katabrontes

Two regularly occurring themes on the Forum have puzzled me for a while. They need an expert to consider them. First is MPG. My 2006 RX 350 averages about 24-25 mpg over a variety of uses. However on a recent motorway run in France over about 300km it averaged 26mpg. Others regularly claim much better figures for RX400 or 450. Given that the hybrids have the disadvantage of carrying heavy batteries and, at motorway speeds rely entirely on the petrol engine to drive them how are these figures obtained. Could it be regenerative braking which makes the difference - I am not sure how and I hardly touched the brakes on this motorway trip and used cruise control set at 130 kph throughout. Could it be that certain accessories (eg Aircon compressor) might be driven electrically on the hybrids - I don't know about this? Could it be the effect of the permanent AWD on the 350? After writing this I can't remember the second! If I do I will post it separately.

I had the compressor fail on my Saab900T in about 2004. It just suddenly seized and the belt burned on the pulley. A bit dramatic. It appeared that one or more of the blades had broken and locked the rotor solid. The best price I could find at the time was about £1,800 from an independent Aircon specialist so your quote of £1,200 if it includes fitting is pretty good.

Good argument for hanging onto earlier models of RX. The premium hikes more than wipe out any modest savings on mpg and VED if I traded up my ICE 2006 350.

Well spotted Neil. I also had this email and after using the 'Go to this post' link noted that there was no additional post. Inspecting the links in the email also raised suspicion as it is unusual for any to appear in the notification emails.

I have always kept my Aircon running permanently. After my son told me that it dropped his mpg (Toyota Supra) by more than 5 I checked my Saab900 and ran a full tank with Aircon on and again with it off. I don't recall the actual figures (it was about 30 years ago) but it was only single figures on a whole tank. I also read about oil seals drying out if Aircon wasn't used for several weeks or months. Additionally it keeps the air in the car much dryer so demisting is much better in winter. Given the ratio of power used by the compressor compared to the engine you wouldn't expect it to affect mpg very much anyway. As to your problem my guess would be it needs a regas. I would expect to do this every few years so if it hasn't ever had one it probably needs it. An independent should be able to do this for you for less than the diagnostic cost.

Thanks to Colin and Mick. I have looked at Rock's website andthe front end is also available and looks a lot cheaper than the Lexus parts.

£537 with Saga for my 2006 RX350 in West Sussex including 12 months European cover

Very bad luck John. My 2006 350 has only had one leak in the NS corner under the boot floor which I found when the aftermarket parking sensors stopped working. Easily fixed by replacing a short section of the bottom end of the sunroof drain with copper pipe. Fine since. I would start by checking the roof rail mounts if you have them and clear the sunroof drains. Check under the boot floor in case it's running forward from there in which case you might have the same problem as I did which was an easy fix. You advice about the headlining is right it's a huge job.

I understand Waze I'd very good but it does rely on a live mobile data link to work so unless you have a generous contract for data it could be quite expensive to run.

When I asked my independent garage about replacing the bushes only they told me it wasn't possible as they are integral to the arms. I am sure they did replace just the bushes on my old Saab or Toyota Surf (I cant remember which).

Buy a TomTom GO5200 preferably an older version which includes lifetime free map and other updates, free live traffic and speed cameras. Sits on top of the dash so it's closer to your eyeliner as well. You could probably get one for less than £100 on eBay. I have had two for years and they work faultlessly.

Good decision. I wish you lots of fun with it.

I would estimate about £3K for this lot. i have slightly worn bushes on the suspension arms on my 2006 RX350 Na was quoted £1K to replace these. The bushes can't be replaced separately and the arms are expensive and about 5-6 hours labour to do one set. I would ask the sealer to fix all of it or walk away. I doubt the Lexus warranty would cover this lot as it is clearly pre-existing and mostly normal wear and tear rather than a part failure. As they are only advisories the argument for doing this now is a bit weak as well and any warranty would claim exclusion as the defects were know before it was taken out. Does this dealer underwrite the warranty himself (unusual but I would prefer it as it makes them more careful about what they buy in) or is it one of the standard insurance based types in which case I think the repairs would certainly be excluded.

Good ideas Mazumo. Simple and cheap and probably effective. Are the AirTags sufficiently reliable to act as trackers?

Looks as if it's the pad being a bit proud in the centre (unless two big chunks have fallen off each edge!) Surely the pad will wear a little and then bear evenly on the disc. Seems pretty unlikely that the caliper is at fault as it is pressing the pad centrally against the disc.

A few good posts here. Surely if there are 70K potentially affected Lexus owners the cost to each for a class action would be quite modest and should be well worth while. Lexus would certainly want to settle rather than go to court over this. I did think of changing my 2006 RX350 for a later 450 a couple of years ago but in the end decided the benefit (mostly a few quid off road tax and a bit saved on petrol) wasn't good value against the cost./ The 450 was very nice but so is mine and the benefits amounted to a better design of the door sills and camera in the wing mirrors. Not much for £20K. Having read the posts above I am glad I didn't and now plan to keep it until HMG crucifies me with road tax by which time I hope Lexus will have fixed the problem or maybe an EV might be a sensible option. About another 5-10 years I estimate.

We used InonC when I was at school.

Well done you! I am very much like you. I never give up. This Canbus saga is looking increasingly like the Post Office scandal which isn't ending well for the PO. I am just grateful that my 2006 RX350 isn't affected and I have decided to keep it for another few years until I can replace it with a post 22 model which, I understand would be free from the Canbus risk.

I would check the sunroof drains first. They could be blocked. Hi can usually clear them with a length of flexible net curtain rail, the copied spring type. They come out under the car into short rubber valves which often get covered in mud. Once they are cleared you can check they are OK by pouring some water carefully into the tray with the sunroof open and checking underneath that it runs out of the front and rear drains. Another problem I had was that one of the tsar drains kinked where it ran into the rear tray under the boot tray. I fixed this by replacing the last 10cm or so with a length of copper pipe and it's been fine ever since. I did a post on this with photos ages ago but can't re bed when to include a li k to it. Getting at the sunroof mechanism is a night mare as you have to strip out a lot of the internal linings before you remove the roof lining. It's a big job.

Don't waste money on a Lexus dealer. My experience of them was very unimpressive and they charge premium prices. Buy independent .

It could be a big job. i had a problem with the sunroof on my RX350 a few years ago just after I bought it. Hanging the motor was quite straightforward ( it had burnt out) but the cause was a broken cable on one side due to a small plastic part which had broken and jammed the roof. To replace this the garage had to remove the headlining and the whole sunroof and supporting frame and mechanism. They told me it had involved about 30 hours of labour. Fortunately covered by their warranty.

Nowt so queer as folk! While walking down to our small market town today I did a few simple sums in my head. My 2006 RX350 is probably worth about £3K now. It has been faultless since I bought it in 2013 and having driven a 450 a couple of years ago when I was contemplating an upgrade I decided that the benefits were very slight and the cost more than they were worth. I think I spend about £2.5K a year on running the car (VED, Insurance, servicing and fuel). It's ULEZ a compliant and Critair2 in France so can go anywhere at the moment. I can't remember when I got more than about 24mpg out of a car (since I sold my much loved Fiat500 in about 1976 - it punched a hole in a piston when a valve snapped on the Winchester bypass) so I am pretty relaxed about fuel consumption. Having read in a magazine in a dentist's waiting room today that average residual values for EVs are now about 40% (2/3 of the RV a year ago) they seem less attractive than ever. Current plan is to keep the 350 for about another 5 years, or until it needs a major overhaul and then, reluctantly, change for a hybrid unless EVs with sodium batteries and ranges of about 500 miles become available.

I would ignore it and see what happens. i regularly get warning lights for Brakes/ABS and one other which come on at random. Sometimes while driving more often after starting up. They always clear after switching off and restarting. No fault codes ever found with my mini dongle of my garage ( not Lexus) more sophisticated system on their laptop. Never failed an MoT on this account. Everything works normally. No one has managed to diagnose the reason over about past 10 years.

The obsession with MPG has always puzzled me. The biggest cost, if you buy new, is depreciation which puts the cost of fuel in the shade. If EVs become liable for VED, which looks inevitable, and insurance costs continue to increase due to problems with repairs, battery damage worries and increasing write offs when damage is slight then any financial advantages of EVs will erode considerably. Of course I have focussed on the 'business case' but it does puzzle me that those who are happy and able to spend verging on six figures for a car are so focussed on the relatively small costs of driving it around. Environmental arguments are quite another thing but they are rarely mentioned in this forum!

You might find NHS Occupational Therapy services or specialist disability support groups would be more helpful than commercial suppliers as they should be able to offer experience from those actually using the equipment. I tried to find the shooter in Cyprus who had a system fitted to his 4x4 but I don't have his contact details.