RX400h

Congratulations! I tell people all the time that in most cases regarding Japanese vehicles, it is never truly cost effective to keep a new car less than 10 years. However, the many advancements that are bound to be included with your new purchase cannot be measured in dollars. I our case, we are still very happy with our RX400h (also purchased in April of 2005). I am fairly certain, though that our next vehicle will be far lighter and more efficient - perhaps a Mazda 6 or Lexus ES300h. The consistent $4/gallon gas prices are the motivating factor.

Good advice! Perhaps a neighbor can help?

....not bad! However, we do expect you to buy a hybrid, the next time you are shopping for a new car. ^_^

The latest IE is actually very good. I run Win 8 Professional at work, which comes with IE 10. Page loads are lightning quick and safety features are abundant. As an aside, my son tells me that a program called "Wine" can be used with Linux. Once Wine is installed, "Chrome" can be installed. Chrome has an IE mode, which may work to view programs that can be viewed only with IE.

According to our 2006 RX400h owner's manual: What fools many people about this statement is that our gasolene pumps do NOT display Research Octane Number (RON). Rather, they display an average of RON and Motor Octane Number (MON) [(RON+MON)/2]. Essentially, then, you do NOT need to use 91 octane as stated on the pumps. Your 2006 RX400h will "potentially" produce more power with higher octane, but only if you accelerate aggressively. Otherwise, you are wasting your money. I would, however use 91 octane in a very warm environment, such as Arizona or Nevada when Summer temps can climb to 100 degrees F. Conversely, during very cold temps, I'm sure any grade would provide more than adequate performance.

Try using midgrade. We average 25-26 without being ultra-conservative with our driving. During Winter months, I often run with regular and get the same mileage.

I'm not sure if this is the case with our cars, but some Toyotas' dimmer switch provides ground for the high beams. If so, a bad dimmer switch may be the problem. Other possibilities are the relay and column swtch, itself.

That's good to know. Thanks, Randy.

Consumer Reports gets 26 MPG with the RX450h. We average 25 in our 400h. This is about the same das mileage as a VW GTI gets and that car weighs 3000 lbs. As Bob mentioned, a 4500 lb vehicle is a 4500 lb vehicle. The fact that it can accelerate to 60 MPH in under 7 seconds is remarkable! By the way, Bob, I test-drove a 2014 Mazda 6 (2500 cc SkyActive engine that runs on regular fuel), last Saturday. The route that this dealership (and Mazda engineers, according to the salesperson) have mapped out, includes rough roads, tight curves, and a few highway miles. The EPA numbers are 26 city and 38 highway for the automatic tranny that features paddle shifters on the steering wheel. HP output is about 180 and the car weighs 3200 lbs. Yes, our Lexus is faster but the Mazda 6 is not exactly a slouch. Its handling is very impressive and the ride, firm but comfortable. The Grand Touring version I drove was loaded with everything, including lasers that work with the cruise control, warnings for when a car is in your blind spot (audible and visual in side view mirror) and the blinkers are on, and a warning if you are backing out of a parking spot and a car behind you is approaching. My cost would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $28K - tempting but at 16 ft in length, it will not fit where my current Mazda resides. I also drove a 2600 lb MX5 which gets lower gas mileage than the much larger and heavier 6. The difference, apparently, is new vs. old technology.

rc, Have you seen this: http://www.arfc.org/complaints/2008/lexus/rx350/air_bags/problem.aspx I realize it probably won't help but it does show that this is happening to non-hybrid RXs as well.

This is not very common, but it has happened to a couple of RX owners in the past: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/topic/66896-passanger-air-bag-ligt-on-all-the-time/ I believe that if you place an object that weighs in between a certain range, the airbag for that position will deactivate, since a small child could be injured by the airbag. It could also be that the airbag deplyment force is variable, depending on the weight of the passenger. Is there anything on that seat when the light is illuminated?

Now when I was your age :whistles: (all the way up to the present, to some extent), I had two cars and a motorcycle. The convertible sportscar was for hysterical-laughing fun (and to show off a bit). The practical car (starting with a 68 Mercury Cougar) was for going places where I didn't want to take the sportscar. The motorcycle was for white-knuckle riding with similar, no-fear friends. Cduluk, it may be time to get yourself a BRZ or MX5. Don't get rid of the RX, but enjoy the warmer months with something lighter and "tossable". You're young only once, at least in age!

I agree; specifically ask to see all tsbs and check to see if all recalled were performed, as well.

An Optima battery won't prevent the no-start condition, although a yellow top version can take deep discharges without permanent damage. You CAN extend the life of your present battery by using a battery tender when not starting the vehicle for an extended length of time.

Excellent job, atn! It could be that this has not happened to our RX400h because it seldoms rains, here in San Diego. Only big leaks get noticed. It looks like cduluk was correct about the ballast.

This may be of help: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-second-generation/510689-rx350-antenna.html

I agree. Even in warm weather conditions, your oil won't get up to temperature for at least 8-10 miles, depending upon how many of those are highway miles. At 40 degrees F, it takes my Corvette's oil at least 12 -15 miles to reach 200F and that includes stretches of 80 MPH "cruising".

Do you have the maintenance log book that came with all RX400hs from the factory? If not, you should get ahold of one. It contains what you are looking for. Much depends upon what has been done, previously and at what mileage.

Perhaps a tie with a camera "pin" wouldn't be noticed? But, yes, I would expect secrecy when it comes to manufacturing methods of some vehicles. The Corvette plant in Bowling Green, Kentucky has no such restrictions (from what I've heard).

Where're the pics? That would definitely make for an interesting tour. I've toured many interesting plants, like Sony, Olhausen Billiards, Taylor Guitar, Edelbrock and others, but never a car manufacturing plant.

We now have 77,000 miles on our RX and I have not seen any leaks. Why did you get your timing belt replaced at that mileage? Do you live in a northern region where temps dip very low?

Thanks, Gary, Often, procedures by the manufacturers have few or no photos and any they do include are typically very small black and white photos or crude drawings. It looks like Fram is one step ahead of most others, as I believe the boxes containing filters I've used contain no instructions at all. Zapopaz, I check at 10,000 miles and almost always replace before the 15,000 mile mark. How quickly your filters get dirty is dependant upon the ambient conditions in your area. Dryer areas tend to dirty the filters more quickly than wet areas. Dave

Cans of moisture-sensitive liquids are often topped off with moisture-free nitrogen. If you could ensure that the gas inside the headlight assembly is moisture free and sealed, you shouldn't have a condensation issue. In fact, I believe double-pane windows are vacuum-sealed for the same reason.

Keep in mind that when a Toyota service bulletin states that the 0W-20 is "superior", it is comparing that oil to the original non-synthetic oil used as factory fill. I really doubt that their 0W-20 oil is superior to Mobil 1, Amsoil, and other top-name full-synthetic oils.

My Costco battery was installed 2.5 years ago and is working, perfectly. I think it's safe to say that you need to have your RX tested. Something is not right.