RX400h

This happens to more vehicles than you think. The vast majority of factory batteries are super-reliable and long-lasting but there are a small percentage that fail prematurely - kinda like a bad computer, right out of the box. It happens! Still, it's good you were treated so well.

Dave

I received a request for a pink shift knob for an 08 Scion and lo and behold, it fits the RX! Still, I had to take a picture of it before I buff it up and sent it to the requester. Hey, my wife likes it!

Brandywine IS a beautiful color, kind of like a darker version of the magnetic red II color of my Corvette. Both look stunning in the sun.

Thanks for your opinions, Randy. They are certainly not worthless! The K&N oil filter that I use has generated nothing but good reviews; that and the fact that it has that super-handy welded-on nut keeps me buying one for every change of oil, both for the RX400h and my Corvette.

Regarding oils and ambient temps: There may be a slight advantage to using 10W-30 oils in hot climate areas ONLY if we're talking regular dino oil. If we're talking synthetics, 10W-30 is essentially, obsolete, even in Arizona. I spoke to a Mobil 1 tech rep not too long ago and he assured me that 5W-30 does flow better at startup temps - yes, even at 70 degrees F, than does 10W-30 Mobil 1. If fact, this guy lives in Texas and uses 0W-40 Mobile 1.

Best regards,

Dave

Personally, I would not let someone drive a car of that value without me in the car. Of course, that'd be a different story if I knew the person.

Most dealerships around here charge closer to $80 for an oil change. Besides, I don't trust the 18 year olds who end up changing the oil at some "other" shops. I'd much rather do it, myself; I feel better that way.

The MPG "gains", FE improvements, "FUEL" recovery, are only obtained during coastdown periods, braking periods, or downhill runs that basically amount to long coastdown periods.

Partially true. Slow and stop & go driving in high traffic conditions are often on very level roads. This is where the RX400h really shines. As Rey mentioned, even a small car can get terrible mileage under these conditions. If you live in a big city and have to drive to work every day, payback on the 400h will come very quickly.

Jim,

The EPA website from which that data was copied did not list CO, just CO2.

The EPA city difference is staggering - with the RX400h benefitting from a whopping 50% increase over that of the RX350.

We AVERAGE 25 MPG, city and highway, so I tend to think the most recent EPA ratings are dead-on for many people, especially when you look at results reported here in this forum. As I mentioned, those who see traffic on a daily basis will "pay back" their RX400h premium over the RX350 even faster than I mentioned above.

Under the same driving conditions, our Nissan Quest averaged 17 MPG.

First, let's look at fuel consumption:

RX400h EPA estimates: 27 city, 24 hwy, 25 combined, annual fuel cost: $2094, 7.3 tons of C02/year, regular fuel OK

RX350 EPA estimates: 18 city, 23 hwy, 20 combined, annual fuel cost: $2618 (15,000 miles), 9.2 tons of CO2/year, premium fuel required

As you can see, it may not make sense to by the 400h if you plan to sell it after only a few years or if you drive mostly on open highway. However, heavy city driving means payback comes much sooner. Depending upon the difference in vehicle and fuel costs, a 6-7 year payback is fairly common.

Power: The RX400h, while rated 2 HP below the RX350, utilizes its electric motor torque to provide a more enhanced "seat-of-the-pants" sensation when accelerating. 0-60 MPH in 6.7 seconds is possible. The RX350's 0-60 peaks at 7.1 seconds.

Transmission: Continuously variable trannies are much smoother than any non-CVT transmission.

Noise level: The RX400h is certainly noisier during very brisk acceleration, since the electric motor(s) make their presence known. However, under normal driving conditions, noise levels of each are very similar. During slow-moving and stop & go driving, there is no contest - the 400h is dead silent.

Braking: Similar, although the 400hs pads will most likely far outlast those of the 350, due to regenerative braking assist.

Resale value: As a general rule, the higher the fuel costs, the higher the resale value for hybrid vehicles and the lower the resale value for non-hybrids.

PS: I see that you've already made your decision, but feel free to comment about anything we post.

That's it! It IS a monster, both in size and power (....not to mention weight.) The manual shows that the spare is included in the rotation pattern, but now that my spare doesn't match the Bridgestones, I rotate front to back with no criss-crossing. Essentially, that's what the book shows if you remove the spare from the picture.

Dave

Good points, WWest. I'm sure vehicle weight has something to do with it, since few Prius owners complain of this (at least from what I've seen).

First of all, yes, there is a small percentage of batteries out there that are defective, either sooner or later. Look at ANY forum and you will find that this is true no matter who the manufacturer of the battery. A typical OEM battery should last at least 5 years and a vast majority of them do.

Secondly, you won't be able to get a class-action suit going if only .01% of all vehicles sold have a starting issue. You will find that some dealership techs are NOT the best troubleshooters. Do yourself a favor and go to another dealership. Not all technicians are the same. I'm not trying to minimize your issue; I know that it is frustrating, but I also know that what is a big ssue to one technician, is an easy fix for another. I've experienced this, first hand with other cars.

When you do get this thing fixed, please let us know. We are certainly curious, even though our own vehicles have not had this malady.

Dave

Are the jack points for a tire rotation clearly indicated under the car? If so, where are they? I'm going to rotate tires in the next few days but don't want to crumple any body panels.

whoops, sorry gdixon, overlooked your jack points question. Yes, the manual calls out where the jacking points are. The scissors jack is kind of chincy, so use caution. Some have complained that it's easily put in danger of caving in, especially on unlevel ground. This topic too, has been beat to death :P

So here's a link with pictures (the search tool is a wonderful thing), in case you find it hard to locate the little indents where the jack goes:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...ost&id=8290

Since I use my large 2-ton hydrualic floor jack to raise my cars, I used the lift point near the center of the front of the RX. In fact, there is a sticker on the support member under which the jack saddle should be placed. I then placed jack stands under the cross beam. For jacking the rear, I used the convenient trailer hitch flat area, making sure that it did not defect any, since the rear bumper would've been pushed upward, had the hitch assembly moved in that direction. Once the front and rear are raised, rotating the tires is fairly easy.

BTW, I was at Westec in Los Angeles, today and Milwaukee had a monster lithium ion impact wrench, capable of more than 200 lbs-ft of torque. However, at $400+ (wrench, 2 batteries and a charger), it's not inexpensive.

I hear you! (and remember much of that stuff from my machine design class in 78.) I'll bet that if we ask our friendly neighborhood Lexus service manager, he'll tell us what the factory specification is. I usually obtain what I need from the factory service manual, but in this case, all I have is the owner's manual. Of course, if I have to, I can always crack open that machine design book and look up the K factors.

I'll have to say this, not many people have Rockwell hardness testers in their garages. By the way, I too have Loctite 222 and 242 (as well as 425 for plastics) at home. They come in handy sometimes.

Simon, since I have Alenzas as well, I'll add my 2 cents:

The Alenzas have been on our RX400h for over 6000 miles now and I highly recommend them. They are quiet, handle very well, and do not show any wear whatsoever. In addition, they cost me only $600 for all four at www.tirerack.com.

Dave

GDixon,

I did look at the latest crop of lithium Ion impact wrenches and you're right - they are very weak, even when compared to the older NiMH impact wrenches. The advantage of Lithium Ion is that they can retain their charge for many months. Still, they are not ready for prime time.

Regarding a compressor, Sears' Professional upright (175 psi max) is the quietest compressor I've ever heard in that price range. At $390 (sale price) it is $90 more than the Home Depot brand and the DeWalt upright, but the Sears unit is much quieter, so quiet you can have a conversation while standing very close. It's minor weak point is its flow at 5.2 CFM @ 90 psi. Many air impact drivers require higher flow rates, but there are some 1/2-inch and 3/8-inch wrenches that require only 4.1 or so CFM.

Also, I do have another use for the compressor (besides inflating tires and blowing machined stuff off) and tht is minimizing bubbles in cast parts.

Someone Else,

Yes, I would use the impact wrench to remove only. Our manual contains NO mention of torque. Rather, they recommend that you use the lug nut wrench (fairly short lever arm), so that's what I used. The breaking torque to loosen the nuts was fairly low. I estimate no more than 80 lbs-ft. Some shops have impact wrench sockets that have very thin "necks", designed to limit the torque exerted on the lug nut. In our case, it's best to use a torque wrench to tighten the nuts.

BTW, That'll work with loctite as long as you are diligent in reducing the applied torque.

WWest - By the way, my owners manual has a section on the correct use of snow chains. I was somewhat surprised to see this, given the very small clearance our tires have.

Dave

Well, I decided to rotate the Bridgestones today and took a few shots of the brake/suspension areas. Untill I get either a cordless impact driver or the Sears Professional compressor with air impact wrench, I may not do this again - too much effort to save $20!

Anyway, I thought I'd show you what lurks behind the tires/wheels - very impressive engineering...

Ours work perfectly - no complaints here.

I certainly agree that if you are the type who likes to drive very aggressively, even in a luxury vehicle, then the RX400h is louder than a non-hybrid under those conditions. For my driving habits with a 4700 lb SUV, flooring the gas pedal is left for very few occasions and when I do, the acceleration is very brief, minimizing any irritation that my passengers may experience.

Of course, an RX350 that is frequently driven aggressively will average 12-14 MPG - not something I would like to experience ever again. Even my Corvette gets better mileage during agressive driving!

I also got RX350 as a loaner 2 weeks ago and to be honest with you RX400h falls short to the comfort levels in both vehicles. RX350 seems to be less noisy overall-and that has to do with use of CVT. Very smooth acceleration-don't really feel the steps in a gearbox and what's very annoying in 400h when you accelerate fast-the engine is not as loud.

I think you've got the RXs reversed! The RX350 doesn't have a CVT transmission (I believe), so the RX400h is smoother under most conditions.

An yes, a bigger, heavier vehicle may certainly have more sound deadening and a softer suspension; I understand that the new Suburbans are very quiet, but at 6600 lbs and 12 MPG, they'd better be!

Actually, the LS600h is probably even more luxurious than any GX, but traction in snow is not its strong point. I does average 20 MPG, though.

GDixon,

It is the same with the RX400h - thanks!

Roland - thanks for the tip.

Dave

That's a good idea, although from what I recall, that small filter is certainly not inexpensive. This was the first time I changed it, myself and it was a lesson well learned! I will check the filter more often.

Hi,

We just bought our Rx400H yesterday.

Full price was just above $53,000.

We managed to get $3000 of the price and another $1500 more for our used car than they were offering in the beginning.

We almost walked out of the dealership when we realised how little the vendor new about the actual car but he did know all his vendor tricks... All of a sudden we started to feel that we were there just to make them money.. which is of course true, but a client should never ever feel that way... then his boss saved the sale by quickly offering more for the used car and discounting the new one... maybe not enough, but it made us feel "clients" again and we decided to buy.

I would prefer to use regular or medium gas instead of premium... any problems?

No, but as I mentioned, if you travel (during Summer) to Arizona or Las Vegas, stay away from regular; it'll choke any resemblence of power at high temps. I pumped in mig-grade today, as ambient temps reached 82 degrees.

thats not too bad just changed my moms cabin filter on her RX and i looked like i scooped a pile of dirt off a forest floor.

How many miles has the filter seen?

I suspect that the longevity of cabin air filter is related to climate. Mine was merely dusty at 10,000 miles, but I live in a Arizona which is obviously quite dry.

I would expect that dry weather would allow more dust and dirt to fly around and end up in the filter. It is relatively dry here in San Diego, but when it does rain, airborn dust and other particulates are temporaily vanquished.