Jim Nazium

Ok, I have my appointment today to take care of the following items... 1. front console, drivers side, (below cupholder), chassis piece between the facade housing and side housing stays apart (doesn't remain clipped together). 2. front roof rack bar on drivers side refuses to clip in place. 3. dash rattle. 4. rear cargo area rattle. 5. isc reinitialisation (I disconnected the battery). 6. free 1st Lexus personalisation programming. AND THEN, and only then the 10,000 mile inspection (I'm at 9200miles at the moment). Will see tonight what the "Lexus" Dealer comes up with for S_E_R_V_I_C_E. :) Cheers, MadloR

Thanks for the link. I too have what sounds like a dash rattle (not the visors, but could be somthing behind the panel up there). I think it is in the dash, sound like its coming from the center channel speaker grille area right above the nav. Pushing on the dash has had no effect... where are you pushing to get yours to quiet? I've had 3 rattles in the back and one heavy clunking sound. The first was the small cams right at the hatch opening that get cycled to release the cover (if you have them engaged). They ran felt over the entire surface of the cam so it doesn't tapa tapa on the hatch. The 2nd was the rear licence plate frame. Getting a better looking frame solved that one. The 3rd was inside the hatch. Something abou the motor mount or hinge assy needed tightening. And lastly, the heavy thunking noise... as yet undiagnosed. Could be play developing between the hatch and its structural tiedowns. It only happens when I go into a steep driveway at an angle which twists the body relative to the hatch. The front Dash Rattle can be found about 6 inches to the right from where the opening for the front defroster begins and again on the opposite side (passenger side, 6 inches before where the defroster vent ends). From the link, it is difficult to envision but I can now understand how it is made. The front defroster has a funnel that channels the air from below the air box assembly and exits out on top of the front windshield. Where the exhaust plumbing ends, it has two contact points that touch the underside of the vent front vent cutout found on the top of the dash (you cannot see it, because the contact point is on the underside of the dash where the two pieces meet) Speaker------{================================}------Speaker if you can imagine looking directly above your dash, the two contact points where the rattle is sourced can be found at the = points. If you press just beneathe those two areas, the rattle stops. This area is where the inside air vent is contacting the underside of the dash opening from the underside. I believe Lexus's fix is to place some felt on those two contact points. My fear, is the need to loosen and remove the dash. EEGADS, if they dare scratch my dash or reinstall it back incorrectly. I may attempt to look into fixing this myself. As for the rear rattle, well I do not own a tonneau cover. And I am convinced it is the rear spare tire cover and lid assembly. I plan on removing it and install some hook and loop tape (velcro) where the outer circular diameter meets the out circular lid. That should fix that. Interesting that you point out some other cause of rattles in the rear, I will take note of them in the future. MadloR I will try leaving the rear arm rest assembly in the down position tomorrow. But, in my case I am CONVINCED the source of the noise is on the OUTSIDE. For what it's worth, my vehicle has the factory installed trailer hitch. Thanks Gryphon

Oh, I am convinced about the dash rattle. If I press and hold the area of the dash (and, there are two points in question outlined in the TSB where the felt is supposed to go) with a little pressure I can stop the noise. I know it's not the sunvisor. Today I was looking from the outside and knocking at the trim that holds the spare tire cover and I noticed that it rattles, though not metallic. I will remove all tools and items from the trunk. Thanks for the feedback... MaloR

Well, it has been one month of ownership and I guess the Lexus brand is not exempt from the dreaded Rattle Bug. I'm getting a few so far. The first one is in the front DASH. Here is a link talking about the repair procedure. 2004 –2006 LEXUS RX 330, 2006 RX 400h, & 2007 RX 350; INSTRUMENT PANEL RATTLE Has anybody had this done? Any side effects? Was it repaired correctly? Is there an alternate repair or suggestion? The second rattle I'm getting is coming from the rear. It is not from the rear cargo tonneau cover (I don't have one), and it doesn't sound like it's coming from the inside portion of the cabin. I'm guessing it is from the outside cover that covers the spare tire. I am not convinced at this point, since it sounds more metallic in nature than the plastic on plastic that the cover is made of. Anybody have any clues or know of the source(s) for the rear trunk area? I'm a little surprised, seeing as how this is Toyota's flagship product line. As well, the fact that the RX family has been in production since 2003/04. You would think someone would of gotten hold of this pretty quickly and remedied the problem. My vehicle was manufactured and built in May 06 and was PDI'ed in June. Cheers, MadloR

Your right, the Porsche better come with some NOS so it can at least get out of the whole in one piece.

The full specs... I have redone my garage from A to Z... I gutted it. I ran some fresh power leads from the electrical room to the garage. I wired up the ceiling for 8 separate dual Neon lights. I then ran wiring 6 strand low voltage from the front of the garage (where you exit to the basement, which is my Den) to the middle of for each Electric Garage Door Motor and then from there to to each garage door. This way, all my wiring for the electric garage doors are behind the drywall. I also ran for each garage door motor an AC outlet in the ceiling. I then ran some copper 1/2" pipe behind the drywall again and towards the front of the garage doors so as to have water (hose and reel). I also ran a 220VAC for a 96" electric heater. Ran wiring for the central alarm and installed an alarm panel as well. I then insulated the ceiling with 18" thick pink insulation, and installed a vapor barrier. I then rented a hand tool that allows you to spray Stucco, only I substituted the stucco mixture for cement which gives the walls a nice texture and colour (really covers up the cement castings and looks more uniform). Once all the messy stuff was complete, I used the Green 5/8" drywall. Slapped on a couple of fresh coats of Bathroom mildew resistant white paint. With the ceiling complete I installed 8 individual dual neon lights 48" and centered along the middle of each garage door opening. You can say, you won't see any shadows no matter where you are standing. I had the tile floor tiled in porcelain (as mentioned earlier). At one end of the garage I had some custom cabinetry built 5/8" melamine so as to house all the "stuff" for things that Guys have. Power tools, supplies, shop material, air compressor, central vacuum for the house is hidden away (p.s. the central vacuum exhausts out of a pipe and outside), installed a sink w/ hot and cold water as part of a work space and cabinet, some garden and outdoor clothes - boots - shoes, etc etc etc. I have always wanted a garage that looks like a room, in other words, clean and clutter free that you could always drive the car into without having to break out into a "spring cleaning mode". Cheers, MadloR

FWIW, and, I am not endorsing Tire Rack, but I have purchased tires from them (the last two sets the month of January) and they do drop ship to a tire installer of your choice. Just remember to let them know (the tire shop) of the incoming order. Cheers, MadloR P.S. Or, Tire Rack has a list of "recommended" shops, but I don't trust them, it means nothing. You need to really check out for yourself if the tire shop has the latest in tire mounting and balancing equipment.

Had Toyo Transpath OEM tire way back on my a Nissan Pathfinder SE back in '99 and I must say that they were awesome tires. That's where I forged a new found respect for Toyo, since I had never owned or would of even considered them purchasing them. I was impressed with there product back then. Cheers, MadloR

Stability, Traction and Sure footedness when things get slippery, Handling in inclement weather, Better performance, and as a means of "having" the added traction when you need it only while saving on wear and tear and better economy for all the "other" times when you do not need it. Cheers, MadloR

I am talking about the rear cargo liner as well. I really, REALLY like the finish, feel, and fit of the factory available lexus cargo liner. It fits flush with the back of the rear seats, when the rear seats are set to give maximum leg room to the rear passengers. The mat folds up and back and keeps it shape nicely, like when opening the two underfloor compartment areas. Also, the mat cleans really well, whatever I have gotten on it has come off without leaving any stains. In the past I have had cargo liners from companies like Husky and Weathertech, and I much prefer the factory Lexus liner. The only drawback that one may have is that it is only available in Black. Cheers, MadloR

I have come across a nifty device that allows you to poor motor oil without spilling or dripping into the Lexus RX 400H crankcase. It adapts to either the quart or 4.4quart containers. You basically screw it on, and it has a clear pvc tube that is about 18" long. You can invert the bottle of oil and no oil will come out, at the base of the bottle there is a twist left or twist right that either turns the flow output on or off. Very nice, I will try to find a picture of the device, or otherwise upload a digital picture. Costs about $5-6 dollars. Worth every cent. Only con, it takes a while to transfer 4.4 quarts of oil in one shot (about 3 minutes). Cheers, MadloR P.S. here you go... it is the item on the right (not packaged). Company is Flotool and the part no is 10106

I had two issues with the Bridgestone Alenzas, though very minor. I did notice they have a "iron like" tread wear rating, what if you hate them then your stuck with them for a while (i.e. if they wear poorly, like cupping) unless you decide to prematurely change them. Also, I really dislike the look of the tire and find the appearance and tread pattern unappealing. OK, it's a personal thing but a small little issue that bothers me. Cheers, MadloR

My vehicle came with the factory lexus RX 400H front, rear, and cargo liner. There are really nice quality. Especially the rear cargo. If anything, I do wish they came in my factory Ivory colour. The do not. I did purchase a set of WeatherTech Cargo Liners for the front and rear, they are Awesome. I did own another SUV and had an aftermarket cargo liner, it was no where near as nice as the factory Lexus cargo liner. You will not be disappointed. Cheers, MadloR

A point I brought up in the past concerning why I opted for 255/55-18 was I believe this vehicle is seriously "tire undersized". I can understand Lexus engineers point of view on why they opted for 235/55/18 but from real world numbers (be it michelin or goodyears) the RX 400H seems to chew the outer insides of the tires. I look forward to spring when I swap out my winter package (235/55-18 Blizzaks) for the GoodYear ResponsEdge. Cheers, MadloR

Thank you.

I am curious to know, what the color temperature is for the factory XENON HID Lights are on the '06 RX 400H. Something tells me it is 4700K, but I may be wrong. Some confirmation would be great. I am going to be ordering an H11 HID Conversion kit for the factory RX 400H foglights and want to order the correct/same temperature Xenon Bulbs. I am very particular to matching up color. For the record, I do find the factory equipped lfog ights very weak in terms of light output. That of course is probably magnified by the fact the Front Factory XENON HID lights are very well designed and put out quiet a bit of luminence. In inclement weather, out in the 'burbs where there is very little additional light supplied by the environment I would like to supplement with more candescent power. Cheers, MadloR

Nope. A porcelain tile is "mono-coutura", meaning through and through. The material is extremely hard and difficult to cut in the traditional sense of the word. You cannot score it like traditional tiles when you want to downsize a piece to fit in a particular spot. The tile does not scratch, you can take a very sharp and hefty screw driver, for example and you can try your best to damage but you will not be able to score let alone scratch the tile. Floor jacks, jack stands, dropping a hammer by accident etc will not cause the tile to break. It really is designed for extreme use and you will find this tile most often in high traffic areas (subways, commercial etc.) MadloR

I think Lexus should redesign the location of the oil filler cap and keep it within the same theme and parameters given to where they placed the oil filter. I would like to see the next generation of 400H Hybrid have the oil filler cap location inverted and placed underneath, tucked neatly on the other side of the manifold. I think it would make changing the oil filter as fun as trying to fill the crankcase with oil and having to deal with gravity. :chairshot: MadloR

46psi is too high imho. Also, if you are going to run maximum inflation rates based on what the sidewall of the tire is listed for, take note that Cold tire pressure @ 46psi will definitely approach or surpass 50psi depending on outside temperatures. I'm sure most tires can handle 50psi ratings given the abuse of everyday roads, just consider it just the same. The tire manufacture went to the trouble of R & D and had that printed on the side of the tire just the same. Cheers, MadloR

Some more pictures of my '06 RX 400H with my rear summer GoodYear 255/55-18 on Factory 18" Rims. You'll see that I have the factory mudguards installed as well in the back. The rear strut tower is quiet close to the rear 255/55-18 tire, but it is not touching and there is room for tire deflection and roundout. I would take to light the maximum width of this brand and type of tire if you are considering going Plus Zero, seeing that not all 255/55-18 tires are manufactured to identical diameters nor widths. Cheers MadloR Rear RearView3 Rear RearView2 Rear RearView Rear FrontView2 Rear FrontView Thanks. I have test fitted the fronts and rears. There is no touching or rubbing. At the moment I have not taken my summer wheels and tires out seeing as we are still into winter here. I was changing the oil and seeing as how I didn't get around to uploading pics of the mudguards, I was thinking to put on One 255/55-18 tire on the front and rear and upload some pics as well. As for speedo and mileage, I have taken into account the percentage error and I am willing to live with it. FWIW, I purchased and imported my RX 400H from Texas from Sewell Lexus, so at the moment I am living with all computer fuel economy and odometer miles in "Miles and MPG". Any SUV, that is this plush and gets mileage anywhere in the low to high twenties as an everyday hauler, is Top Notch in my books and I can't ask for anything more. Yes, low to mid thirties would be wonderful, but I was already realistic going in when I made the purchase. Cheers, MadloR Hey Gryphon, yep that is my Garage Floor. Basically, it is a true porcelain tile 6" x 6" and it is laid over the original cement floor with the cement epoxy (I sound like I'm on the Home Reno Forum). Porcelain tile, in case you didn't know will not absorb any foreign material, it is not porous. Very easy to clean, dust free, and will last a lifetime. Way back when I was renovating my garage, I was looking for porcelain tile for my garage floor but didn't want to spend a fortune (my wife is super cool about stuff like this, afterall the garage is my castle) so I stumbled across a clearance discontinued lot of tiles. There wasn't enough of one colour so I settled for a haberdash of 5 - 6 different hues of all of the same type of tile. After all, it's a garage and it was more important for me the "advantages of porcelain vs the look". I sometimes get "!Removed!" remarks from ignorant people like, "it's gotta be super slippery driving the car into the garage, especially wet". And the fact of the matter is, it is not. Nobody drives or pulls up into there garage going 30mph and stops on a dime. Is it slipperier than the original cement, even wet? Yes it is. But, it's slipperier in the same context as is -35 F colder than -30F? Moot point really. FWIW the garage floor already has about 4 years wear and I do all sorts in there. It looks EXACTLY like the day it was laid down. Cheers, MadloR