Parrot of Doom

If the brakes stop rattling when applied I think I'd be rushing to check the caliper bolts!

This is why auto electricians exist. Something is drawing current when it should not be drawing current. You need to pay a man to diagnose what is, after all, a very common fault on many cars.

You need this: http://gromaudio.co.uk/toyota-lexus-usb-android-integration-kit-310.html I don't have one but only this week I emailed Grom and they said yes, it's compatible with the 400h with the ML stereo. Grom do another one that has Bluetooth too.

I bought mine from Lexus Manchester. They were a bit disorganised (assumed I didn't want to collect the car when I went in to pay for it) but otherwise ok. They "fixed" a loose headlight with glue (not ok), but they neglected to mention the centre exhaust pipe had a big hole in it, covered with bandage. So a few months later when I realised, I returned the car. They investigated, found the hole and tried to get it through the Lexus manufacturer warranty. Obviously the warranty people told them to bugger off, so then they said I'd have to pay for a new exhaust. I told them to bugger off, they said their manager would be in touch. I gave them an hour or two, they didn't get back to me, so I went onto Facebook and Twitter and sent Lexus UK pictures of the exhaust, together with "Lexus Manchester won't pay for this". Lexus UK couldn't have been more apologetic. I think they must have expressed their concern to Lexus Manchester's manager, because the latter immediately contacted me to say "of course we'll replace it". When I collected the car, the manager told me he wished I'd contacted him first before going to Lexus UK, he said they'd gone through the warranty first "to keep the cost out of the dealership". I thought that was a particularly deceitful way of doing business - it's their purchase, they either didn't check the exhaust or simply sold it to me and hoped I'd never notice. I'm never going back. For your service needs, I suggest you go to Charlesworth Motors near Glossop. They're only a small garage but their rates are very reasonable and I'm entirely satisfied with the service I've received. For what it's worth, I have bought cars from Volvo, Audi and Lexus dealerships. I have had poor experiences with all of them. I have a very, very low opinion of main dealers - the only reason I bought the 400h from one was because I was concerned about the hybrid system's complexity and the potential pitfalls (which I've since learnt don't exist) buying privately.

I did this and like Andy said it seemed to be the leather on leather I may get some thin cloth and cover the armrest (lens cloth type material) to see what happens.

I'd love to know what causes that squeak. It can't be anything major.

Make sure you get the old inverter from them, don't let them chuck it away or "send it back to Lexus". It's your property, not theirs. I'd be opening it up to see what's failed. There are many sad tales of Mercedes garages telling customers that their gearbox ECU, filled with spilled ATF, is dead and needs replacing at a cost of thousands. And yet, cleaning the ATF off with solvent miraculously fixes the ECU. I don't see what could possibly be in that inverter that can't be replaced or repaired by someone with basic electronic fault-finding skills - like a car ECU repair shop.

Thanks for that, noise issues are always difficult when coming from driving an LS as you never know just how much is normal for other cars. hopefully wont have to shell out for new tyres at this stage but if that resolves it then I would be happy. With only 1mm left before the tyre becomes illegal I'd change both on that axle now.

I got this from Ebay for my 2005 '05' RX400h, works fine: Toyota/Lexus original navigation DVD E19 2014/2015 Ver.1, west europe, NEW The original seller doesn't appear to be active. Cost me £65. I can't vouch for this guy as I haven't bought from him, but here's an example you might try: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Toyota-Lexus-Navigation-DVD-E1B-WEST-EUROPE-2015-2016-/191626594833

If I were you I'd remove the DVD player, disassemble it, manually eject the DVD, reassemble it and insert the old one.

I thought I'd show you what I was charged by a local indie in Manchester (Charlesworth Motors, near Glossop). I hope they don't mind, it isn't confidential :) They're a nice bunch, the owner is very friendly. No marble floors or glass walls, but then again those things aren't worth the premium you'd pay at a dealer. Also, they live in a very hilly part of the country which for me, as a regular cyclist, is good fun :) The caliper was required as the old one had completely seized. I actually felt that something was wrong a week or two before, when the car pulled sharply to one side as I emergency braked. But I assumed it was just sticky after being sat in a car park for a week. Because of this, the service took a day longer than anticipated. But that's fine as I didn't need the car. Labour is, IIRC, five hours. An hour for the caliper, the rest for the cambelt and spark plugs (the latter are apparently quite a big job). The only minor issue I had is that as the battery was disconnected, the car lost all its settings (windows, sunroof, seat position etc), but those are easily fixed with a bit of Googling. All in all I think they're a good outfit and I'll definitely be going back for the bigger stuff (routine servicing I can do myself).

Mine is in for its 90,000 mile service, cambelt etc. The garage owner called today to tell me that one of the front calipers is stuck fast, so I told him to replace it. It makes sense really, a few weeks back I had to emergency brake on the motorway and the car pulled to one side. On that occasion I just presumed that since the car had been sitting for a week, something was stuck. I wonder if Lexus have done anything to rectify this common issue - a quick computer-controlled barely-noticeable "brake check" while the car is stopped with the foot on the pedal, perhaps? Like how some diesel cars burn off soot on the motorway, do it periodically to keep things nice and free.

Download a bluetooth file transfer app and do it from there.

Whatever you do, don't lubricate the strut pistons. Do that and they'll never work properly again.

If you're certain it's the caliper then I'd have it removed and completely reconditioned. Could it also be the dust shield?

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You can—occasionally—get very good mpg from the RX, but 40mpg? That's pretty unrealistic if you ask me.

I had the squeaky rear seats, I just keep the centre armrest dropped and the squeak stays away.

No, didn't manage it. But I advise other forum users to lift the rubber seal at the base of their rear wiper to check for corrosion. If the shaft looks messy, get a few drops (no more than that, it has to go somewhere) in it, just in case.

I'm sure I'm not the only person who's ever wondered what the blank switch near the fuel filler button is for...

Well it seems that 4 days parked in an airport car park following a good dose of oil down that shaft has cured the problem.

Trust me, it's beyond simple lubrication. Something is either badly corroded or broken and needs to be replaced,

Thanks, I don't think it needs any new parts, perhaps a bushing or two, but everything else seems good. Murphybear, what contains the output shaft? Is it a bushing or something? I have a feeling that if there is one, it's stuck or torn or something. After all, that's the only (slightly) exposed part that'll see rainwater and dirt. I just need to prise the arm off the spindle.

The rear wiper has been getting slower and noisier of late, enough to cause concern. So today I pulled as much as I could to bits to see what's up. Getting to the motor and mechanism is easy enough, just remove the large piece of plastic (held in with clips) at the base of the rear door, disconnect the courtesy light, and the gearbox is right in front of you. Three 10mm (ish) bolts to disconnect the covering plate from the door, and four cross-headed screws to remove the plate from the gearbox. Only grease and friction holds the gears in place so beware of falling bits. There's a black lead to ground the motor, it won't work without that connection so if you try to operate the wiper while it's in pieces, nothing will happen. Everything looked in remarkably good order, totally clean grease, pristine plastic, all as you'd expect. So after removing the gears to see where the friction is, it seems to be entirely on the spindle that connects directly to the base of the wiper arm. And there my troubles begin, because I don't have a puller tool to disconnect the wiper arm from its spindle. It's extremely stiff and won't simply pull off by hand. I suppose I could tap the gearbox out by hitting the spindle from the outside, but that's just inviting calamity... Looking behind the plastic seal from outside, the spindle looks fairly corroded so I'm guessing that it needs a good cleaning out. I suppose it could also be the motor, but I don't see why that would suddenly get weak. I can't force it with a lever because it's parked on the rear window (don't want to crack the screen). Anyone done this job before and got any tips? Else I'll just give it to the mechanic to sort out when it goes in for it's 90,000 service (which is now due).

What's more likely, that thieves are using advanced techniques to break into your car and steal change? Or that you simply mislaid the change?