Delphius1

If the car is in the sun, then one of the solar chargers that plugs into the OBD port would keep the battery topped up. I used one to keep my RX300 topped up when it wasn't being used for a couple of weeks.

I did it successfully on my RX, but on the video above at 4:30 when he takes the key out of the ignition, my RX took a few seconds to register. It took about 15 seconds for the locks to cycle after taking the key out of the ignition. I was jumping the gun and pressing buttons on the key before the locks cycled, hence messing things up. About the seventh time of trying, I realised the locks weren't cycling, so a waited and eventually after 15 seconds they cycled and then I pressed the lock/unlock buttons together for a couple of seconds on the key and then straight after releasing those, pressed a different button. That then seemed to work.

It's a <drum roll please> Vauxhall Astra 1.6 (Petrol-very important at the moment thanks to the lack of Diesel) Elite. Hang on, please bear with me, I've not gone mad! With the Elite spec I still get the leather and some of the toys of the Rx300, but in a smaller, more economical package. I've been pleasantly surprised by the Astra, as I wasn't expecting it to be as good as it is. The seats are very comfy, almost Volvo-esque. Electrically adjustable lumbar support including height adjustment is a bonus. The rear seats have a folding armrest in the centre with cubby and two cupholders just like the RX. It's almost as if they nicked the idea off Lexus. No reversing camera and no electric tailgate, but it's small and short, so not essential. On the positive side it's got electric folding mirrors, auto dimming rear view mirror and auto lights and wipers. Interior quality is good. Not Lexus quality, but very good for a mass-produced hatch. The Astra J interior is a lot better than the previous Astra H with the sticky control knobs. The interior even has mood lighting at night, you get the red LED shining onto the centre console from the roof console a-la Lexus, the gear shift has a red lit surround and the door handles are bathed in red at night too. Not too shabby! The big loss is only a single cupholder at the front! The cheaper spec models have two up front, but the Elite spec gets a leather armrest and loses a cupholder. The horror! 30-ish mpg round town and 40-ish mpg on the motorway. Better than the RX, but not as frugal as a Mazda Skyactive engine of a similar size. I'm sure a decent service will allow it to do better.

From what I've heard from friends, the customer service isn't there either. It's a lot like Apple: Don't complain after they've deigned to supply you with one of their products. lol.

Lol. Thanks. But most online sites are unsurprisingly offering less than the local scrappie, especially if I drive the car there. I've been told the car is actually worth £500 for scrap weight and then the cats provide the cherry on top for the recyclers.

In the medium term, energy prices will remain high. That's because our government is like a number of other Western Governments wedded to "Net Zero" as a policy for the near future. They are as zealous in their push to wean us of fossil fuels as they were to stop people smoking. If they haven't reduced fuel duty by now in a bit to soften the blow, I don't think they are going to any time soon. I'm just glad unlike the poor Scots in the North, our Government hasn't started messing about with alcohol prices too much. I mean how would our teenagers cope without a ready supply of cheap cider? 😄

Nah, it won't be new enough to be Chinese-made. Although looking at the owner's forum, it won't be a diesel. Not sure I like the sound of having to use diagnostic equipment to top up the DPF fluid. I may go for extreme fuel efficiency and go for a small hatchback. Not sure how I'll fit my 6ft long oars in there though. My first purchase may be roof bars. lol.

Thanks guys. It's a 2004 RX and I've had the car for 4 years mileage is just over 170,000, 50k of which is mine. Considering it cost me two grand when I bought it and had it stayed together it would be worth over three now, it's sad it's let me down. Shame really as I'd changed all the fluids when I bought the car, but I think it had a life with limited mileage, then I come along and start piling on the miles, it didn't like it. Everything was fine until the end of last year when I went up and down the country a few times. Those last few thousand miles were the tipping point. The last journey back, the water pump let go in spectacular fashion around Birmingham. So I got the coolant system including new rad sorted along with the timing belt and water pump when I got back. But by then the rear diff had started leaking. Got that sorted and now the front diff or transfer box has started to drone. Then last week's MOT stating the rear subframe was on it's final warning... You know when a car has done enough miles... lol. I've been offered £500 scrap value for the car, so that takes the sting off a bit and equates to less than £400 a year to own it. But now it's on to looking for something a bit more economical. The Missus wants leather and heated seats, so the best bet for economy, quality and comfort requirements looks like a Volvo V40/V50.

Well, it looks like my ownership of my Rx300 is coming to an end. The leaking rear diff was just a prelude to more expense. There is now a significant droning noise from a bearing somewhere in either the transfer box or the front differential. Unfortunately my mechanic couldn't pinpoint where the noise is coming from. Even running it up on a ramp suggests the noise is from somewhere up front. That and my MOT tester telling me that the rear subframe is now a year or so away from a fail, it's sadly time to part with the beast. It's been one of the best car's I've ever owned, probably the best. But considering the current fuel prices, the problems indicate it's probably time to look for something more economical. Can I just say thanks to all the people that have helped here on the forum with advice and information. Special mention to Herbie for his wisdom and library of documents. Thanks for everything.

Well, glad to say that the differential side seals fitted, so for anyone wanting cheap rear diff seals, the Corteco 82035132 seals work fine. Sadly fixing the rear diff has exposed noises coming from the front. Hopefully the transfer box and not the transmission. So the transfer box saga begins. So far all I can see are used boxes on ebay in Latvia. Is that where old RXs go to die? Although I am a bit miffed the transmission has started to show wear at less than 200,000 miles. 😄 Still not dear enough to scrap they car yet. It was worth a grand more than I paid for it thanks to the Scotty Kilmer effect and I'll still almost get my money back as I've seen spares cars go for nearly two grand. So far it's cost me just over £300 to sort the diff and the cooling system. By the time I'm finished it'll be ready to do another 200K with a new-ish transmission. lol.

I refer to my comment above "Unless there is a known problem with the timing chain..." So far there's nothing to suggest that a Lexus timing chain will fail prematurely. Toyota/Lexus timing chain engines seem to be engineered well enough that the chain lasts the life of the engine. There are no reports of premature failure on any of their timing chain engines. Toyota seem to get their engineering right, which is why most people are owners and are on this forum! Belts are different because they are rubber items and have a mileage and age based lifespan. Usually 100,000 miles or 6 years, whichever comes first. 100,000 miles because that's the maximum mileage that Lexus recommend from a wear point of view and 6 years because that's how long the rubber can last before it starts to break down chemically. The same reason why tyres are date coded and have a lifespan of around 5 years.

Have you fitted LED bulbs anywhere on the car? Some of the cheaper aftermarket LED bulbs can cause radio interference and kill your FM reception.

Timing chains are regarded as non-serviceable items. There's nothing I can see that would indicate that would make it necessary to change a timing chain on a Lexus unless it's making a noise and you know something is wrong with it. If there's a known fault with the timing chain like there are with some BMW and Land Rover/Jaguar engines, then yes, it's prudent to change the chain and tensioner before they become an issue. On a Lexus the timing chain can theoretically run for the life of the car and engine without needing replacement. Just make sure you change the engine oil and filter at the recommended intervals.

Well, the nearly four years of reliability I've had with my 2004 had to end eventually. I had leaky seals on the rear diff and although it never really seemed to lose any oil) I kept checking it) the bearings started making a noise. Bearing noise in a Lexus? Unacceptable. 😉 And on the way back from Manchester earlier this month it started to lose coolant. Looks like a leaky water pump (coolant dripping from near the crank pulley) and the radiator looks like is sweating coolant but not actually leaking yet. It's strange it never overheated on the gauge, the first thing I knew was the heater going cold. As an aside, why is it motorway service stations don't sell coolant any more? At a motorway service station with an M&S food hall and the usual food outlets I can also get the weekly shop in the petrol station kiosk, but they're a bit thin on actual car stuff. Madness. Thankfully it should be relatively cheap to sort it. £100 for a used diff, £85 for a rad but the cam belt & water pump kit was £210. I suppose it's still not bad for 4 years and 40,000 miles of motoring with 170,000 miles on the clock because all I've done before is oil and filter changes and pads and discs all round. So I really can't complain I suppose. Fingers crossed that's it for now, but I suspect once the water pump and the rad are renewed, the heater matrix won't be far behind, because experience tells me that's how things work: sort out one part of the coolant system, the older weaker bits will fail. And the heater matrix is a major job that I'm not looking forward to.

Well, here's an update. Not sure why, because the diff hasn't lost any oil, but it's started with noisy bearings. So I've had to shell out for a replacement diff. Not too bad, £110 shipped. I've put the new side seals on the replacement diff. It's now waiting for me to get time to do the swap. The aftermarket side seals are Corteco 82035132 Obviously wait for me to fit the things and report back a full successful transplant with oil tight seals before you go ahead and buy some. But they fit onto the diff fine. 😉 A socket of the correct (huge) size is required to tap or push the seal into place.