mikesands

update - aftermarket rear shocks fitted, small service done and they moved the heated seat controller from the passenger to the driver's seat because the latter had given up the ghost. Mike

I haven't given them the go ahead to do it yet (just to order the aftermarket shocks). But are there any complications I should know about - I can't see that they link into any electronic systems do they? By the way the car has done 180k miles and is worth virtually nothing which is why it would be pointless paying the thousands that the Lexus dealership want. I hang on to it because it's good for transporting bikes which my other car is not. Mike

Yes - thanks guys - it transpires the garage meant air suspension. They seem happy enough to do the shocks replacement having had a look underneath. Does anyone have any tips for them that I could pass on? Mike

A local garage is sourcing and fitting two new rear shock absorbers and they have asked me if my car is fitted with rear airbags. How would I know? It's a 2009 RX400h (limited edition?) Thanks Mike

Ah - ok thanks - so it looks like if I add in brake fluid change and diff oil change that should be ok for another 10k miles Thanks Mike

Mine's done 180k miles now and I don't use it much but it hasn't been serviced for a couple of years. Is there a schedule I could print out for a local garage to use? I see there's a range of service kits on ebay ranging from about £80 to £150. I know he won't be able to do anything with the hybrid system, but is there anything over and above oil and air filter changes that would be essential? Mike

.... But that's my problem I can';t identify what the control module actually looks like Mike

The light comes on on the control switch. Neither the seat base nor seat back heaters work on the driver's seat but both work on the passenger seat. Not sure whether this is relevant but the interior lights were left on and ran the battery completely flat. The seat memories had disappeared but my daughter thinks the seat heating was off before the battery went flat (I am suspicious about coincidences though). I restarted the car by connecting a moderately discharged spare car battery in parallel with the flat one while it was in the car. All seems good now with the battery, but could something have gone wrong with the seat heater as a result of the flattening or recharging of the battery? I've looked at that diagram a few times Colin, but it looks too simplistic compared to what's actually under the seat. One would imagine that it would be easy to simply unplug both 'seat heater controls' and swap them over, but I can't identify them in real life. Mike

Came across mention of this in another thread. The reason I ask is that after the 12v battery was run completely flat on my rx400H, the driver seat memories had gone but also the seat heater now doesn't work (passenger side heater is fine). There may be other things that are 'off' too but in this weather it's the seat heater I'd like to get back on. So is the 8sec reset likely to cure the problem, or any other reset that anyone knows about? Thanks Mike

I'd like to try swapping the seat heater relays between the two seats, but is it likely I can do this without removing the seats from the car? I can see two or 3 connectors that come apart, but none of them look like a relay. Also it's not obvious how to separate any of the connectors (I think there should be 3 year college courses in how to fathom auto electrical harness connectors 😀). Mike

All plugs and wires under the driver's seat look sound, and the single 20a fuse is intact (but that was bound to be as there's just one for both seats). Can't find the relays though. Mike

Passenger seat still works so presumably not just a fuse unless they have separate fuses. Read somewhere about wires under seat becoming disconnected so will check that. But also read that there are two separate relays and a good test would be to swap them over - can anyone tell me where these are (which fuse box and relay numbers)? Thanks Mike

well ...... yes the exhaust is definitely sorted, but the droning noise hasn't gone. And in another thread one poster suggests that might be a worn bearing around the mid-point of the drive shaft. I mentioned this to a knowledgeable independent garage who said yes it's possible but he wasn't so sure as I'm not getting any wobbling of the car. And the droning noise has been there for a couple of years without getting any worse. Could a bearing last that long if it was failing? I think I'm getting a bit fussy .... this car is amazing for 172k miles 😄 Mike

just an update on this. I took the car to an exhaust specialist (one-man band) in Middlesbrough and we looked underneath the car on his lift. The whole exhaust was in surprisingly good condition for 172k miles (and he said it wasn't stainless). Anyway the problem was being caused by a fracture around what he said was a resonance damping weight that Lexus have designed into the long pipe between two of the boxes. Today he sleeved that pipe all the way to the back box and welded the balance weight as accurately as he could into the original position. And it's worked. Much quieter. He's sending me some pics later which I will post. £200 total. Mike

Well the reason I still have my RX400H is that each time I have gone to upgrade, I have been completely underwhelmed by the ride quality on the later RX's. The model before this very latest one was somewhat better, but the original poster is correct - the first of the RX450H's were IMHO unacceptable. Lexus seemed to succumb to the idea that their target market wanted sporty handling vehicles - so firmer suspension and low profile tyres and the problem is compounded by the 450 car being bigger and heavier than the 400. What astonishes me is that at 172k miles my 2009 400H still rides amazingly on the same suspension and original shocks. Even though it was the final limited edition it still had the small wheels and fat tyres which of course helps. And I agree absolutely with Theo. Went for a test drive in a Jaguar F-pace recently and it was so appalling that at the second roundabout I turned round and drove back to the dealership. Salesmen said ' yes they are a bit firm'. Hah - what an understatement. Mike