lee789

I am disappointed that Lexus have decided not to provide proper handbooks to owners of the NX. The abbreviated handbook that is provided misses out loads of important information, and the on-line link to the full handbooks is not much use for those who might like to sit in their vehicles with the books and work through the various functions. Another thing, if Lexus want to save the planet (although I think it has more to do with penny pinching cost cutting), the least they could do is create a function in the index section of the on-line handbooks, that when clicked on, takes you directly to the page you want. Scrolling through 1120 pages with a mouse or an ipad is proving to be a real pain. Aside from that, what a fantastic car. Handles pretty well in the snow too!.... UPDATE...I complained to Lexus about the absence of hard copy manuals, and the non user friendly on-line versions. They have ordered me the full manuals for the car and Premium Navigation free of charge through the parts department of my Lexus dealer, This shows that they are available if you want them, but you have to pay. Lexus claim that they have moved to on-line manuals to reduce their use of paper.....really?? You get a proper manual with cars costing a great deal less than a Lexus, so I really don't think it's too much to ask for one (even if printed on cheap recycled paper) in a car costing more than £40k. As far as I am aware customers in North America still get them provided, but then Lexus don't want to upset their best customers. Apparently all the manuals are on back order at the moment, so maybe Lexus are getting calls from lots of other owners who are not happy.

Many thanks for the information, much appreciated!

Does anyone know if the LS 460 SEL has a USB port and Hard Drive Navigation with Gracenote Music Storage please? I'm looking to buy a low mileage late 2007 model, but wasn't sure whether this model year was too early for these items. Many thanks!

Hi. Could somebody please let me know whether the Pre Crash Safety System (PCSS) fitted to the RX450H is permanently active, or only active when the Adaptive Cruise Control is switched on? I have had answers from 4 Lexus Dealers - 2 saying it is only active when cruise control is engaged, and 2 saying it is permanently active regardless of whether cruise control is engaged. As usual, theres no clue in the owners handbook. I imagine it must be permanently active, or else it would only be of use in an accident where the driver is in cruise control mode. I'd be really grateful for a definitive answer though. Many thanks!

Hi Wendle. Thank you for your comments. As the car was purchased sight unseen, I did ask the salesman to check around the vehicle. He obviously didn't!! The dealership had uploaded videos of the car on You Tube for 2 customers who had expressed an interest in buying it. In both these videos the same salesman described it as "paintwork being in unmarked condition". It has crossed my mind that the reason neither of these potential buyers actually purchased the vehicle was that they found that to be untrue when they physically inspected it themselves. Obviously I still have the Lexus 30 day exchange if I am not happy with the results, and I imagine that 30 day period may be put on hold whilst they have the vehicle back for repairs (something I'll need to check). I will also need to check whether my rights to cancel under distance selling are put on hold until I'm satisfied, although the dealer failed to issue me with the required notification of my rights, so is technically in breach of the law too. Until I receive this written notice from them, the coolong off period of 7 days doesn't even start, and if they fail to issue it at all, I have 3 months to reject the vehicle. I'm sure you are right though, and it will be returned in immaculate condition. Fingers Crossed!! Will let you know.

Hi Duncan. Yes, I tend to agree with you. The RX450 is the only vehicle I am interested in at the moment, and this particular car had the right colour combo + it's the Premier with all the extras. There isn't another one available in the UK that ticks all the boxes. It was a real shame they let the car go out like this, and I wasn't impressed when the sales manager initially said it was only to be expected on a used car. Minor stone chips are normal, but damage caused by the carelessness of the previous owner (the scuff to the bumper was obviously caused by a low speed collision, and the tailgate damage by opening the door in a restricted space) should be rectified by the dealer before a car is sold. I would say this is particularly the case when you are paying nearly £40k for a car, although I expect most people would think it is unacceptable in anything other than a much older & very much cheaper car. Thanks for your comments!

Hi all. I had my 59 plate RX450H delivered by a Midlands based Lexus dealer on Tuesday this week. The car was distance sold over the phone, and described by the salesman as being "unmarked". When the car arrived, the salesman went to great lengths to show me the interior of the car and all its functions, but when we had finished that, he seemed in a great hurry to leave. Unfortunately (and rather stupidly on my part) I never got a real chance to check around the outside of the car. When he had left, closer inspection revealed a large scuff at the bottom of the front bumper, an indentation and loss of paint on the tailgate where it had obviously been opened against something like a garage door, and numerous badly touched in stone chips to the bonnet, front bumper and doors. I called the dealer and made a complaint, and the salesman actually agreed that the car had been delivered in an unacceptable condition, and that an untrained member of the valet team had attemtped to repair the stone chips! They then arranged for a REVIVE repair specialist to call at my house last Friday. The problem is, the paint on the vehicle is pearlescent, and the repairs the guy from REVIVE did look awful - rather like someone has touched in the chips with Tippex!! To be fair, he had prewarned me that it was nigh on impossible to get a close match with a touch up on a pearlescent paint, and he offered to return and respray the damaged panels properly for £250. I called the Lexus dealer to tell them, and said that I wanted them to authorise a proper repair at one of my local bodyshops, REVIVE, Chips Away, or my local Lexus dealer. The dealer refused to do this, and instead offered to pick the car up and drive it back to their dealership (a round trip of nearly 500 miles), carry out the work, and then return it to me. I told them I did not want 500 miles added to the mileage simply because they had delvered a £40k car in an unacceptable state. I argued that it would be easier and cheaper to get the work done locally, but they refused point blank, telling me that they wanted to ensure the work was done to their satisfaction. They then offered to pay for a low loader car transporter to deliver a courtesy car and take my car back to their dealership, returning it when fixed. Now that might seem a reasonable offer, but I am really struggling to understand why a dealer would pay a fortune to hire a driver with a transporter to do 2 x five hundred mile round trips, when they could get the paintwork sorted out much cheaper im my home town. The dealer said that it wasn't a question of money, and that they just wanted to ensure I was fully satisified with the vehicle. I don't know what you guys think, but in my experience most car dealers will take the cheapest option possible to fix a problem, and if they were that bothered with my customer satisfaction, why did they deliver it in such a poor state in the first place? I'm therefore rather suspicious as to why they are going to all this trouble, and feel there may be an underlying reason. I have complained to Consumer Direct, and I have told the dealer that I may reject the vehicle under my distance selling 7 day rights. The question I would like forum members to answer is - now that the dealer has had the opportunity to fix the problem during the PDI, and another opportunity with the aftersales paint repair, should I stick to my guns and demand a local repair that I can monitor and make sure I'm happy with? My problem with them taking the car back to their dealership is that I have no guarantee I will be satisfied with the result (by which time my right to reject the vehicle will have expired), and I am concerned by why they are going to so much trouble and expense. My other alternative is to refuse the repair altogether and reject the car, which could cause the Lexus dealer problems as they have sold my part exchange and would have to refund the value. All opinions gratefully received. Many thanks!

I think the Lexus fuel economy figures for the RX450H are a joke. Firstly, it is a heavier vehicle than the GS450H, with almost exactly the same engine and hybrid setup. If the fuel figures on the GS are in the low 30s, there is no way on earth you are going to get mid 40s from the RX, unless you drive 50% of the time on battery power alone. The RX is a high performance vehicle, and Lexus should give average figures based on a variety of driving styles, not just creeping around a deserted test track (or on a rolling road) at 10mph on fully charged hybrid batteries. I had an RX450H as a courtesy car for a week, and I never managed to get more than 25 in town or 31 on a long run. That is way below Lexus claims. Before this experience, I had given serious consideration to buying one. However, the poor economy and the ridiculous insurance costs (40% more than a GS450H and 10% more than an ISF in my case) made a good case against it. I went with the ISF, a totally different type of vehicle, but I'm not sorry I made that choice. The RX and GS Hybrids are great cars, but they are a total sham if you are buying to save fuel and the planet. The ISF is a gas guzzling, CO2 belching monster, with no pretences. However, the claimed Lexus fuel figures are almost spot on. The only downside is the road tax!!

Thanks a lot for the info on the kick plates, I think they would finish off the car interior lighting nicely. I had no idea there were so few ISFs in the UK, and I think that figure is really suprising given how excellent the car is. I drove an M3 as a company car a couple of years ago, and although it is fantastic, unless you intend to use either car at track events, the ISF is much more civilised for family transport. Performance wise on the road, theres little to choose between them, except for the incredible sound of the ISFs V8. I'm rather mystified why somebody would buy a new M3, spec it to decent levels and pay nearly £60k for the priviledge, when they could get a 6 month old ISF for £15k less. I also think the M3 is far less exclusive, although I suspect many on the roads are wannabe 3 series cars with M Sport bodykits!!

Tango, I don't know the answer to that, but I thought there were close to 600 in the UK now (150 per year x 4). I'd be interested to know where the figure of 188 came from, and also where you got the illuminated kick plates for your ISF? Cheers!

Thanks all. I have been contacted by Lexus Technical and told that none of the Lexus range have tilt/inclination sensors. That doesn't make a lot of sense as it is listed as standard equipment on the RX on their own website. I think that demonstrates that either the spec on the Lexus website is wrong again, or the technical dept (that should know the answer) don't know what they are talking about. If what they have told me is true, it would be a good idea if they started fitting them as standard immediately. Theres no point kitting out their cars with such high levels of spec, and leaving out something as basic and relatively cheap to include as this. If anyone can confirm that what I have been told is BS, please let me know.

Steve. Sadly, I think you are right. If someone really wants to steal a car, theres little you can do to stop it. I imagine professional car thieves can even disable a tracker. It maybe best not to advertise the fact if you have one fitted.

I had an E46 too, but I wasn't aware it had a tilt sensor. It was towed back to the dealer so many times that it probably wore out!! In my opinion, the IS is better than the 3 series in many respects, especially reliability. Much rarer too.

Thanks, tried that one. It didn't set the alarm off. Of course trying to tow, or cut off lock nuts to steal the wheels might. Didn't want to go that far though lol!! Actually thought Lexus Technical might know, but they are as useless as Customer Services. You always get the same answer - If it's not in the brochure spec, it doesn't have it. Unfortunately, all the brochures are utter cr*p, and the specs are inaccurate for virtually every model in the Lexus range.

Yeah, I think the car may have a tracker as there are Tracker warning stickers on the windows. No paperwork confirming this, so I will do some investigating to verify. Could be fake of course, as stickers can easily be purchased on Ebay. However, even those act as a good deterent to most would be car thieves i.e they wouldn't actually know for sure until it was too late. I think I'm inclined to stick with the factory fitted system as it is highly rated, and getting an after market system to work properly with the keyless entry and locking might be difficult. If the car doesn't have an inclination sensor I'm sure one can probably be added quite easily. I would be asking Lexus why they neglected to fit one in the first place though.

As you know, theses cars gets a lot of attention. Some of it (in my area at least) can be rather unwelcome. I know Lexus security systems are extremely effective, but does the ISF have an inclination sensor to warn of and prevent jacking and towing, or theft of the wheels? Lexus HQ and Dealer don't know the answer, but since the RX has this added security measure, you would think the more expensive and (arguably) more desirable ISF would too. Does anybody know the answer please??

2010 ISF doesn't have ventilated seats, only heated. Seat clearance was too small to allow the cooling fans to be fitted. The 2011 suspension changes have (IMHO) made little or no noticeable difference, not that I thought the ride quality was that bad to start with. I thought the new instrument arrangement was a definite step backwards, and even with the small LED speedo in the rev counter, it is not so easy to keep track of your speed. Personally, I don't think the 2011 car is any more comfortable than the 2010 model, although mounting the Sport Mode selector on the wheel was sensible, and I can't understand what Japanese dipstick decided to put it at knee level in the first place. The most important change to the car so far has been the torsen LSD fitted from 2010, although the uprated "casual language" sat nav is also a big improvement.

Thanks Tango. Yes I agree, you can't miss the sound of metal on metal, even in a Lexus!!

Parthiban, My friends XF was delivered in a really poor condition as well - curbed wheels coated in dried oil, badly chipped screen, filthy engine bay. It wasn't a Jaguar Dealer in the Kent area was it?

Tango, do the Hawks connect into the brake pad wear warning system of the car??

Hi Parthiban, Yes, just one of the things I'm not too happy about. I did a routine inspection of the car today...you know the usual things like tyre pressures, fluid levels etc....and I found the tyres were all very under inflated, the brake fluid was on low, the coolant level was below minimum, and the washer bottle was completely empty. So much for the PDI & full service then!! The service centre apologised and assured me they had spoken to the technician, and that everything else was fine with the car. However, I'm now concerned about what other items they didn't bother checking. The technicians report, that was included in my folder of documents, and is supposed to be completed and signed under the terms of the Lexus approved program, was completely blank. The salesman told me not to worry about this, and that it was all done electronically now. I'm not convinced, and it sounds like BS to me. Also, the front pads seem very low considering they are supposed to have more than 60% left on them to pass the PDI. Still, look at the bright side, I can always wave the invoice at them at some point over the next 23 days and do what we discussed!!

......actually I'm suprised Lexus haven't substituted ISF pads for ceramics, especially as their ISF track car has them fitted. After 3 years, and hundreds of customer complaints, you would have thought they would have sorted it out long before now. However, having had a number of conversations with Lexus GB Customer Services over the past few years, my impression is they really couldn't give a toss about customers, and pass all complaints and problems back to the dealerships. In fact, the only time they seemed to show the slightest bit of interest was when I told them I intended to replace my pads with after market ceramics, which are much easier to live with, and cost a third of their Lexus parts. I was told I would invalidate the warranty on the braking system, to which I replied that if it saved me £400 a time, I wasn't terribly bothered. Apart from that, Lexus would have to prove the pads were responsible for any braking system problems that occured in order to wriggle out of their warranty. Good job the cars are OK, because if customer services was indicative of the brand, Lexus would be down the same toilet as its parent company.

Hi Tango, No, the front pads are £373.00, and the fitting is 1.25 hours. The guy in Lexus parts couldn't believe the price, especially as most other Lexus pads are arond £60. I thought maybe they had upgraded later models to ceramic, but they are just ordinary pads. I think I'll go down the same route as you for replacements, thanks for the link. Did you replace your OEM pads before they had worn out, and what milleage did you get out of them before the dust became too much to put up with??

At £500 a set with fitting, does anyone know how many miles you can expect from a set of ISF front brake pads under normal driving conditions? I know it's a difficult one to answer, but I'm just looking for a ball park figure. Would 20-30k sound reasonable?

Hi Parthiban, Close, but not a Lexus GB car. I don't want to give too much away until after I pick the car up as I am a bit concerned that Lexus insiders might read these posts. I don't want to muddy the waters at this stage by making too many comments. I also looked at an XF and an XFR before deciding on another Lexus. The problem with XF's is that they seem to have mixed reliability reviews. I think they are superb looking cars, albeit a bit commonplace on the road now, but I was put off by the number of negative comments I read. Besides that, spec an XF to Lexus standards and you are going to pay a lot more. In the end I decided to stick with Lexus because of the question mark over long term reliability with the Jag, and the much lower spec of the car. Oh, and there was also the insulting offer they made me as a p/ex on my 450H!!