cduluk

Where are you located? Does your dash have Japanese lettering on all of the buttons too? Is the car RHD or LHD?

It has all its needles still lit too!! Definitely not your average first gen LS.

It's definitely been tampered with, you can see it's crooked in the last pic. It was either moved for aesthetic reasons or because of confusion during body work. I also notice that weird "trim" piece on the lower edge of the fenders, not sure what that is? Sometimes it's very hard to tell if something's been re-painted if done correctly... But if you can't tell, that means it was done well! That badge can be removed and moved back to its original spot if you'd prefer it. Just heat it up with a hair dryer and the adhesive backing will loosen up. Just hope it hasn't etched the paint in that area...

None of the lexus models have the cruise control stalk illuminated. :( I did however add glow-in-the-dark paint to the lettering on mine, and coated the entire thing with soft-touch paint! if the car sits in the sun during the day the stalk will be illuminated throughout the night. Doesn't help much but it's better than it was. Since the stalks work the same (directions etc) for all 1990-2011 Lexus' and Totota's, i've just learned how to use it in the dark. <_<

I believe the badge is supposed to be on the fender. The Rx330 thundercloud Ed badge is supposed to be on the door. Can you post pics? Can you find evidence of re-paint?

Here in the US we don't have that badging... Have you posted on the European Lexus owners club?

Take a close look at the bulb. Does it have one filament or two? Most tail lights utilize a bulb with 2 filaments, one illuminating during normal nighttime driving, with the other filament illuminating to add brightness during braking. However some tail lights just have one bulb with one filament, with the cars computer controlling how much voltage goes to the single filament controlling how bright it is.

I don't have any pics, but it's very easy to remove the interior panels. Just pry them off with a flathead screwdriver. They'll pop off and pop back in when you're ready to re-install. Start with the lower panel first then the one above that (adjacent to the window). When you have the panels removed, take some pics of the interior tailgate area (where the bulbs are located) and post them here. I'll mark off which nuts you need to remove to pull out the trim piece (that's half chrome and half painted)...

Hmmm... are we talking about what's going on in Japan here? :whistles: If we are, we can add radar, body-scanner, wifi and cellphone radiation to the list of ways we're killing ourselves! :chairshot:

try parts.com as well. Still OEM but they usually have the best prices.

I have to agree, the body styles of the 04 and 08 are 100% identical, and the difference in power and acceleration is minimal. The 07+ Nav systems are pretty nice, but not worth $13,000.

When I had my radar detector (bel STi-R) installed on my old Rx300, I actually mounted it on the ROOF under the roof rack rail with this same assumption. But in reality it didn't make one bit of a difference- it just looked weird when pointed out. When I transferred it to my current Rx400h, I mounted it behind the front grill; and it functions EXACTLY the same as it did when mounted on the roof with no obstructions.

Damn, that's one clean car. <_< I forgot the SS Rx's had the perforated seats (love them)!

haha- good way to put it! There isn't a single difference between the 07 and 08 model. Literally, nothing. <_< Same for 09.

I wish i saw this thread sooner! :) Yes indeed the steering wheel controls from the 07-09 ES should be a direct swap with the 2010-2011 controls. The plugs should be identical, the mounts identical, everything identical except for the exterior faceplate and buttons. The airbags themselves are identical too. I did a swap on my RX using the steering wheel from an 05-06 ES330, with the airbag and steering wheel controls from an 06-07 GS. The controls had the same plugs, and they work perfectly! I'd assume the same should be true for the 07-11 ES350. It wouldn't make any sense for Lexus to reinvent the wheel in this case, as changing the plugs would require changing the clock-spring and such. So i'm betting that the 07-11 ES350 wheel controls, airbags, and the wheels themselves should be interchangeable. <_< I also wouldn't buy the controls NEW. I'd check ebay for a 2010-2011 ES350 steering wheel with the new controls, then swap the controls (remove the 2010 controls and put them on your wheel, and put your controls on the 2010 wheel) and re-sell the wheel back on ebay, hopefully making most of your money back. Here's a 2010 ES350 wheel with the new controls from LKQ on ebay. I've purchased TONS of used parts from them- its a REALLY good company. http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2010-Lexus-ES350-Black-Leather-Wood-Steering-Wheel-LKQ-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem20b70a02c0QQitemZ140509840064QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories Here are the pictures: You might want to take your airbag off and check the plugs just to make sure they look right. The colors of the wires may be different (i noticed this when i did the swap on my car) but as long as the wires are going to the right "spots"- you should be good. Also, when i did the swap on my car, i noticed either an extra wire or lack of one wire- but everything still works- illumination and all. It wouldn't hurt to get the wheel, swap the controls, and see if they work. If not, no harm done- just send the wheel back. LKQ will let you do that, their customer service is great. I'm also in the process of "possibly" doing another steering wheel/controls swap on my RX. I bought a wheel with the controls from an 08-11 GS, which has the same exact "wheel" as used on the 07-11 ES, but the controls are shaped a little differently. Here's some pictures: Wouldn't hurt to check if this set of wiring is the same as yours. My guess is that it would be.

Anybody?

She's BEAUTIFUL!!! I definitely love the subtle changes made to the 08's such as the blue-tinted headlights and blue accented rear emblems- you made a good choice!

Do you have the maintenance records for the car? You can go to: https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrivers/home.do and register your car using the VIN. Within minutes you can look up the entire service history containing everything done at ANY Lexus dealership.

Do you see a little "square" in the mirror where it would light up? Does your RX have nav? Maybe (i have no idea) if the car has NAV the mirror compass is absent. This is how it was with the Rx300. Non-nav models had the compass in the mirror while the nav models didn't, as it was on the nav screen.

Hey congratulations!! Glad you found one that you liked, i think you made a good choice going with an '08. <_< It appears a few of the known problems with the Rx400h were either fixed for '08 or start showing with "age" not necessarily with mileage. 88,000 miles isn't that bad- i've got close to 63,000 on mine with no big problems. I'm surprised that you say yours doesn't have HID headlamps though- i honestly thought the Rx400h couldn't be ordered without HID's. Especially since you say yours is AWD and has the Mark Lev system!! I thought for sure you'd get HID's w/ AFS in the package that gets you nav and ML. And what extended warranty did you get? Is it through Lexus? I thought the extended Lexus warranty couldn't be purchased after the 50,000 miles point? Either way, i'd definitely have some type of extended warranty on it- the Rx400h is a reliable car, but if any of the hybrid components were to ever go out, it could be very costly! IMO it's just a nice thing to have... As long as the warranty you purchased would cover all of the hybrid components, i'd say KEEP IT! And you must post some pictures!! B)

I notice this shaking too. Every day i get to my school about 45 minutes early and park somewhere hidden, and wait to pounce on good parking spots as people leave- so i have a lot of hours sitting in PARK with the ignition ON. Whenever the engine turns back ON (not so much turning OFF) i can feel the "shudder" for a second or two. Sometimes it's more noticeable than others, but it seems pretty normal. I've yet to figure out why the shaking feels different each time though. I'm thinking it has something to do with how warm the engine is?

That seems like a LOT of $$$! May of '09 we got the 08 Rx400h with 42k miles for $31,000. Has the same equipment. So, now in 2011 you should be able to get a 2010 Rx400h (which doesn't even exist) for $31 with the same mileage. Here in RI (recently named 49/50 worst states to live in economically) you can get an 08 for a little less. I'd keep looking- $30k for a 2007 now in 2011 seems like WAY too much.

There aren't many LED bulbs out there that have the regulators you'd need. I've gone through TONS of different brands of LED bulbs just to have them overheat and burn out within months of installing them. I have only found ONE LED bulb that hasn't burned out for me. I currently have them in my headlights, replacing the parking light bulbs in the high beam reflector housings. It's been 2 years and they're still functioning 100%. NIGHT and DAY difference from the other junks i've used. They have voltage regulators built in which limit the voltage going to the LED's no matter what the input, so they never overheat. Here they are: http://hidconcept.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=69 They're in size 194 (or T10) which is the same thing as 2825 (which is the type in both the headlight parking reflector and in the rear license place housings). But i don't think these would work for the license plate lights- actually, i know it (because i've tried). These LED bulbs have a single white LED facing directly outwards. The license plate bulbs are facing directly out the back of the tailgate, therefore the white LED wouldn't be shining on the license plate. I converted mine to LED's, but i had to make my own circuits with the proper resistors. Turns out the hole for the bulb is literally only as wide as the bulb itself- so that limited the number of LED's i could get "in" the little reflector housings from inside the tailgate. I took the housings off of the car and opened them up, and installed i think about 3 or 4 LED's facing directly downward... and had two wires sticking out the back into the tailgate area (through the bulb hole). Then i hooked them up. Really hard to explain- i'll try to take some pics later today and post them here. It was a lot of work though. Unless you're pretty good with soldering, i'd just get these: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/LEXUS-IS200-IS300-RX330-LED-license-plate-lamp-_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQhashZitem3f077099b3QQitemZ270707759539QQptZMotorsQ5fCarQ5fTruckQ5fPartsQ5fAccessories

Wow! Good thing you have the extended warranty. I'm glad i've got it for my 400h as well- my mileage is getting pretty high and i can picture this happening to me. The Rx400h really is a reliable car though. <_<

She's MINT! Such low mileage too! What a great find. <_< The Rx300 holds its age SO well, i miss mine so much. :(