Herbie

Just sent it to you by private message Tom. It's not a solution but will hopefully get you nearer to finding one.

Each photo has to definitely be below 5MB but may even be smaller. That's the problem with smartphone cameras getting better - they take bigger pictures/file sizes by default. Great for most things but for upload to forums you now need to run it through some photo-manipulation software like Adobe Photoshop 7.0 for instance, where you can reduce image size by 50% and then use the "Save for web" which then gets the file size down to a more manageable 1MB or so, without any loss of detail.

I'll almost guarantee that it's the 12V battery too low and sadly, an 8 mile run just isn't enough to charge it back up. Letting it get so low may even have damaged it or reduced its capacity and/or its ability to recover. If you worked for the AA then you'll know that a conventional car starter motor will draw 300A or more as it cranks the engine. Hybrids don't have a starter motor and the 12V battery only has to boot the computers to get the hybrid system running and into READY mode, a process that takes less than 20A, so if the battery can't even supply that.... During the first lockdown the advice on Toyota's website was to put the car in P(ark) (NB: don't put it in Neutral because the traction battery doesn't get charged) and into READY mode for 60 minutes per week. The petrol engine will start and stop as necessary to keep the 12V battery charged up. Don't leave the car unattended when doing this because READY mode is the hybrid equivalent of a conventional car with engine idling, so someone could drive it away. Simply sit in it reading the paper or whatever, but don't put the radio on or other electrical drains or you'll not get the full benefit of the exercise. EDIT: I get the impression it may be the first hybrid you've had because you talk of the battery not being able to "turn over the engine". If I'm wrong and I'm sort of 'teaching my granny to suck eggs' then I apologise and you can ignore the rest of this post. However, if I'm right, you may be interested to know that hybrids don't have starter motors or alternators, and anything that would normally be driven by a belt from the engine is driven electrically because the engine doesn't run all the time. Power steering, coolant circulation (to provide cabin heat), and the aircon compressor are all driven by electric motors. As mentioned earlier, the 12V battery boots the computers to get the car into READY mode, at which point you can drive off on battery power alone if you so wish. When the hybrid system wants the petrol engine to run, it energises MG1 (motor/generator 1) and uses it to spin the petrol engine up to 1000rpm before the ECU applies fuel and a spark to fire it. The 12V battery is kept charged up by the DC/DC converter that takes the high voltage and reduces it to about 14.5V.

Something I've just thought of - have any of you with the power back door problems tried using Techstream to run active tests or to see if it throws any light on things?

@alitech@Vadim@Nigel Haslam Just sent you what info I have by private message guys, hope it helps.

Unless there's a gas-tight divider in the middle, which I seriously doubt, then yes, one vent hole should be sufficient I would have thought.

Yep, I'd say there's definitely something missing there Patrick. The photo below shows mine. I think you'll now need to take off that trim to get access underneath it to see what's going on. It's absolutely lashing down here at the moment so I'll try to get a better photo when it stops raining.

I'm 90% sure that this'll be the gas struts but before spending any money, check the alignment of the tailgate and make sure the hinges and/or fixing brackets are tight. The tailgate needs to rise straight up, if anything is kocking it out of alignment that could be the problem.

All three of those are electrical so if none of them are working it would suggest an electrical problem, maybe a fuse? You need to do more diagnostic testing now. When you press any of the buttons can you hear a click as though power is getting to the lock/latch assembly but it's mechanically not releasing? If you can't hear any click then it may be that power isn't getting there so you need to test for 12V on the latch/lock/motor assembly connector. I mean no offence here Ali but are you sure there's a battery in the engine bay? I thought all these cars had the 12V battery under the boot floor and I've never heard of one that has one in the engine bay - even the workshop manuals I have don't show a battery at the front. I'm off to bed now but will check back tomorrow.

If you want to come to Preston I can highly recommend John Barton of Ribble View Garage. He's not a Toyota/Lexus specialist but is just a superb mechanic who really knows his onions. He's got a rating of 5 stars out of 5 by 27 reviewers on Google Reviews. The address is: 2A Rough Hey Rd, Grimsargh, Preston PR2 5AR Tel: 01772 798856

The button isn't actually in the glove box but sort of around the right-hand front edge. Open the glove box and it's on the right edge. As for the 12V battery, think of it as an ordinary car. It does the same in the hybrid as it would do in any conventional car, so if you open the door and the interior lights come on, they're being powered from the 12V battery. If you press the power button without pressing the brake pedal you'll put the car into accessory mode, where you can see if the radio is working, maybe the lights too. This is like turning the ignition on in a conventional car, but don't leave it like that too long as the battery is being drained, not charged. In order to check it properly though, you'll need a multimeter. Check the standing voltage at the battery terminals against the chart below and then check it again with the car in READY mode, when it should be around 14.5V if the DC/DC converter is charging it correctly. If you want to connect a charger, just lift the boot floor to access the battery and lift the big red cover with the '+' sign on it, then connect the charger's red lead to that terminal. Connect the charger's black lead to either the battery negative '-' terminal or to any unpainted, exposed, metal/bracket/screw/nut/bolt. This is what you'll see when you look under the boot floor (but without the extra red/black wires) and you'll connect the multimeter or charger red to red and black to black:

Not a bad suggestion Ken

It's not exactly the solution Patrick but it may help you get there. I've just sent it to you now.

Absolutely not. The only thing you need to use the main dealer for is anything that only they can do, ie, hybrid stuff. The rest of the car is just like any other car on the road - engine, brakes, radiator and cooling system etc., etc., can all be dealt with by a good garage (preferably recommended by others) anywhere. I'm not having a pop at you but I have to say that it really annoys me when people just dismiss out of hand, anywhere other than the main dealers. 'Motor mechanic' is a recognised trade and people have to serve an apprenticeship and qualify to do the job. They put a lot of time, effort and money into learning their skills and they build up a reputation, only to be snubbed and ignored by some people who mistakenly think that only the main dealers will do a good job. Plus, there's no point in spending over the odds (which you would be) just to get a Lexus stamp in the book. Other garages can legitimately stamp the book too.

No worries Antony, I know which one you meant. Of course, it is as you say, knowing your limits. I'm of an age where apprentices had to pass City & Guilds instead of these new-fangled NVQs and the apprenticeships were four years long. To take your example of plastering, a very good mate of mine is a City & Guilds qualified plasterer and his skills are amazing. Would I ever be as good as him? Of course not - but watching YouTube videos gave me enough confidence to attempt plastering a whole wall when he'd broken his leg and couldn't do the job for me. No doubt Dave could find a zillion faults with it but I made a passable attempt at it and was well chuffed with the result. It was only a very small wall in a downstairs toilet with nothing complicated, and I would never, ever, attempt to plaster a ceiling - getting plaster to defy gravity like that is more akin to the Black Arts! But it was still something that I'd never done before and only because YouTube exists did I attempt it.

Hi George, See my reply to your other post and I've also sent you some info by private message that may be of use to you.

Do you mean that you can't lower the back seat and lean over to release the tailgate by using the manual lever like below? If that doesn't work then as Barry said above, ring Lexus and ask them how to do it. There are a few tailgate lock/latch/motor assemblies on eBay from Lithuania, this one being just under fifty quid including postage. This one at £102 including delivery This one at just under £90 including delivery Some people on here and also in our 'sister' group on Facebook have had parts from Lithuania and have all been happy with what they got, so I wouldn't worry about being ripped off or anything like that.

You beat me to it Mike. Plenty places do repairs to car audio equipment. If there's one near you, Rayanns, great, but most places will pick up/deliver via courier. This is just one of them http://revivecaraudio.co.uk/lexus/

I suppose it depends on if you have any inclination to learn what to do. If not, then that's fair enough, but since the advent of YouTube the phrase "I don't know how to do that" doesn't really stand up any more if you're at least willing to have a go. I repair computers for a living and a desktop tower is basically a desktop tower. However, laptops and notebooks are all different with screws in different places; some even have hidden screws and/or a certain sequence to dismantle them. If I'm faced with something I've never seen before and it's proving difficult, I head straight to YouTube where you can almost guarantee that someone has done it before and posted a video on how to get into the thing, so it's as simple as watching (pausing the video if necessary) and then copying. There are plenty of videos showing how to change a car battery, the one below being just one of them. The battery may be in a different location on different cars but the principles of changing a battery is the same for all cars. I know, Ed, that you'll still stick to the dealer and that's fair enough. But if the video below gives even just one person the impetus to try it, the feeling of achievement when you've successfully completed something you've never done before - and even saved a few quid too - is great.

Because they are Lexus. A lot of people on these forums think that their car is going to spontaneously combust if anything other than "genuine" Lexus parts come within a hundred metres of it, or if anyone other than a Lexus Technician who completed his apprenticeship in the 'Land of Lexus' and completed his training by drinking the tears of a purple dragon at midnight on the Winter Solstice, dares to go near it. While people are happy to pay over the odds, prices will always remain high.

You can easily fit it yourself, it's just the same as replacing the battery on any other car you've ever had, although the sunroof (if you have one) and windows will probably need resetting.

A dashcam is a dashcam - there's nothing it has to be compatable with. All it needs is a 12V supply and that's it. You can install it in any car from an Abadal to a Zotye. There is nothing Lexus-specific about it or any other dashcam on the market.

Let us know how you get on with it Ben because a few people have had them fitted (although admittedly not necessarily this particular type and maybe not even an RX) and found that they vibrate and make a lot of noise - so much so that one person had it taken off again.

Anyone who doesn't hide the wiring is just a cowboy and doing a bodge of a job but you don't need to go to a main dealer to get hidden wiring - the only bit of mine you see is about 1 to 1.5 inches as it pokes out of the headlining to connect to the camera. The cable route was very easy - along the headlining, down the inside of the 'A pillar', behind the glove box and into the fuse box there. All run and terminated using a piggyback 'Add A Fuse' and the 'A Pillar' trim back on within 20 minutes. Even if you didn't want to DIY like I did, a good auto electrician or car audio installer would charge about £30. Viofo A119S camera cost me about £90 a couple of years ago and came with a hard-wire kit. A microSDHC card cost about an extra £20. So, for about £150 you could have a superb camera (with warranty), professionally installed by a good auto electrician (who would undoubtedly warranty his installation), all of which makes me think that the prices Lexus charge are indeed extortionate. Not only that, the £192 I've saved can buy me return flights from Manchester or Liverpool to Gdansk or Warsaw in Poland for a long weekend break and pay for almost all food and drink while there I'd rather enjoy my money myself than paying over the odds when I don't need to

Absolutely no problem whatsoever in doing that, you'll be fine.