cduluk

Do the needles fade at the same rate together? Or are some of the needles illuminated while others are not?

Can you post a picture of the wheel as it is?

The outer lamps are actually 3-lead, while the inner lamps are 2-lead. The outer lamps have a ground, positive 6V, and a positive 12V for braking. The inner lamps only have a ground and positive 6V. The only way to make this happen would be to add a relay to each inner lamp (cutting power from the car) and wire 12V to the 6V lead, illuminating the lights completely for braking. It might sound complicated, but it's 100% doable. I wanna do it now!

I haven't done it, but i've thought about it! It can be done, you'll just need to do some advanced wiring to get the tail lights on the tailgate to illuminate at 12V during braking.

I've been kept up to date on Lexus gauge cluster issues and i've worked on a lot of Lexus gauge clusters, and i can say i've never heard of any type of failure of one from the 03-06 LS430. What you're describing seems to be a new issue. Do any of the gauge needles move as they should? (look closely through the tinted cover). Do any of the pilot (or idiot) lights/icons come on in the cluster? Lights on? Seatbelt not fastened? Door open? etc? If not, if the entire dash is inoperable, i highly doubt there's a loose wire or plug behind the cluster. No single wire would cut power to every function of the dash. And if you say this issue is happening along with an issue with the nav screen, i'd bet there's something wrong with the car's ECU computer.

I've never heard of that being done, actually- but you've got me interested! How do i have this done? I should note i've always (since i've owned it in '09) used 93 from the same Mobile station near my home. It's the most heavily trafficked station in the area, so i figured the fuel is always fresh!

Just to update, I'm at ~200 miles and i've averaged 28mpg, about 6mpg higher than i did before. I've also noticed a significant increase in "power" when i push it a bit. It feels the same at first, but after a few seconds i can "feel" the acceleration increase compared to how it drove before. There was something very wrong with the way it was driving before. I'm not sure if it was the air filter, but i'm liking how it's driving now! I wish i took a picture of the old air filter- it was disgusting.

You can definitely do that, but then the lights will be the color of standard "bulbs" rather than the crisp white of LEDs. Bulbs have a yellow-ish "hue" while white LEDs are more of a pure white.

Sorry to hear, Army. You'll get through it. In time, only in time.

It's funny you should mention that; i just did that conversion in my RX this week! All of the lower "green" lights are now all white LED. I should have done it 4 years ago! I know on the Rx300 radio, the green you see comes from small green SMD (surface mount diodes) which are easily torn off and replaced by white SMDs. I'd suggest Osram LWT6SC and Osram LWV18C for this application, each two different sizes. For pretty much everything else you see that's green, it uses a larger bulb (with a green rubber cap) that you'll need to make "custom" conversions for, as the bulbs aren't generic sizes you can buy pre-made LED bulbs for. I'd suggest wiring three of the surface mount diodes in series and adding a 300 ohm 1/2 watt resistor to each set.

50 miles later and i'm down to 29mpg... still not bad! Well, i bought the plugs ($7 each) and had the "intent" on doing the change myself, however the three in the back are NOT easily accessible. The manifold NEEDS to come out; i don't care what others say. There's no "reaching behind". I changed the three in the front myself, and had to pay a nearby mechanic two hours labor to put in the other three. And i haven't had the transmission fluid changed yet, but it's very high on my list! Since there's no filler nor accessible drain plug, i'll probably take it to Toyota to have them do it. RX400h, this filter was FILTHY! A moth, bees, seeds, leaves, and oh yeah; dirt! From now on i'll change out the air filter once a year. The plugs (at least the three in the front) looked pretty bad. A lot of carbon, and the gap was off. It could be that the dirty air filter wasn't affecting my mileage (since it's not the only variable i changed) but my mileage now is noticeably better. The engine also "sounds" better at idle. I can tell by the way it's driving now that something before was "off". It could have also been the ISC reset, i really don't know. I'm just glad i had these things done. :)

Hi all, Lately my Rx400h had been driving like a pig... 2008, approaching 90,000 miles, and in mixed driving i was getting--at best--22mpg. Since then, i changed the air filter--which was so filthy, it had a full grown MOTH in it,-- I had the spark plugs changed, filled the tires to 34psi, and did the ISC reset procedure. In the past 25 miles of mixed driving since then, well, take a look: I know i broke the cardinal rule of the scientific method, but at least we know changing all of these variables can lead to better gas mileage. Going from the low 20s to 30s in mpgs is incredible. I didn't know the Rx400h could even get this good of mileage! What are your thoughts?

You just hit the button in the illustration.

The Side Mirror buttons, Gas Cap button and Seat Setting buttons are NOT back-lit on the 04-09 Rx models. I wish they were! I've also experienced the 1-2 second "delay" while hitting the gas cover button, and someone's previously explained the purpose (for which i still do not understand). Sometimes it has a delay, sometimes it doesn't. I don't get it either. The other issues i haven't experienced.

Looks like the bumper reinforcement beam to me BODY HARDWARE /FRONT BUMPER & GRILLE /BUMPER & COMPONENTS /Reinf beam

transmissions on the rx300 are very weak... i would recommend the flush

That's great! Simple and best solution for sure. I love the results :)

That looks GREAT!!!! Awesome job! How did you get those results?

Parts.com has always had the lowest price (even if you include shipping) for all OEM Lexus parts. I love the site!

WOAH!! I'd wrap myself around a tree so quickly if i had that car! That's some SERIOUS acceleration!!

Damn, that's a LOT of power!! What's the 0-60 time on that thing??

Actually my new one is black. Just didn't have a good pic of the dash. I like the black more the "tan" as they call it looked great but I have had a lot of people say the same thing I think that the black looks classy. Here is the only pic I've taken so far of the interior of the new one. AND- Really Paul...GAS? :) Think you can run them on water now so you don't need gas but you need to use bottled water! Ahh! I LOVE it in black!!!!

Woah that car looks beautiful!! Congrats BTW! I haven't seen that model in person, but from the pictures it's easy to see the quality. Looking at the dash stitching, we get right away that it's covered in a nice leather. I love the look, i just don't get why Lexus couldn't have done it right in the ES! I didn't mean to turn it into such a big deal, i was just curious if anyone else noticed Lexus' deception in the ES. I understand the "look" Lexus was trying to achieve (and i like it), it just would have been nice if they put leather (even a padded vinyl or the synthetic stuff) on the dash to add to the sincerity.

Paul, i never meant that in a disrespectful way at all- my apologies! I will admit it had me fooled at first glance, also. After more research, i've learned that the dash is in fact solid (not covered in a free-floating leather/vinyl that would require stitching). Lexus actually calls it a "stitched slush mold." From cars.com regarding the dash on the '13 ES: "The cabin trades last year’s chrome inlays for silver plastic, and the faux-leather dashboard trim is little more than a stitched veneer, which Lexus calls a stitched slush mold. Other entry-luxury cars, including Lexus’ own CT 200h, have more-convincing dashboard stitching, and Chrysler’s sedan can come wrapped in genuine leather. Similar stitching to the ES adds a classy vibe to the plebeian Camry, but in the pricier Lexus, it rings cheap.” I'm not aware of any other luxury makers that use real leather anymore... The leather used in early Lexus models was the softest i've ever touched! I wish they'd bring it back.

The ES i was in must be different than those you drove, because there was absolutely no veneer on the dash of the '13 i was in. I manipulated the upper dash in my hands and it was completely solid rubber; no vinyl/leather covering. That's exactly it Paul; Lexus is misrepresenting the materials used in the '13 ES. It's even fooled SW! The upper dash of the '13 ES is solid rubber; not covered in a vinyl/leather as the stitch would lead us to believe. Having a vinyl, leather or synthetic leather veneer on the dash shouldn't affect airbag deployment; Lexus has used these materials as veneers on the upper dash of many of its models, and it functions well. Even my 400h uses a vinyl veneer on the upper dash. If the stitch is intended to show that the dash is hand made, that's even more sad... It's molded in a machine!