Bluemarlin

Here's a video on RX leaks that might help. There's also a part 2.

Aircon drainage blocked?

What about some kind of wheel clamp?

Prevous year was £560 with Direct Line. Was quoted around £900 for renewal, but on saying I'd cancel it was reduced to £660. That's for their comprehensive plus cover, which provides fully comp in Europe.

I would apply the Dynax products to the underside. Easy to DIY as they come in a can with longish lance attachment, so you can get into any cavities. I'd also remove the arch liners and apply it there. Once dried I'd give everything a spraying of ACF 50. The Dynax should last 2-3 years (longer behind the wheel arch liners), but I'd reapply the ACF 50 annually, as it only takes 20-30 minutes. It the roads are regulary salted then I'd also periodically rinse the underside with a lawn sprayer. The ACF 50 should survive a few rinses over winter.

When I bought my 2009 car I too was concerned about muck traps and possible hidden corrosion, so what I did was clean the underside with a lawn sprinkler (nothing but minor surface rust) and apply some rust protection (Dynax and ACF-50). I also removed the wheel arch liners to see what the state of things was under there. I doubt they'd ever been removed before, as there was a lot of built up mud/muck, especially on the rear. I cleaned all this off with one of those plastic/rubber brush drill attachments and was pleasantly surprised to find the paintwork underneath to be like new. I then liberally spayed these areas with Dynax before refitting the liners. Once a year (just before winter) I spray the underside with ACF 50 and apply some corrosion block grease to the inside lip of the wheel arches. So, in my exprerience, the rustproofing seemed pretty good compared to my previous car (Jaguar). Like you say, prevention is easier and cheaper than cure, so I'd get a good look at as much as you can, clean it up and apply some rustproofing. It's also worth having something like clear nail varnish to hand, to apply to any stone chips, to prevent them from rusting until you get round to a repair.

Speaking as someone who got rid of my previous car due to growing corrosion and other issues, all I can say is that whilst things may be repairable it's likely to be an ongoing money pit. If the underside and door sills were rust free, I'd probably fix the oil leaks and keep the car running. However, by the time you've spent money on fixing the rust, the leaks and what looks like needing 4 new tyres, then you're getting close to what it would cost to replace the car with something newer and relatively rust free. I understand your attachment to the car, and that it's not an investment, but neither should it be a liability. Emotions can be expensive, and not always as rewarding as they appear. If it were me I'd take some photos for memory's sake, replace the car and start a new chapter with the wife. Whatever you decide I'd do it quickly, as it will only get more costly with time.

Depends on usage and attitude to risk Linas. My extended warranty costs £550, and includes UK and European AA cover. Given that I drive to Europe 2 or 3 times a year, and it's hard or expensive to get Euro cover on older cars, the warranty itself is only costing around £350. That's not bad for an older car, with a lot of expensive things that might go wrong. Like all insurance though it's a gamble, and a matter of peace of mind. The dealer servicing costs me around £260, and once you take off the cost of the hybrid health check there's not a huge saving to be made by going to my local garage. Sure, I could save a few pounds, but it's just not worth it to me.

I'd leave it running once a week, and probably with the radio off.

With low mileage and everything else working well then I'd be incllned to get a quote to get it professionally fixed. Hard to say how easy it is to do yourself without pictures. I've done similar myself, and it's not too hard. The most important thing is to get rid of all the existing corrosion first, otherwise it will just reappear.

If you do a search for RX 400h leaks there's a few youtube video about tracing leaks. If you just keep letting it fill up and draining it you risk letting water get to the hybrid battery and damaging that.

No, I mean the Lexus 10 year plus extended warranty, that can be bought for all cars, and requires servicing by Lexus.

Whilst I agree with most of what you say (Linas) although I take my 13 year old car to Lexus. For me, at that age the value comes not from the service itself, but the fact that it's required to maintain the 10 yr plus warranty.

Also worth noting that the 10yr plus warranty, unlike Relax, also includes UK and European breakdown cover (Lexus branded but covered by the AA), which adds to its value.

Definiitely get them to skip the service. All it will be is an oil and filter change, with god knows what oil, and then they'll stick some random garage stamp in the service book.

I've had success with kits from Chipex in the past. The kit comes with colour matched paint and little sticks to blob it in. There's also a cloth and alcohol type liquid which you use to smooth it down and blend it in after a few minutes drying. Kits are around 30 quid if I remember rightly.

It's less about being part of the same group and more about whether the individual dealer (or even staff member) knows about it. Often they're only aware of it if they've done one before. All dealers can provide it though, they just have to contact Lexus for the details. I've just checked my 10yr plus warranty and shocks aren't listed as an excluded item. In addition, MOT protected parts are covered if they result in an MOT failure and front and rear shocks are listed as protected parts.

Here are my thoughts. You could ask the dealer to replace the two worn tyres. However, if he does it'll probably be cheap ones, so ask for a bit off instead and see it as opportunity to fit 4 decent tyres. Bushes can look worn failry quickly and yet still function fine. 2 years ago Lexus said I had worn front bushes and quoted £2k to replace (the arms have to be replaced too). Since then I've sprayed them annually with silicone spray and they've never mentioned them since. Consequently you won't know if they actually need replacing without a proper look. For reference, I remember reading on here that someone got their bushes replaced under the 10yr plus waranty, possibly because it required the arms too, so worth having a hunt through the forums. The car will be eligible for the 10 year plus warranty through Lexus when the time comes, although they might want to do an inspection first. On that note, some Lexus dealers also offer a free winter health check. Third pary warranties are often worthless and wouldn't cover anything on your list. For reference, when I bought my car I used a mobile mechanic (Clickmechanic) to do an inspection. Mine was very good, but it depends on the individual, so if you do consider using them check the reviews for the mechanic in question. Ultimately you could see the advisories as a reason to walk away, or an opportunity to haggle over the price.

The free hybrid health check only extends the warranty on the hybrid battery and not the system. Extended warranties are just another insurance, and so it depends on one's feelings about risk. My view is that on a 13 year old car it wouldn't be unheard of for something expensive to fail, so it's worth it to me. Add to the fact that it includes UK and European breakdown cover (I travel once or twice a year) and it means the warranty part is only costing me around £350 a year. Like any insurance, it may never get used, but I like the peace of mind in having it.

On my previous car I always used Bosch, and they were great. As such, I bought some for my RX and found the same as you, they were awful. I suspect it has something to do with the shape/curve of the windscreen and that the Bosch didn't fit so well. Went back to OEMs and they're quiet and smooth. For some unknown reason my dealer fitted new wipers at my last service, for no charge.

For spray lube I've been using Fluid Film. As for grease, I use SuperLube, which is apparently good for temperatures between -45F to 450F.

That's possibly true. That said, most news carries some level of opinion. Take things like climate change, Covid, Russia/Ukraine, Israel etc. Even if there's no deliberate bias, there's often a level of assumption or conclusion drawing. As such, assuming one isn''t an expert on the subject, with detailed knowledge, it's almost impossible to know the truth. One is left to pick a view, which is usually the one that aligns most closely with one's own beliefs. My logical conclusion to that is that one is often no better informed by reading the article, than one is from just reading the headlines. Like Malc, I haven't bought a newspaper or watched the news in over 30 years. Oddly, I don't feel partcularly less informed, and I definitely feel less stressed 🙂

Indeed. As the saying goes: "If you don't read the news you're uninformed, and if you do read the news, you're misinformed"

From the service book last stamp was May 2019, although description says last service Nov 2023. I'd be interested in if and where it was serviced for those 4 years and 25k miles. I'd also be wary of someone accepting such a big price drop, as it looks like they just want shot of it. That said, it might all be fine, I'd just be cautious.

Indeed. Such people forget that the world moves on, and what might appear progressive today will be viewed as backwards in a few decades times. It amuses me that in 50 years or so, today's society, includiing the self righteous cancel mob, will probably be viewed as ignorant barbarians.