RX400h

The world is going touchscreen and Lexus reverses course? That seems a bit odd to me as well. On the other hand, how many of you have touchscreen monitors for your PCs? Using a mouse is more convenient for most people and in a way, having a mouse-like device to perform operations displayed on a vehicle's small monitor may be more convenient. Hey, I'd be willing to give it a try! However, I still say that the RX body design that we all have is to me, the best out there, bar none. It IS tough to improve on something like this.

I can't believe you are serious. That's your advise... listen to my iPod? Am I being punked here or what?:chairshot: Sky, This what I've found in more than a car or two. My Corvette has a high-powered Bose system (factory) that will drain ANY battery in short time if the car is not running. My 89 Mazda, with its puny stereo system, can last for hours and I'm sure you can reason why - cars made 20 years ago did not rely on nearly as many electronic widgets. Car manufacturers would love to incorporate 24V or higher power but that probably won't happen for a while. In the meantime, the best battery out there is the Sears Platinum - a $180 super-heavy powerhouse that trounced all others in Consumer Reports' latest battery test. Of course, as you mentioned, finding the right size from any manufacturer is another matter. Dave

Years ago, stereos in vehicles were fairly "light" when it came to power draw, and they didn't compete with a myriad of other electronic features. Those days are gone and to be honest with you, I wouldn't advise anyone to listen to a high-powered stereo that is drawing off of an OEM battery, no matter what make of vehicle. If I were you, I'd listen to an MP3 or Ipod when the car is off. They are far more efficient, power draw-wise. Dave

Are you guys with the Alenzas going stock or slightly larger size? I thought I read posts here where several recommended a larger size?? I'm sticking with the stock size.

Very nice! Thanks for the link, Husker. dave

Back when we had our Nissan Quest minivan, I accidentally shorted a new battery when installing it. Luckily, there was a large fuse in the engine bay fuse box that had blown and after replacing it, the car started right up. Check around for a fuse box, both in your owner's manual and in the engine bay. Also make sure that the battery acid has not damaged anything electrical. Good luck. Dave

Wow - Check out the width of the shifter gates!

You WILL become accustomed to it, as I believe richard4u has. I recommend having the energy distrubution screen displayed so you can see what is happening in real time. When the "delayed response" ends, you should see power from the engine flowing to the wheels. dave

You might be feeling the initial battery-energized drivetrain movement, followed by assist from the gas engine. If this is the case, then yes, this is very normal. Dave

We have approx. 17,000 miles on our Alenzas and we are still very happy with them. There are many tires out there that start out quiet and progressively get noisier as the miles pile up. Thus far, this has not been the case with the Alenzas. By the way, Consumer Reports rated the General Grabber HTS as #1 with better than average comfort and road noise. However, unless you hear from someone who's had them for many miles, don't buy them. They could turn out to be excellent tires, it's just that we don't know. In the same CR list, the Michelin LTX M/S is one of the few highly-rated tires to show long tread life. The quietest tires are the Coper Discoverer CTS and the Yokohama Geolander. They were also rated in the upper half of the list. The Alenzas showed better than average dry braking, handling, hydroplaning, and snow traction.

I have to admit that I never checked that. Next week will be a good time to do so, since I'll be doing a bunch of automotive-related tasks. With other non-maintenance-free batteries, I rarely have to add water (here in San Diego).

It really doesn't look that much different to me. Then again, the current shape is near perfect!

Your larger replacement tires are, in fact, almost 1.5 inches taller - not good in my book. You should always try to retain the same diameter, not only to ensure that there is no interference between the tire and suspension components, but also to avoid problems with ride control/active handling features. Some RX owners here have gone with larger/wider tires, but I am not a fan of this practice unless the overall diameter of the tire remains the same or close to the same.

Yes, I would tell the dealership to replace the arm and wiper assembly, since your frequency of replacement is unacceptable. The problem could very well be with the wiper arms, not the blades.

A loss of a job is all it takes.......

Congratulations, Steven and welcome to the "clan"! We were one of the first in San Diego to buy an RX400h and I am absolutely amazed at how reliable this vehicle is! Dave

In our case - yes, because the car would be essentially worthless without a new set of batteries. Besides, at 100,000 miles, the V6 engine would still be very strong and judging by the stellar reliability we've experienced so far, I have no doubt that we'd be financially prudent if we bought new batteries. Still, I really doubt that the batteries would die at 100,000 miles. I'm sure they'd go 150,000+ miles.

Have you examined the blades? What is happening to them? If they are simply wearing out evenly, then yes, try a high-quality aftermarket blade. If the OEM blades are wearing unevenly, then your wiper arm may be to blame, NOT the blades themselves.

The standard warranty for RX400hs here in California is 8 years or 100,000 miles. That's good enough for me!

What exactly happens to the blades? Our blades sit in the sun all day and even after 3.5 years, are still okay when it rains (which admittedly does not occur often).

In reality, occasional battery failures (virtually ANY type of battery) are not very rare, especially when multible batteries are tied together. Thus, if one battery pack out of 50,000 vehicles fails, it should surprise non one. Rather, I a never cease to be impressed by how few of these failures (Toyota hybrid vehicles) we hear about.

Bridgestone Alenzas are excellent tires that will wear far better than did either OEM tires. The salesguy at Discount Tire told me that many brands of OEM tires wear very quickly; it doesn't matter the manufacturer. I bought all four Alenzas for $600 and couldn't be happpier with them. They are quiet, handle very well, and never show any wear. Dave

I'll bet it's highly unlikely that even the RX350 would look like that (Chrysler 300ish); the side windows are so short that you would feel like you were in a tank - looks cool, but is not functional enough, IMO.

MRC, When was the last time you or your dealership replaced your cabin filter. My filter was fairly filthy at 15,000 miles.

Some would-be thieves routinely walk by vehicles and pull up on the door handle to see if the vehicle is locked. If it is locked, the thief simply walks by and checks the next vehicle. Needless-to-say, having your car locked is a good way to avoid break-ins by this type of person.