Gryphon

The Yokohama Parada Spec-X, which are highly recommended by Tirerack.com, cost about $752, including rebate, shipping, valve stems, and mounting/balancing.

I'll be ordering mine within the next month or so.

I have 6000 miles on a set of these and love them. My installed price at Discount Tire was $763 including a road hazard warranty.

Tom

There is another way. If you can locate a professional auto paint store that sells paint and supplies to the trade they have scanners similar to those used by Home Depot, Lowes, etc., to match colors of paint. All you need to do is remove a small portion of the interior part that you wish to match and they can do it, and put it in a small touch-up bottle.

FYI this type of store is also an excellent place to get references on good auto body people. They know their regular customers very well.

Tom

Check these guys out:

www.coastaletech.com

Someone, I remember that you posted this a long time ago. I was curious as I thought that to be an odd interpretation by Lexus. I called all 6 Lexus dealers in my city and asked the question of each service manager. All 6 told me that the extended warrant is based off the purchase date, not manufacturer date. And I did successfully buy the warranties on the 4 year anniversary of their purchase date.

Tom

The vehicle should have been insured by whoever owened it at the time, be it the dealer or a private party. It is the law if it is plated and being driven.

Also, make sure to get the extended warranty JUST before you hit 50k miles, not sooner. The warranty is valid x years from date of purchase. So you'd may as get it at the latest possible time so it lasts the longest <_<

You are wise beyond your years, CD. In our case we spread out our miles between several vehicles so the RX400h's are both at 4 years and around 31K.

FYI I went with Toby at Shreveport Lexus. A great guy to work with and by far the best prices.

My question for you is:

Have you experienced numerous issues with your vehicles - issues that are harbingers of trouble to come?

I believe Consumer Reports advises against extended warrantees unless the above is true.

Our RX400h has been more than stellar; it's been perfect. I couldn't imagine getting my money's worth out of an extended warranty for THIS vehicle.

....the Corvette? Absolutely!

That's a fair question. And I do read Consumer Reports. I am simply a bit afraid of a major repair on a complex hybrid vehicle. I also had a rather bad experience with a previous LS400, that would have cost me a small fortune in out of warranty repair costs had I not purchased the extended warranty. It covered a water pump, power steering pump, steering rack, alternator, radiator, and things I have forgotten.

Well it's about time to buy a couple of OEM extended warranties for our two RX400h's. Tomorrow is out last day. Can anyone give me their best/cheapest sources please? I know of Toby at Shreveport but am looking for others to compare/price match.

The 9.1 disk with a 5.1 kwi works with no override.

My apology. I misread the table on Lexus.com

Tom

You want a Genation 5 version is 9.1. The list price is $199 but you can probably find it cheaper from dealers such as:

Park Place Lexus, TX

Sewell Lexus. TX

Lexus of Shreveport, LA

Tom

I agree, there are always some drips. I change my filter from the top side now and just put a rag underneath beforehand.

Tom

Beautiful CD.

My only negative comment is that I don't personally think that the cow catcher fits the vehicle.

Tom

Man, this new site format leaves me cold. But that's for another day and post.

I am currently shopping for factory extended warranties for our two 2007 RX400hs. Obviously the decision on miles and time are personal to how we drives our vehicles.

But, one thing puzzles me. I have read (but cannot locate with the search engine) that the extended warranty must be purchased within 4 years of the MANUFACTURE DATE as posted on the door sill. But 4 local dealers I have called told me that this was flat wrong--the deadline is (a more probable) four years from my date of purchase.

Can anyone clear this up?

Tom

Ditto, one set of pads should never wear out your rotors.

Tom

RX400h, why are your messages longer than a wedding runway carpet? :)

Tom

I wonder if that can be tweaked?

:D

You want a Dodge Viper killer RX400h?

Tom

Attached are the Lexus torque curves for all three propulsion sources.

I'm sure that the computer(s) determine the amount of HP and torque for various conditions.

Tom

RX400h front motor.pdf

RX400h ICE.pdf

RX400h rear motor.pdf

Jeff, assuming that the vehicle has a nav system, I believe that the rear motor will show up on the "Energy Monitor" display.

Tom

Last word.

LOL

Tom the little boy in a man's body.

What I meant to say is for most people. Obviously, if you tend to drive your SUV in a similar manner as you do a sportscar, you will feel the difference, but anyone who lives in or near a large city knows that handling characteristics mean nothing when you're cruising along at 30-50 MPH on heavily-congested streets. And being that population density is far greater around large cities, I think it's safe to say that the majority of non-retired owners "see" average speeds of well under 50 MPH. I believe my average speed is 35.

I agree 99%, but there is the occasional high-speed avoidance maneuver that we all hope will never happen.

Nice day.

Tom

Yes the Parada Spec-X is a V-rated tire, as was the OEM Michelin. As far as I know all OEM tires were V-rated oj 400h's. I do not believe in downgrading speed ratings on a vehicle whose suspension was designed for a V-rated tire. There are many factors other than tread wear involved in speed ratings, particularly sidewall stiffness.

The Yoko's are on but I have yet to check the pressures myself and will report my feelings shortly.

Tom

Having a V-rated tire on a 4600-lb vehicle whose suspension was really not designed for handling is overkill and unnessarry. IMO. The 60,000 mile rating of the Bridgestone Alenzas is a joke, as there is little chance that those tires can come anywhere close to that mileage. H-rated tires often provide a smoother ride and longer tread life, so I would not rule them out as replacement tires. A quick check with a Tirerack rep confirmed that almost all tires in the size required for our vehicles have more than adequate load capability.

The Tirerack rep highly recommended the Michelin Lattitude Tour if ride comfort and low noise are top-priority requirements. It is T-rated (118 MPH max), but I don't think the RX400h can surpass that speed, anyway.

I would strongly disagree with your opinion of V-rated tires on a 4600 pound vehicle as overkill. Vehicle suspension ARE designed for certain speed rated tires. Weight rating is probably one of the least important parameters unless you go out of your way to buy tires that are rated lower than the dead weight of the vehicle (divided by 4 obviously).

One of the most dramatic transformation I ever experienced on a vehicle was when I upgraded the tires on my 98 GMC Yukon 4x4 to a higher speed rated tire. It is still not a sports car but the improvement in high speed handling (eg accident avoidance) was amazing.

Tom

Jim, I decided to go with the Yokohama Parada Spec-X but they are backordered for about a month from Discount Tire. I went in and prepaid, although not required, to make sure that there would be no "amnesia" regarding the price match. I am not in a big hurry since I have adequate tread wear left on my Michelins.

I will report back when I get the Yokos installed.

Tom

This appears to be a V-rated tire. Is that correct? If so, expect tread life to be quite a bit less than that of an H-rated all-season tire.

Yes the Parada Spec-X is a V-rated tire, as was the OEM Michelin. As far as I know all OEM tires were V-rated oj 400h's. I do not believe in downgrading speed ratings on a vehicle whose suspension was designed for a V-rated tire. There are many factors other than tread wear involved in speed ratings, particularly sidewall stiffness.

The Yoko's are on but I have yet to check the pressures myself and will report my feelings shortly.

Tom

You'll need to give them about 500 miles to wear off the protective coating that manufacturers put on new tires, they might be a little slick during that time. Many V-rated tires have good tread life, especially the newer ones. I don't really care about tread life. The RX is now our 3rd car, the wife has a new Prius for commuting and I prefer to drive my BMW.

BTW, I notice you have a 968 Cab, nice car. That was one of the finalists when I chose to get my BMW 330Cic. Although the 968 could fit 2 sets of clubs and enough baggage for a long weekend, the BMW had more room and the top fit under an automatic cover. A 944 Turbo hard-top was another choice. It had a Broadfoot re-build and some modifications that brought the HP up to 300+, it was very quick, would have been a good track car. 944 Turbos can be pushed to around 450 HP (pretty impressive for a 4 cylinder engine) and can take on 911 Turbos, but at that HP the engines don't last very long. I had a stock 944 in the '80's, probably my favorite car. Cruise all day at 110 comfortably, got a little squirrelly at 120+.

The Z-rated tires on the 944 didn't last very long, LOL.

Hey Jim. Yes I am a huge fan of the Porsche 968. Unfortunately even prinstine examples such as mine (36K, triple-black, showroom condition) have suffered a terrible hit in value--about 50% less than a few years ago. Why such an unusual, limited production car, has not become a collectible puzzles me.

I once put some stickily Z-rated tires on a Porsche 928. They were barely soiled before they were worn out.

Tom

Jim, I decided to go with the Yokohama Parada Spec-X but they are backordered for about a month from Discount Tire. I went in and prepaid, although not required, to make sure that there would be no "amnesia" regarding the price match. I am not in a big hurry since I have adequate tread wear left on my Michelins.

I will report back when I get the Yokos installed.

Tom

This appears to be a V-rated tire. Is that correct? If so, expect tread life to be quite a bit less than that of an H-rated all-season tire.

Yes the Parada Spec-X is a V-rated tire, as was the OEM Michelin. As far as I know all OEM tires were V-rated oj 400h's. I do not believe in downgrading speed ratings on a vehicle whose suspension was designed for a V-rated tire. There are many factors other than tread wear involved in speed ratings, particularly sidewall stiffness.

The Yoko's are on but I have yet to check the pressures myself and will report my feelings shortly.

Tom

Jim, I decided to go with the Yokohama Parada Spec-X but they are backordered for about a month from Discount Tire. I went in and prepaid, although not required, to make sure that there would be no "amnesia" regarding the price match. I am not in a big hurry since I have adequate tread wear left on my Michelins.

I will report back when I get the Yokos installed.

Tom