Barry14UK

It would be interesting to learn the reason for this. Maybe it is because free flowing batteries are better built and more resilient to spillage/vibration now but if this is the reason you would have thought that this should apply across the Lexus range. Another possibility is that there are more sizes of these available than AGM type and available space is more effectively used in terms of Ah, something many people have complained about even before the reduced use during the pandemic when flat batteries at airports were found by returning travellers for example. What do you think is the reason behind the difference?

A number of owners have posted on the forum that they have fitted an alternative 12v battery to their car, mainly due to price and availability and wider choice enabling easy fit, just replaceing with a free flow lead acid one, which is the type previously used when the RX had it's battery located beneath the bonnet. When Lexus relocated the 12v battery to the rear of the car, the occupants lost the protection afforded by the bulkhead in the event of an accident where acid could reach them. The Panasonic AGM type battery reduced this risk as the acid is absorbed in the glass mat and was the most likely reason for Lexus changing to an AGM battery. I decided I wanted to replace my battery with an AGM type and one that would be cheaper and have greater capacity than the Panasonic one. My car fitted with the Halfords Yuasa AGM one was serviced a few days ago including the 'Health Check' for the traction battery without comment by a Lexus main dealer. Generally, I am a keen advocate of fitting only Lexus approved parts but I don't think it makes any difference which 12v battery is fitted from an operational aspect.

Yes with age comes discernment and the realization that comfort is an increasingly important factor when choosing a car. Then the roads in the UK these days are overcrowded and governed by speed limits where when you are not head to tail and there is a reasonably unobstructed stretch you could risk a speeding fine or worse. I was lucky in that I started with some pretty quick motor cycles, bend swinging and occasionally exceeding 100mph which was legal on unrestricted roads in those days. Years later my ownership of an Italian sports car made me realize that the opportunity for using it's potential was becoming very infrequent in the UK, although If you were driving abroad there were and probably still are places where you could enjoy yourself. Of course, you can corner faster in a saloon than in a top heavy SUV but I have found very few occasions where having a saloon would enable me to go significantly quicker or more enjoyably than in my RX nowadays, with present road conditions and constraints. The real downside is the RX will be more thirsty.

If you read read this link you will see you can buy a 'battery saver' which is used by a number of garages and this enables settings to be retained. However, when it came to it, I thought it safer to use the method detailed by Herbs and changed the battery without losing any settings. (I helped that I had a spare 12 volt battery). Incidentally, the 12v AGM battery I bought from Halfords with 5 year warranty made by Yuasa using my Gold card circa £103 and providing 60 Ah rather than the 51Ah of the Lexus Panasonic, is holding up well. I did spend about another £30 adapting for my RX although this could have been done another way for less.

A thought. Are the increased prices for used cars going to cause a hike in the price of new all electric cars that are about to come on stream even though they are already/expected to be much more expensive than other forms which include ICE? By no means have all people done badly during the pandemic, so some prepared to splash some cash on a new or newer car further adding to demand.

Maybe your true speed was less than the 40mph. Speedos invariably read fast. Even the read out on some satnavs can vary according to whether car is on level section of road.

I don't think the fit is so precise as to make the use of superglue suitable and a small amount of 'take up' means that a very good quality double sided tape is probably the best answer. I have used a 3m double sided tape for other purposes and can confirm it has great holding power. You need to get the correct grade. I have used it to secure number plates too and where these were contoured rather than flat, have put a second layer on top of the first to take up some of the bend. They can be difficult to remove if required though tending to destroy the backing of the plates if the bond has been in place for quite a time.

Same advise given by a Police Instructor I once knew.

Wouldn't it be boring if everybody specified the same colour? The best colour must be the one an individual likes most, for whatever reason, regardless of what other's may think.

Certainly worth trying. I live near the coast and there are a lot of seagulls and to a lesser extent other birds who leave their mark on my car. My garage is too small to accommodate an RX and my work bench. In the circumstances I am investigating the possibility of erecting a 'lean to' to alleviate this problem. In some situations this might also help with falling leaves, seeds and sap.

Strange that reportedly filter has been changed 'a few times', but the oil 'once'! It seems to me that the owner didn't take maintenance seriously and you have to wonder whether for example brake fluid was replaced because being hydroscopic the absorbed water may have affected the braking system. and so on. Also, we don't know what other parts have been replaced which if needed might involve a lot of cash. You could buy this very cheaply and then have to spend a lot on it on an ongoing basis. Depending on your mileage and acceptance of this and that it may be less reliable in your ownership, you could take a punt on it if very cheap. Personally, I would rather pay a bit more and get one that has been well maintained, not just polished for better peace of mind. Some years ago I was offered a quite presentable run of the mill car for free, (No it wasn't a Lexus) However, having carefully looked at it, I calculated that to put it in good condition would cost more than the car would be worth on the market, so rejected it. Of course there a few cars where you could spend a lot of time and money but could recover this because it is a rapidly appreciating classic but nice though the Lexus model you are looking could be made to be be, it's very doubtful if you would get back any major expenditure you might have to spend on it.

Thank you Colin. As my pads have not quite reached the point where wear clips are rubbing, it means I can reuse them if these are not included with new pads.

On my previous German cars there was a wear indicator that you pressed into a recess in the pad(s) and when the pads wore down sufficiently contact was made bringing up a warning light on the dash. Sometimes if the contact was only slightly worn it was not necessary to replace it but at other times it needed replacing if the contact was well worn. I expected to find a similar arrangement on my RX450h but I can neither find a reference in the hand book for this or a metal wear clip which rubs on the discs when the pads are worn producing a screeching sound. I seem to remember my old 2.5 litre v6 Camry had the latter. So my question for anybody who has changed their pads or who is otherwise aware, is whether the pads in a RX450h have sensor contact or a screecher clip that needs to be transferred to the new pads or replaced with new if worn If the latter, does this come with or is pre attached to the pads? I like to have all that are needed to hand before doing the job, hence my question about wear indicators which I would have thought would be by one of the two mentioned methods.

I suspect that some people who could use E10 95 Octane fuel will switch to 99 Octane, like me. Obviously this will be more expensive, although some of this will be offset by the difference in energy and also better additives in the 99 grade fuel. If the Government find too many switch I think they will add more tax to dissuade drivers from doing so.

Thank you for reporting source of problem - peace of mind!

This may be of academic interest if you just buy discs and pads direct from Lexus but I thought I would look into this a little further in view of some aspersions that some of the after market products were fake or of inferior quality, sometimes being produced as a lower quality version by a well know name especially for a major retailer. I chanced on what was to me, an interesting thread on a Mercedes Benz forum wherein a specialist in the industry gave his opinion on the way this had changed and how take overs and consolidations and rebranding meant some of the well known names could not be so well relied on. I read all seven pages as it is rare to get information from somebody within the industry (purportedly and most probably the case). I must say much of what was said was news to me, even the recommendation not to use copper ease, something I have used for decades. Anyway, here is the thread and the user name now is 'Deleted member 159235' (seems he upset an existing member). He first posts on 16th Dec 2020, Doesn't seem to have worked I will see if I can input the link manually. https:forums.mbclub.co.uk/threads/eurobrake-brake-pads.235389/

I asked Lexus Cheltenham if I could defer fitting new plugs, this being part of the 6 year service. They were not prepared to do this and still give the Relax guarantee even though my car had only done circa 43K and in reality on my small annual mileage these days, the existing plugs would have gone for at least one or more further services before needing replacements.

Well that's interesting cos although mine does that now, it needed dealer to programme. Maybe it's because earlier cars were programmed to operate this way from the start and it was just that not everybody was aware how to work it, though it's quite common on cars. My BMW operates sun roof and all windows in the same way from the remote key/fob.

Great result because when this happens and with a full load you feel a bit desperate. During the power cuts or railway strike or whatever it was, (it was over 30 years ago now), I drove the 12 or so miles to my office in London in my Fiat 130 coupe. Didn't have time to fix the alternator which had packed up just beforehand so took an additional fully charged battery with me and battery charger. Charged both batteries during the day and was able to get there and back OK. Thereafter, I used to carry a spare alternator, starter motor (as also had prior problem with this), and, petrol pump from another 130 I broke for spares in the very large boot. Inevitably these were never required!

Isn't that what he has already? I read it's the passenger side gas discharge one he needs!

When it comes to cars and car parts, audio and photographical stuff, similar or identical here can be had cheaper in the USA. I brought a camera back a few years ago at considerable saving. Also, how is it that we can import some parts for our cars from the USA at a saving. Appreciate economies of scale could account for some of difference but not when goods shipped again to UK from USA.

Is there a Lexus dealer within reasonably distance you could look to for help?

In order to get the Lexus warranty Lexus insisted doing the full 6 year service even though my car has only done circa 43k miles, and including spark plugs, although the existing ones could have gone for at least until the next 10k service with the low annual mileage I now do.

Looks like you opted for the Brembo option ECP offer then Peter. I see they are also offering Pagid discs at £10 more. I know Pagid are used as OE on some cars and I have used their pads on cars in the past. However, there have been assertions made that the Pagid ones ECP sell are an inferior in house version produced by Pagid for them. So how well their brake parts compare with what Lexus use is a matter of conjecture. The only certain way to get the best proven type is to go to Lexus. There was a time when getting the disks skimmed on the car if they were still comfortably within minimum spec was a reasonable interim approach. But I have found the difference between doing this now and replacing with genuine ones is so small it means the latter is the more sensible option. PS. It has also been contended that truing discs by turning tends to prematurely wear pads due to the spiraling effect of the process. It is preferable for them to be ground finished (as happens with cylinder bores).

I have watched and can recommend the tests on various things this guy does. This is his second one on releasing fluids which shows how results can differ. You will note that the acetone one is mentioned early on as finishing a close second to the batch he tested in a previous video.