katzjamr

Well i was considering putting a nail in the opposite tire so i could get half off on that one and have a set but it was just too much to deal with them again, just kidding. Yes you get the feeling that its more about liability with the Costco tires than service, which is a little odd since the rest of the operation is pretty easy to deal with, i.e. return policy and they are known as a good company to work for, as corporations go. Honestly i did buy into the nitrogen that costco uses on all tires and it probably is only beneficial in climates with large temperature swings. It is also not as convenient if you need to add more to the tire.

Lenore i had the same issue when i saw a nail in my Costco Michelin tire and quickly drove there to have it repaired. It was an inch from the edge on the tread not the sidewall, however they would not repair it. Then they said they could not sell me one tire, only 4 with the same speech they gave you. I almost had the guy convinced that it was a front wheel drive but his supervisor still wouldnt do it. What they would do was put the spare on, and sell me a new tire for the spare as long as the tire they worked on did not touch the road. This is in seattle at store number one where Costco started. Since the punctured tire had half its useful life left they did give me half off on the new spare they were selling me. The whole thing is bizarre. Les Schwab has been much more helpful at times when i had not even purchased anything from them. I wish Schwab had nitrogen available for their tires i dont know what their problem is with that, although i am done purchasing tires from costco. Furthermore, if you go to have them (Costco) fix a flat, you get in line with all the people who purchased tires ahead of you, and it will take hours for the repair.

lemon on July 12 of 09 you posted the actual tsb for the isc reset and i took that page into the dealer, and they were able to look it up in their online tsb system and knew exactly what to do. so i suggest for the people who have dealers who find isc a new problem just walk in with that information and they will be able to figure it out.

For my money i will be changing the coolant at 100K, its cheap insurance. And Lemon feel free to correct me, altho this coolant change seems easy isnt there something about making sure there are no air bubbles created in the system during the change? When i called my Lexus dealer in seattle they quoted me $140.00 for rx 400h awd coolant change only. You are correct some toyotas can go way past 100K and not need the coolant work done, according to the dealer. Also at my dealership they usually change the coolant at 90K during the timing belt service, was yours done then?

The OEM starting battery is one of the weakest links in the 400h. It is your problem, as far as i can see, barring a bad connection. The Costco Kirkland battery has more cold cranking power than the origional battery and a bettery warranty.

rx rey, i know how well you care for your 400h, and while it might not leak again, obviously the traction battery pack is back there and water travels. five towels is not a small amount of water in that area, i am sure more leaked than you can see. not trying to be alarmist but for the battery reason, to avoid odor problems which are hell to get rid of if they are allowed to start in a vehicle, and to prevent it from happening again, i would have it checked out. remember the guy in texas who lost his traction battery when the rear seals leaked in the hatch door. fortunately they had been worked on by the dealer and installed wrong so he was covered.

graphite is what my dealer used, personally i would have them do it.

so glad it failed under the warranty period, at least. i am watching mine closely, no leaks.

ask them to lube the lock, i had them do mine rather than myself because i didnt know how much to put in there, and i didnt want to make things worse, especially since i sometimes subscribe to the more is better school of thought.

I also had this problem with my 2006 400h. It was random and frustrating, and because i could not duplicate it at will i could not ever have it malfunction at the dealer. It is my belief that this happens when the key is taken out. I noticed a different sound, or operation of the lock as i would take the key out at times. This co incided with it locking up on the next use. It is my feeling that the lock itself randomly does not return to a 'normal' state inside during the malfunction and gets in a locked position. It is somewhere in limbo inside and not really ready to work in a normal way. When it is working normally there is a decided click when the key comes out of the lock. This click was absent for me when i took the key out (not knowing when it was going to happen) and sent things in motion for it to malfunction. Sorry to be so wordy but i want to be accurate. When it locked up, and it would often do it after the first or second use of the day, i took the emergency wallet key out, that is just the metal key part, this way i could get a better grip on the end with my hand, never a hammer. It was my goal to wiggle the key and push in at the same time, kind of massaging the area, and it took alot of strength and wiggling and bingo it would at some point usually after a few minutes realign inside and free up the lock. I then took out the emergency key and my normal key worked and i could take it in and out and turn it with no problem. I asked the dealer to lube the lock, and put the malfunction on record which they did. This happened from 30,000 to 40,000 miles about two or three years into my ownership. After the lube the lock never jammed again. I am more careful not to take the key out of the lock quickly as i think that was the only thing i could think of that i was doing to help cause it. I hope this helps, you really have to work hard to get it unstuck, and i was a little worried that i would damage the lock, however i never did. For me it was a turning and pushing of the key at the same time wiggling, with quite a bit of force. Make sure you hear the click when you take it out, lol. The dealer lube did the trick. i now am at 67,000 miles with no problems., thanks dave

two things, the doors have to be unlocked before the rear door will open with the remote or the dash button, the end of the carpet can get jammed into the door opening causing a failure, in that case i was able to push the door from the inside as it unlocked, however I knew i had a working door. also remember to reset your ISC in your hybrid ecu, its the idle control that needs resetting after you disconnect the battery. your mileage will suffer until it is done.

yes i imagined the brakes were a different system than the regular rx, however isnt there a fuel pump recall on some of those models also, that is were i thought we might have a similarity...

To be clear, you can also get the 'shift to P to start' message with a good battery that has been run down by listening to the radio with the engine off. Any time you fall below i think its 9 volts at the battery this will happen. In this case with a healthy battery just a jump start will get you going. I just want to mention this because this battery has so little reserve, it can happen at any time even with a good battery. Sometimes just a charge is what is needed.

I see the rx 330 from 2004 to 2006 are being recalled for fuel pump problems, nice to see that the hybrids are not involved.

I had those issues with intermittent starting power available from the 12v battery at 40,000 miles. I have the dealer service everything however i think the japanese battery in this case as we all know is too small, and not a good quality. The costco battery that fits the 400h, is only $59 and has more cold cranking power, and will be replaced at any time, not prorated during its three year warranty. Its hard to beat that, and i believe it is a better battery than the oem. (what isnt). Also remember to have the ISC reset after battery disconnection as this will be needed, if not your mileage will suffer. thanks, dave

i did buy the warranty because it paid for itself many times over on my previous ford explorer. i did want the protection because the parts are expensive to repair. at the same time remember all of the hybrid components on the rx are covered by a 100,000 mile from the factory, 150,000 in california. so really there may be less of a need for the extended coverage on this car.

when you hit the lock button twice, after leaving the car doesnt that shut off your lights?

i am happy with the $60 costco replacement battery, it has slightly more cold cranking power and can handle a dome light left on all night and still start the car in the morning. costco also has a 3 year warranty that is not prorated, so if the battery fails in the warranty period you get a new one at no additional cost. i am not married to them for everything, i.e. tires, however i think they are hard to beat on batteries.

the seats are better in the 2010 rx's, i drove a new one as a loaner during my 60K service, i did like the look of the new gps screen, and finally there is an ipod connection. i did miss the touch screen for the nav, the click system is more cumbersome. cvt trans and power and economy of the hybrids is still better than the regular rx in my opinion. the new styling is less appealing on the outside especially the rear treatment. its about 300 lbs heavier i think, and yes driving the 2010 hybrid ( the loaner was a non hybrid and a salesman let me drive a new 450h) is still very similar to the 400h, i would like to see a new generation of battery before i invest in a new rx.

There is no doubt the oem battery is small on the 400h and does not have alot of reserve, mine would not hold a charge after three years, and i drive mostly on the freeway. Like the previous poster i went to costco, their battery that is the same size replacement for our 400h has more power, and i believe they will give you a new battery at any point in the three year warranty, not prorated. it was $59.oo and i installed it myself. remember, when you disconnect the battery for any reason, the dealer has to reset the icu ( i hope i have the term correct) or your mpg will suffer.

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use. When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from. If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up. "perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium. Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost. Just a side note.. I will be using premium in my '10 450 AWD when I take delivery. Was supposed to arrive at port in Florida today, so maybe another 7-10 days until the dealer receives it. Welcome to our group, and i know you will enjoy your 450h. Since your 450h has an atkinsons cycle engine, i dont know if that will be an additional factor in what grade of gas to use, however know the premium will serve you well, tell us what it says in the manual regarding octane. I had a loaner 2010 non hybrid 4wd for a couple of days and i can tell you the seats are better, as was the handling with the new suspension. The position of the gps is more easily readable, and most of all i hated to part with the xm radio. We will know when your vehicle is delivered when you add the 450h to the bottom of your bio, what color did you get.

premium in itself does not give you more power. Octane is nothing more than a fuels resistance to pre-ignition, or knocking/pinging.. whatever term you want to use. When this happens, the car is equipped with knock sensors that detect the knock, and the computer backs timing down from where it should be, which is where the perception of power loss comes from. If you use 87 octane, and are not experiencing any pre-ignition or knocking, then premium will make absolutly no difference other than what comes out of your wallet when you fill up. "perception of power loss" or the car is actually less responsive with 87 fuel? to me that is less power. there is also a benefit in my vehicle of more mpg that negates the extra cost, when i use premium. others also report better mpg with premium gas and the 'perception of more power'. we have been commenting on this gas question since the first 400h. the first manuel did not specify premium gas so we all experimented with regular and premium. later 400h manuels suggested premium. Of course you are welcome to use whatever you like, however i am getting the 'perception of more power' and better gas mileage with premium, with no penalty in final cost.

please do not misunderstand regarding the tires, it was only the Goodyear Eagles that were factory tires that had a low wear rating. I am happy with the other tires out there available for this vehicle, just saying check what tires are on now. Have you driven both? The 400h is smoother, has more power, and a proven reliable drivetrain. it gets better mileage than the rx350 and pollutes one third less. A better question is, how much winter driving do you do and what are the roads like? Since you are in Michigan i wanted to bring up the snow factor that some have found to be one of the few weaker areas of the 400h. Regarding the main battery, i am not hearing about replacement under 200,000 miles under normal situations, doesnt Lexus expect the hybrid system should last the useful life of the car? on the 400h my brakes are still good at 60K, no starter or alternator to replace, tires have been the only replacement other than normal maintenance. Make sure the 30K service was done which is the most expensive of the service intervals until 60k

Most of us are driving the first generation 400h and it has been reliable, at 60K the most reliable i have ever owned. It combines smooth power with reasonable fuel efficiency. Regarding michigan, i dont live there however there will be a fuel consumption penalty during the cold weather where you will not get as good gas mileage, around 3 mpg less than summer. I strongly suggest a garage for this vehicle. The '4 wheel drive' system works for most of us, better if you have winter tires, however checkout some of the posts regarding the 4wd system. This vehicle is mostly front wheel drive with an electric motor that kicks in for rear traction when it senses wheel slippage, uneven roads or incline or turning a corner. I have taken it over mountain passes and driven it in the occasional snow of seattle and done well. Some people used to a bmw or audi or subaru system will find it lacking. Obviously make sure you see service records, hopefully the goodyear eagle tires are no longer on the vehicle, they wear poorly and suck, not in a good way, in snow. Also double check that your lexus is a 4wd, they did make some front wheel only in the hybrid, usually those were sold in warmer climates. the 4wd versions have the electric motor in the rear as well as front. Find out if the traction battery warranty is transferrable to you, it is good to 100,000 miles on the entire hybrid system, and would be a source of comfort as those parts are expensive if they fail. good luck and welcome