RXREY

The Parada Spec-X is relatively new but there are over 1 million miles now reported in the reviews at Tirerack. They're popular with truck and SUV owners but they are not an off-road tire. It's the tire Gryphon chose and probably the one I will choose to replace the crappy Michelin MXV4 S8's than came on our RX. The ExtremeContact DWS is even newer. If it's as good as the ContiExtremeContact it replaced, it should be a very good tire. Another tire to consider for the RX is the General Exclaim UHP. Most online sellers show it as an all-season tire and it has a M+S rating. Tirerack lists it as a summer tire because they think the rubber compounds used are not good in freezing temperatures. It is a popular and highly rated tire with over 14 million miles reported in the reviews. It is also very inexpensive. Is the "crappy" Michelin MXV s8's that you are referring to different than the ones that I want to get? I am considering,(top of my short list), the Michelin Primacy MXV4. From everything that I have read, this is a great tire. I hope the one that you mentioned is different....Rey

Yes, I added that a couple of years ago. I found it as a "Lip" on eBay. It cost about $250 but with painting and installing, it ended up around $900 total but well worth it. It looks great and I love that it made my car look so different. It really is a nice looking RX and I like the mods that I did. Rey in L.A.

I don't think a week goes by without someone asking me about the Hawk emblem from the Harrier...then I have to mention taht the grill is different than the normal RX. I am now close to picking the Michelin Primacy Mxv4 (225/60/18") as my next tires. Everything is looking great for my car. I love it more now after four years. It has been a great car.

Thanks, I fixed, I took the cover off the drivers door, all the plugs were ok, so I had a look at the rear passenger door, for some reason the plug was half out, so I pushed it back in, , but its working OK, now. no idea how the plug came out. Thanks Great!

Right now I have 255/55 18' and they are great, about 1/2" bigger than the stock 235/55s. I want to get Michelin Primacy Mxv4s but they don't have our size but after I looked at the tire calculator, their 225/60 18s are really, really close. They are in between the stock and the 255/55s...a wee bit closer to the latter. so...225/60 18" works just fine for us. Rey in L.A.

I looked at the tire calculator and the Michelin Primacy mxv4 seems to be the best for my RX400h...living in L.A. this is the best tire for me. The tire calculator tells me that the size available as a very near match is 225/60 18" which is just about the same....about 1MPH differential and no one would see the difference. It is slightly smaller in diameter to the tires that I have now,255/55 but a little bigger than the stock 235/55. So for anyone that might consider the Michelin Primacy Mxv4, get the 225/60 18". I saw them at Discount Tire (L.A. only?) for $180 but you get $70 off on a four tire purchase (sale as of March 2010). I hope this helps. I don't know if Discount Tires is just a California company.

Rey, You might want to check out either the Continental ContiExtremeContact (235/55/18 - much better-than-average tread life and rolling resistance and better-than-average comfort and noise) or if handling is an ultimate priority, the Goodyear GSD3s in 255/55/18 (I have these-wider profile- on the Corvette and they are AMAZING on dry and wet roads). They won't last as long as the Contis, however. lwleedy, Just about every Michelin performs well when it comes to hydroplaning. I am so much more interested in the ride comfort, little rolling resistance and long tread life...I'll look into the Continental...thanks! Rey

I don't think that MIchelin Mxv4s come in either the 235/55 18" or the size that I have now (and preferred) 255/55 18". They make 225/60 18" which is very close to the same diameter...about 1/4" all around bigger.

According to Consumer Reports, the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tops the charts among "H"-rated all-season tires. They are available in 255/55/18 size and have the best rolling resistance rating along with better-than-average tread life. They are fairly expensive at $222 per tire. The Toyo Versado LX is listed among the "T" and "V"-rated all season tires, but did no better than 5th place (V-rated) and 9th place (T-rated). Thanks for the tip on these Michelins (Primacy Mxv4) they sound great. I researched them after you mentioned these tires and ...wow, everything sounds like exactly what I am looking for. Quiet, long lasting, good MPGs...H rated... The price is high but they sound like they are totally worth it. Right now they moved past the Kumho Road Venture APT KL51 as no. one on my hit parade. I took the Alenzas and the Toyos off my list. I feel that I still have about a year on my Toyos so keep giving opinions everyone! Rey in L.A.

I looked into the tires mentioned(Michelin Primacy Mxv4) and I think that I am either getting the Kumho Road Venture APT LK51 or now I am really impressed with the reviews on the Michelin Primacy Mxv4 tires...even though the price is pretty high. I live in SoCal so extreme weather isn't a factor. I have about a year so keep giving opinions everyone! Rey

According to Consumer Reports, the Michelin Primacy MXV4 tops the charts among "H"-rated all-season tires. They are available in 255/55/18 size and have the best rolling resistance rating along with better-than-average tread life. They are fairly expensive at $222 per tire. The Toyo Versado LX is listed among the "T" and "V"-rated all season tires, but did no better than 5th place (V-rated) and 9th place (T-rated). I know I can look it up but are the tire ratings?

The windows will lose programing if the battery is disconnected. The reset proceudre is simple, just hold the window control button in the UP postion for a long time like 30-45 seconds while the car is in READY state. I think that is the process. Yes, that is true but check first to see if the sun roof opens. If it doesn't, then do as SKYFISH says...it's simple to reprogram everything....but when the battery IS disconnected EVERYTHING, all windows and the sunroof will be affected. If the sunroof opens, then it's the connection as I stated earlier. Good luck, Rey

I had to take off the plate that covers the switches on the drivers side and had to disconnect the plug-in wire connectors for a separate issue. They were pretty easy to take off. Even though they were easy to disconnect, (they were like phone plugs that connect into the phone jack on your wall), I can't see them disconnecting on their own. Like a phone jack, there is a one-way push in connection and a little gizmo has to be pushed at the same time as you pull to take them off. The plate, or bezel, whatever that switch cover is called, was easy to pry off. Just be careful not to tear or scratch the surrounding materials. You might want to take a screw driver and put tape at the end of it. Anyway, I would pop it off on the drivers side, see if there is an obvious reason for your problem. After that, I wouldn't know what to do so I would take it in to Lexus. I like to figure things out, within my ability, and fix things that I can before taking the car in...(like all of the annoying rattles that I fixed in my car...I found them all!). My dealer is great about not charging me for a lot of the issues that I have come across...the "little things". I hope this is a little thing, good luck. Warmly, Rey in L.A.

Hmm, I guess that puts the Kumho tires back on top of my list....at least for now. I have about a year to keep getting all of the great advice from all of you....Rey

I was asked by the guys at my dealership if they could take pictures of the front grill,lip and Harrier emblem and the blue guages! It was really nice.

I read some more reviews on the Toyo Versado LX and am very impressed. I do think that Toyo makes fine tires so I am now either going to get the Toyo Versado LXs or the Kumho Road Venture APT KL51s(do they have to make tires names this complicated?) Rey in L.A.

I have heard that the Toyo Versados are amazing. I have had the Toyo Proxes STs for three years now and they have been great. Toyo makes great tires. I do want to try the Kumho Road Venture APT KL5s next and keep my preferred size of 255/55 18". I think that you can't go wrong with either. I too am not sold on the Alenzas no matter how many people say they love them on this forum. They aren't on the Tire Rack list any longer and too many people in other forums seem to not like them. Check the price on the Kumho tires as well, they tend to be very reasonably priced. Keep us posted as to what you get. I think I have yet another year to decide which tires I'll get next but right now, I really like the reviews on the Kumhos. Please take into account that I live in the Los Angeles area so weather is not an issue with me as far as picking tires. Rey

I haven't ruled out Alenzas but there are many people that didn't like them in other forums so I will keep researching and getting all of your opinions. The Kumhos are at the top of my list. So far everyone that has them loves them. They seem to be highly rated in many respects including the quiet factor, which is very important to me. The Alenzas seem to not be great later on...but then maybe every tire is like that. Does anyone have an opinion as to whether the Alenzas were an improvement over your last tires as far as MPGs? Thanks for the great advice everyone....Rey in L.A.

Hello Tom and everyone out there in Lexiland... I have had my Toyo Proxes S/Ts for three years now, 30 thousand miles and they still look new. I like the 255/55 18" size. They are just slightly bigger than the OEMs but look like the right size rather than the 235/55s. Anyway, Toyo has a new version of the S/T and feel that they are an amazing tire. I do not want to get the Alenzas. I am thinking that if I go away from Toyo, I have researched tires for a while now, and feel that I would really like to try the: Kumho Road Venture KL51. Tiretrack doesn't rate Toyos, they don't sell them, but I feel they are better than the Alenzas from statements from people in tire review forums and car forums other than ours. I have only heard great things about the Kumhos so I will get those or possibly the new Toyo Proxes S/Ts. I think that I will keep the 255/55 18" size though. I think that I may not have an option though with the Kumhos...I am not sure if they make the 255/55 18" but I do know that they make the 235/55 18"s. Anyone have Kumho Road Venture KL51s? I think that I still have about a year left in these Toyo tires which will put them at around 40K miles. RXRey in L.A.

I took my 06400h to get her 45K service and got some nice responses about my blue guages and the front lip...oh, and I was asked about the Harrier grille and Hawk emblem. I have to admit, for her being 4 years old now, the car looks good as new and runs like a top. Happy trails form warm L.A....yes, in February!

I agree about the grammar, the person was trying to ask a question...that being said, I did suggest to another forum member that he should pay more attention in his English class. I was sarcastic with this person because he a was smug 16 year old and came off as an engineering genius. Other than that, I would not feel comfortable being unkind. I came from another country and had to learn English so I am sensitive to the fact that not everyone speaks English or writes it perfectly. In this forum we have many members from other countries and deserve respect and an understanding answer...just my $.02. Anyway, I hope whatever is going on with this person's RX400h gets resolved by Lexus. I know that my 06 felt different when I first drove around...the brakes didn't seem to work...now I don't feel a thing. I got used to whatever the issue was. It turned out that the regenerative braking simply feels different. Rey in L.A. and proud American

It would not be a good idea to modify the braking controller or rewire the actuators in any way. The regenerative braking is an integral part of the HSD and a safety concern... not just for you but for the innocent victim you may run into when your little mod develops a glitch. Why not wait until we see what the recall does to correct this braking behavior issue. In the meantime, just being aware of the behavior has allowed me to compensate in my driving technique. I have learned to brake earlier and more aggressively than I would normally think is called for, especially when doing down hill over rough terrain. It's much easier to retrain your habits than to unilaterally re-design one of the most complex automotive systems on the planet. I'm just sayin. Dont worry i just need some help in the design, i wont actually put the sysem on the rx400h for a LONG time. ill try our the system a FSAE car and a "hybrid" shifter kart im working on. i need a measurement or ratio for the force or braking power of the electic regenerative braking system. sorry if my grammers not good, im dislexic and have had alot of my grammer errors pointed out in my other posts Hopefully you aren't dyslexic when it comes to engineering! Ayayayeee! Make sure that you just keep working on the go-cart version and not the real Rx400h...please. By the way, dyslexic or not, don't you see all of the times when you write that the auto spellcheck is telling you something? Hmm? You do not make sense saying you are dyslexic, especially now when the computer will help you and give you the correct spelling of all of those underlined words,for Pete's sake....

"Danger Will Robinson, danger!"......

That's great! Plus, he won't have the foggiest what you mean! Toodle-loo, member RXRey, one of the over 16 crowd.....

No offense, OK I guess I can't help it.. I am a college professor and love education, you should take a break from engineering and focus on your writing in your English class a wee bit more. Honestly, learn to write better, even on a car forum. Just a thought. Oh, and like cduluk suggested, stay away from trying to fix things way beyond what common sense would dictate. Let the Lexus folks do the big fixes, it will be their responsibility. Respectfully, Rey