tom123

I think that dealers can adjust this if you could be bothered to mention it next time you're in for a service or whatever. Personally, I would prefer if mine came on even sooner!

I have noticed a lack of 'suppleness' on my RX400h over sharp ridges/broken tarmac etc. at low speeds - anything around town basically. I was in a colleague's Citroen Picasso recently, and couldn't believe how smoothly it glided over potholes and rough roads compared to my car. I don't think it's the tyres (Michelin Latitude Tour HP), and I usually have the them slightly under-inflated (30-32 PSI) anyway. I was hoping some new shocks might improve things, but I was wary of fitting the OEM KYB shocks and then finding the ride even firmer. To be honest, I'm sure any shocks that I get will last well beyond any miles I put on the car, so I wasn't really concerned about their lifespan.

The inside trim on the tailgate is held on with clips and is just pulled off towards you. Start with one corner and then work from there. Once you have got one clip off you will be able to see what you are doing. Make sure that you just take off the lower trim, not the bits by the glass on the sides.

Not yet. Rock Auto didn't have all of the required parts in stock when I last looked, so I held off. I need to speak to a local mechanic to see what shocks they can order for the RX, as I can't seem to find any from a UK supplier. I was hoping to avoid the OEM shocks as I think Lexus may have supplied slightly firmer ones for the UK market.

Starting to think about replacing the front shocks on my 2005, 92K mile RX. You can get them done at a main dealer for £395, but I presume that this just includes the replacement of the actual shocks, and not any of the mountings or coil insulators etc., which I might as well get done at the same time. I've looked on RockAuto.com, and seen the Monroe OE spectrum (72212/72211) which seem to have good reviews. Front left and rights struts together come to £186 including shipping (plus extra for customs?). I was hoping that the Monroe struts might give a slightly softer ride than the OEMs, which I think are KYBs if I'm not mistaken. Just wondering what other people think. I've looked online and can't find a UK supplier of the Monroe OE spectrum struts anywhere. If I get all the parts shipped from the US, I might not actually save any money compared with getting it done at the main dealer. Depends on much much extra Lexus would charge for fitting new mountings etc.

Now it's getting darker... Did using LED help the reversing light... light? Was it easy? The idea certainly appeals! Still have the bulbs in their packet lol. Thanks for reminding me! I'll fit them in 2 weeks when I get a chance and let you know if they make any difference. I'm not sure about removing the reflectors though, as I'm not sure it wouldn't technically be an MOT fail if a sharp-eyed tester noticed they were missing.

Lord have mercy. No one is suggesting that Lexus could/would sell the Rx400h today at £56,000. The above poster stated that he thought that the reliability was unacceptable for a '£50K car.' You responded that he was 'plucking figures out of the sky.' I have shown that in fact he was not. Without taking inflation into account, any such discussion of an object's value is completely meaningless - one is not comparing like with like. Maybe this would have been a better way to phrase the original point: 'I find the reliability in a car that cost the equivalent of £56K in today's money unacceptable.'

Thanks. That red coolant must be expensive.

They don't include the replacement belt cost in the 100+ service - only an inspection. What part of the 100K service justifies the £645 cost? I've had the water pump/belt/tensioner replaced already on mine, so the coolant should have been replaced too. Should I still expect to pay the full cost of a 100K service at a Lexus dealer?

You are paying for the marble flooring, the 'free' coffees, and the massaging of your ego.

1 - yes it's 2015. Not sure if you realised but the RX450h has been out for 6 years and a new RX is coming out this year so we aren't talking about a new car here. 2 - the 450h does not suffer from these battery problems. I've left my car for 4 weeks every winter for the last 3 years and it starts fine. 3 - you're plucking figures out of the sky. The 400h wasn't anywhere near the region of £50k, the current RX is and its the most reliable car in its class - period - no ifs no buts, it just is. If there was a major issue, we'd know about it as Lexus sells 100k RXs annually in the US alone An RX400h SE L cost £43,000 in 2005. With inflation, that is equivalent to £56,000 today.

To be honest, when I bought my RX400h I didn't really check it over at all. I had just assumed that the Lexus dealer would have inspected it to the standard that their website advertises. I now realise that an 'approved used' car has basically just been valeted and that's it. I noticed my RX had a blowing centre exhaust section a few months after I bought it. When I asked the selling Lexus dealer (Exeter) if they would like to replace the section, given that the fault had occurred within the first 6 months of ownership, the service manager told me that she had never heard of the Sales of Goods Act, and said I would have to pay £1100 for the repair. I ended up paying £50 at an exhaust shop for a stainless steel section to be welded on. I have never taken my car back to that dealer for a service, and I will never buy another car from them ever again.

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. Either they were being deceitful when they sold the car to you, or they were incompetent by not checking the car properly before selling it to you as an approved pre-owned car. Not good either way. I always find it surprising when dealers act like this - they have lost a potential customer for life over something they could have sorted easily and were legally obliged to (Sales Of Goods Act).

Equality if you didn't have a warranty you could have got the sliding pins replaced and glued the seal on the back of the light cluster back on. The AC fix probably would have been considerable less outside of the Lexus dealerships, all for less than the price of the warranty. Replacing the sliding pins would only provide a short-term fix, would it not? Plus, once that much water has gotten in to the light clusters, I would rather have them replaced. The air con repair may well have been cheaper at a non-specialist, but all in all, I think I have definitely got value for money. There is also the value of the peace of mind that comes with all repairs being done at a main dealer, so you are not comparing like with like. I still have 6 months of cover left, and I will be renewing for another 12 or 24 months if I am able to.

:D I think that's a bit like saying 'I could have taken out life insurance 10 years ago but since I didn't die I think the saving was worthwhile' Mike Life insurance ? ... not really a comparison, plus you missed the point that you'd be dead & couldn't spend the insurance money anyway ... lol ... and ... all the beer you could have bought with the premium's I have never had a warranty on any car I've owned, & most warranties tend to exclude Hybrid components anyway (apart from the Lexus one i think?) ... I only know 1 person who has ever had his money's worth out of a warranty.. I had one seized rear caliper replaced (£350), two leaking rear tail light clusters replaced (£500+), and an air con leak fixed (£920) under warranty during the first twelve months of ownership of my RX. So you can now make that two people that you know who've had their moneys worth out of a warranty!

Make sure you get the garage to fix this for you as I've heard of people paying £500 bills for replacing similar sensors in the RX400h.

I have also experienced a Lexus dealer suddenly lose complete interest in a repair when I mentioned that I have an extended warranty. I suppose there are a bunch or reasons for this behaviour. Dealers get reimbursed a lower hourly labour by the warranty company than they could charge you. The warranty company sometimes sends out an 'independent' engineer to assess claims on their behalf. One could speculate why a garage might not want this to happen. I have also heard of main dealers having targets to meet regarding warranty repairs to save the company money.

I had a similar sounding rattle that turned out to be a loose bonnet/hood catch.

I managed to get Lexus to pay for a repair they tried to squirm out of paying for under their warranty by writing to one of the car magazines.

Also, you should consider getting a Toyota dealer to quote you for any work you need doing. Toyota quoted me £700 for some suspension work when Lexus wanted £1100.

I can't stand the CT200h (noisy and uncomfortable), so after a couple of visits I asked if they had an IS300h, which they did. Since then, I've always asked for this instead when dropping my car off for work.

Agree that the MLTs are really very good tyres, but capable in snow? Rated purely as a Summer tyre. On the Michelin UK web site they are listed as summer tyres, but they do have the M&S logo on them. The tread also has sipes in the blocks. I had mine changed over to Nokian winters in November, so didn't get the chance to see how good they were in the snow!

Had these Michelins fitted to my RX400h after reading the reviews on the American forums. A noticeable improvement over the stock Bridgestone Potenzas, much quieter and better at absorbing road imperfections. Mine got even quieter after they were run in for 500-1000 miles or so, so I expect you will see further improvement in the noise levels.

Exactly. I'm afraid that a lot of the yobs that drive Audi's are unfortunately going to be very attracted to this new Lexus grill. Lexus just seems to be desperate to attract any kind of attention it can get to their brand. Haha YOBS would never buy a Lexus. They seem to be going to RR Sport at the moment lmao Good point. Just got to hope they have to drive past both the Audi and Land Rover dealerships before they get to the Lexus one!

Exactly. I'm afraid that a lot of the yobs that drive Audi's are unfortunately going to be very attracted to this new Lexus grill. Lexus just seems to be desperate to attract any kind of attention it can get to their brand.