BarryD

I'm not familiar with Colorguard, but I do know about the 3M product. We've had it on the nose of my wife's 2002 RX300, and we're very pleased with it. The front looks like new, and the material has not yellowed or peeled. I put it on my new RX400h - definitely worth the price. I wish I'd put it on my trusty '99 Saab. It's hood looked pretty bad after 145,000 miles. I don't think the door edge application is worth the extra cost, but that's up to you. I've been with 3M for lots of years, and I know the guys who make and sell this stuff. It's original purpose is to protect the leading edges of wings, rotors, radomes, etc., of military aircraft. This is still a huge need, and this product is performing admirably in the desert right now.

BB, Thanks for sharing. I got mine from Quinton (Q) at Lexus of Maplewood. The two dealers have the same owner, which I believe also owns at least one Toyota dealer. What a gold mine! Anyway, the Maplewood store is planning a huge expansion in the next two years, and they just did one two years ago. I've enjoyed the nav system also. I've named the female voice "Natalie" (the Nav lady). She's great - so polite, always re-calculates the route when I don't follow her instructions with no nagging!

I am pleased to report that my silver RX400h is performing admirably in our cold and mucky environment. It handles very well on ice and snow. The seat heaters are the best I've owned - very fast and evenly distributed. The headlamp washers work well - a must for salty states. The windshield washers and wipers are great, especially the auto-sensing feature. The rear wiper and washer ares mild disappointments, not nearly as good as my old Saab 9-5 wagon's, but they're adequate. The automatic climate control is flawless. I'm getting a consistent 24.3 mpg per tank. My 21 mile commute is mostly highway (60-70 mpg). Our January was the warmest in recorded history. Otherwise, the mpg would be lower. I'm OK with this, as I'm getting the same mpg as my Saab, which was my goal. Not bad for a 4500 pound AWD SUV, and it's just as zippy as my turbocharged V6 Swedemobile. I'm sure the mpg will go up during our warmer months weeks. It's fun to watch the mpg go up on the Consumption screen when the traffic bogs down! We've noticed a rather annoying cigarette smoke smell in the cabin, especially at start-up. No one smokes in our family, and no smokers ride in the car. I've noticed that if there's a smoker within a hundred yards, the ventilation system pulls the smoke in. But sometimes, it's almost as if the car is generating the smell from within. Has anyone else noticed this? The recirculate setting helps a lot, but I'd rather not use this continuously. Any ideas on cause and solution? I went in for the 5000 mile oil change last Saturday morning, and the experience was a real treat, as always. My wife has a 2002 RX300, so we were already spoiled. A RX400h was on the showroom floor, and it had a wood steering wheel and trim. Personally, I prefer my leather wheel and aluminum trim, but to each his/her own. The sticker price was the same. The backlog here is virtually gone, except for the color or option package, and the dealer has a few in stock. We're also beginning to see a few newspaper ads for the h. Keep your stick on the ice. Remember, we're all in this together!

How many miles on your 400h? What kind of mpg are you getting? This is just a guess, but this sounds like a problem in the computerized control system possibly applying brakes at the wrong times, like during cruise and not when needed for stopping. Seems like the dealer would check for error codes as part of the diagnosis, though. For what it's worth, BarryD, 4500 miles on my 400h with no problems yet

OK, I've answered my own question! I got the impression from a local TV story that we got a credit. stonecutter is right - it's a $2000 deduction, not a credit. Here's the link to the source of record: http://www.irs.gov/newsroom/article/0,,id=138807,00.html

Does anyone know the precise figure we can claim as a federal tax credit this year? I bet Turbotax will have the answer, but if any of you have already researched this, I'm sure the rest of us would be interested in your findings. I recall seeing $2000 somewhere. A quick update on my experience with my RX400h: I've owned it for two months and driven it 2500 miles. What I like most about it: the hybrid system, the quick-heating seats, the exterior and interior lighting. What I like least about it: the back window washer/wiper, the seat comfort/positioning, (that's about it!). I've had the same little interior squeaks and rattles as others on this board, but they've all seemed to have healed themselves for the most part. I'm getting 25+ mpg until the temperature drops below 20F. It's been as low as 21+ with temps +/-0F. I'm OK with that. After all, its' a 4500 lb. vehicle that really moves when you need it to! It also handles very well on ice and snow. Add that to my "most liked" list. Enjoy your RX400h! I certainly am. Happy Holidays!

Instead of the extension, the visor itself slides further out on it's connecting rod, allowing it to cover more of the driver's window and block the sun. So you pull out the whole visor instead of just an extension. Have you tried this? This works for me, but it's not as functional as the twin visors on my venerable Saab 9-5 that my 400h replaced.

Has anyone attempted changing their own oil on their RX400h yet? I was told by a dealer tech that there's one or two drag-reducing covers that must be removed, and a special wrench required for reaching the filter. I've always changed my own oil, but probably won't on my RX400h, based on what the tech told me. I'll for sure go with the mfrs recommended intervals of 5000 miles, and I'll have the dealer do the first one since it's free. 1400+ miles now and smiling more every day :D . Averaging 25 mpg mostly highway driving.

I've had my h for almost four weeks now, and I've driven it almost 1300 miles. The bonding process is proceeding nicely :D I've had a similar noise in the back. The armrest responses make sense to me, so I'll try that. Two other things may be contributing. Mine was really bad at first, and I discovered that the center portion of the seat back was not latched securely. That helped, but I still had an annoying rattle back there somewhere. I stowed the tanneau cover in its tray - no more rattle! I'm confident my dealer will resolve this permanently, once I've done a bit more diagnosing. As for the window squeak, I had a really bad rattle/squeak on the way to work one day this week. It went away as suddenly as it started. We'd had cold rain, followed immediately by dropping temperatures (10 degrees F) and snow, hence the window noise. After the car sat in the company heated garage all day thawing and drying, no more window noise. The weather was pretty Minnesota weird, so I don't fault the car very much on this one.

I ordered mine on April 23 with a $500 deposit, and I took delivery last Saturday October 22 on my silver/gray beauty . That's six months. Dealer says demand here is still high with a wait list of 3-4 months.

After a six month wait, my new silver/gray is due to arrive in about two weeks. The two dealers in this area always include the heated seats and headlamp washers, a must for MN in my opinion. MSRP only in this area. The dealer says the waiting list is as long as ever, so demand remains strong in this area. I'm having the Scotchcal applied to the nose. We have it on my wife's RX300, and it's great stuff. I've been lurking on this forum for several months, and I've learned a lot from all of you. Now I'll soon be able to contribute something. I'll keep you posted. Winter is almost here. I'm anxious to see how the h performs in our sub-zero ice and snow.