cduluk

It's the new bulbs. Cheap aftermarket bulbs can produce excessive heat, enough to melt the harnesses. This is even more true with tinted/coated bulbs, as the light energy produced by the filament cannot escape through the glass and is reflected back onto the filament, creating even more heat, which travels down the leads and melts the connectors. The reverse voltage can also damage the cars computer that regulates what needs to be sent to each bulb. Stick with the OEM bulbs, or make sure your replacements are rated at the correct wattage. Hopefully the cars computer systems are OK... :(

Oh that doesn't look that bad... Try cleaning out the scratch (of all flakey paint) before you fill it though. But since it's so high and because of the angle, you might still notice it when the sun hits it. But you can definitely make it look better. Black is an easy color to repair since there aren't any "shades", you might be able to get away with filling and sanding!

Good point, if you try it yourself, worse that could happen is that you mess it up and have to have a shop do the repair anyways. Go to a shop and ask if the paint has a clear, they'll be able to tell yu. If it doesn't, then have them mix you a little paint and see what you can do...

Is the ridge in the screw head damaged? You can dremel a deeper ridge in the screw and try to get more torque that way. However you'll need to get a replacement screw... Unless you can just put some paint over it and call it a day. <_<

That spotting is very odd... Unless you know what it is, it'll be hard to get rid of it. I would just have Lexus spray some dye in that area... It'll take 10 minutes. <_<

It all depends if the metal was indented at all, and if the black is single stage or if it has a clear over it. If the metal isn't dented and if the LS black is single stage, you can repair it and make it look better. You'll need to go to an autobody shop and have them mix you a batch of paint to match your code (touch up WON'T work as it'll never match exactly) and apply a thin layer every day until the paint is raised higher than the surrounding area. Then allow it to dry a week or so (at least, maybe longer) and blocksand and polish it down. If you have an autobody shop do the repair, they'll just sand the entire area down to the metal, prime, and blend the color into the panel. I doubt they'd need to do the entire panel, as black is very easy to blend. Cheapest this could ever get done for is around $500... Personally I would have a shop do the repair. The odds of you repairing the scratch until totally invisible is pretty slim... It will always show in direct sunlight and over time the new paint (in the scratch) will shrink and it will become visible again... :(

If the stain wouldn't come out wih dishwashing detergent, I don't think you're going to be able to get it out. The first step is finding out what the stain is. Can you ask your sister in law what it might be? If its a natural stain (like blood or tomao sauce), you might be able to "bleach" it out with hydrogen peroxide or something of that nature. But if it's a type of "dye" (like watercolor paint or pen ink) then there's not much you can do. As soon as it soaks into the fibers of the leather, all you can do it re-dye the leather (basicaly cover it up). Try to get some pics posted if you can... But I would contact your lexus dealer and ask to see their leather people, as they should be able to feather some dye in the area and make it good as new. Small touch up repair won't set you back more than $25, especially since there's no prep work, just a respray. DON'T try to clean it with anything other than something you would feel comfortable putting on your skin. Chemicals on the aggressive side can remove some of the leather dye. Stick to soapy water or a woolite:water mix with a cotton cloth. Good luck

Hey guys, This morning upon start-up of my Rx400h, i couldn't get volume from either the radio or the nav. The last time the Rx400h was driven was Saturday night. Before it was shut off, the radio was ON at a medium volume. But when i started it this morning, the radio "appeared" ON (the LCD read as it should) yet there was absolutely NO volume no matter what i had it set to. FM, AM, CD, NO sound. I tried the volume knob, still nothing. Turned the radio on and off, still didn't work. I also noticed that the nav wouldn't "beep" when it usually would. For example, after the "warning" screen goes away, it usually beeps. And it usually beeps when i press the "MAP VOICE" button or any of the other menu buttons, but it didn't today. I tried to program a destination, and "visually" everything was PERFECT, but the lady didn't talk and there weren't any of the usual beeps between buttons. No warning lights in the dash or any other indications that the car wasn't working properly. After about 5 minutes of driving with no change, i pulled over, put the car in PARK, but still no sound from anything. I then turned the car OFF, then turned it back ON, and everything was back to normal. The following 20 minutes of driving was trouble free, and after my 2 hour class the issue seemed to be gone. Anyone ever experience this before? It was very "weird"... Any input is appreciated! <_<

Just for kicks and giggles, why don't you try 34 or 35 and see if the noise lessens. I run 34, and I don't get squealing on acceleration, only on hard cornering (like taking a highway offramp at a decent clip). Oh, I should mention that I have the same tires on mine (but Blizzak WS60 on 17" Lexus rims for the winter). I'm gonna give that a try. I'm desperate!

Most likely the dealer will just give you their number and let you pay the leather people directly. When i had the same issue, the dealer let me work directly with the leather guy (he actually came to my HOUSE to do it). B) A small repair like that wont set you more than $50.

It took them a while but they did end up replacing the damaged parts to my satisfaction. <_< Next time i'll be taking pics before i drop the car off.

I've set them to 31PSI, the lowest i can go. I thought any higher and the noise would be worse... :cries:

Drivers side and passengers side bottom cushions are NOT interchangeable unfortunately. You'll notice that the thigh supports are wider on the sides adjacent to a door, and thinner on the sides adjacent to the center console. The brackets are also NOT square, so they can't be switched. :( The rip can most likely be repaired by a leather person... call your lexus dealer as they have a guy... Won't cost too much. <_<

Haha, i know what that is. It's one of the bolts that holds the headlight to the frame of the engine compartment. It goes through one of the tabs. If not for the headlight, then something else that has a similar plastic tab attaching to the engine compartment frame. Most likely not a big deal if missing...

I would call your lexus dealer and see if they can offer you any insight... This is incredibly odd.

Hmm... this tells me that the nav system "thinks" the car's actually spinning, vs the the screen just spinning for no reason. If you were actually spinning, the screen would do exactly what it's doing now. My thinking is that, if it were an ECU problem, the screen would rotate in both modes, independently of the position of the car. My guess is that some sensor (the one that detects your location) is telling the nav system that you're spinning when actually you're not. I couldn't tell from the video, but if you're traveling along a road or highway, does the arrow still indicate your correct position at all times (relative to intersections, etc)? Or does it just remain in one location spinning round and round, even though you're moving...? It's also weird that the voice activation doesn't talk to you...

Oh trust me, i know these tires aren't meant for the snow... :chairshot: I had them on last winter and traction was TERRIBLE. I'm only using them because they're, well, free (compared to a new set). I was hoping to put off buying new tires until next winter, but it's concerning me a bit. I checked the dates on the tires, all of which read "3608", so summer of 2008? That's relatively new i guess. Plus, they spend half the year in my garage... I know they're not the ones that came on the car when purchased new, since i got it used at 42k miles, well beyond the lifetime of any tire... I just wanted to confirm that i'm not the only one with the screeching issue. It seriously doesn't take any effort to make them squeal. I can't even imagine what would happen if i TRIED to make them squeal, especially in terms of safety. I'll give them a little more time, maybe i just need to "learn" how to quiet them. I'll see how they handle in the first snowstorm (never did end up getting anything this week, damn weathermen!) and if i determine they're just UNSAFE then i'll have to bite the bullet... Stupid Rhode Island winter! It's bad enough i can't have the chrome rims (because of the salted roads..) but now i've gotta listen to them screech all the time... Anyone else notice this with these tires?

Hey guys... I have two sets of wheels/tires, one for the summer months and one for the winter for my rx400h. When i purchased my summer set of rims, they came with brand new tires, Dunlop SP SPORT 270's. I couldn't find much information on them (they seem to be popular in the UK) but heck, they were free. The rims are OEM and the tires are the same size as OEM. Earlier this week there was snow in the forecast, so i opted to switch to my winter set of rims/tires. They are the factory rims with the factory Michelin Energy MXV4 S8 tires. Well, now i'm noticing a problem. Whenever i'm stopped at an intersection and give it a little too much gas, the tires screech. I notice this even more so when turning. I didn't have this problem AT ALL with my summer set of tires. Also, for the past month or so there have been some leaves on a few of the back roads. When i had my summer set of tires installed, it never slipped and the traction was excellent. But since i've had the winter tires on, the car isn't handling as well. It's been slipping a little, and the traction light's come on a few times. So what do you guys think the problem could be? I have NO idea how many miles are on my winter set as they came with the car when we purchased it used last year. I've had them inspected and apparently i have "plenty of tread life left." I bet they're not perfect, but should this really cause so much screeching and squealing? I started "noticing" the squealing last spring before i switched to my summer set, but it might only be because i recently have the summer wheels to compare them to... It's sort of embarrassing every time i pull out of somewhere... Unless i go EXTREMELY slow, they always make the noise. Here are some pics of the tires... Front left: Rear left: front right: All tires seem to have the same amount of wear. They're all set to 31PSI. Any insight would be appreciated! :(

I do agree that the Rx300 "feels" like it has better build quality than the 04-09 Rx's. But the 04-09 Rx's "look" like they have better build quality. They just added more "vinyl" over dash parts which look "softer" than standard plastic. From what i've seen, the 2010+ Rx's (both the Rx350 and Rx450h) have less vinyl covered parts than the 04-09's. The inside looks very "plasticky"...

Wow i've definitely never seen that before. At the top left of the screen you'll notice a little "compass" icon. If you click it, you can toggle between map views. Either 1: top of map always points north, or 2: top of map always points straight ahead. Does the map still do this in both map view settings? Also try what LEXIRX330 suggested.

Good info. I definitely agree that "in general" the touch-less, or even the non touch-less car washes will do less harm then what most people do to their cars when doing it themselves. I've seen people wash their cars in some very STUPID and "scary" ways. First of all, fundraiser car-washes... You know the ones, the ones held by groups of kids holding up signs offering "free" car-washes (for a donation of course). They drop sponges on the ground and still use them, throw towels at each other... completely disregarding the fact that they're probably scratching peoples cars to DEATH. I've even seen someone wash their car with a KITCHEN sponge, yes, a 3"x 5" kitchen sponge! I can't even imagine how much dirt is being caught and spread around with that thing. And of course, drying... I've tried all different methods of drying towels, cotton, microfiber... I've found the microfiber works the best, but it's still not 100%. Nothing beats blowing the water off...

Moisture could indeed defect a ballast. If your headlight has condensation issues, you'll need to replace it. It will only come back... Try ebay for a used headlight, you should be able to score one in the $200 range.

I'm not sure if the HS has the same menu, but my Rx400h switched the time automatically. Through the info screen on the dash it allows me toggle between "Auto Adjust" and turn daylight savings time on or off...

Could be the coastal air.. I know planes go through the same issues with the salty air, a lot of corrosion.

Nope, dealer's the only one that can do it, unless you know someone else with the lexus computers... :(