welland

I've been looking for a guide about how to adjust the parking brake on an rx400h, but can't find one.   Can anybody possibly point me in the right direction please?

Mine has just failed the mot with inefficient parking brake on both wheels, so it needs sorting out. There is a lot of travel on the pedal and the bite is too low.  

I figured that there is probably an adjuster on each wheel, but possibly a central adjuster as well.  Any advise about where to find them and how to do it would be gratefully received.  

On 11/8/2021 at 4:29 PM, James F said:

Just been quoted £4000 to get RX400h through the MOT - 2007 model with 116,000 on the clock. Needs new rear subframe, suspension arms, parking brake etc. So it's a financial write off. I'm devastated as it's a lovely car and not had it that long. Wondered if anyone can advise on best way to sell it on. Is there much demand for Lexus enthusiasts buying MOT write-offs for spares? Or is it just a case of selling it for scrap? Any advice gratefully received. 

In its present state it is almost worthless. Spend £4k to fix it (or less after some economising) and you have a great car.  Can you get something else comparable for £4k?

On 11/17/2021 at 7:41 PM, twonkynuts said:

Took a lot of reading and work but very pleased with the install. 

Looks great. Can you tell us about it? What model? Price? What does it do/not do?

15 hours ago, AceKid said:

Hi all,

   Looking for some advice, I have a 2007 400h with the rear headrest screens and the dvd player under the drivers seat.

  The original player decided to stop reading any discs and often refused to eject them, I ordered an apparent "fully working and tested" used replacement....turns out that doesnt spin the discs and just ejects them.

  So with a refund requested for that, has anyone got any suggestions on a suitable replacement? It seems dvd is old technology and i cant seem to find anything to replace it with!

There must be plenty of used DVD players in car breakers that will plug in straight away as replacement.  I would expect such a purchase to be guaranteed working at time of purchase, even if it may not be covered by a long-term warranty.  

I have the same system in my RX400H and have researched methods to plug a mobile phone into the aux input of the headrest screens.  It looks like this might be possible, but I have not taken the plunge and tried it myself.  Trouble is that many mobile phones already have a screen that is better than the Lexus ones.... 😞

6 hours ago, Herbie said:

I didn't do that.

It's a few years ago now and it was an RX300, not a 400h, but I'm certain you just unscrew the shroud and then either use long-nosed pliers to get it out or just turn the unit upside down and the shroud comes out.

EDIT: I found this PDF file a long time ago and have just stumbled across it again. This will tell you everything you need to know:

Removing_bulb_cover_from_reverseing__light.pdf 917.09 kB · 4 downloads

Thanks Herbie.  I'll have another look in the morning,  but I didn't think it looked possible to remove the shroud through the hole where the bulb fits.  Also confusing what all those other crosshead screws do, as when removed, nothing else cones apart.

I've been meaning to remove the shrouds from my reversing lights for ages and decided to have a go today.  I removed the first light cluster from the car easily enough and I can clearly see the shroud through the lens, and the screw holding it in place.  However, to remove the shroud, I will need to separate the front lens from the rear bulb holder, and that's difficult.  

I've removed all the screws that hold the lens in place, but it is stuck fast to the rear part.  I tried to gently price them apart using a very wide bladed screwdriver, but it won't budge, and I've even made a minor crack near the edge of the lens.  So, I've stopped for now, because I don't want to break the lens.  

Can anybody offer any advice about separating these two parts, please?  

Final report.

Garage fitted new reluctor ring to the OSF driveshaft and problem is fully solved.  About £20 for new ring, plus £75 labour to fit it, so happy with that.  🙂  

Would be interested to see the difference in quotes for this repair from the two garages.  No doubt the indie would be prepared to fit a second hand unit if you want.

The car is going to my garage tomorrow.  I am taking the new ring that I bought, together with the spare whole drive shaft for the NSF that was removed a couple of years ago.  On my spare drive shaft, I removed the old ring and prepared the CV joint for the new ring.  It did not take much effort with a stiff wire brush and some light filing.  

I will let the garage decide the best course of action, from:

1) Fit new ring to old OSF CV joint
2) Fit new ring to old NSF CV joint and then fit this to the OSF drive shaft
3) Fit brand new CV joint to the front OSF
 

On 4/6/2021 at 7:19 PM, steve2006 said:

They do have 6 different part numbers for RHD and LHD  (there are 3 options for each, standard green tint, luxury and luxury with wiper heater). The frame should be the same for both left and right hand drive but the wipers may be positioned differently.

Interesting. Don't remember seeing these options documented before. Were they available in the uk?

How does the wiper heater work? Are there heating elements buried in the glass?

19 hours ago, Herbie said:

Here you go John

The ad has gone now, so I can't see it.   May we have a few brief details to explain why this car is such a cracker?

7 minutes ago, Herbie said:

These people are a good company to deal with. If you can't find what you need on the website I'd give them a call as they're very helpful.

https://www.carparts-direct.co.uk/drive-shafts

Thanks Herbie.  

I have just found this cv joint on ebay:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CV-Joint-fits-LEXUS-RX400h-MHU38-3-3-Front-Outer-04-to-08-3MZ-FE-C-V-Driveshaft/333846198605?epid=942154520&hash=item4dbac8b94d:g:dvkAAOSwvddf8lwu

This must be the same thing that Lexus offered me by the name of "half shaft", but it does not say it is for NSF or OSF.  So, I presume it fits both Left and Right, but then it is strange that Lexus told me they were different.   

For reference, I have found this ring:  https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GENUINE-OE-ABS-RELUCTOR-RING-RETAINER-LEXUS-RX330-RX350-RX400h-/224364911075?var=0&mkevt=1&mkcid=1&mkrid=710-53481-19255-0&campid=5338268676&toolid=10044&customid=Cj0KCQjw9YWDBhDyARIsADt6sGb1wkup7YMwEZei3PjfgHMRCtMfc3bVLSr28sHTw5IW8I6bCAQguz0aAnSwEALw_wcB

If I can fit this to my old CV joint that came off the NSF, that might be my cheapest option.  

I have a problem with the OSF drive shaft on my rx400h:  the ABS reluctor ring has split, probably as a result of rust on the drive shaft.  So I'm considring options......

1)  Lexus do not list the reluctor ring as an individual part, but they have offered me a full drive shaft for £814 +vat, or a half shaft for £456 + vat.  That's a bit dear.  

2) I have not found an alternative source of a new drive shaft or half shaft, but I have found a supplier of non-oem rings. 
The options are therefore (a) replace half shaft or drive shaft, or (b) repair old half shaft by fitting a new ring.  

I have some experience of this from 3 years ago when the same problem arose on the NSF drive shaft.  At that time, my mechanic had no time to consider repairing the old half shaft, so we obtained a second hand replacement.  He could not contemplate fitting the ring himself, or waiting a day or two for somebody else to fit it while the car was immobile in his workshop,  hence fitting a replacement.  I now have a different mechanic, but I have not discussed it with him yet. 

I still have the old NSF drive shaft.  If I could repair that one with a new ring and fit it to the OSF, that would be handy, but I believe that the two half shafts and drive shafts are not interchangeable.  Is anybody able to confirm this please?  

Does anybody know of a supplier of non-oem drive shafts or half shafts, or a source of a good second hand unit?  

Is it a lot less labour to replace the whole drive shaft than to just replace the half shaft?  I suppose it would at least avoid draining and replacing the gearbox oil? 

After a week or so of trouble-free motoring, the problem has returned. As expected, the loose reluctor ring has vibrated back to the wrong position.  For the short term, I've unplugged the wheel sensor and the car seems to be fine.  I must make progress with a new ring or new driveshaft.... Probably needs another thread.....

I started the car today and rechecked for errors.  There were no warnings on the dash, but techstream still showed all 3 DTCs were current.  I decided to use TS to erase the DTCs and all three disappeared.   

I need to use the car tomorrow for a trip to the supermarket, which is a round trip of about 10 to 15 miles.  Fingers crossed.  

12 minutes ago, Greisingel said:

So I would highlight the code line and hit ‘data list’

I did this before I moved the ring.  It looked like the data list showed live data, and I think the screen was the same regardless of which DTC I had highlighted.   Screenshots before I fixed the ring are as below.  What should I be looking at?

I have some progress to report.  

I decided to remove and inspect the right front wheel speed sensor.  There was a little bit of debris on the tip, but nothing significant.  However, looking down the hole in the hub carrier, I could see that the reluctor ring was off centre.  The band along one of its edges was centred on the hole.  Although I cannot find a diagram of how it is supposed to be aligned, I imagine that the correct alignment should have the segments centred on the hole.  

Anyway, I rotated the hub whilst watching down the hole and discovered that the ring has split in one place.  

I have managed to move the ring sideways to what I imagine to be a better alignment (It is a loose-ish fit, now that it is split) and I went for a short test drive.  

Upon starting the car, the "Check AWD" and "Check VSC" warnings were displayed, along with the static ABS light and the static traction control light.  The car drove normally.  After about a quarter of a mile, all warnings were extinguished and the car continued to drive normally.  

When I got home, I reconnected it to tech stream, and found that it was still reporting the same three faults, and showing them all as still "Current" (not "Pending" and not "History")  When drilling in to each code with the magnifying glass, the pop up message says "Malfunction is present".  

So, couple of questions:

1) Why does tech stream say the DTCs are still current?  SHould I do something to delete them?  

2) It looks like the car is happy(-ish?) with a broken reluctor ring, though I expect it will vibrate and move back to the position in which I found it.  Before I embark on replacing the reluctor ring, with all the work that entails, I wonder if I can somehow glue it in place to stop it moving?  Worth a try, don't you think?  Has anybody else tried gluing a reluctor ring in place?  Any advice about choice of adhesive?  

I'm a novice at using techstream, and I can't see how to drill into a DTC to get sub codes.  The screen I see is like this:  
If I click on the snowflake at the left of the line, or at the bottom of the screen, the same thing happens:  Freeze frame sensor data is displayed.  If I click on the magnifying glass on the right hand side, it shows a message saying "Malfunction is present"

Should I click on the erase button at the bottom?  Is there any precaution I should take before erasing the codes?  The on screen warning message reads as per my 2nd screenshot:

I did follow the process to erase the DTCs, but cancelled at the last step as I don't know the implications of proceeding.  I did take the recommended step to save data before erasing , (see 2nd screenshot) but I can't see how to read the stored data.  

29 minutes ago, m4rkw said:

Could these be stored codes? Eg the voltage one that you found odd. That could have been set by the computer before you changed the battery.

I thought that too, but all three definitely show as current, not stored.

46 minutes ago, Herbie said:

You need to drill down in Techstream to find the sub-codes. I think there may be a 'snowflake' icon on the line of the code number that you can click on, or use the 'List' button on the left maybe?

Yes, there was a snowflake to the left of two of the codes (no snowflake for C1235).  I'll check what can be found from the snowflakes, but I think it looked like sensor readings.  

Now that I have techstream working, I have discovered three faults reported in the ABS/VSC/TRC module.  They are:  

C0200 Front speed sensor RH circuit - Current
C1235 Foreign object is attached on tip of front speed sensor RH - Current
C1241 Low or High power supply voltage - Current

So, wondering if all three of these are related to the "Check VSC" and "Check AWD" messages?  C0200 and C1235 seem to be related to each other, and sound like they might be linked to my problems.  Can anybody tell me where the speed sensor is located, and a recommended course of action, please?  
 

C1241 seems strange - considering that I have just fitted a brand new 12v Battery.  

12 hours ago, Greisingel said:

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hybrid-technology/786686-rx400h-error-c1203-vsc-and-abs-lights-on-after-replacing-battery.html
 

See if any of this helps. The adaptor should be the mvci cable

I have different error codes......

Got it installed and working quite easily, so will now revert back to my other thread for discussion of the problem.  

Good news and bad to report:    

The new Battery has been fitted and that went well.   

Unfortunately the Vsc message hasn't gone.  In fact it's worse:It is no longer intermittent, but alwsys present, and now there's another message too.  Check AWD is also displayed.   The traction control light flashes constantly and it is difficult to reach speeds of even 30mph. 

I have a new obd adapter  which should hopefully work with techstream, and I'll try to obtain fault codes tomorrow.