bikeandsail

Does anyone have a RX400h service manual in PDF or hard copy?

I have the multi volume hard copy manual.

Ron Fiedler

sailbike1-join@yahoo.com

I was told by the dealer that because of the regenerative braking system, the brake pads are only used at speeds below 10 mph. This results in extremely long brake pad life for the 400h over other non-hybrid RXs.

Changed my front pads at about 70,000 miles.

Ron

And it might ruin the battery...not electrocute people...

My 2006 RX400h has 97,000 miles on it and probably 10,000 pulling a boat. The boat has been launched and retrieved literally 100's of times and I have never even once thought about the concerns listed here.

Ron

I have software version 7.1 in my 08 400h. I would love for my girlfriend to be able to enter new addresses while we're driving, but it seems that Lexus has changed/removed all the Nav overrides from this latest version.

I did, however, find the correct sequence to disable the seatbelt chime if anyone is interested. It took me a few tries to get it right, but it eventually worked. Now, I always buckle up. Just sometimes not in the first minute of pulling out of my driveway while I get situated. This was originally posted as instructions for an IS350 so it may work with other models. Good luck.

If anyone knows of any other system overrides (especially for 7.1) please post them.

Yep, the anoying 'ding' mod is an oldie but a goodie. Better not loose those procedures, because the ding will revert if /when you replace your battery, FYI. In fact, just disconecting one terminal is all it takes for the system to revert to default ... which is WITH the ding.

Regarding your v7.1 NAV DVD. THAT is not the cause of you not being to use the override. It's the 'loading' file on the DVD, ending in, .kwi if I remember correctly. So, if you have an older DVD, you can make your own custom DVD with the map upgrades, but utilizing the older loading file on the older DVD's. The mod is on this board somewhere. I did it just for yuks, and it does work, but using the aftermarket lockpic is much less of a hastle than piecing together your own NAV DVD.

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I have created one of the Hybrid 7.1 DVD's but I can't get the NAV system depowered to accept the new ( old ) bios file. Does anyone know what fuses to pull? I have tried several combinations without success and hate to disconect the baterry and loose all the personnel settings.

Ron

I hear ya. Too bad, as some of the input was good (whether I agreed or not), after filtering the 'stuff' out. It was odd to have someone have so much to say about the hybrid experience w/o ever owning one.

I also was not reading his posts for information only for intertainment. I was of the opinion he had a lot of opinions and little actual knowledge.

I am curious also on what the most mileages of someone on the board has or heard of on the 400h.

Sorry should have been 68,500 miles and 10,000 miles towing

Ron

I am curious also on what the most mileages of someone on the board has or heard of on the 400h.

68.500 miles with about 10 of that towing a 1300 lb sailboat / tailer combination.

Ron

RX,

Your analysis of Lexus’s fuel octane recommendations in the O&M manual are not correct. Lexus says regular - 87 pump octane is acceptable and 91 pump octane is recommended. In the US pump octane is an average of ROM and MON. IE 87 pump octane = (91 ROM + 83 MON ) /2.

The proof is using the fuel. There is no knocking or reduced power as a result of using 87 octane.

Ron

Ron,

It is actually a bit ambiguous. The manual does not state that "pump" ratings are to be used, although this can easily be inferred by the nomenclature. The manual states "Octane rating of 87", but never mentions "MON" as an averaging factor. 87 pump octane does seem to work adequately during cooler ambient temperatures, but I would shy away from using it during the Summer months.

Dave

Dave,

The 91 RON in parrenthis implicitly indicates that the 87 is pump octane. IE pump octane 87=91 RON - approximatley. There is no ambiguity to me. I know what knocking is and in 60,000 miles, maybe 10,000 towing a boat t u[ tp 80 mph I have never heard a knock or had a loss of power.

All my testing on premium has indicated no better and possible worse gas mileage contary to Lexus claims.

Ron

There are three choices of fuel grades. Mid-grade and premium are recommended in the manual. You will achieve lightly better performance when using premium, but honestly, few of us will be able to tell unless we are running our cars at the dragstrip.

Also, these are hybrid cars. If we didn't care about saving money (in the long run), we'd have bought X5s or RX350s!

RX,

Your analysis of Lexus’s fuel octane recommendations in the O&M manual are not correct. Lexus says regular - 87 pump octane is acceptable and 91 pump octane is recommended. In the US pump octane is an average of ROM and MON. IE 87 pump octane = (91 ROM + 83 MON ) /2.

The proof is using the fuel. There is no knocking or reduced power as a result of using 87 octane.

Ron

Here's something you might want to read:

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...c=38975&hl=

Dave

My Rx400h has 60,000 miles on it. I always use the lowest grade gas of the usually 3 grades and it works and will continue to work fine. The pump labeling is 87.

Ron

For what its worth, so far, I have gotten my best gas mileage using Regular. So guess what, I now use regular grade only. If there is a sale (Thursday in my area) where mid or super is on sale, then I might fuel up with higher octane (during hot summer months). Otherwise, regular is fine for me.

Cheers,

MadloR

Ditto, I have done several multi tank tests and Premiun is either the same or less mileage than regular!!

Ron

As the subject says, will a 7.1 nav disc work on the 2006 RX400H?

I just bought the version 7.1 DVD from Sewell for my 2006 Rx400h that has the generation 4 nav system. You must buy a disk specific to your gerneration system IE 4.

It works fine, the Sewell website has instructions for changing it. It does not get rid of the "I accept" screen and the Volume screen override does not work. Also the disc acutally contains less data, has less MB. I would have thought it would have been larger. So far I have not seen any road or other changes.

I was able to make a backup copy using Nero 7.1 and just using the copy DVD command. I wonder whether the Hybrid disc that you hear being dicussed for the generation 5 nav systems would work on the gen 4 systems? I will miss the motion override using the volume screen.

Ron

The only thing I debate is the no full throttle. I made sure I varried speed and did do some full throttle accelerations during the first 500 miles. If your too gentle there is a chance the rings won't set. I also towed at almost exactly 500 miles. Car now has 36,000 miles and oil usage is zero so at least I did set the rings.

Ron

I am renting a 5x8 uhaul trailer this weekend & was wondering if anyone's had any experience pulling a trailer with their RX400h? I've never pulled a trailer at all, so I'm sure it will be an experience either way.

I have the factory hitch & harness that I installed myself. My RX supposedly has the "tow prep" package (according to the sticker & the fact that the right connector was already on the vehicle wiring harness to plug the hitch harness into), so I guess that's in my favor.

Lexus hitch comes without towbar or ball you need to buy both elseware. I have towed a 1400 lb boat / trailer combination several 1,000 miles with my 400h. Handles and pulls well gas milage goes into the dumper 17-19 but that is to be expected. Ball size is trailer dependent usually 1 7/8 might also be 2 inch.

The backup camera is great for backing up to the trailer ball, which I do several times per week during the summer. With a little practice you can get to less than 1 inch from the ball consistently.

Ron

I have now experienced two occurences of failure of the Electric Door Locking mechanism on my RX400h. The first occurence was when I pulled into a service station to fill up the car after driving 150 or so miles. I pulled up to the pump and turned off the ignition switch and then pressed the button to unlock all the doors. NOTHING happened. I then tried the switch to lock them. Still nothing happened. Then I manually unlocked the drivers door and then tried the 'switch' and it then responded! Strangely, after I filled up and as I was leaving the station, I noticed the 'hybrid battery' was in the 'purple' (low charge state) although I couldn't explain why that might have been. I don't know if that was even relevant or not. No problem for several weeks until last Sunday and I pulled into my garage and again, the electric switch would do NOTHING! Again, I manually unlocked my door and then tried the switch and 'it' decided 'it' would work. Anyone else had a similar problem?

Try your other remote or check the battery in the remote.

I have 29,545 miles on my RX400h and have averaged just under 25 mpg including about 4,000 miles of towing a boat a Thistle 1,300 lbs with trailer that drags the mileage down to the high teens. I have had it about 14 months.

Excepting towing. Worst mileage is winter usually 22-24 range. Next best in AC time in summer 25-27. Best mileage is when temp is about 50-70 degrees and AC is off. That has been typically 26-29 range. Best tank has been 29.5 mpg. My driving is all mixed expressway, high speed back roads and residential roads. Probably 75% expressway. Typical expressway speed is 70mph corrected, country higher speed and city lower speed.

Driving with an effort to keep engine off, accelerate and then back off on throttle, is worth a couple of mpg.

Car is VERY sensitive to highway speed, at above 70 mph mileage drops significantly at 80 mph and up it is down dramattically. Up to about 65 mph even gradual downhills are sufficeint for engine to shut down above 70 mph engine almost never shuts down. At 65 mph and less car can get great mileage with a little effort.

Oddometer error with Mitchelins is 2.5% long. Speedo error at 60 mph is 2 mph slow. The computer gas mileage is about .5 to .75 mpg high. All above numbers I quote are corrected numbers. Is it obvious I am an engineer?

Great car, fun to drive, tows great and even accelerates and brakes great towing.

Ron

Has anyone installed the ECU update for 400h to determine if the battery or engine should be engaged for power at 40 MPH? (FP number 89981-48030)

If so, did it fix the vibration problem at 40 MPH?

Was there any affect on the gas mileage?

Thanks for replies.

What is this issue? I have a slight steering wheel vibration athe peaks about 37mph and was not fixed by tire balance or wheel alignment. I don't see any service bulliens on this subject!

Ron

My Rx400 h with over 28,000 miles on it has periodically stopped regenerating for no obvious reason, batery not fully charged, not hot etc. Has never lasted more than I day, usually just to the next "start" IE ignition off and then back on. It has done it 4 or 5 times total in over a year. It also always stops reginerating after hitting a hard bump untill I reapply the pedal. I have often wondered if it is a loose connection computer glitch or something else. I beleive it will impossible to diagnose unless it persists. I have decided it is not worth worrying about.

Ron

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.

Short trips are not relavant to the issue. Short trips cause internal corrosion, the discussion is external corrosion.

Ron

The exhaust system on my RX400h with 25,000 miles is also showing signs of rust. The worst is the exhuast pipe downstream of the muffler. It has rust bad enough that it looks like it has large rust flakes coming off! I will try to get some photos of it. Sure doesn't look like stainless steel to me.

I have over 24,000 miles on my Rx400h and now have a full winter of use including a lot in the "snow belt" of northeast Ohio. I do have 4 mounted snow tires that I installed last fall. I always put snow tires all the way around on all my vehicles.

This car is simply amazing in the snow. In very slick road conditions you can floor the accelerator and the engine will only speed up at the rate all 4 wheels can provide traction. From a standing start on ice the car engine barly speeds up untill the car gets some traction. During these times it is feeding power to all 4 wheels.

The stabilty control also reacts quicker to rear wheel slides and I do amazing.

I took the car to a Vermont ski resort, Mount Snow, a few weeks ago and it snowed all weekend, the roads were so bad, snow over ice, many vehicles including 4WD SUV's could not even control their decent on downhills let along uphills. Again the car was amazing if you didn't watch the "skid" alarm on the dash it was easy to deceive yourself into thinking it was not very slick.

This car is far and away the best winter traction/control vehicle I have ever driven.

Ron

The 3500 lb limit is with trailer brakes. I believe limit is 2000 lbs without.

I have several thousand miles with about a 1500 lb lboat oad and no trailer brakes. Except for killing the gas mileage pulls fine.

Ron

I have the road crown, tugging steering wheel problem and probably should have my steering computer replaced as per the sevice bulletin.

The car has been abosolutely trouble free through 24,000 miles. Service from the dealer has not be trouble free. I am hesitiant to have major work done on the car. Has anyone had the computer replaced and how much of the car needed dismantling to do it?

Did it solve the road crown problem?

Ron

Anyone know how much of the car needs dismantled to install the new computer? My 400h has had the stearing road crown ''tugging" problem since I got it but I'm hesitant to have the dealer dismantle the car and create other problems. I now have 23,000 miles on the car with 0 other problems!

Ron

This is exactly what I think!

I have started to feel a real difference between the regenerative braking and the friction braking. When the car was brand new there was an almost imperceptible transition between the two types of braking. Now, at 10,250 miles the transition is almost unsafe. During regenerative braking, the car brakes extremly well, then when the battery gets charged up, the braking will require a significantly harder pedal push to maintain the same braking action.

This change in pedal pressure has occured during a 'normal' stop for traffic. The effect is unnerving, sudden, and without warning. Suddenly I will need to press quite hard on the pedal to keep from crashing into the car in front of me. I'm constantly on my alert for the problem. The dealer didn't find anything wrong during the 10,000 mile checkup, but suggested I bring it in for further diagnostic testing. I'm making an appoint ment to do just that. This will be difficult to diagnose because it happens very infrequently.

i was thinking about your problem as i drove my 400h and this is just a guess from the top of my head, however do you think the regenerative braking is acting up, is it possible to see if it is doing regenerative braking during this event by watching your meter, the brakes do feel different to me when the battery is full and regeneration is minimized. my 2 cents. also do you have another dealer reasonable close to you for a second opinion because it sounds like this dealer really cannot get a solution for you. in addition Lexus has flown in experts to help dealers with no clue, and to make sure repairs that are new to everyone are done correctly. I would get corporate involved, its serious when you cannot trust your brakes.

My RX400h that has 20,000 miles on it has from the beginning went from regenerative braking to only friction breaking periodically. Mine usually occurs over a hard bump when the ABS or some other computer stops the regeneration until either the car stops or the pedal is released and reapplied. I thougth this was a problem with just my car but got a Rx400h loaner once just to test for this. The loaner also did it. I believe this is normal. The regeneration shuts off not only when battery is fully charged but when there is some upset condition like a bump while braking. It took some getting used to.

Ron