cduluk

+1 on the shopping carts!! I forgot to mention the time i was in a CVS parking lot, when someone hit a shopping cart 2 spaces over from where i was parked, barreling the shopping cart right into the lower moldings of my Rx300 creating a large scrape. Of course, the police said since the cart hit me and not the car, he couldn't make an accident report. He told me to take it up with CVS. People don't have respect for others' belongings. :(

About 99% of the time i park as far away from people as i can, but the ONE time i park in a cluster "just to run in", i get a ding. Thank god for Dent Pro's! And i usually try to parallel park to avoid people swinging their doors into mine, but even still i've been victim of someone digging their license plate into my rear bumper. You can never win! I've been toying with the idea of getting security cameras in my car, but the $1000 price tag for the average system isn't very appealing.

If you're in a state like CT where they're illegal, "I have a radar detector and it didn't go off".

Holy crap, that's HOT! B) I'd love one of those tanks; wouldn't have to worry about people hitting you in a parking lot with that!

I was gonna say... sounds like a low battery issue. When the car's battery gets low, the car cuts power to all nonessential systems such as the gauges. <_<

Ahh sorry i should have updated... figured everything out! Thanks though

I don't think that at all- read the sticky thread in the Hybrid forum i started after i got my Rx400h. There are a lot of things i don't think the RX does very well. Actually, i like the navigation in the Lexus. The only drawback i find is the inability to use it while driving, but there's a pretty cheap kit you can install to get around this, all for less than the price of an aftermarket nav unit. Every Lexus navigation system since 1998 has this lockout, and the 07-present system is their best. You should have made the effort to learn how it worked BEFORE buying the car. Your argument doesn't have any integrity. You bought a USED car, from a non-Lexus dealer, one with DOUBLE the average mileage for that model year. All of your complaints (except for the functionality of the nav and price for a key; all knowledge that was available prior to purchase) are based on wear and tear. Your problems are consistent with a car that was abused for 70k miles. You can't claim your issues are due to poor quality on Lexus' part as you have NO proof the car wasn't tortured before you owned it. Only if you were the original owner of the car could you suggest that build quality is the cause of your problems. I don't know why you're having difficulty with the logic... Again, your experiences with your Rx are not such that you can make judgements about the RX as a whole. You don't have the ability to determine that mileage alone is the cause of your RX's problems, as you don't know how those first 70k miles were driven. The average Lexus with 70k-100k miles doesn't experience the same premature failure of the parts you've described. So your accusations that Lexus is to blame for what you're going through is unjustified. No one needs to hear from you that buying a used car with double the average mileage is a stupid idea; we already know that. The risk of buying a car with high mileage is the same for a Lexus as it is for a Buick. It's not the build quality that should be feared with high mileage, but rather the fact that you don't know how the car was treated beforehand. I have news for you; the components you've experienced failure with on your 2007 Rx350 are identical to those on the 2004 Rx330, which was designed in 2001-2002, entering service in April of 2003 as the 2004 model. By 2010 when you bought your RX, you could have very easily done your research on how the RX ages with time and mileage. And i think you will find that even the oldest 2004 Rx NOW, hasn't even experienced the same failures that yours has. Seriously?? I don't know what Highlander you were looking at, but the materials for the dash and steering wheel aren't even close. The Highlander uses hard plastics in the places where the Rx utilizes soft vinyl (glove compartment, center console trim, door panels...) and the steering wheel of the Highlander is vinyl whereas the RX steering wheel is leather and wood- real wood that is, as compared to the plastic "printed" wood in the Toyota. And the leather for the seats is entirely different between the Lexus and Toyota, both in texture and softness. And you show me one entry level Acura, Mercedes or BMW that you think has quality interior materials and i'll show you 5 Lexus' that beat it. This is a forum where people come to vent and seek help when problems first occur with their Lexus. I don't think there's a single active member on this forum who can say their first thread was anything but a complaint or question about a problem they were experiencing. People don't join and become active members because they want to praise Lexus. So yes, 99% of the threads started on this forum are by new members (such as yourself) that have problems with their Lexus and want help. The majority of Lexus owners do not experience problems, and therefore do not feel the need to post on this site. When you're reading this forum, all you're gonna see are people's problems. But it doesn't mean everyone, or even 1/50th of Lexus owners, are having problems. People don't go to the hospital to learn how to cure illnesses; they go to the hospital after they have acquired the illness. When you go to a hospital, do you assume everyone in the world is sick just because everyone in the hospital is sick? No, of course not. So it doesn't make sense to think that the Rx is plagued by design just because the majority of the threads started on this forum are about problems with their cars. Get it now?

Every once and a while i have the same issue, though i've narrowed it down to my phone. When i first got my Rx400h i had another phone than i do now, and it worked flawlessly. A few months ago i got a new phone and now i have problems getting it to connect. Apparently whenever i turn my phone off, it resets the Bluetooth so it's no longer visible. I find myself having to reprogram my bluetooth about twice a week.

The wood panel comes right out as it's only held in with clips. <_< Get a flat-head screwdriver and cover the tip with masking tape (so it doesn't scratch). Then try to pry the wood panel up like this: Just be gentle!

year? model?

Ahh! That's it. I really like it!

Received the part yesterday, decided to tackle the job today since I'm off work. I can't believe how easy this was with your awesome instructions! It took me all of 40 minutes to complete, and that was with spending 10 minutes searching for a bandaid after not reading your instructions about the screw falling into the dash, then running my hand under the dash trying to find the screw! OUCH! LOL. Truly fantastic instructions! Once again, these forums have managed to not only save me a pile of $$, but also gave me a sense of accomplishment by repairing this on my own! Oh and not to mention my wife now thinks I'm a stud! LOL Thanks again! I really appreciate all you're help! Guys like you make these forums awesome! Rick Hey glad it helped! I too have cut myself on that metal panel below the steering column, it's sharp!! Did that do the trick to get the lights back on?

Sounds like whoever owned the car before you abused the !Removed! out of it... Clearly it wasn't "well maintained" if all of those parts deteriorated prematurely. The problems you listed are very unusual for the 07+ Rx350 even with 100k miles. As for the navigation system functionality, you should have made the effort to learn how it worked BEFORE you bought the car. And you can't blame Lexus for the price of a replacement key; if you bought the car new or found a used RX with the 3 or 4 keys it came with, you wouldn't have that problem. The keys are a dime a dozen on eBay and you could have take it to a locksmith to have it cut. When you buy a used car with 70k miles, you can't make claims that the car must be faulty when you discover it's sustained more wear than you thought.

Hey guys, I was looking at pictures of the 2010-2011 ES350 online and stumbled on an interior shot that caught my eye. Does anyone notice anything unusual about this interior shot? It's a 2010 ES350 with the gray interior. How about this one? After a few minutes of staring at it, trying to discover why it looked SOOO much better than what i thought it looked like, i figured it out. Here a shot of another 2010 ES350 with the gray interior. See the difference? If you look closely, you'll notice the door armrests in the first pictures are black while the armrests in the last picture are gray. WHAT A HUGE DIFFERENCE! I think it looks so much better with the black armrest trim! Anyone know why this ES350 has a black armrest while EVERY other 2010-2011 ES350 i can find has it in gray? The page i found the images on is useless... http://www.autocarspecs.com/lexus/interior-design-2010-lexus-es-350.html/attachment/lexus-es-350-interior-design At first i thought it came with the package that has the "panoramic roof", but i found some '10-'11 ES's with the gray interior with the panoramic roof and they don't have the black armrests. What do you guys think?

You mean the rear tailgate glass? There are a lot of 'rear glass windows" From parts.com the glass is $477.85 and that's the cheapest you'd ever be able to get it. If you're talking about another glass piece, look for the part on parts.com for the price.

Are there any indications that the car was in a previous accident? Is there a VIN tag on that door panel? It should be a small 1/2" x 2" black sticker below the "latch" on the door.

Hows your cars battery? Any chance it's going dead? It could be that the car is shutting down all nonessential components to keep enough power for the engine... However my guess is that it's more serious than that. :(

Why would anyone bring their car to you? You run a lemonade stand outside your mom's trailer. Hahaaa

How long are you planning on keeping the car for? If a while, let them sand all the flaking crap off, prime, color and clear it. $600 sounds on the cheap side actually...

Do you have the driveway space available? And a hose and nozzle? If so, definitely do it yourself. You'll feel better! I wash my car whenever i can see there's going to be at least 5-7 days without rain. I always check the weather forecast, and if it looks like there's going to be a nice stretch of sun i'll wash it. In fact, last time i washed my car was 3 weeks ago, and it hasn't been in the rain since! It rained a few times since then but it's been safe in the garage. I'm gonna see how much further i can go without washing it. Just as long as it doesn't rain, any dirt or pollen that collects on the car can be blown off with a compressor. I just added a little more tire shine on the tires and wiped the brake dust off of the wheels, and you'd never know it hasn't been washed in 3 weeks! I use a microfiber wash mitt (that i wash after every use) and whatever car soap's on sale at Target... Then i wipe dry with several microfiber towels (got them at Walmart 2 years ago, can't seem to find them anywhere anymore). It's not the safest method for the paint, but i haven't had any issues with it and it works well for me! Also be sure to wash the lower part of the car last, as it's usually the dirtiest. You don't want to drag the dirt around the hood or roof with the mitt. I do the lower half of the car last, followed by the wheels and tires. <_< And for the caked on stuff such as bird droppings and deceased bugs, i spray on some bug and tar remover first to loosen it up. But it also removes any waxes, so you've gotta spot treat the areas afterwards... I use Collinite's Insulator wax. The stuff is SO durable.

Uhh, no. Do not buy a cluster from the dealer. A new cluster from the dealer costs almost as much as a used GS. First you need to determine if the cluster is faulty, or if it's something external. If you do end up needing a cluster, grab one off of ebay. Depending on what the issue is within the cluster, you may be able to keep your memory board for the mileage.

Oh yeah, if the car's still under warranty it should be included. Worse case scenario, you'd have to tap off of the working bulb from the other side.

Are any other lights on the dash on? ie P-R-N-D-4-3-L, or the seatbelt light, etc? And do the needles move like they're supposed to?

UGH... similar incident happened to me last year. I had dropped my car off before i went away on vacation to have them perform a TSB for the AC system. When i returned i picked up the car, and on my drive home i noticed the radio and navigation had chips/scratches along with a few interior vinyl and wood pieces. I turned right back around and showed them, and they tried to tell me they were "already there"- which they were of course not. After a few weeks of calling/emailing/talking loud in the service waiting area, the head of the service/parts department agreed he'd "help me". He ended up finding parts from another car waiting to be sold as a CPO, and switched them with mine. In your case that solution probably wouldn't be possible since exterior doors really can't be "switched", but i'd suggest keep on calling and nagging them. Insist you maintain your car well and that the damage wasn't there prior. Keep nagging them... :(

Hmm... it could be that this feature wasn't available for the 04 model year. :(