clarkjeremy

Yes - but when you discon the Battery - even on the new ones, the computer messes up after a while - has to be rebooted. New models also die after 3-4 weeks standing. Trickle chargers work but I can't expect the airport parking guys to set that up.

In future - electric cars will be more common and facilities availble to keep them charged when standing. Meanwhile - Range Rover :-)

Gents . . . it's 2015. We're talking about a "Premium SUV" from one of the world's alleged best car makers. And I am suposed to jump-start my car like its a 1965 Ford Anglia - or ask the pvalet-parking company to jump start it so they can bring it to the airport?

No . . . they have to do better than that. Until they fix this, I have to go back to gas-guzzeling non-hybrids. I have not yet tried the new Mitsubishi which looks as good as the new Grand Cherokee. Either way, the Lexus sadly has to go. Unreliability in a £50K car is not acceptible.

This battery issue is well known by the AA & the RAC. My own lexus agent has told me that there is a problem (that has been fixed on the new RX450h) the, basically speaking, allows the charging system on the car to fool itself as to the charging state/cycle of the RX400h.

I've had a new battery & the rescue services have been out 3 times due to this issue.

So far I've been unable to find a larger capacity battery to replace the Lexus original.

There isn't a fix available from Lexus, although there should be & in light of the number of stranded owners they really should be thinking about this as (from my limited feedback) it seems to be a software issue, rather than anything mechanical.

The battery itself only initalises the car's systems, the actual starting is off the Hybrid battery, hence it's small size.

I am looking into a solar charger as a stop gap, although you need to understand things like how to get a seperate feed through the car (the accessory sockets inside are both dead when the ignition is off, rulling out this way back) & the need for a blocking diode to prevent the panel itself discharging the battery. It is also fair to point out that the need for light, even a street light at night can provide a limited amount of power, & that this option may not provide a "solution" as such, more a staving off of the power drain, because..........

........ the bottom line is that the Lexus battery isn't of sufficient capacity for the car to be left parked for a couple of weeks without use to keep it charged.

If any other owners have had similar problems please add your experiences to this mail. If there are enough of us we MAY be able to persaude Lexus to develop a solution, rather than let the word spread through their dealers & the roadside services the the RX 400h has an issue that needs a fix, not a recovery truck.

A solution is, in light of the recent Toyota publicity, in everyone's mutual interest - after all, how do we know if this is an RX issue, or a general Toyota Hybrid issue that affects all but the latest generation cars?

I bought an '07 RX400h 2 years ago, have had 3 new batteries thinking it was the Battery problem. I regualrly go overseas and have to leave the car at he aiport or on the drive for anything between a week and 2 months. We also have a volvo V70 which starts no problem. The RX400h has had to be jumped every time even with a trickle-charger attached for longer periods. It's a shame - my wofe loves tha dcar, so do I but it will have to go. A simple solution would be to be able to plug a charger into the 12v socket. I have had to put it up for sale to eomeone who drives every day.

Grand Cherokee on the way.