rgray

Add me to the battery problem list. I mentioned it for a year to the deler and was told all was fine. The last 6 months I have to be sure the car gets turned on if its been sitting never use accessories. I'm shopping for a battery as I don't want to have to carry jumper cables anymore, and have been stuck several times. This is on a 2008 that has had the problem for over a year. Would not think of taking to cold weather in current condition.

Thank heaven for third party override systems.

I am new to this car so I don't understand what you mean by "third party override systems"? What is that and is it an alternative?

The ability to plug in a module that disables the disabling of functions like NAV settings while the vehicle is moving.

btw... my system does not understand any normal sequence of commands with normal highway background noise. It is good for a laugh to those who have voice recognition systems in say a ford, and laugh at our lexus wannabe attempts.

Just Noticed that the tsbs pinned to this forum has the voice commands (and note the aside)

I am curious to see others replies on this. I have a 2008 RX400h. The voice recognition is so troublesome that I don't use it. I would bet that is the case with most owners. I have used several other voice activated systems without problems. Combine this aggravation with the deactivation of systems like NAV when your driving and I feel like I have IDIOT burned in my forehead for buying this car. Thank heaven for third party override systems.

Yeah I found out about the reset when I was going through the procedure to turn off the seat belt buzzer. Good to hear it is in the owners manual.

I have and purchased the hitch from Sewell for a 2008 and it is the same I believe. The towing package has the all important electrical interface required so you are good to go. The factory install does have you discard some of the undercarriage plastic cover that gets in the way of the hitch but the hitch is solid and the electrical plugs right in and keeps it all water tight.

I am not a paint professional. Modern paint is a thin layer of color with a clear coat on top. If the color is scratched your sol. Otherwise start with clay. Be careful and plan on spending some time. Here is a link and some info; http://www.ehow.com/how_2310146_fix-auto-p...-scratches.html.

I think that any compound that can remove a scratch can damage your paint job.

Make sure you are using MP3. I burn mine through ITunes and they work just fine on my Rx400

The player supports several formats and I prefer wma. Be sure to close the cd or finalize it. I haven't used built in Vista tools to do this but if your still having issues, send me an email.

I was wowed by the Santa Clara Lexus Service Center. WiFi, computers, desks, food, drink, large screen tv, Sirius radio and headphones, lounge, cubicles to work in while you wait, full view of shop that is clean enough to perform surgery in, delivery to work, lexus loaners, etc. etc. and did I mention a great support staff?

Yeah I was wowed.

It is an external antennae (sirius and XM) and should have been integrated with the fm on the passenger side. Putting in the system is a lot of work and the cost is justified. I did it and would not do it again. I would recommend an IPOD interface. Easy to install and with the cost differential and annual sat fees, you could have a load of tunes and better functionality.

How hard would it be to modify the factory radio to add an auxiliary input, to accommodate an iPod or some other mp3 player?

Sewell (Toyota/Lexus parts) sells the OEM IPOD interface and has instructions for installation. This allows the IPOD to set in the glove and be controlled by sat buttons as well as charging. I do not believe it has an aux input. You can not have SAT installed if you want to use this interface, but like I said, I have SAT and wish I went this way for better quality sound and tune selection. Installation is easy.

I have the same problem along with many others. I did however research and find a Bluetooth/voice menu inthe diagnostic screen in the NAV unit. You can adjust volume in and out as well as quality level and one other item that I have no clue waht it does. I changed the volume levels and quality level a few times and during my test calls others saw a marked improvemnt. Ask the dealer to adjust it for you. Yes, I have an 08 with v7.1 software, and no I have not found an override only two levels of diagnostics menus. One actully allowes you to do a 30 sec voice recording test to see how the changes work. I would suggest not changing to many things in the menu with out a shop manual.

Where could I find instructions on how to navigate to this menu?

It is an external antennae (sirius and XM) and should have been integrated with the fm on the passenger side. Putting in the system is a lot of work and the cost is justified. I did it and would not do it again. I would recommend an IPOD interface. Easy to install and with the cost differential and annual sat fees, you could have a load of tunes and better functionality.

What your thinking about would work for a couple pair of skis or 2 snow boards. They sell an extender that lifts up one side so you can fit more (doesn't hit roof if double stacked. Lexus sells a similar ski rack only solution for about $140). The mount I suggested allows you to mount a bar that can have any carrier solution (ski surf, bike, basket, kayak etc.), not just skis and would also allow you to mount two ski carries one on each side.

There is a yakima authorized dealer near you that will help you with that. If your going with the expensive yakima rack, might as well take it one step further and get the yakima universal mount with locks (one key fits all). These mounts fit any car with a roof rack. Be careful not to mount them on the leading or trailing plastic trim rail. They also mount the rack a little higher which can be an advantage for ski bindings not hitting your roof. Also be sure to take off any cargo that extends past the hatch line Before opening the hatch. I know its a duh, but I did it so I thought I should mention it.

They've changed there line some so it appears ther are several universal options. I like the low rider max.

btw.. yakima has a life time waranty.

Definitely no bars. Nice work and thanks for the detailed info.

Thanks SW03ES for making the effort to reduce the trash talk. If we go back to the topic of this thread, I hope most people would find it difficult to believe that a mechanical linkage, all of a sudden works in reverse. That defies logic. I think what the German engineer is really meaning to say is he had to overcome the steering wanting to assist in the opposite direction of where he wanted to turn. So now it would be interesting to see what controls the electronic power steering, and can it get a reverse signal that would force the rack in the opposite direction.

This seems highly possible if you look at this for an example

Electric Power Steering

It seems like the only way to really engineer against all failure types would be to have an over current type of cutout to make the car revert to manual steering. But that is just common sense as I have no engineering training.

Cool Emblem and they still sell them. Thanks for sharing. Was wondering what the deal is on your side step? Looks great! Who makes it, where did you get it, and would it work on an 08?