Gryphon

Someone, thank the well-dressed female Lexus owners that I often see dropping their cars off at the dealership and saying, "just do whatever it needs." Music to a service writers ears. Tom

Rey. How did this problem get resolved? Tom

That's exactly my experience with Walmart for oil changes. It's very convenient to shop while the work is being done until they mess up. In my case they left off the crush washer from the drain plug on my Porsche, tried twice to "solve the problem" with additional tightening of the drain plug, then argued with me about removing the plug to check out the problem because "they would lose all the new oil." Tom

I suspect that the longevity of cabin air filter is related to climate. Mine was merely dusty at 10,000 miles, but I live in a Arizona which is obviously quite dry. Tom

Welcome TrojanFan. I'm a USC grad as well. Tom

Rey, The administrators have a permanent block on purple cars. Tom

If you are referring to the Lexus Personalized Settings, here they are. Note that only your dealer can change these. Tom Lexus_Personalized_Settings.pdf

Actually, disconnecting the battery does not entirely stop it's discharge. Lead-acid batteries self-discharge at a considerably higher rate than one might expect. You will get longer battery life by keeping it fully charged with a trickle charger. Tom

I like my RX and would buy another, but probably from a different stealership. The only issue I have is poor rear visibility. Tom

I doubt that you will have a problem in as short a time as a week. That being said, I use a 2 amp motorcycle charger (Walmart $18.44), wired into the cigarette lighter plug, to keep my various cars/trucks charged when not being driven. Note that for this to work, the vehicle must have a non-switched lighter plug, otherwise you need to connect directly to the battery. Tom

Ken, I have no need to defend Lexus' RX design, but for my purposes the location of the button has not been a problem in either of our two 400h's which are both 18 months old. I can't think of a more appropriate place for a button that may be used twice/year at the most. I think the button is actually a nifty idea as it apparently allows an owner to have summer and winter tires/wheels and to recognize both sets of ID codes with nothing more than pushing a button. FYI this is explained quite well on page 311 of the 2007 Owner's Manual. Tom

Perhaps that "goofy grin" is the result of a head injury cause by a jack falling on same. Tom

Thanks, Jim. I actually want this for a non-automotive application and haven't found it in a Home Depot. But, then, Home Depot's sales force has declined drastically over recent years. Tom

Snow thanks, Tom

Conspicuously absent is an invitation to Canada, so I'll check out Walmart. :) Tom

SK, where did you buy your chocks? Tom

Good information, Jim. Can you provide some details on the Home Depot product? Brand, UPC, department? Tom

Hmm, somebody struck a nerve. A few random thoughts from my aging brain: 1. A jack rated at 2425 lbs is more than adequate to lift one wheel of an RX if properly positioned. 2. Jacking a car in the dark on a surface that is not level is foolish. Drive to a more appropriate and safer place, even if you risk damaging the tire. Or call Roadside which is FREE. 3. The type of jack, scissor or floor, has nothing to with lifting height. 4. I changed a flat tire on my RX, using the scissor jack by choice over my floor jack, just to learn how to use it should the need arise. I had no particular difficulty lifting a front wheel high enough to do the work. Of course my scissor jack wasn't sitting in the dark on soft dirt so it probably functioned as designed. 5. I'm guessing that goofygrin was driving daddy's car for date night. Just a hunch. Tom

I believe that the button you are referring to is the on/off button for the power rear door, most likely a safety feature for children. It's described on page of 23 of the 2007 RX400h Owner's Manual. The tire pressure warning system is controlled with buttons below the steering column. Tom

You are definitely ready for the Baja 1000. Tom

I did my 10,000 mile service on my cabin air filter last night. No mold, no smell, but a bit dusty. (My low humidity Arizona climate may relate to the lack of mold.) A few comments: 1. Removing my plastic stop pins required pliers since they were more than hand tight. I lubed them with a bit of silicone which should make the next service a bit easier. 2. I blew off my filter with compressed air and then gave it an ample treatment of Walmart's brand of Lysol spray disinfectant. Yes, I know I am breathing this stuff, but I doubt that, once dried, it will be harmful, since it's intended to be sprayed here and there around the house. More likely ineffective in a short while. Tom

Thanks, Dave. Good information. If I can get this done before my rotator cuff surgery, I'll post some details from my first RX400h oil change experience. Tom

Apparently if you disconnect the battery or the battery discharges too low you require going to the dealer to recalibrate your ECU. It is said that the ECU requires to be properly configured or else your vehicle initial mileage will suffer. The service rep seems clueless if you ask for "ISC calibration", and I cannot vouge for sure whether it is really required or not. I read somewhere there is a TSB and procedure one can do to calibrate the ISC. I personally find it a little extreme in nature and have not attempted it myself more than once. I did have the dealer "set" or "reset" my vehicle once when I disconnnected the battery and recharged it (unknowingly of course) and asked them about the "ISC calibration". I don't know if it was done or not, but whatever the mechanic did perform did return full functionality to all the individual "electronics" that would otherwise not work properly (i.e. the garage door opener, power windows, seat memory etc.). Cheers, MadloR I ran this by my dealership's service manager yesterday and, not surprisingly, he said it was completely incorrect. Has anyone learned more about this TSB calibration? Tom

My dealer is considerably higher than $27, and also wants a fortune to upgrade to synthetic oil. You'd think it was MobileOne with gold additives. Where is the drain plug? Tom

Brad, That's some good information on changing oil, but it would be great of you would elaborate on the entire procedure, perhaps a more formal write-up. So far I have several bleeding cuts on my left hand and wrist from simply trying to get a tool on the oil filter, just for practice. I still have questions such as: 1. Do you need to remove one or more lower panels to catch the oil, remove the drain plugs, and catch the oil? 2. Did you use ramps or jack stands? 3. How did you minimize/avoid spilling oil when you removed the filter? 4. Is the oil filter tool from Autozone sold specifically for Toyota filters? Thanks in advance. Tom