Jim Nazium

Bump... Check your PM. Cheers, MadloR

This is really helpful. Thank you so much. I have another question. Not sure if you purchased new or used. I purchased an '07 so it is 1 year old...I was given a title certificate. It is signed over to me on the front but I noticed the back portion (for registering a US plate) is blank. Any idea if the US border requires this to be completed and signed by the seller? From what I remember, the title of certificate was duely completed by the "Seller" (aka, purchased from Dealer/Leasing Company) and forwarded to me (delivered within the vehicle when transported to me) and I cannot remember if I signed anything myself. I photocopied it in triplicate and had to forward that minimum 3-5 days in advance to the Border Customs Agency. I know that was in fact one of the papers required, so that they can do a verifcation to see if there is any Lean on the vehicle prior to exporting. cheers, MadloR

No the seat warmer does not consume 1mpg per use. Remember, you can vary the heat setting and if anything you can use the Heat Seater to SAVE you money by improving mpg. When cold, do not use AUTO climate, in fact keep the entire system off. Instead use the seat heater hence not requiring the engine to fire up in order to heat up the coolant for the heater core. Then when you get a chance to get up to highway speed you can reverse, turn off seat heater if you want and activate the auto climate control, since the engine is running anways it will at the same time transfer hot fluid to the heater core. Then if you are really miserly, you can after activating the auto climate control and start blowing hot air inside the passenger compartment, you can increase the temperature setting even higher and have the air divert to i.e. face and heat... THEN turn off the system alltogether, thereby the natural air that is vented into the passenger compartment will do so without using energy from the vehicle :) Cheers, MadloR

I think it's just your Canadian accent. Mine works fine. B) What are you like, talking about, like, you know, it has nothing to do with my like mastery of like the english language you know. And more to do with like the poor like design of the system you know. The Acura system, rules. Try one out, you'll like, see, you know. Cheers, MadloR

OK, as others have mentioned above, it is critical that if the petrol engine needs to be on, the system would like to keep and maintain the catalytic converters in the optimum temperature range in order to keep the exhaust at emmission levels required by the country you drive in. Some little tips, to keep the engine off in winter... 1) Try to park indoors as much as possible, seeing how everything is just that much warmer. 2) Try not to drive with the Climate Control system on. If you ask for the heater core to be hot in order to blow hot air inside the car immediately, the system will obviously depend on the engine to heat the water coolant in order to generate the heat necessary by the heater core. Instead, keep it off and when you get a chance to drive at a speed where the engine is required the heat that is generated there will automatically heat the coolant. Now, if you then press on the Auto Climate Control the system will deploy "ON" and the hot coolant will be directed to the heater core. At this point, since the engine is running you can leave the system on if you wish. If you are driving in heavy traffic, or come to a complete stop then I suggest you turn off the automatic climate control system. Leave it off, and when you get back up to speed, the system will still blow hot air into the cabin due to the air that is forced through by the inertia of the vehicle being driven. Also to help the amount of air flow without the use of the fan blower, you can crack open a rear window or do what I do in the winter and tilt open the sunroof. This decreases the cabin pressure and allows for more air to enter the cabin since there is less cabin pressure due to the exit opening of the sunroof / window. 3) Invest in a block heater. It's inexpensive and if you have access to an electrical outlet it will keep your engine warm as opposed to ambient sub zero temperatures. 4) Make sure your tire temperature is set at sub zero ambient temperature to ensure you are driving at the required air pressure. Every little bit helps in keeping the ICE off. 5) Use the heat seaters instead of the Auto Climate Control. Seat heaters will not trigger the ICE to start in order to heat the engine coolant while idling or driving at non-ICE speeds where the electric motors can take over. Cheers, MadloR

Unfortunately, the voice recognition system deployed in the RX 400H must have been trained by the voices of underwater deep sea fisherman. IOW, even if you have the right word for the voice command, they system will 99% of the time get it wrong. I don't know why that is, but it's is a really putrid system and complete useless. Lexus blew it big time, perhaps they trusted there outsourced partners in developing such an @SS like V.R. Cheers, MadloR

OK, we were dumped 18" in a matter of 12 hours or so this past Sunday. With the high winds, poor snow clearance and overall heavy congestion typically found in a major metropolitan city, snow accumulations varied in parts from 18" to 30". I will say this, and there is "snow" substitute for 4 full blown winter tires, regardless of how many drive wheels you have. It is the difference between sort of limbering and getting along, and complete futility. Comparing the RX 400H with other SUV's I have had in the past (many of them had far more OFF road type of drivetrains, ie. QUADRA-DRIVE by Jeep etc.) I can honestly say you are not hindered in any way by the present system found on the Lexus RX 400h (except for one small point, I will mention below). You get excellent ground clearance, thorough traction at all times and excellent driveablity in all levels of deep, heavy, compacted snow, even when trying to manouevre between large snowbanks spaced 8 feet apart, and where the entrance between them resembles a bombed road angled at 30 degrees which can bank and sway from one angle to another. Apart from taking this on the rubicon trails, which I suspect know one would, this is on par with any other SUV on the market sold in North America. Just remember, to invest in winter tires. Now for the ick... Lexus should of devised a way to turn off the electronic controls. By that, I mean the anti-slip aka traction control by means of a switch or over ride button. There can be times where this is desired, especially if you attempt going somewhere you shouldn't attempt, and getting yourself stuck (like trying to squeek through a tight passage where you need to go slow due to obstacles that could damage your vehicle in case you slip or slide)... which happened to me trying to enter a private parking lot that was properly cleaned on the inside, but by the stupidity of the local city snow removal team they had paved clear the snow off the streets and onto the parking lot entrance. The entrance to the parking lot had a rusty tow truck parked sideways and impended a clean entrance / shot of getting into the parking lot. So I entered slowly and sure enough the vehicle was overwhelmed by the heavy and deep snow and I eventually plowed out and sank. Now that wouldn't be so bad, not with a four wheel drive vehicle (better yet if you have a low gear) but unfortunately the more you press the gas the more the electronics kick in and completely shut power to the drivetrain. So technically your stuck, you cannot overpower the inertia of the snow and spin the four wheels to make headway. Worse, you cannot simly reverse your way out, since the same thing happens in reverse. Well, experience kicks in (back in the days of rear wheel drive with only two winter tires for the rear drive and zero electronics (not even fuel injection)). I got the 400H out by using the rocking motion, basically it is a forward motion, then just before you lose forward momentum you quickly shift to reverse and accelerate, basically switching back and forth till you either get yourself out by going forward or back. In the end, the pathway from my tracks cleared enough of a path that I was able to once out of the parking lot to attempt re-entry into the parking lot by following the make shift tires tracks I created in the snow. Bottom line, Lexus needs to create a over drive switch and retrofit them, even if it costs the vehicle owner a small premium. In fact, I would even pay for it full price. Cheers, MadloR

The requirement according to transport Canada concerning the instrument cluster is the requirement to show KM/H as part of the display. Then of course there is all the other little things that are pretty much standard requirements like the fact the RX 400H can in fact support a child seat (remember, Canadian standards are different than American standards in this area). Anyhoot, I wouldn't fret over it, because the place you will take your vehicle to certify it according to Transport Canada is an Authorized Canadian Tire store. They pretty much check to see if the vehicle is pretty much the vehicle you are trying to certify, and perhaps, just perhaps will even do a walk around the vehicle. Yes, it sounds and is a joke. I would do a search in the area you would like to store a vehicle for a "car pound". These places reposses vehicles and or purchase vehicles from the US gov't and are authorized to auction to the public. In other words, you are pretty much getting a local that is pretty secure. I didn't find mine by looking in the yellow pages or google, but rather called a bunch of new car dealers in the area asking them if they could secure and guarantee the storage / safety of my vehicle. All pretty much couldn't guarantee me that, but one did refer me to the car pound / repo man. So, that is what I did, he had a gated lot, and an indoor garage complete with security system. Cost me about a 100$ US for the 10 or so days I stored it before getting the paper work in order for US Customs. What I did ask the dealer I purchased the vehicle for is a "Transit" pass (that is what we called it in Canada), I don't remember the name for it in the US. This allowed me to drive the vehicle to the repo pound as well as to drive it to clear US and Canadian Customs. Basically it's a card board cutout of a license plate and you fill in the date till expiry required, you better google the term and/or the method of how to fill it in because they (Highway Patrol) are pretty specific on how to blott out the necessary blocks to create the temporary plate. Good Luck... MadloR

I purchased my RX 400H as well in the US. I informed myself in advance, and there is no special button sequence you can enter to convert miles to km in the odometer. Nor can you change Farenheit to Celcuis. The only solution available, will also void your warranty and that involves swapping out the odometer / speedometer cluster. Well, that is what I had investigated back in January 2007. Cheers, MadloR

At the last known request I made with Lexus and various other sources, it cannot be done by simply pressing a few buttons. That is not to say it won't eventually be "hacked" if you will. But I was told that the vehicles odometer gauge cluster would need to be swapped out and at the same time the ECU. I am sure there must be another way around this, but this was the typical response I received the last time I informed myself. Cheers, MadloR

No, what I was saying was the benz was not driveable in the winter, period. I had trouble pulling away from a stop light, busses were literally blowing me away. The only recourse was studded winter tires. They are truelly the ultimate in winter ice traction. Nothing can compare to it, but the 95% of the time you are driving on ashpalt and the noise is very tiresome and the handling is rather precarious. And, like you said many states no longer tolerate studded tires, they are very hard on the roads for obvoius reason. Cheers, MadloR

It slays me how so many luxury car manufactures have missed the boat. For crying out loud, Toyota is soon to launch there THIRD iteration of the Prius. Lexus has expanded the Hybrid concept throughout there luxury line, BUT more importantly have or are going to soon release 2nd generations of there Hybrid technology in the Luxury / Sport / SUV line. Hello?!?!?!?!?! M-B, BMW, ACURA, VOLVO... wake up! I guess it is Rocket Science afterall. :whistles:

I remember a long while ago, when I purchased my first ever Mercedes 1990 C260 (had it for only one year, proved to be the worst new car I ever owned, a real lemon) it was rear wheel drive and INCREDIBLY had no "limited slip differential". In winter it was a real handful, especially accelerating even at slow speed, the vehicle would accelerate forward like a sand crab (ever see one of those cars driving down the road that has had its frame repaired, though not quite true). I had no choice but to invest in full blown winter tires that were studdable. It was HORRIBLE, in terms of driveability in anything other than snowstorms. Any dry weather condition or speed proved to be like a cat standing on all fours. Oh and the noise, I couldn't stand it. Anyhoot soon after the car made me sick whenever driving it for extended periods of time. It was discovered, but never repaired (to my knowledge), that fuel vapors were entering the cabin, ever so faintly that you would never realize it at first and after becoming accustomed to it you still couldn't notice it until getting out of the vehicle. Cheers, MadloR

Congratulations on your new ride. Well obviously, not the latter The one thing you want to do, is not drive on the highway for extended periods with the cruise control. And if you can avoid the highway all together and stick to a more stop and go traffic, the better. A new engine typically does not need to be broken in, but one cardinal rule is you don't want a new engine driven at the same rpm's when new for a long period of time. Varying the rpm is the best way to go, do not floor the accerelator during the break in period. I would change the oil after a 1000miles or less as well, including filter. Also do not stomp on the breaks, the discs and pads need to be bedded, and the discs require multiple cycling to properly cure the metal. Other than that, just take it easy and you should be good to go. Cheers, MadloR

Hmm, interesting choice. I read the spec's on the Blizzak LM-25 and like the fact that this tire, like most other winter tires available from other winter tire manufacturers, use a constant tread compound throughtout. The Blizzak DM-Z3's use the original concept 55% Link Multicell Compound while the remaining 45% features a standard winter tire compound. How many miles have you driven on them? Have you noticed any irregular tread wear? Does it feel like the weight of the vehicle and the undersizing (225 instead of 235 mm) of the contact patch, overwhelms the tire any? I know as a rule it is preferred to drop one size in width, and up one ratio in sidewall height, to give the same rolling diameter for winter tires, but I do find that the massive weight and the factory tire size chosen by Lexus to be too little. I wouldn't oversize the contact patch for winter, but I did for my summer tire and find the ride and handling much improved. Cheers, MadloR

I run separate factory rims, with a set of Blizzak DM-Z3 for winter use. Cheers, MadloR

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 couldn't agree with you more RX400H. At first I was a little miffed that the 400h didn't attain more Prius like fuel economy by running a smaller displacement ICE, or an alternative fuel like diesel. But after owning one for about 10 months I wouldn't change the ICE / Hybrid combo. I like the fact that I can put the "sleeper" on someone, especially all other SUV's you are most likely to encounter. The 400h takes off and like a run away train, it pulls with a constant level of acceleration. No flat spots. I don't know if it's me, but I find I get better than most fuel economy numbers, even though I drive in above average colder conditions. One other note, the total round trip was about 700 miles... running 5W30 synthetic mobil 1 oil, using Regular Unleaded fuel and driving 90% of the time with Cruise Control. OH!!! and I had put on the Bridgestone Blizzak winter tires on for the trip (bad weather and snow in my area). The one thing I did do on the drive back was temporarily suspend the cruise control whenever going down a long slope where the descent would actually cause the 400h to gain speed. I believe the cruise control will try to keep the speed at the preset limit and will attempt to "scrub" off the potential increase by either engine braking or perhaps using the regenerative braking system. The onscreen display or the kw meter shows no sign of regenerative energy, so I am not sure just how exactly the cruise control on the 400h works when going down a steep hill. Cheers, MadloR

Made the trip down for Black Sunday (like usual). Decided to take the wife's 400h, had 4 adults in the car and loaded up with luggage. The whole trip down on the east coast on 07/11/22 it rained and rained and rained. Anyhoot I averaged 55mph (some highway traffic, construction zones, and speedtraps and speed limit) and pulled off 27.2 mpg with ambient temperatures at 36F. The trip back I notched 28.2mpg with an average speed slightly higher at 63 mph... and it was sunny with ambient temperatures at 38F. The vehicle was loaded up to the hilt with Black Sunday deals. Awesome, is all I have to say. Cheers, MadloR

Hey! mrburnickass. That's how we say, getting "OWNED"!!! LFMAO! Well said, JimsGX, BRAVO! Cheers, MadloR P.S. it has nothing to do with understanding an analysis, but everything to do with good ol fashion common sense and logic.

Damn! That is sweet... nice find. I am hoping that perhaps more "liberal" thinking dealers might listen to customers who mention and perhaps give a hint at the solution. My question to you is, what guarantee do you have that this does not repeat itself? I get dust on the dash, but what car doesn't. I will pay closer attention if the dust is "dust, or white particles". Cheers, MadloR

First of all, not everyone has the same "access to resources". So then, common sense kicks in. I don't give a rats patootee what some UOA report is going to tell me, if you change your oil often enough you are not doing inherit damage. We are talking about a Lexus that is covered by a warranty, a very good one at that. No gut feelings there, just good ol fashion common sense. So your internal privey to information or facts and such that you cannot share do not justify your point of view. On the other hand, we have the proof of the owners manual, and it doesn't get any more clear than that. Black and white, baby, Black and white. Any questions? No? Good, case closed. As for the validity of pulling UOA that was not the topic of this posting. Cheers, MadloR

I can say the same, you have not supplied any proof contrary to what EVERY automobile manufacture states. Hmm, oh well, I guess your right and everyone else in the automotive world is wrong, including the drivers who own them. LMAO! MadloR

This person is trying to turn this post into a p!ss!ing contest. Too bad he cannot resort to the same standards as the rest of us. I have used Redline oil for many years, and did so in my 3SGTE engine. Then again, I was developing in excess of 400HP at the rear wheels from a 2 litre engine, and you can bet that putting any engine oil through 21psi of constant boost with overboosting at 24-27psi you made damn sure to find the best oil out there. Did I take an engine oil analysis, no. Didn't need to. Did I change my oil at "recommended" change intervals, no, car was no longer under powertrain warranty due to modifications. Did I change often, yes, sometimes every 6 to 8 weeks, depending on driving. Then again I used common sense. I do not change my oil based on "pulling UOA", and for that matter 99% don't either. Why? Because it's not practical and nor is it time or cost efficient. Common sense dictates over factual procedures. I don't need an oil analysis to tell me whether at 5000k my oil is still protecting my engine or not. I do not drive (nor my wife for that matter) my 400h like I do my M5 or my previous vehicles the same way. This vehicle requires to be reliable and trouble free for myself and more importantly for my wife. I understand quiet well what is going on inside a passenger engine and am as reasonable as the next person. If you use a manufacture rated conventional or superior motor oil, and change the oil at the factory recommended intervals you will easily satisfy all aspects... it's common sense. Also, I bet a majority of 400h owners present here on the board will not own there vehicles in 3-5 years, now I am not saying they won't care for there vehicles, but c'mon get real. Pulling UOA's? What for? Cheers MadloR

I do get the feeling that brand loyalty and other factors may be clouding this persons judgement. As for facts, I have yet to see any facts on his behalf, 1000 to 1 to say otherwise, concerning the INCREDIBLE protection offered by Amsoil Motor Oils. And, is there a promo code that I need, in the next 30 minutes to get some online I do know for a fact that if you ask any certified mechanic or Automobile Manufacturer if there is any risk to using conventional motor oil or synthetic motor oil from Company A, B or C, and change oil at the RECOMMENDED periods, if it will cause any MAJOR, MINOR, or any Signifcant Minute Damage. 1000 to 1, none of them will say yes. I change motor oil at the dealer, and I change it again soon after with synthetic 5W30. I will not spend 10 a quart on Amsoil, or Redline etc. since I am not stressing out this motor and do not require Michael Schumacher and Ferrari like protection with funding from SHELL. I change the oil too frequently to suffer from sludge build up, and unlike this person I DO in fact own a 400h. I do find one thing particular bothersome, and that is the constant cycling of the engine, on... off.. on..... off.. on..off.....on.. etc. When I dumped the oil yesterday, it was like all the prevoius times I find the oil to be clean and flowed quite nicely and as usual had a more gas fuel smell to it. I do not need a laboratory analysis to tell me otherwise, and I am not interested in decimal place accuracy. Sometimes common sense takes precedence. And finally, I do not need a hassle with a dealer or dealers and to give any excuse to a regional claims manager to deny me any, and I mean any kind of warranty. And even if the law were to be on my side, I do not need the hassle, frustration, loss of wages, aggravations and waste of time to prove them wrong. Because even when your right, and you have a p!ssed off dealer working on your car you can bet they will not put the same love into it if you had just followed protocol. When and if I still own this vehicle out of warranty then perhaps I will venture into other alternatives but until then you or anybody else will not convince me otherwise with 25k oil change intervals. Oh, and for the environment, you take your oil to a recycling centre, or give it to the dealer or independant garage to dispose of correctly. Cheers, MadloR