GrahamG

Have to thank Cruisermark for his recommendation of the Avon ZZ5 tyres given above. Had two fitted to the front of my 85,000 mile LS430 2004 and like him the excessive road feel at low speed has gone. I was convinced some steering/suspension bushes needed renewing but the car passed MOTs and Lexus Guildford picked up nothing. The 15mph tram lining is cured and they are quiet which is important for this car. The original Bridgestone Potenzas [Turanzas?] were in reasonable condition with 6mm and 4mm tread although the latter a little old from 2011. Cost £104 each fitted from National website, 245 45 18 Y XL. Have no idea how they will last but at my low mileage they will be out of date before out of tread. Thanks again Mark

Thanks for that video, it makes very clear the failed shock absorber. For the entertainment you have provided us we should all make a contribution to Lexus replacement struts for you. If you are to preserve the value of all the fine work done so far can you really consider non Lexus parts for such a critical application.

I second Vicmeldrew and would definitely check below those black plastic storage bins below the rear tail lights. On the the nearside behind the outside plastic body moulding there is a vent with thin rubber valves to release pressure when the doors are closed. My vent unit was not seated properly and rain water poured in. Also the tail light unit beds on a thick sponge gasket around the hole in the body through which the wires pass and that had not been replaced at some time in the past. The above relates to my 2006 RX350SE

The only good thing about air struts and sensors is that if one fails you do not need to renew any others. Not for instance the one on the other end of the axle. From my research on the USA forum these struts can fail at any time from 60,000 miles to, well never, so renewing just one and forgetting about the rest seems to make sense. Also a second hand replacement can be worth while if it can be sourced at a reasonable cost. Swapping them over is very easy.

The ride height sensors are prone to water ingress. They can be removed, opened up, cleaned and tested with a multimeter. There are posts on the process which applies to some Toyota models as well.

Have had my '06 RX350SE for three years and love driving it fully loaded across France into the Alps. It has no air suspension which I would avoid like the plague. The 350 has extra acceleration on hand with an overall better fuel economy than the 300 and seems to be pretty much bulletproof. After nine years [40,000 miles] mine had virtually no rust underneath and no water ingress problems at the rear of the cabin. Would definitely buy another subject to a no rust survey and full Lexus history but when lightly loaded it does not provide a luxury ride and I do wish it were more like my LS430.

What a fascinating thread this is. Many thanks Peter, please keep it coming.

Have no experience of this but have you tried the USA owners website because there are far more of these vehicles over there. A Lexus main agent will have full Toyota Techstream software to read any codes stored and that would be my starting point.

I can no longer bring my RX350 to a smooth stop because the brakes grab just at the last moment. Coincidentally got out of the car after ten minutes on a dual carriageway and smell of very hot metal coming from offside rear wheel. Other wheels normal but that one smelling about as hot as you could imagine. Aimed a thermometer at the disc and caliper and strangely this was same as others. Continued driving and at next stop no smell. I have heard about brakes on these cars seizing up because of rusted slide pins. The car has been regularly maintained by Lexus. Had just prior to that trip applied the park brake gently a few times which is not normally used at all. Not sure wether to book it into Lexus which involves a loan car or get local garage to have a look. Any particular problems to look out for?

Re leaking boot; search on here for someone who found a supplier of rubber seals of a similar cross section. I used that and it worked but the length he gave was too short so measure yourself and buy to the nearest metre. I could not see what was wrong with my original seal but the new one stopped an enormous amount of water ending up in the spare wheel well.

There is a wealth of information on the Rustbuster site http://www.rust.co.uk/1-contact-us/t3 Most important to get the car up on a lift and inspect with a strong light which I do late summer at my local garage. With everything dry it is amazing how much surface dirt can be blown away with a compressor. On my 9 year old LS430 there were two areas of rust very near the rear jacking points that needed preventative treatment. The basic procedure is to apply a liquid chemical to kill/convert the rust to a harmless substance and then apply a protective coating to prevent the rust reappearing. Where that coating is most under stress Rustbuster sell a thick two part epoxy mastic applied by brush and that I used immediately aft of the jacking points.

I strongly advise you take action to protect the underneath if you want to keep it. Just because it is a Lexus does not mean it may not rust. I wish I had rustproofed a 1995 LS400 that corroded badly. Waxoyl I would put on agricultural machinery. It smells awful. Dinitrol and other products much preferable.

As you have benefited from so much advanced medical engineering it seems appropriate to now enjoy some top flight automotive engineering. Best of luck to you. From what I have read on the US forum I would not buy an early LS460 because of costly maintenance but that is just my opinion. I would not hesitate to go for an '06 LS430. Sorry if that is not what you want to hear but I trust you will be happy back inside a Lexus.

John, how do you find the Avons for noise? What did you have before? Avons [a different version] are also being recommended over on the LS430 forum at about £95 each. The Hankook Ventus ST on my RX350 are about half gone after 20,000 miles and cost about £120 each three years ago. They have been excellent and will buy again if still available. While I would never over economise on tyres I do not feel it is necessary to spend more than that on a tyre for this car.

I know it is expensive but I would do as you have done and replace both hub and bearing with Lexus parts. In fact I would go further and renew the unit on the other end of the axle by way of preventative maintenance. After reading the extensive thread on the USA owner's site I have doubts about pressing out the bearings on this car. Too many cases of perfectly good makes of bearing failing again after say just 20,000 miles. Not saying this to try to convince anyone else and if I had to economise would use a press.

Thanks for an excellent reply Simon. I knew it could be multiple causes but it is comforting to have two culprits that are not megabucks. Drove it another half hour and no recurrence. I see you are in Berks, do you know of an indie somewhere near me in Fleet Hants, otherwise it is a visit to Lexus Guildford?

Today while stopped at the lights out of the blue the tick over became very lumpy as if firing on only four pots. Shifted into neutral but no improvement until I revved it hesitatingly to 1800rpm. The car had been running normally for about twenty minutes beforehand and drove normally for another twenty minutes. It was just at one set of lights the lumpy tickover occurred. Floored it from 30mph and it accelerated impressively. Car starts from cold as it should. Run it on premium fuel and three months ago it had major 120,000 mile Lexus service [car has done 85,000 and has full Lexus sevice history] which included new plugs. No warning lights are showing. Any guesses as to what might cause a one off event like this?

I used the company my local Lexus main agent uses. They came to my home, fitted a set of temporary wheels and took mine to their workshop for refurbishment. Can't remember the price but it was very much the average cost.

Probably beneath your dignity Malc, but on my LS400 I stuck a cheap mirror [probably from Halfords] on the original mirror. After degreasing with alcohol the 3M foam double sided tape kept it in place for years. After a while I never noticed it was not an exact fit.

Edward, my seal [ls400] looked fine but was letting in water. Search this site and you find it is a common problem. I bought a length rubber seal from a supplier recommended on here that was not a Lexus product but so similar in cross section it did the job. All I can remember is the length given in the post was too short so measure yourself before ordering.

According to Goodyear's technical adviser a run flat tyre because of the sidewall construction will be noisier and give a harsher ride. What I did not know is that run flats can only be fitted to a car with tyre pressure warning on the dashboard. He referred me to Lexus to decide if the warning system I have is suitable. Mine does not have a sender in the tyre, rather it monitors the circumference of the wheel.

Phil, interesting about tramlining because at very low speed I have noticed that with the existing Bridgestone Turanzas. Had expected Lexus at Guildford to pick up some sort of worn rubber on the front of the car at its recent 12 year service but all was well.

John, do you have the normal or run flat option ? I am trying to establish if there is a comfort or ride penalty for the run flats.

Mike, good to hear from you. Do you have the run flat or the 'normal' version?