RX400h

Okay, let me ask you this: Do you take any short trips (under 10 miles)? Often, I notice water spewing from the mufflers of cars that were just driven from their owner's home. Moisture condenses inside the muffler over night (especially if left outside) and the best way to get rid of this moisture is to drive a long enough distance.

I spoke to the manager at "All German Auto" a couple of years ago and he told me that they have been servicing many a German vehicle with severe oil sludge damage. He went on to explain that the 15,000 mile oil change intervals are literally destroying engines at a rapid clip. The problem is that the type of driving has a tremendous amount to do with how long oil should be kept in an engine. Apparently, many owners of expensive German makes do NOT drive long distances frequently, resulting in excessive moisture in the oil - moisture that contributes to sludge. My Corvette's oil life monitor's readout is based upon many driving factors - length of trip, oil temperature, etc. After one year and 5000 miles, my monitor displays approx. 20% oil life remaining. However, GM recommends an oil change at least every year and that is what I do. If you don't have an oil life monitor and you want to exceed Lexus' recommended oil change intervals, have your oil tested at 7000 miles and if okay, again after 9000 or more. By doing this, you are determining just how long YOU can take your oil without changing it.

I test-drove a Mazda 3 yesterday - great handling, quiet, only 16K with side air bags and power package, and rated 28/36. This may be my next 3rd car.

THAT'S what separates Lexus from the rest - great customer service!

"...HP is even better on the RX350...." ??? The RX350 is 270 HP and the RX400h is 268 HP.... But then there's the "rest of the story". Torque. Yep, ...650 lbs-ft of torque because of the two electric motors + the ICE - something the RX350 can only dream of.

If the tow hitch is installed by Lexus, I doubt it'd be rated at only 3000 lbs. Liability-wise, that wouldn't be a good move on their part.

Well, that's a lot better than the 90-120 days for Ford Expeditions and Chev. Suburbans!

My 400h has been driven in heavy rain at freeway speed and thru standing water with no problems what so ever (yes it does rain in so cal). In fact I never felt so safe on the road under those conditions. Love the auto wipers, they were running full tilt ;) Me thinks this problem is unique to this vehicle and I suspect it is a complication stemming from some of the previous work. Just my opinion, of course. I agree.

Here's what I have so far: Use (in CA 540, column "B") the same amount you used in your Federal, Schedule A (itemized deductions) somewhere near line 36. The confusing part is line 36 - this is a summation, not an empty line. Anyway, you are able to claim $2000 as a deduction, both in Federal and State. Dave

This link saved me over $400 in the federal return - thanks! Now if only there were something as clear in the State forms......... :cries:

Thanks. Unfortunately, this doesn't present the details, either. I guess I'll keep calling until I find someone at the CFB who knows exactly what we need to do.

There seems to be precious little info about how to go about taking advantage of the $2000 tax credit in the CA tax filing. I even called the help line, only to be told the law isn't clear. When they attempted to transfer me to a more knowledgable person, the phone was never answered. Has any of you CA RX400h owners who bought in 05 finished your state taxes? I have heard from a tax preparer in the family (from out of state) that the federal credit goes away once houshold income gets beyond $100k or so. I use TaxCut software, which is very detailed in its explaination of many things - just not the low-emissions part.

Thanks, Sky, From where did you get your lock? Now I'm tempted to get the Northern Tool rack, based upon your info. Also, do you happen to know the hitch installation cost if it is done by U-Haul?

Thanks for the replies, everyone. The bike rack I saw at the bike shop positioned the bikes quite a distance away from the hatch door and costs $259. I did see one advertised in Northern Tool for $129 or so, but it looked like the vertical rack was closer to the hatch. Its description specified a 2-inch hitch? I believe.

You gas wil last waaaay longer! Congrats! By the way, does anyone know how much the dealers charge for a trailer hitch? I was looking at a hitch-type bike rack (accomodates 4 bikes) the other day.

Chevron mixes Techron in their pump gas. The problem I have with Chevron is their price - generally much higher tha Arco or even Shell.

87 (Regular) works just fine for us. I use Arco and haven't had any problems for almost one year now. I agree that once per year, a can of Techron is a good idea.

It's possible he has a copy of the "Time Machine" movie. I do and I'm not nearly as technological as he is!

I can remember a time when WWest was extremely concerned about gas mileage. Now it seems he has abandoned concern for efficiency and is adamant about buying the best handling SUV. Wwest, does the Acura get good mileage or what? If it's not a hybrid, save your money!

This is certainly the first I've heard of this type of issue. Please let us know what they find.

I generally check many things while the oil is draining, the battery among them. I also have time to clean the engine a bit. Believe me, I'd rather relax in a lounge, watching a big screen TV and drinking coffee, but doing this while paying $135 for an oil change makes me feel guilty - guilty because I know I can take my whole family out for a really nice dinner for that kind of money. Am I rich enough to ignore that? ...not yet!

I might go with a blend the next time, but for now, I have "The maximum protection against sludge buildup"! I have a feeling that it will carry my Rx through the next 5000 miles very nicely. http://www.castrol.com/castrol/productdeta...ntentId=6030785 ...and yes, as I mentioned previously, its tech data sheet lists the ILSAC GF-4 spec.

The owner's manual says 5000 miles or 6 months, whichever occurs first. With our driving, they usually arrive at the same time. Regarding synthetic oils: I feel that there is little advantage if (because of warranty requirements) you must change your oil every 5000 miles or 6 months. Let's say you drive only 5000 miles per year and change your synthetic oil and high-quality filter once during the entire year. According to Lexus, you are violating your warranty and should anything disastrous happen to your engine that is even remotely related to its oil, your infrequent changes are grounds for the dealership's NOT covering repairs. My Corvette comes from the factory with Mobile 1 synthetic and its oil life monitor's algorythm calculated remaining oil life based upon your driving habits. The manual states that you should go by the digital display of oil life exhaustion OR 1 year, whichever occures first. I change its oil once per year (oil life remaining at that time is typically 20%). Clearly, synthetic oil's properties remain intact longer than does petroleum-based oils. My Mazda is turbo-charged and is a prime candidate for synthetic oil. Still, I change it only once per year and it is still going strong after 17 years. Of course, if you plan on keeping your Lexus for 350,000 miles or more, sythetics have a better chance of getting you there without problems, as long as you don't try to go 15,000 miles between oil changes. My brother-in-law's first generation Toyota van had more than 300,000 miles on it when he sold it and was still running perfectly. He had his oil changed at Jiffy Lube. I have no doubt that Toyota oils and filter are good, but to say they are better than anything else without proof is just plain ignorance. If Toyota came out with their own tires, would you use ONLY those? Of course not!

Excellent writeup - thanks a bunch. A coworker just joined the ranks of RX400h owners and there are many here in San Diego. I was tempted to go to Mt Laguna this weekend just to "try her out" but had to back down due to prior commitments. I do have 11 Winter seasons of snow-driving experience when I lived in Connecticut, so I'm no stranger to driving on the white stuff.

The welded nut feature of the K&N makes the extra $5 for it worthwhile in my book. In the website, www.bobistheoilguy, an extensive test of oil filters revealed that a couple of filters not only filtered very well, but also exhibited a very low pressure drop across the filter. Those two are K&N and Baldwin and I've been using K&N in my Corvette for the past couple of years.