Sundance

At last the weather has provided the chance to get it properly cleaned. Can you spot the odd feature ... ? It took me a while.

Yep, I'm in need too, ordered mine today 🤞.

Glad you found one you liked John. Looking forward to hearing more about it. I don't suppose you got it from Elite as you'd be back to them with it pronto ... private sale was it? Can't help with the power door I'm afraid, mine doesn't have one ... it's more basic than that (an SR) 😂 .

With respect John, it's difficult to image too many dealers risking much more than the basic equivalent to the Consumer Rights Act obligation on a 14+ year old car. So any claim would be severely restricted to covering an inherent problem and then only on the condition that the part was considered still within it's natural life expectancy, always assuming the said part was covered at all! Lots of areas of uncertainty and plenty of scope for the vendor to surmount accountability. As for so-called Warranties, sadly too many are barely worth the paper upon which they are written, especially those for older vehicles.

Your 400h didn't have a sun roof by any chance did it? Known leakage issues, so I'm told, which is why I made sure my recent purchase doesn't have one!

Mine has a relatively new cabin filter (just 2k miles ago/Jul '22) and I've checked and it is clean. Have also lifted and felt under the mats and nothing appears untoward, including the boot space(s). It's a bit of a puzzle but as a precaution I bought a car de-humidifer (basically a bag of rice!) and sat it on the top of the dash last night. After another night of -2deg the inside of the windscreen was clear of both mist and condensation! 👍 Maybe not a long-term answer but certainly drip-preventing. Investigations continue.

I hope you're right David but I can't help but think there's more to it than that. In all the years with all my cars and all the winter freezes I don't recall experiencing such moisture literally dripping onto the top of the dash. Besides which in this day and age, with modern cars and technology, it shouldn't be happening. Investigations continue.

I appreciate your point David and thanks for the heads-up although it's sadly a month too late for me as I'm now suited. 😉 As an aside I just think that any dealer's 'warranty' on a 14 year old car would be very restricted and probably not too much of a burden on their cashflow.

And I'm sure that you'll be interested to see the margin that the dealer will be seeking on the sale too eh? 😉

Good shout ... but mine is down as having been changed 6 months/2k miles ago.

This is a new one on me too, having only had the car a month. It's not just a mist on the inside of the windscreen it's significant condensation. Someone suggested it might be to do with the aircon in need of re-gassing but while I can see the air-flow connection I'm not sure why would it cause condensation 🤔.

This wise sentence could well be the cherry on what will be a 'making-my-mind-up' cake, thanks. 😉

Thanks for all the chat everyone, some good posts, I think I'm veering towards All-Season boots with the added bonus that they will look more 'rugged' on the car as Malcolm has suggested and might even be more practical. That just leaves the question of durability. What mileage should I expect out of them on my 400h using them all year round in the UK? Anyone have any experience of this compared with 'ordinary' Summer tyres? 🤔

Now there's affluence for you, 2 sets of wheels & tyres, not sure I'd go that far. But hey, horses for courses, although like others have commented I really don't think it either practical or economical to have 2x sets of tyres in the UK unless you're in the Highlands of Scotland or maybe the Outer Hebrides. I certainly couldn't justify the cost not to mention the seasonal storage and changeover hassles.

Good shout Herbs, I agree on your Goodyear choice and they are indeed available in 18s, more expensive but maybe worth it in the long run if I take the All-Season route. And I agree about the lack of need for Winter tyres in the UK so I could opt for the Goodyear Asymmetric 'Summer' tyre, they're about the same price as the Bridgestone All-Season. Back to my main predicament, albeit not immediate. Is there a logical argument for All-Season tyres in Southern UK? For example, do they wear noticeable quicker than 'ordinary' tyres given the very occasional advantage that they might offer? In a former life when I was traveling daily throughout the South of England in my trusty 2.0L Peugeot diesel I was getting easily 25k miles and sometimes even 30k + miles out of a set of Goodyears, superb tyre. But now I'm in the 3-4k miles max per annum in a completely different vehicle, so how long might any tyres last on my 400h? If there's unlikely to be much difference between the All-Season and the Summer tyre and I could get 2-3 years out of them then I might as well opt for the former and cover all eventualities ... I'm guessing that might be sensible. 🤔

It will certainly answer one question Stephen but, as explained, there are others on my mind.

If only our weather in the UK could be so simply defined John. Given that our Summers can often be Winter and visa-versa I'm investigating a premise that there may be an argument over here for All-Season tyres. Not so of course in Europe where not only is the weather more delineated but there are clear laws relating to what tyres and when.

I've discovered something interesting about my recently purchased RX400h in that it has three Summer tyres (Avon ZX7) and one All-Season tyre (Avon AS7) fitted. I've not yet investigated what lies under as the fifth tyre. Historically, with previous cars, I've not been keen on Avons as I think they're of softer rubber whereas I've looked more favourably on Goodyears as I believe them to be of harder rubber and consequently last longer. But now I'm faced with a predicament. Firstly, all 4x tyres have good tread so actually there is no reason why I should change them immediately. Secondly, whilst I don't think it's illegal to have an All-Season and a Summer tyre on the same axle I'm not entirely sure whether it's actually sensible although to date I've not noticed any problems. Thirdly, I'm likely to remain a softy Southerner and down here we rarely have any snow so, as and when I do decide to change, is it really necessary to even consider All-Season tyres? If I do, my initial research has uncovered the Bridgestone "Weather Control A005 EVO" as a favourite all-rounder circa £147 per corner (Blackcircles).

I might be mistaken but I don't think mine was an aftermarket spoiler so clearly Lexus used to provide. Might be worth a bit more investigation amongst the extended Lexus (or even Toyota) family ...

Sorry to prattle on, but just one other thing John ... I notice "Rx400h 2007" in your profile so presumably that's around the age you're looking. ❓ You will note that my recent purchase is also 2007, so for an idea of cost might I suggest that you'll probably need to start around £6.5-£7.5k for a low 'ish mileage (by that I mean sub-100k miles) but you might hap upon a well cared-for higher mileage for slightly less. And, of course, dealer prices are going to be higher and less negotiable than private sales. Anything less than £6k and there's probably a very good reason behind it's cheapness. Hope this helps. 😉

Hello again John. Certainly walk away from that one in Hemel Hempstead ... and might I suggest that your other thread "New Owner" in the RX 400h section is probably the one to continue rather than starting afresh in the New Members Area section. But maybe I'm too late so I'll continue. My post on your "New Owner" thread, alongside posts from many others who kindly contributed very worthwhile comment, endeavoured to point out the important criteria that I used in my very recent purchase just last month. Now of course I'm no expert, but before I even viewed anything I consider it an absolute must to first check the car's MOT record for any evidence of maltreatment or excessive wear & tear. Also, David's quite right, if you could let us know your budget we might be able to be of more assistance and offer ideas about mileage and condition plus further dos and don'ts. If you feel that will be of help to you that is. And how did you get on with Elite Motors in the Croydon area? You did mention that you would try them and to me they look like one of the better dealers for you to at least make a start with your comparisons in order to get a good idea of what's out there and at what price.

Yes Vlad, the Intelligent Sports was driven away under new ownership today and I was quite sad ... BUT, upwards and onwards, the Radiant Crossover is my baby now and it is steadily gaining my innermost affections. ☺️

The 400h I recently purchased has receipts with it and one of them is for a timing belt and water pump change but it's dated March 2018. Back then the belt was £160 and the pump was £78 with labour cost of £195 so if you can apply inflation to that total of £433, plus the dreaded VAT, then I hope it might be of help. Origin information room Japex in Kings Langley (Herts). 😉

Solid responses, thanks guys. Now how about pedal adjustment?

Hmm, yes, I've heard that term when expressing many aspects of daily life so to apply it to braking is, I guess, equally understandable and sensible. 🙃 Otherwise OK, I can see a pattern developing here which is helpful and I shall likely follow ... but does anyone know the actual strength of the 'preventer' (for want of a better word) that engages the locking mechanism when shifting to 'P'? And then there's the pedal adjustment ... is it simply done? Presumably on the rear brake assembly somewhere?