katzjamr

I called the dealer in tacoma and spoke to my service manager, and he said he had heard of some dealers denying loaners, however it is their policy that if you bring your lexus to them regardless of where it was purchased, for a scheduled repair like the inverter deal whatever they end up replacing on that, and even the dealers dont know right now how much lexus is replacing, if it is over two hours repair time they will provide you a loaner. his guess right now is that the jan recall u mention will take enough time that loaners will be provided. the short answer is yes they will give you a loaner for whatever you do there over two hours time.

i agree, and in this case i went in for a LOF and the guy found a leak before it was showing up on the garage floor, or showing any symptoms of overheating. In my experience water pumps can limp along for a while before they fail completely, or it may have happened on a trip i was taking this weekend, away from home. It mades sense to do the belt replacements too and save the labor i would have had to pay at 90K. I do check my oil level frequently and i have to say when the reserviours are covered up by plastic covers to make it "pretty"? under there it makes it hard to see small changes in fluid, (or i have to look harder) Also no mechanic is going to give you a free tank of gas because you came in for a recall service. This dealers charges for brakes and alignment are about what most other shops charge and i would rather have them do it. At the other end of the spectrum their labor charges hourly and for diagnostic are high and you can always say no to that crazyness. I am fortunate that i was able verify some of the work talking to the person who actually worked on my car, and have the isc reset done before i left the dealer and had to make another trip down there. so its like the old guy said, 'trust, but verify'

i dont know if we are allowed to mention specific dealers here by name, however it is the only one in the tacoma-fife area of washington state. there is a volvo, jaguar and range rover dealer ship in this auto row all owned by the same people. its never cheap going to the dealer however i have benefitted from a good relationship with them, get to know one service manager and they will try to help. It also goes without saying, the support of this group from the first day i started lurking in early 2005, to the day i signed up and all the years since has been a source of information and comfort in dealing with my 400h. It continues to be one of the best purchases i have ever made, and certainly the best vehicle. Also i am not married to a dealership, i service the 400h there because i want it maintained well and they have found and fixed some problems before i was aware of them, and i want a record of service at hand if toyota ever had to replace anything major, (knock on wood) For our other business vans and trucks we have a trusted local mechanic who is honest and much more reasonable than a dealer, i will probably take the lexus there more when it is out of warranty, and that is coming all too soon.

there is a known problem in the software of the 2006 and 2007 400h at 40mph that causes the symptom you describe at 40mph in some vehicles. this came to light a few years ago, sorry i dont have the tsb, however lexus has a fix for it and your dealer should be able to go in and update the software. it feels like a torque converter grabbing and releasing at 40 mph and they should be able to get rid of that. the service manager told me yesterday while i was at the dealership that the same issue is popping up in some rx hybrids at a constant 70mph also, and they have a software update for that also. my dealership does not charge me for this work if i am there for another reason, i.e. lube, oil filter, or other service

i have had a water pump failure on every ford, gm van and now lexus i have owned, all before 80,000 miles. Must be me ;)

at first blush i would have picked the lower mileage older lexus, however after reading the posts here and driving a new loaner i think the 08 is a more satisfying purchase all other things being equal. wood steering wheel is much more comfortable in the hands, and the usb port and gps improvements are worth it. also it is still the older body style that i think is so much more handsome than the slab sided, squinty tail light crappy color choice redesign that lexus cooked up. the new interior is an improvement.

this is a smaller lexus dealership south of seattle, the same owner owns a large one in an eastside seattle suburb however they are impersonal and have a fake smarmyness that makes me drive 45 minutes each way to my more real dealership. also it is my understanding if you are not having service done at the dealership that sold you the car, they dont have to give you a loaner. thier salesmen will tell you that it is their service department that keeps people coming back to buy a second and third vehicle. for the most part they do everything right the first time, and where there is a problem they always fix it. dont get me wrong its still a dealership that at first wanted $400 to splice an electrical wire after an hour of diagnosis, but they came back down to earth when i said no. now that i think about it, once the young tech had moved all my crap out of the back and pulled the panels he probably went ahead and spliced the wire so by the time i walked back there they had nothing to lose by coming down on the price. The first time i drove to that dealership to drive a 400h i pulled in their long driveway and there were live chickens running around, which i thought was different for a lexus dealer. When i asked the salesman he said the little old lady in this shanty of a house that bordered the dealership kept chickens that were always getting loose. After years of trying the dealer was able to buy the property and move those chickens to a dinner table. i wish i had taken some pictures.

Picked up the 400h today and i am happy with the work, btw i asked the customer service manager if the battery had been disconnected during the water pump, timing belt replacement. He said, no. I walked back to the tech who worked on my car and asked him and he said yes the starter battery had to come out for access during the work. I asked if he did an ISC reset and he honestly didnt know what that was. So i went back to the service manager, and he came out with the laptop and did the reset, and another software update that he said covered problems in some 400h 2006 that was causing some jerking in the drive train a constant 70 mph on some vehicles.

Went to the Lexus dealer for lube oil filter, as many know my service manager allows me to bring my oil, and they do the service for $50.00, no tire rotation and no wash which is fine with me. They asked if i wanted the latest recall for the mats done, and i said yes. BTW any time lexus does a recall service, they fill your tank with premium, mine was empty. So far so good. The service tech called while i was still at the dealership and reported water leaking out of the weep hole at the base of the water pump. I had no overheating and did not notice but the fluid was lower than normal. This costs $805 and was covered under the extended warranty i purchased. The service manager mentioned that since the extended warranty was paying the labor it was a good time to do the timing belt, radiator hoses, thermostat, idler bearings, belts and the major stuff for the 90,000 mile service for the cost of the parts which was $350 more. I agreed to that. In addition i had an issue with the rear right marker light in the bumper not working and the tech did some diagnosis on that, he had to trace the wiring behind the bulb and socket, and wiring harness behind the fender. The service mgr said they could fix the light issue for $400 and i said no, i had a friend who would do that for me, and at that they called me into the service bay to look at the car. Its a small dealership that is friendly and more accessable, with just ten service bays that are open with huge doors at each end so you can see in and even watch the whole operation if you want. I was a little embarrassed because the tech of course had to empty my rear hatch area to get to the wiring and i had alot of tools, goodwill clothes, and tile samples for work that i would not normally make him move, and it was all piled behind the 400h, with panels and covers removed so he had access. In addition he found an empty rats nest and a half eaten snickers bar which he had also cleaned out for me. A rat had chewed one wire going to the light. I told him i appreciated the diagnosis and was sorry for all the junk he had to move but $400 was too much. They said its already open and diagnosed, what will you pay to have us fix it, i said $50 and they said done. i got in my loner rx350 and drove to work.

the problem is the moisture under the carpet, it is trapped there, you are vaccuuming only the surface. If you are lucky it will dry with no odor. If you start to get a mildew smell then you know the trapped water underneath has turned to mold, and really no spray or deoderant is going to fix that, the carpet needs to be replaced. $500 for the cleaning part is way too much. really all that needs to be done is the carpet pulled and the area cleaned with bleach and water, that will kill any mold on the floorboard. I would bet there is replacement carpet on ebay that woud work if you have to go that route, or any auto upholstery store has access to oem carpet at much cheaper prices than the dealer is charging. It would be better right now, to get a dehumidifier in the car to pull the moisture out of the air and accelerate drying. As i said earler the whether you have an odor or not after it is dry will determine your next step. If it is slight you may be able to spray febreze heavily in the odor area, it actually works, of course it cannot do anything for the mold that is in the wet padding underneath.

In my case the used part was 89.00 as only the glass was cracked. The ebay part that was shipped was in like new condition, we pryed off the old mirror and snapped the new one in place, and everything works. we did not have to paint or remove the plastic housing.

for about a year i have had a light out in the rear right bumper red marker. last week while while my front and rear bumpers were being sanded and repainted i took the time to replace the bulbs in the rear bumper marker and found no power to the right side wiring harness. i dont think this is on a separate fuse, it is definately dead on that side. i will be talking to my service manager to see what can be done, i hope it is covered on the extended warranty. any ideas, thanks, dave

thanks i purchased the correct mirror only from ebay using your second link, have you ever pryed off the existing mirror, is there a trick to it. i will be doing it at my local body shop in conjuction with some other cosmetic repairs. Also, i do see the instructions at the beginning of your post, thanks again, dave

someone cracked my drivers side mirror on my 2006 400h, every thing else works, just the glass has a hairline crack, can it be replaced separately, or do i have to buy a whole new mirror unit? for those unaware there is acid behind the glass and yes it did leak out and stain my door. my body guy is fixing that during a front bumper repair.

doesnt that sound to you like the system that purges the vents the fuel lines? on the newer rx perhaps it is triggered by opening the door. i think that is one reason it starts and stops also, just a guess, you would often hear that system work right after turning the car off, however it will run at other times too.

the original front console between the seats in the rx 300 and 330 was designed to hold a purse...i am sure more than 50% of the drivers of rx's are women, i know i love mine.

Welcome and enjoy your hybrid, i have no problems integrating the I4 with the bluetooth on the 400h. I do not have a connection for music from the phone so i only use the bluetooth side of the stereo. Of course you will have to sync the I4 with the lexus bluetooth, after that it is automatic.

I find more power with premium fuel and a 2 to 3 mpg increase over regular that can justify the cost. This was an extensive topic when our cars were new some thought a 'green' vehicle should be able to run on regular. It does, however not as well as premium. It will take three tanks of one fuel or the other for the difference to be noted, you cannot just switch one tank and use that as a reference. I am a general fan of costco, (not the tire dept) however none of my vehicles run well on their regular fuel, even my older trucks (designed for regular) start to missfire after a few tanks, dont ask me why. I have used costco premium in my 400h with no problem. Also if you search there was a post by an automotive engineer who felt that our toyota engines were made to run on premium and performed optimally with that fuel. He called it a 'sweet spot'. Those are my real world experiences after 73,000 miles on a 2006 400h, of course each person will have to decide for themselves.

What you describe is normal. The 400h was never designed to run for long periods on electric only. Since it is a 'luxury' suv, the idea was to have a vehicle that with the electric motors gives the V6 under the hood the power of a V8 , great acceleration, and at the same time an increase in mpg that is 50% better than other two ton SUV's in this class. Toyota felt that people wanted the traction battery to last the life of the car, so it was never allowed to fully charge or discharge, preserving the life of the battery. At the same time this car reduces emissions by 30%. So it is a balance, power, full options, hybrid capablitiy, reliability, and fewer emissions. It will take a breakthrough in battery technology or a different hybrid source of power to give you longer battery only driving. Correct me if i am wrong, the newest 450h allows the driver to select slower acceleration and some longer battery operation, but it is not a huge increase.

it is although i have not been there in a long time, perhaps i have dropped out of their system.

thank you for clearing up the warranty issue, so this happens automatically? some manufacturers make you transfer it and pay a processing fee.

also, find out if the hybrid warranty that covers expensive hybrid parts is transferrable to a second owner, all origional owners have coverage on the hybrid system to 100,000 miles, 150,000 in california. i purchased mine new and have had zero problems at 72,000 miles and it is the best car i have ever owned, would definately do it again, and i like the body style you are getting better than the new one and the color choices for that matter. All of that notwithstanding, it would give you much more piece of mind to have the hybrid warranty to 100.000 miles.

Since you seem to be able to get the service records see if the 60,000 mile service was done, with lexus 30 60 and 90 are the most expensive service intervals. I generally agree with the previous posters, and in addition on your next drive take it on the freeway and experience the power of the electric motors in tandem with the gas engine. Premium fuel will give you peppier acceleration, perhaps there is regular in the tank, it will take a few tanks of premium to feel the full effect. Your mpg will be better with the premium fuel which helps to make up for the added expense. I have never driven a FWD 400h perhaps they are different in initial acceleration than the 4WD model. There should also be a record that the front suspension recall work was done at the dealer.

I have a 2006 400h with 77,000 miles maintained at the dealer using Castrol Synthetic blend that i provide. (that was my dealers standard oil from day one until they changed to a bulk oil). I provide the oil when they service the vehicle. For the last 10,000 miles when i check my oil at about 4,000 miles into an oil change i am half a quart down. I think most manufacturers would say this is normal, however if i keep this vehicle long term i am worried about it increasing consumption. Is anyone seeing oil consumption between service intervals? and if so how much. The car is garaged at night and there is no oil leaking or blue smoke. One of my concerns is that if this was not a synthetic blend i feel the consumption would be more like a quart every 4K. And yes i am having it serviced every 4 to 5k per the maintenance schedule. What is your experience with your hybrids regarding oil, thanks, dave