Herbie

To be honest, you're not going to fix this by just looking around and poking about. It needs some logical, methodical, diagnostic work and for that, you'll need (at the very least) a multimeter or 12V test lamp, and most importantly, the knowledge to use them and understand what they're telling you. I think it may be best to take it to an auto electrician (not a mechanic) and get them to sort it.

There are a few things out there but most of them have problems, some worse than others. Initially I bought a Carlinkit 2.0 Interface from AliExpress and paid just under £200 for it. It turned out to be a complete nightmare and I eventually gave up and took it out. I know a couple of people who've had success with https://www.lsailt.com/product/android-interface but I decided on a Grom Vline 2 It's expensive but it's worth it. It's not 100% stable and it does have one or two little foibles, but it's so close and I have every confidence that it'll get there. Two really good things about it are (a) the fact that both the UK distributor and the development team in the USA really do want it to work for you so the support is both really good and also in English, so no language barrier to overcome; and (b) it's expensive but it's so much more than just a 'mirroring' device. It's a full-blown, stand-alone, Android tablet that does everything that any Android tablet does. You don't need to use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay if you don't want to. They actually restrict what you can download and what you can do. Instead, you just download any app from the Google Play Store directly to the Vline and run it directly from there. Have a look at this (admittedly poor attempt) little write-up and demo I did a while back:

I'm not sure just exactly what is happening but I think you're becoming bogged down in the "which fuse" thing. Fuses are rated for the current they will carry all day long. So a 7.5A fuse will carry 7.5A all day long and never break into a sweat. It would take about 10A or even more to make it blow. The power requirements for the Nextbase 622GW are 5V @ 1.5A. I don't know what the requirements are for your satnav but I'd be very surprised if it took the fuse to breaking point. I hate to say it but I think you have a fault somewhere rather than just using the wrong fuse.

Undoubtedly yes. As has been said above, it discharges the battery if it's in Neutral and also it's very bad for the paint. Surely you should be able to find a hand wash in your area? If so, that's the one to go for.

First page of this RX forum - there's a sticky post of the different variants and the equipment they have.

I have a TomTom GO Live 1005 but I've not used it for years. Google Maps and/or Waze are just SO good in every way, they beat everything else hands down. I had to go over to Manchester a few days ago so I got in the car, fired up Waze, clicked on the microphone icon and just spoke the postcode. I didn't even say, "Navigate to..." or anything else, just said, "M33 4AA" and Waze immediately answered with, "Right. M33 4AA. Let's go". And that was it - I was being directed within seconds. You really should persevere but maybe try Waze instead of Google Maps?

First thing I would have done would be to pull over and reboot both phone and car. It could have just been a transitory thing that a reboot would sort out. If not, I'd be more likely to blame the phone rather than Google Maps. It's well known and publicly admitted by Apple that they intentionally cripple their devices when they reach a certain age, in order to get you to buy a new one. A third possibility and perhaps the most likely scenario is that I'm sure I remember reading something a few months ago about a problem between iPhones and Google Maps, but I can't remember any details. If I find the article I'll post it. In the meantime, give Waze a try - it's brilliant.

2015 was the change from Gen 3 to Gen 4 cars. Having had a 3RX (2013 Advance) and now a 4RX (2018 Luxury) I would say that if your budget allows, go for a Gen 4. I have to say that I haven't really felt much difference mechanically or in daily driving but the 4RX is a much nicer and much more refined interior space, plus you get a 12.3" screen that's much easier to see. The only downside I've found is that my 4RX has 20" wheels and the tyre choice in that size is very limited. My favourite tyres have been Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen 2 or Michelin Cross Climates, neither of which are available for the 20" 4RX.

Hmm... I don't think there is a flex plate in the CVT gearbox so I'd maybe give that "Lexus specialist" a wide berth. Could be loose or degraded engine mounts maybe?

It seems that Chrome and Bitdefender are complaining about the web address above. All it is, is that the certificate has run out and the domain host hasn't renewed it, but I can vouch for the guy at LPGC and I trust him implicitly. Try Firefox, which still complains about the out of date certificate but lets you carry on to http://lpgc.co.uk/

Wow, I can't believe you asked that When we asked for photos of your car you flatly refused and would not change your mind for love nor money.

It is possible. One of the forum members on here has done it - or it may have been one from the American forums, I can't remember. It's possible to find the components needed via breakers yards, but the end result isn't perfect unless you also replace the windscreen with the special HUD version. If you don't replace the windscreen the readout looks blurred, like you've got double-vision, which is due to the reflection/refraction of the light. The photo below is from an American forum where the windscreen from a HUD car had been replaced with a standard one rather than a HUD-compatible one.

Wow, that's expensive. Someone on here got something like this one for a tenner and swapped out the electronics if I remember correctly, and it worked great.

I wouldn't let Halfords fit a teabag in a cup, let alone have them do anything on my pride and joy. Absolutely nothing whatsoever in the context of fitting a dashcam. Probably that they have no internal training course specific to hybrids so they think it's witchcraft.

That is appalling behaviour from someone who should know much better.

I think it's something added by the previous owner as mine didn't have one of these, whatever it is.

Certainly never had any problems with mine. Even though the rationale behind that list is a good one, it doesn't really mean much because it doesn't say how many cars have been affected. It could be 5,000 in which case it's a real problem or it could be 2, in which case it isn't.

Usually a toroidal tank is usually fitted in the spare wheel well. It means you lose your spare but it's no great loss given that a lot of cars don't even have a spare these days. We had about 17 years of driving on LPG and always carried a can of Holts Tyreweld in case of small punctures and call out the breakdown service for bigger ones.

Excellent find Peter, well done!

Post up a picture or two of the installation Matthew. It's always good to hear of a good installer and see their work. Glad it went all alright for you.

It's got to be your timings. All the information is in the thread and is correct, so it can only be that you're not getting the timings correct (they are critical) or maybe you have a fault somewhere.

Probably better taking it to a proper auto electrician rather than a mechanic - mechanics for mechanical things, sparks for sparky things.

I doubt it's a "common" problem but unfortunately, once the magic smoke has been released, it usually means a lot of expense. I'd say the reason why you can't see any evidence of short circuits/contacts is because the damage is within the stereo/radio/head unit. You need to take that out and take the case off to look for blown and damaged parts on the circuit board(s) and/or soot.

Probably none, but I know it's still out there, taxed, MOT'd and insured, so....

Yes, it is safe. OBD2 is an industry standard, not something specific to Lexus, so there should be no problem at all.