Peter W. Flur

I had the same issue. My solution was to take an old iPhone and sync just a subset of my contacts so that the total number was <1000. Then sync that iPhone to the car and voila - you have contacts in the car... then trash the other iPhone.

Got my new 450h. Wow. Such an improvement in features over the 2006 RX400h. Have a couple of issues, wonder if anyone has figured out workarounds: 1) Bluetooth Phonebook. I transferred the phonebook from my iPhone, and it dies at 1000 contacts. The manual shows that as a limitation, but how would you suggest getting around it? It's not like you can transfer a subset or subgroup of contacts. Is there any way to group short of syncing a Group to the iPhone, transferring to the iPhone, then re-syncing the entire addressbook? Seems like a silly arbitrary limit - however, it's a huge improvement over 2006 when they could barely talk to each other :-) 2) Another Phonebook question. When the phonebook transfers, it transfers First Name, Last Name, so the sort order is totally backwards in the address book on the car. Any way around that short of renaming all the contacts in the phone? I really want to have them go in Last, First. 3) Audio Question. I've got Integrated Nav. It's nice. However, with XM, iPod, and Radio, we are often listening and say "hey what is that song" - and it takes a mouse, click, click to get to the audio screen to find the track listing. On the old one, I could just hit the analog TEXT button. Seems like a lot of steps for something that should be easy. At times, I'd really like to keep the audio screen up rather than default back to the Nav screen if there were a way to customize that. Any thoughts? 4) Scrolling. Multi-Page scrolling is painful. Period. On every screen. You have to click; wait for smooth scroll; click; wait, etc. I wisht hey would allow you to hold the button down and then gradually increase the scroll speed rather than the one page-at a time stuff. But hey, if those are my biggest complaints, I don't have many...

We have a new 2009 SC430 - trying to figure out if the flat key (the one attached to the card, not the valet key!) is supposed to start the car. Our salesman says that the key does not have a chip, therefore does not start the car, but I called the Lexus hotline and they said it should start the car... So what is your experience??

I've had my 400H for almost two years now, and the VaisTech SLI for about 14 months. No problems at all - in fact, I see that the local Lexus dealer now installs the Vaistech units aftermarket.

The new bluetooth interface is way better... I've asked and unfortunately, there is no upgrade path (at least not yet!).

Yup, it's a BlackBerry thing with the phone book not transferring.

I've been driving my 2006 400h for about 18 months now; I took it in today for it's 25K mile service and a few minor issues. Much to my amazement, they had a hybrid available as a loaner. As I walked over to it, I realized it was a 2007 400h! Even better, when I got in, I realized that it only had 150 miles on it AND it had a full Nav/Bluetooth system. So, I've been able to tool around in a new 400h for a day or so while mine is in the shop. I just thought I'd share a few details on some of the things I found: 1) Exterior - pretty much the same except the rear doors each have a "HYBRID" chrome badge mentioned in another thread. 2) Interior - again, mostly the same except that the steering wheel and the shift console and part of the center console have a lot of wood instead of leather on the 06. Looks nice - but the trim around the radio/nav is still aluminum. 3) Nav Upgrade - the new screen is gorgeous. The type is incredibly crisp and the picture is really sweet. This is a huge upgrade. Additionally, they've added an "Audio" button below the screen so you can see what is on the audio system - it looks very similar to the screens that are in the V3 nav systems so you can adjust all the settings visually (treble, bass, balance, "zones", ASL, etc.) rather than through clunkier push/turns. They have also gotten an upgraded database - two roads around my house that have been absent since at least 2002 are finally included on the new disc. I really like the integrated part with the audio system - when you change any settings it automatically fades in a bar above the nav system to show you what's happening. For example, if you change the volume, the bar comes up showing you the new volume level. If you change a radio station, it comes up showing you the numerical address and the RDS text from the station. I also noticed that when on the highway, there is a new feature that shows you upcoming exits and what POI's are off of those exits. All very nice upgrades. 4) Bluetooth. Since I have the car for a while, I went in and paired my Blackberry 7100 with the Bluetooth. Wow, they've really improved the interface with the phones. Still no phonebook transfer to the BB, but there are many improvements that make it really nice. First, the BT connection time is almost instant now - on my 2006, I sometimes watch it attempt to connect for 15-20, or even 30 seconds before successfully pairing. Once I registered my BB, it's connecting to the car in a second or two after ignition starts. Second, I really like the new connection protocol when making a call. In the 2006, when I dial a number on the BB, the phone is "cutoff" and the stereo continues until a connection is made to the other end of the call. When the receiving call picks up, there is then a second or two delay before the car transfers to the overhead speakers, meaning that I usually lose the first or second "hello" from their side. On the 2007, as soon as I dial, it connects to the car, and I can now hear the phone ringing on the speakers, and then when the receiver picks up, there is no loss or delay. All in all, they seemed to have fixed most of the minor annoyances that I had with the car. I'm not planning to shell out to buy a new one anytime soon, but I really like what they did! Peter

I thought I'd add my $0.02. I have also just crossed my first year with the 400h and I love it. I've got just about 18,000 miles on it and have averaged 24.9 mpg over the year (as reported by the car). I also notice that my mpg went up significantly during the shoulder months - I was actually getting about 27mpg for the first few weeks before it got really hot, then it dropped like a bomb shortly thereafter. It goes down over the summer, then up in the fall, then down during the winter, then back up in the spring. My parents got a 330 the day after I got my 400h; they have consistently averaged about 20mpg, so I see about the same differential. All in all, I love this car.

When you are listening to the Ipod, and you make a call via bluetooth, the text information gets lost and you just see "NO TITLE" for the song/album/info. You can fix it by power off/on or switching source and then back, and the info will return to the screen. Annoying but not a huge deal. I've had the Vaistech SLI installed for about 3 months now. I concur that it is worthwhile if you want to listen to the iPod in the car - many leaps and bounds better than a Monster FM transmitter. However, there are a few glitches such as the one mentioned and the fact that you have to use playlists in order to see the data on the ML panel. There is a "safe mode" which allows you to control via the iPod, but I find it unnecessary to use it very much. The instruction book leaves somethings to be desired, but overall, it's accurate and represents what happens. The other complaint I have is the slow response time - not really a problem - just something you have to get used to. When you press a button on the head unit, it takes a few seconds for the command to take effect on the iPod. I'd like someone to explain shuffle play on the iPod to me. I just want to randomize a playlist on the fly, but can't seem to make it happen on the iPod or through the SLI :-). Call me silly. I did notice that when I was in my dealer the last time, they were advertising an "Aftermarket iPod Interface" for about $550 installed. I did not look closely to see what manufacturer it was.

Is it just me, or has something changed in the rear window design. It seems to get a thick, black coat of dirt after just a few sprinkles of rain that I don't see on any other part of the car, nor did I have it on my older RX300. Also, it feels almost like there is a coating on the window that causes it to not totally come clean using Windex and streak-free paper towels. Note that the other windows clean fine. It's just the outside of the rear hatch window. Anyone else notice this?