something might have been up with ours, but I've heard others when in car parks making similar noise.

I'd describe it like a very, very faint brake squeal - difficult to hear, but certainly there!

As for the noise in the rear, as mentioned above, that's probably the rear arm rest between the seats - use a leather cleaner and conditioner (something like Gliptone's Liquid Leather).

Cheers.

Hi,

We bought our car from a Lexus dealer at Christmas and it has always (mildly) pulled to the right under heavy accelerating.

I'm assuming this is just normal torque steer for a 400h, or is there something wrong with the geo or tyres?

Would be interesting to get other owners feedback please.

Thanks.

Hi,

Very easy to replace.

Buy a blank key from eBay (for about £60), but make sure they are the same type (and length) and have the blade cut at your local locksmith.

Then, swap over the transponder inside the key case, as this will avoid needing your key reprogramming.

You can get the same from your Lexus dealer, but replacement keys are about £120 - as long as the dealer doesn't need to reprogramme the key and gets to keep the new transponder (at least that's the deal that my dealer offered).

Cheers.

Hi,

The Lexus headphones are OEM Alpine and the nearest equivalent is the Alpine SHS-N205.

When we bought our Lexus it was missing a headset, so my dealer ordered a batch of these as you can no longer buy the Lexus OEM headsets.

The Alpine ones look slightly different, but have the advantage that they fold flat, are more comfortable to wear, still have the A/B switch, but most importantly have AUTO off (so no accidentally wearing out the batteries)!!

My children have been using the Alpine replacement for about 2 months now, without any problems at all - so would recommend.

A quick search on Google shows them for sale for £40 each.

Personally I would delete all BT phone pairings in the car and see if that helps. Failing that, try upgrading the firmware in the apple phone. I'm not sure if/how you upgrade the BT firmware in the car, but unfortunately that might be the answer.

I'm not going to bite on the apple comment above.

Sounds to me like the starter motor? If it's under warranty, then there's nothing to worry about!

> Do you really mean £600 for 15,000 miles for tyres???

That's similar to what the dealer said as well. He said the cost was about £120 / tyre and they'd need replacing every 15k miles roughly (depending on driving).

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate that.

I bought the car a couple of days ago, but looking at your prices, I am a little concerned I might have overpaid on it!

It's from a Lexus dealer and after doing plenty of research for prices on autotrader and the Lexus website, the price appeared in-line.

For reference, I've paid £19,000 for a 55 reg 45k mileage SE-L model (Emma wanted some of the features on the L model). I appreciate that I can buy it slightly cheaper privately (or non-franchise dealer), but I didn't want to take the risk on it (and also have the official Lexus warranty).

The dealer also mentioned the service option paid for with direct debit, so I will definitely do that - sounds an excellent idea.

Hi,

This is the best comparison I've seen between the models:

http://www.lexusgb-press.co.uk/protected/product/archive/rx_400h/equip_list.pdf

There doesn't appear to be a huge difference between the models, but the SE seems to be the most popular model.

Thanks,

G1

Hi,

Can you please provide me the requirements and details on the official Lexus warranty by means of a comparison?

The problem with most third party warranties is:

New for old policy (ie. you have to contribute to the part)

Hourly labour limit

Max claim limit

Warrantywise is supposed to be quite good and you can buy additional levels of cover.

My non-Lexus car has an official warranty, but this is quite pricey. By means of a comparison, this is £1200 / year and covers cars up to 10 years old/125,000 miles.

Presumably the Lexus official warranty requires the car to be already under warranty and has a mileage and age limit?

Thanks,

GD1

Hi,

I'd like to buy my wife a Lexus 400h for Christmas, around 56 reg/up to £20k.

Knowing nothing about the Lexus, I have a few questions which I'm hoping you can please provide me some feedback on!

Generally, how reliable are these cars? Especially the electric Battery components (ie. the hyrid bits!) and the engine, gearbox etc.

Generally, what have your experiences been with regards to running costs, from a service point of view?

There's a slight price premium from buying directly from a main dealer, which I'm fine with - presumably this is a good route to take?

My wife currently has a Toyota Rav-4 which she has owned from new (for 7 years) and it's been excellent, so is a bit of a shame to see it go, but it's time to change it.

The Toyota is very cheap to run with the main dealer service typically £500 (minor) and £1000 (major) each year.

My car on the other hand is a fortune to run (typically £1500 and £3000 per year), so I'm hoping it's closer to the Toyota in running / service costs!!

Thanks,

GD