RXREY

? Check with parts dept., see what filters they use. Check receipt for part number of filter and ask. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/CHARCOAL-AC...2QQcmdZViewItem I think this may be optional, according to dealer? A search reveals both types of filters being offered, mine happened to be charcoal as OEM. I find it best to clean the cabin filter everytime I change the oil (2-3 times a year), Regular maintenance. Thanks, I just went on that site and bought one. Rey

larrytrk, my filter is very clean white. Do you think Lexus replaced it with a non charcoal filter? I've had my 400h for two years/21K miles so for it to be this clean I figured that it had been replaced especially after reading this post from skyfish400h I thought it was going to be frightening when I went to pull my filter out...but as I said, it was and is very white. Rey

Wow, I'm exhausted just looking at all of that work! Great job...now go and have a rest! BTW...How many cars do you have?! Sheesh! Take care, Rey

I went back and sprayed the filter lightly with anti bacterial "Oust" and all seems fine and dandy...yes, both, fine AND dandy. I hope no one else has experienced what skyfish 400h did. Happy driving, Rey in dirty L.A.....but with a very clean filter...

Well after this post I was prepared to look at my own filter wearing a HazMat suit since I live in air-dirty L.A.. I did indeed open up my glove box( has anyone ever seen gloves in there?) and sure enough, it was in fact easy to drop the box down to reveal the filter unit. I did proceed to carfefully pull the filter out, feeling as if I were in a horror movie, I pulled it out and saw the filter....well, it was clean as a whistle! So after 21K miles it was either replaced or you live in the middle of an smoke-filled industrial center or Venus because my filter was almost new looking. It had an almost difficult to see amount of dust on it. Anyone else check this out? Please report back to us. On my list of things to check it does have "AC Filter"...is that the same filter? Rey

It's January 2008 and I have had my 400h for two years now! Amazing car and I just love it. I have just over 20K miles and average around 25,26 MPG....anyway, I am nixing the idea of lowering my 400h. Lexus of Glendale is a great dealership and I really do trust them....yeah, I know....I'm like that, ya know...trusting. They did tell me that Eiback does make great lowering kits but the service manager strongly suggested that I not lower the 400h. He actually turned down the job to tell me that the ride would suffer and that there might be issues later on even with a mere 1 1/2 inch difference. He was OK about the Toyo tires that I got, since I got the slightly larger 255/55-18" tire...it's within the acceptable range ...anywho. For what it's wort if you're thinking about lowering the ride, get a few professional opinions as I did and I was told to leave it be. It's a beautiful car,odn't mess with that aspect of it. It looks cool in the images that I've seen but I would need to drive a lowered version before I'd change it now. Rey Bustos, happy Lexus owner in L.A.

Great info and now I'm curious to see all that you are going to do! I am looking into getting lowering springs from Eibach. Are you possibly considering lowering yours? The Eibach lowering kit seems to be the best around and isn't supposed to affect the ride but I need to get an objective opinion. Anyway, have fun and keep me/all of us posted. Rey

You are too kind Tom...just say it...they are UGLY! Rey

I haven't seen the rear one that I mentioned in a while. The one I'm talking about was small, chrome, only about 14" wide and basically went around the tow area and it did look good. It came up from under the car and swooped up to about the half way point of the bumper. Very cool. The long one that I've seen with WAAG is terrible...might as well put tires all along the back like a tug boat! I'll keep looking for the one that I meant and post a picture. I believe it was with a site that also had my nerf bars, the side step bars that are on my car...anywho...

You would think so but you need a very secure mounting surface and I don't believe there is one through the lower grill vent. The one that fits on the 330/350 mounts on the two bolts under the hood and are on the frame of the car. Very secure. I believe that the new ones made for the 400h are bolted underneath at the chassis. The ones that I mistakenly bought mounted through the bumper opening and to the chassis. As I said, I had to nix the idea of having a grill guard but that was over a year ago when there were no grills made for the 400h as there are now. Good luck and keep us posted. Rey

No, it's very different, look again closely and compare it to the my profile picture at the top left here, just under my "RXREY" banner.........Yes, the picture that you posted is the 330/350 bumper and you can see that the indented area is only one thing that is different. When the hood closes and the grill comes down to meet the bumper, it creates the "slot" that I'm talking about on the 330/350 models. The other difference is that the 400h bumper has an added air vent or "second" grill to allow for more ventilation needed for the hybrid system so you CAN'T switch to the 330/350 bumper without cutting off the air flow needed... so as I said, look at the picture of my 400h, look carefully and you'll see that not only are the fog lights different but on our 400hs we also have that second grill on the bumper and the lack of the indention that creates the "slot" or opening on the 330/350 designs. But as we now know, the manufacturers of the grills know that and have now designed their grill to fit our 400hs. There, I'm out of breath with this post! Rey Bustos, happy Lexus guy in L.A.

rampage? I'm not sure what your talking about, but the bar I bought from pepbeauty can be found on ebay or ebay express(where I got mine). If it doesnt fit im going to have my auto guy custom make brackets up for it, I must have the stainless steel bumper guard on my RX!!! I will attempt to install it in a week or so but i'll give you guys updates as soon as I can, and where did you find this rampage bumper guard at? I simply Googled "Rampage" after seeing it in the aforementioned post and "voila" there it was.... Rey

I actually don't like the guards that have the area around the headlights. There are grills that are really nice, chrome and that don't go over the lights, just the center. For my 400h, I like it without anything up front. I saw one at one time, for the rear, and it was really nice, maybe someone else has seen it. It only went around the tow area, maybe about a foot or so wide and it was turned upward...almost as if it was more of a step. It was chrome and looked very nice...that I wouldn't mind, for all of those that use others' cars as parking aids! It's kind of sad that modern bumpers need bumpers! Lol..... Rey Bustos in L.A.

Actually, the slot is not from the grill but from the indented center section of the bumper! So changing the grill to a 330/350 won't do any good. But it doesn't matter because now I know and we know that there are at least three manufacturers making grill guards for the 400h: WAAG, Rampage and ...what did NeoN mention?...Pep club, Meat grill....pepboys...Oh...he said PEPBEAUTY! there, that's my little input for the day....toodle-loo cariblu, Rey

NeoN, you mentioned Rampage ...or someone did, on the first post, above, look at the first entry.......so I looked it up and found the grills there...anyway, I guess they do have grills for the 400h now as seen in jkatsoudas' post,just above this one. The ones that Rampage makes are SS though, just like you wanted. Rey

Brett, I just saw the Rampage grill guard that you mentioned...very interesting. Is this the one that you got? If it is, then IT IS designed for the 400h and I'm sure many of us would LOVE to see pictures of your ride with it on! Thanks, Rey

No, actually the 330 and 350 are NOT the same as the 400h! The guard only fits the 330 and 350 because those models have an open slot at the grill/bumper area and that is where the support bars go through and onto the base of the radiator area. The support metal bars go through that slot and onto the two bolts by each or the front lights and on the left side by the horn. Also, the bumper on the 400h has the open air vent but this has nothing to do as to why the grill guard won't fit but just to add to the fact that the 400h is different...oh and the round fog lights and different rims. As far as I know, no one makes the grill guard for the 400h. If I am right, it'll be easy for you to resell it as a mistake or return it. I hope somehow I am wrong and there is a 400h grill guard that I don't know of....anyway, I'm just passing on what I found out on my own looking for the same thing when I first bought my 400h. But now, I am actually glad that my grill guard didn't fit because it is a "Princess" not a "Xena Warrior" type of vehicle, (yes, no matter what, I see my car as a "SHE"). I sold my grill guard from eBay for about half of what I paid for it to a man that has a 330 and he was really happy with it....why not, I paid for half of it! Let us know what happens in your case, Rey

Hey, Reybustos bought bigger, wider wheels for HIS ego, why not someone else with the same idea? This is Rey Bustos....no, I got new TIRES and they are 255/55/18"...not new RIMS! Just wanting to get the story straight. Rey

3% is exactly the difference and factor that in when calculating my MPG. No, I have not noticed any difference in regards to braking. The ride is so much better that all that I do notice is how much happier I am with these tires and how much better they feel. Keep all the info coming, it's great to have all of you to learn from! Rey

Any time Brett and I am curious about what you choose. If you decide to change rims as well, I would really like to see a picture or two! I think we all would. Rey

They feel really nice. No, absolutely no rubbing or any problems whatsoever and NO change in MPGs that I have seen. I was also contemplating the Bridgestone Alenzas that so many seem to be nuts about. I feel that too would be a great tire for you to contemplate as well as the few other choices that people have mentioned in earlier tire posts. I simply loved the look of the Toyo Proxes S/T. they are directional so if you don't mind that, they are wonderful. The car corners much better and they have shown almost no wear in the same time that the Good Years wore away. There wasn't any need at all for spacers even though they are a bit wider as well as taller...but remember that it is only a very little bit of size difference. Some have mentioned that they don't like the aggressive look of the Toyo Proxes but I actually loved that part of it. I didn't mind that my 400h looked like a "girl" before, but now it does look more masculine...well, a little bit more, afterall, it is a lovely and elegant car. I took off the roof rack, as I said, and I added the chrome side step pipes (Nerf Bars) and that along with the new tires makes the car look a little more unique. I also have four "Hybrid" emblems, two on the back and one on each side. In '06 they didn't have anything to show that I had a hybrid except the "h" after the 400 and I felt that I needed to make a statement and wanted people to know that I cared enough to spend the premium for the top of the line hybrid SUV. I hope this helped and remember, make sure that you like the look of the Toyo Proxes S/T tires . I personally think that they ride nicely and feel secure and they do look like a million bucks. In a couple of years or so I might try the Bridgestone Alenzas...but right now, these tires are great! Rey

I have Toyo Proxes and they are a wee bit bigger and look much better for the wheel well. I have 255/55-18" and if there was a difference in the MPGs, I haven't noticed. I keep really good track of my MPG. Anyway, my '06 400h came with very bad Good Year tires so after only one year I had to replace them. The Toyos are terrific. They are about a 1/2" bigger and it wouldn't seem as if you would notice but you really can. I have side by side pictures, before and after, if you look up my other entries on this forum. The car rides so much better in every way and even though Lexus picked the tire size for this car, it actually looks and feels better with the slightly larger tire. I wouldn't go bigger though...255/55 has not been a problem with anyone in this forum that has this size, no matter the brand. Look up "New Toyo Tires" in this forum, it's my entry and you can see my tires. As I said, my car looks amazing and I also took off that ugly (in my opinion), and for me unecessary, roof rack Rey Bustos, very happy Lexus owner in L.A.

Dr K, this is very interesting, I had to change my GYs after only 12K and I wasn't happy about that. I have had my fabulous Toyo Proxes 255/55 18" for about 8 months, 6K miles and even though it's still early they have been amazing tires thus far. I live in L.A. so I don't have extreme weather conditions so these tires really haven't been tested to a large degree, but I have been very happy with them just the same. Time will tell, but with me, that'll be a long while. I am curious though, did you in fact change the struts? I'm not even sure what struts do anyway. I know I haven't been any help in answering the strut question but I am curious to see who does answer your question. I'd like to know more about any strut/shock shortcoming and if I should change struts or shocks, or anything else.....I shouldn't have to on a 50K car but...oh well.....No one is perfect even Lexus admits that they are, "In PURSUIT of Perfection". Rey in L.A.

I simply Googled "Hybrid emblems" and I found them. They are by Conquestauto( the emblem on the rear, the side emblems are Toyota and were free at my Lexus of Glendale dealership...) the rear one was actually made for a Ford...the only good thing about the car! They were about $30 each, if I remember right, and they seem to have many in stock, so get one...or more. Oh, and if you were talking about the Nerf Bars(the chrome step bars)..well, same thing...I find everything on line! Rey Bustos, happy Lexus owner in L.A.

I don't remember what the brand was for the "Nerf bars" but look it up on the net, that's how I found them. I have an extra set if you want to try them, it'll only cost you shipping which is about $60, I think. It's a used set that I bought on ebay by accident....I ordered one then found the ones that I have on...it's a long story but bottom line, I'll give them to anyone that will simply pay for the shipping. Even if you don't like them... pass them on. They will fit any RX 330,350 or 400h. Just write to me via my web site. www.reybustos.com I think it's OK to write that, I'm not making any money from it...I paid over $200 bucks for them PLUS shipping. let me know and maybe after the holidays, when things aren't so crazed, we can arrange the shipping. Rey in L.A.