katabrontes

About the same MPG as I get from my 350!

Happens to me all the time on my 350 with the AFS and all three others coming on from time to time for no reason. All reset OK if I stop the engine and restart. Numerous checks show no fault codes. I have given up worrying about it. It passes its MoT as the garage knows the trick to reset the warning lights.

This is interesting. It's the second recent report of serious rust on RX400 subframes. My RX350 is also 2006 but no report of any corrosion on the underneath at last few MOTs. Just a slightly worn bush. Is the underbody protection poor on the 400 and improved on 350/450?

Looks pretty devastating and pretty bad luck. My 2006 RX 350 has sailed through all its MOTs so far and all I have had to do is replace a few suspension bushes. I have often spent more on servicing than the car was worth (for my old Saab 900 turbo and Toyota Surf) but I liked them both a lot and until the aircon front radiator went on the Surf (£1,000 just to have the part made as none available) I regularly spent more or nearly what they were worth as the cost of replacement was very much higher. That said there does come a time when it's time to let them go and I guess you have reached that. You should be able to replace it for very little more I would think. Good luck with your search but be sure to get the subframes etc checked carefully on the next one.

Yes you can but my advice from Lexus in Bordeaux was that the small saving in cost was not worth it as the mpg was worse. They advised we should use either 95 octane or 98 and the small extra cost would be offset by better mpg.

I get about 310 on my 350

Looks expensive to me. I wouldn't expect much more for my 2006 RX350 with 65K on the clock.

Seems expensive to me. I doubt my 56 RX350 SEL with 64K would fetch as much!

I have this "problem" intermittently on my RX350. It has been the same for several years now. If the lights stay on after starting the engine or (as they occasionally do) come on while driving if the engine is witched off and restarted they all go out. The car has been checked with several different error s detectors and no faults are shown either when the lights have gone out again or while they are still on. Various explanations have been offered (different tyre pressures, dirty ABS sensor or disc strobe, water in the connectors etc) dealing with each hasn't stopped it happening. ABS checked on slippery grass works perfectly. Try this fix and if it works warn your garage that does the MOT and they should pass the car as long as the lights go out after the restart and no error codes are shown.

RX300 has a belt RX350 ( and 450) has a chain

350 absolutely. Better ride, better fuel consumption, no timing belt to change (350 has a chain), better road holding, . I have had a 2006 350 for10 years and it's been faultless. Lovely car. I will change it for a 450 eventually but not for a few more years as there seems to me very little to gain. Car tax is more and it uses a bit more fuel but servicing can be done by local garage and no potentially expensive problems such a inverter failure etc. Don't get one with air suspension though. Good luck. They aren't easy to find but should be quite cheap now.

You might it hard to find one now but it is an excellent choice. Prices for the non hybrid versions are much lower than the hybrids and the extra costs are fairly modest. You get a lot of petrol for the quite a few thousand difference in first cost. It is also a less complicated car and you avoid the substantial costs of replacing some of the specialised components in the hybrid versions. MPG is not as different in real world conditions as the manufacturer's test figures suggest especially if you do a lot of motorway driving. Car tax is higher and future changes are unpredictable. Overall I calculate the extra running costs to be about £7-800 a year for an average user.

I leave mine on all the time. The difference in mpg is barely measurable and it ensures the system keeps fully lubricated and the seals don't dry out.

Not confined to non Lexus sellers however!

I am not sure Barry14UK is quite correct about the Lexus warranty. There have been several reports on the forum about problems over getting work done. I bought my 2005 RX350 from an independent dealer who underwrote their own warranty. As we were about to leave for France for several months they agreed to honour it while we were away. In the event one of the ignition coil failed in France and the cost or replacing this including the testing etc was over £400 which they reimbursed when we returned to UK. There was also a problem with the sunroof which turned out to be pretty major as a small plastic part had broken and jammed the roof so that not only had the motor burned out but the tape which moved the roof had snapped as well. The repair involved removing much of the interior trim, the whole of the sunroof mechanism and mounting frame and the labour time involved was, I was told, about 35 hours. There have been no faults with the car since then (10 years). I would certainly buy from this garage again. I am sure that, in general, if a garage underwrites their own warranty they will be a bit more careful about what they buy. In the past when I had a problem with the air conditioning on a Saab I was told to "drive around for a day or two and if it is still a problem bring it back and we will fix it". It was and I did and they told me to take to the local main agent who replaced a relay. No doubt this transferred the cost of th repair from the seller to the insurer who underwrote the warranty!

Check the rubber seal hasn't or trim at the bottom hasn't come loose and is jamming the tailgate

I had the same with my 350. The original main beam lights were worse than on the Yaris we had in Cyprus. I replaced them with an HID conversion which turns night into day. The " normal" setting on the dipped beams is also hopeless and not safe to drive at night in the country at over about 20mph. I always lift them up a bit but the garage resets them at each MoT! Ditto the reversing lights, also hopeless but much better with high power LEDs and removing the deflectors which block out most of the downwards light which you need when reversing. I can't understand why Lexus hadn't worked all this out themselves. Seems as if they haven't learned much about lighting in 2020. I like the car though.

My 56 plate RX350 costs £274 a year with LV. I think they saw you coming!

I think you should check that the lights do their " dance and turn" when you switch on the engine at startup ( this what happens with my 350). If they both do this the electrics and the sensor is probably OK. The older sensors on the pre 2006 models did tend to leak but later models should have the new type of sensor that has better water sealing. If the lights perform as expected it should just mean adjusting the 6mm bots behind the lights which mechanically set the null point and you should be able to lower the light beam quite easily. I think the headlights are always set too low so they only light up the road for a very short distance when dipped. Nowhere near enough in my opinion to be safe even at 30mph. I alway set mine higher but not high enough to shine above the top 1/3 or so of the front of a approaching car. The garage that does my MOT always fails it and then resets the lights and it passes on retest. If I remembered to reset the lights before the MOT it wails pass first time. It's very irritating as I have to reset the lights after every mot. Good luck. if you do need a sensor that are easy to find and it took me only about 20 minutes to change mine. It's a lot easier if you remove the offside rear wheel first but remember to jack the axle on a block or stand so you don't rely on the jack while you are under the car!

If I get 24 from my 350 I am very content. If you do a modest mileage the difference in mpg amounts to very little compared to the other costs of owning and running.

If it is that one it looks expensive to me. I reckon my 2006 RX350 with 60K is probably worth about £4K max.

Why not look at a good RX350? They are cheap as chips if you can find one. I reckon mine (2005, 65K miles) costs about £600 a year more to run than a RX450 and it would cost me about £25K+ to upgrade it to a 2015 450. Definite no brainier for me unless you need to enter ULEZ a lot.

Buy a TomTom or Garmin with lifetime updates. Will cost far less than updating an existing Lexus SatNavHeaven and, I think, the new Garmin has HUD display projected onto the windscreen. Otherwise a SatNavHeaven on top of the dash shelf is much better placed than the built in one well below your eyeliner.

Hi John, I fitted HID bulbs to my RX. I think they cost about £120 with the conversion kit and the improvement was fantastic. They light up the road at least twice as far ahead almost like daylight. The only downside is that they take a few seconds to build up to full brightness the first time you switch them on. Dipping is fine and they come back at full brightness immediately. I suppose they have to heat up the first time you switch on from " cold". You do need to be a bit careful wiring in the electronic driver as they use a very high voltage so there is a real risk of a nasty shock but the instructions are very clear. It took me about 1/2 hour max to fit them. Keep the old bulbs so you can disconnect the power pack for the HID and use the old bulbs as an emergency if one blows. I have had mine since 2014 and they are still fine so unlikely to lose a bulb for a long time. Not sure what replacement bulbs cost, guess at £20. Mike PS I checked with my garage before fitting and they are OK and don't affect the MOT Mine was HB3 HIDS4U Ultimate 35W HIDConversion Kit from Autobulbs Direct and actually cost £95 . Not available now but others are at about £50. Replacement bulbs cost about £7.50

Good idea about the razor wire