RX400h

Just get a Costco Kirkland battery, install and be done with it. $60

It is also in the "Owner's Manual Supplement" - a small booklet that is in the black folder in the glove box. At least it is in our 2006.

My Corvette's differential gasket starts leaking every 5 years. Welcome to the club. I'm hoping that an improved gasket is designed - like the thermostat housings with built-in o-rings. Perhaps Lexus will fix the problem in new inverters that they swap in under the warranty. Remember the head gasket issue that Toyota trucks had, many years back. Many, many trucks that were more than 60,000 miles out of warranty were fixed, free of charge at Toyota dealerships. Thankfully, Toyota and Lexus are not like GM.

Ah, but the Lexus technician may have decided that your tensioner and pulley did NOT have to be replaced - saving you some money. There is one Mazda dealership (in my area) that employs a very honest mechanic. Even though the timing belt in my MX6 GT's engine has over 60,000 miles on it, he told me it did NOT need replacing. I am sure that had I brought my car to a different dealership, they would've recommended replacing the belt. back a few years ago I was told at the "other" dealership that my Mazda's waste gate was bad and the entire turbo-charger would need to be replaced, costing thousands of dollars. The guy at the "good" dealership found that the problem was the distributor - a far less-costly component to replace. I bring up these stories to show you that you should not assume that all dealership technicians use the same "judgement" when analyzing parts/assemblies.

That's good to hear and thanks for the report. You might want to include (in your avatar/info)the area in which you live. That way we can get an idea of what you're up against when it comes to seasonal weather. Dave

If not, your $200 "savings" has turned into a $100 "premium" at the Toyota dealership. I hope this teaches us all a lesson. If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't true! :cries:

Let me ask you this: How do you normally insert the key? I ask this because I noticed that our keys don't easily and quickly slide into the ignition switch. I have to very gently move the key around a bit to coax it in. It has never given me or my wife a problem such as the one you had, but I am wondering if the technique of key insertion has anything to do with subsequent issues.

The general rule-of-thumb is that if you live in Canada, Minnesota, or Buffalo, NY, you WILL need snow tires. Of course, as of this writing, I'm sure there are folks in many other states who WISH they had purchased snow tires, last week! :whistles:

I agree. If the battery is the OEM one, it almost definitely needs to be replaced and the Costco Kirkland (which is what our RX has in it) is an excellent battery for the money.

Are you saying that this sound is noticeable only after startup? After you've been driving a while and stop at a light, the sound is no longer heard?

Kid, you are definitely engineer material! I frequently have to learn about various aspects of technology that could come in handy to solve a particular problem. It's what makes engineering "entertaining" and it helps to keep me up to date. Keep up the good work! Dave

That's good to hear; thanks for the update.

From what I understand, our hybrid-related hardware and software is very similar to that of the Prius and as we all know, they are extremely reliable, even with 150,000+ miles on them. The other thing to consider is the ultra-poor reliability of many German vehicles. You could certainly be far worse off by jumping ship to a German diesel-powered vehicle.

I know what you mean. I drove through Connecticut winters for 11 years. That's why I "fled" to San Diego. When I did live on the East coast, I always had two cars - one for the salty, slushy days of winter and one for sunny, warmer days. (maybe 2 or 3 times a week in the Spring if you're lucky)

Now if I heard you pull away from a stop light with tires screeching, I'd probably say to myself, "That kid wants to race!" Of course, if I were in the Corvette, I'd have to accelerate past you, just to teach you a lesson..... Seriously, though, you should be aware that as tires age they lose plasticizers. Incorporation of oils and plasticizers in tires lowers viscosity, improves processing and extrusion properties, lowers hardness, improves low temperature flexibility, and lowers cost. However, as time goes by, tire compounds become harder (due to the plasticizer loss)and more slippery. I believe every tire has a date code on it, most often on the inside sidewall. Click here for more info regarding deciphering this code: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=11 If your tires are more than 6 years old, you should replace them. Even if they are not, they are already a bit dangerous, so I recommend that you replace them, anyway. dave

Jim, I'm glad you chose the Paradas. We know that Gryphon stills loves them after 6000 miles, so chances are, you and I will as well.I would recommend rotating them before 5000 miles to make sure a non-reversible wear pattern doesn't produce constant humming like my Alenzas do.

I'm convinced, I'm going with the Paradas. My local mechanic just through a wrench in the works. I mentioned I was considering the Paradas and DWS's. He said that he would take the DWS's over the Paradas hands down. He did say to make sure whatever tires I got had a XL rating for eXtra Load vs. a SL rating for Standard Load. He said the XL's have stiffer sidewalls to handle the extra weight. Also, the DWS's totally kicked butt in the UHP A/S winter driving test done by Tirerack. I realize a SUV probably does not need UHP tires. But what can it hurt? The price difference is minimal. Looks like it's the DWS's. I think your mechanic should stick to mechanics, not tires. According to the Tirerack website, the Yokohama Paradas have exactly the same load rating as the Continentals DWS tires. Both have a higher load rating than the OEM Michelin and Goodyear tires (1764 lbs per tire vs. 1709, OEM). The only difference is that the Paradas have the same speed rating as the OEM tires (V, which is good to 149 MPH), whereas the DWSs have a "W" rating, which is 168 MPH. What this means is that the DWSs will produce a stiffer, more punishing ride than will the Paradas. Is that what you want? As I mentioned earlier, this stiffer-sidewall-based tire may be perfect for an all-out handling SUV such as the twin-turbo Cayenne, but just doesn't make sense for a ride-based luxury SUV like the RX400h. Dave

Nice info as well! I did a Bing search to find the AAA site.

Here's more info regarding how the RX should be jacked up, towed, fueled, etc: http://partner.aaa.biz/portal/binary/com.epicentric.contentmanagement.servlet.ContentDeliveryServlet/AAABiz/auto/files/rx400h_guide.pdf Most, if not all of this is in the manual but it's good to review every once in a while.

Because I was too lazy to check my manual, I found this on a AAA site: By the way, when your 12V battery is getting weak, you will probably see a message telling you to shift the gear shift selector into Park. This is most likely to happen in the morning when it is cool/cold in the garage or outside. When you see this message, you should plan on buying a new battery sooner, rather than later.

....another reason why it is never a good idea to hose down a modern engine! (I realize you bought your car, used, so most likely the previous owner is the culprit.)

My guess, then would be the switch in the steering wheel. However, you must really know what you're doing when disassembling a steering wheel with airbag inside. I would leave that to professionals.

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.

The Continental's are way-overkill for a comfort-based SUV like the RX400h or RX450h. Those tires would be great on a Porsche Cayenne twin-turbo but would most likely result in a choppier ride than would the Yokos. I have the Conti Summer versions of the Extremes on my Mazda MX6 GT, but that is a 2700-lb car that is lowered on Eibach springs. A luxury SUV cannot effectively utilize ultra-high performance tires - why spend the extra money? Well, you asked for my opinion!

I believe there is a tow hook in the front and if I can recall correctly, I place the floor jack cradle just behind or under it. I'm talking about a large jack that can lift almost 20 inches. I can double-check, tonight. I almost never jack up just a corner, since I'm rotating the tires, anyway. Correction: If you look under the front, you will see a label that indicates the jacking position. As far as the rear, I jack under the trailer hitch bar center. I'm not sure where you would place the jack if you don't have a trailer hitch. I did notice that the left (driver's side) rear scissors jack longitudinal plate was bent a bit - most likely by the dealership at one time or another.