RX400h

Okay, I had to pull out my Consumer Reports auto edition for you two Nissan fans...... According to CR, both the Highlander hybrid and Highlander gas outscore the newly designed Murano, with the Highlander hybrid trouncing the Murano's average fuel mileage by 5 MPG. In addition, the Highlanders run on regular, whereas the Murano - strictly premium. Next, let's look at safety...... The Highlander once again triumphs with NHTSA ratings for the driver front and side as "no or minor injury likely". The new Murano's driver front rating is "Moderate injury likely". Finally, let's take a look at reliability, shall we? While the Murano has a better than average reliability rating, the Highlander (gas and hybrid versions) again is superior with a "much better than average" rating. Other Nissans don't fare nearly as well, with the Titan, Pathfinder, and Versa achieving an "average" rating, only. Again, my biggest beef with comparing a new-design Murano with a 4-year old design RX400h is the huge difference in service at the dealership. Huge difference. Of course, the original poster was talking about a 2010 RX450h, not an RX400h, so saying a brand new design of a Nissan is better than an older version of Lexus isn't helping with the discussion. Many of us (including myself) veered off track with the Nissan comments; in reality, people who are shopping Lexus are not cross-shopping Nissan. I guess I could say that a new Corvette Z06 easily outperforms a more expensive-yet-5 year old Porsche 911 Turbo, but the person shopping for a Porsche is not going to consider the Z06.

Uh, telling someone to leave is not really something that any of the non-moderators or managers should say, please! Rey, I think you'd have to admit that vast majority of folks who frequent this forum love their RX. There will always be the occasional hater, but that happens with almost anything we may feel is universally likes - pasta, for instance! How could anyone not like it? (At least, that's what I've always told my kids). Personally speaking, I've never owned a vehicle as reliable as our RX400h, and we've had two Nissans, Mazdas, Hondas, Mercury, etc. If you look at sales figures for the RX line, it becomes very obvious that we are in good company. So have a glass of wine, relax, and enjoy your Lexus! Dave

While you may feel that 23 MPG in the city is incredible, it is a far cry from the 28-30 MPG that hybrid SUVs, such as the RX400h and RX450H have been achieving. And high-traffic, big city environments are where hybrids have always excelled. If you have been perusing this forum for any length of time, you'd know that many of us will advise newcomers who are interested in a hybrid Lexus that unless they spend an ample amount of time driving in city traffic, there will not be a large difference in fuel savings over a gasolene-only vehicle. I believe the Toyota RAV4 boasts similar numbers as the Murano. But you glazed over my other point - Nissan service. I was told very bluntly by more than one Nissan dealership clerk that if I needed a ride more than 10 miles away, I was out of luck. That was just one part of the overall Nissan experience that turned me off to the brand. It's somewhat like comparing Honda to Acura service or Chevrolet to Cadillac - huge difference and a big reason why the RX-series are the best selling SUVs in the US - far outselling the Infiniti SUVs and even anything that Nissan has to offer.

We had both a Maxima and fully-optioned Quest before buying our RX400h and to us, while the Nissan's were well-built to some extent (I say this because there were some problems with each.), they really were not in the same class as the Lexus. Perhaps the Infiniti SUVs are there when performance characteristics are compared, but as far as amenities, reliability, fuel economy and dealer service are concerned, there is just no comparison. I guess one man's trash is another man's treasure, as they say. (This is not to say that Nissan's are trash!)

Congratulations, Buc and welcome to the Hybrid Club! Dave

Aus, I hope you really didn't use a torch to check under your RX. Hopefully, in Australia, a torch is a flashlight! :D Dave

I think Lexus was wise not to make any major body changes, given that the RX is the best selling luxury SUV in the US and perhaps, the world.

We have many, many miles on our Bridgestone Alenzas and they have to be the best all-season tires we've ever had. We have the stock size and inflate to 35 psi. At $600/set of 4, they are well-priced.

Wow, if those were the only problems you've encountered and yet are planning to buy any of the competitors' vehicles, you will be in for a shocking surprise. Ask any Mercedes, Audi, or BMW SUV owner how often he or she has had to bring the vehicle back to the dealership for non-maintenance issues and you will most likely change your mind. We've never owned a more reliable brand of vehicle in the 35+ years of owning many, many others.

You should have said, "Excuse me, I just bought a Lexus dealership and was wondering how your experience was when buying this vehicle." After all, I always make it a point to talk to the "little" people every now and then......." :D

This type of thing occurs in non-hybrid vehicles when one of a few things happen. 1. The battery is weak or is damaged internally. A circuit board that is failing can produce similar symptoms. 2. A chassis ground wire is loose. 3. There is a short somewhere. I would think that one or more of these causes could show up in a hybrid as well, although the majority of Lexus and Toyota hybrids have had stellar reliability.

Whether the tires should be side-swapped often depends upon whether the vehicle is front, rear, or all-wheel drive. Check your owner's manual; it should contain an image that shows the correct movement. The other potential issue with not rotating is non-symetrical wear patterns. Rotating the tires tends to compensate for this by alternating the areas that wear most.

I recall back in the 60s and 70s when disc brakes were starting to get popular. May people continued to buy all-drum models, preferring the "wait and see" attitude to the trendsetter attitude. I think we see the same type of reservation, today as many folks are fearful that hybrids will be a fad and hence be hard to sell. While I understand the conservative nature of many luxury car buyers, I believe the days of $1.50/gallon gasolene are over. Yes, RX350s are much more common, but so were drum brake vehicles in the late 60s and early 70s.

Ah, those are much more rare. Thanks for clearing that up. Dave

Many vehicles use torx screws for one thing or another. Their design allows for higher torque potential and less chance of "cam-out" when tightening the screw. By the way, here's a neat trick that works well when you accidentally strip a screw head: Use a Dremel tool with cut-off disc to make a slot in the screw head. When it is wide and deep enough to get a decent-sized flat blade screwdriver in it, use that type of screwdriver to take the screw out. Dave

Someone, Was you battery covered by the battery warranty or the vehicle warranty?

...good point - didn't catch that fact!

How could an RX350 leak coolant from an inverter that isn't even under the hood? Isn't that a hybrid thing only?

I think for the same reason the Honda Accord Hybrid didn't sell well - not enough gain in MPGs for most people. By the way, I see at least 20X more RX350s than I do RX400hs. Most people don't think long-term or they honestly feel that it would take too long to recoup the hybrid's extra cost. Statistically, I believe the average length of ownership is about 6 years.

I agree; we need more details. It does sound a bit rediculous to bring a car in, just so the dealership can check the floor mats........

I believe that our mats are securely "hooked" to the floor. In fact, my Corvette mats have a similar feature to prevent the driver's mat from sliding forward. As I may have mentioned previously, the same sort of incident happened to me when I had a 1968 Corvette. There was absolutely no way that the brakes could overcome the torque that the engine generated. I was somewhat lucky to have jumped a curb, which allowed the engine to stall. (The car had a manual transmission, which helped matters.) It was a very scary ride and I have no doubt that Toyota is doing the right thing. However, I can't see why the RX400h would be recalled unless a non-OEM floor mat with no hooking feature was offered by the dealerships.

I believe this would be the last thing anyone would think, given the horrible nature of the accident. One thing is certain in my mind - no one ever rehearses this type of event. THAT tends to explain why even a CHP officer would not automatically do things that are easy for us to point out.

I use regular in the winter/cool months and mid grade during hot Summer months. Of course, "hot" is a relative term. If I were to drive to Las Vegas or Phoenix, I'd switch to premium. As a general rule-of-thumb, the colder the ambient temps, the lower the octane that can be used without adverse effects.

Nice pics! I'll have to check the one in my RX, this weekend.

Wow! I'd hate to have to pay for THAT out-of-warranty! It looks like you wouldn't know about the leak unless you pulled the cover? maybe we should all be checking that, periodically.