cduluk

No law against either, just as long as they "illuminate" the correct colors (either white or amber in the front, and red in the rear). I wanted to do this when i had my Rx300 but never got around to it... I found two clear types on ebay, one with a totally clear case and the other with more of a clear "reflector" pattern cover. I liked the second version best. I believe the front is identical to the back (just switch the sides). And the marker for the IS300 is different but some sellers state they're for both... This i do remember. <_<

There are a few tinted Halogen H11 that will put out 4600K to 5000K, but they are so heavily tinted that their light output is very low. Some brands try to compensate foe low output with high wattage, which is a bad idea also, it can cause electrical problem, light housing problem and cause the bulb to have a very short life. Sylvania silverstar ultra will last longer than most high performance bulb, but they are more like 3500k in my opinion. To get a true 5000K output and good lumens, you will need to convert to a projector HID light. +1 <_<

There's no such thing as a 2009 Rx400h

already posted in your duplicate thread <_<

1. Grille - I have seen the strut kits they make for the range rover and looked them up, they make the kit for so many vehicles but sadly the RX is not one of them. i would love a kit of that sort or grille if anyone knows where to find one and/or what would look good. There are a few different types of grilles available for the 04-09 RX. There's the 04-06 version, the slightly upgraded 07-09 version (not much different IMO) then there's the Thundercloud ed. grille (one i have on my car now, yet not pictured in my signature) and there's the 400h grille. There's also a honeycomb version on ebay somewhere... Just check on ebay there are many different types. <_< 2. Lexus emblems - I would love to make both of my front and rear "L" emblems black. Would it be better to buy OEM black emblems (if they exist) or paint my existing emblems OR purchase new emblems and paint them? Personally i would upgrade to the 2008 Rx400h emblems. :D They're silver but they have blue accents around the chrome. Very beautiful! But if you don't like the look, you can make yours black as there are a few options. I don't believe the 04-09 RX came with a factory option for black emblems though. I know some of the earlier Lexus' did (sort of black tinted chrome), but i hardly doubt they'd be the same size as the RX emblems as they're quite large... You can either buy a spare set and spray-paint them black, or spray-paint them with VHT "nite shades" tinting spray. It's a paint that's used to paint taillights to give them that "black" tinted look. I've found that it's near impossible to get an even finish and a nice shine, but it 'might' work on the emblems. Although i predict the "edges" of the emblem will not retain the stain, and might come out looking awkward... but you can give it a try. Try to heat the emblem up before spraying (keep them in the sun) so the paint dries before it can 'run'. ;) 3. Headlights - Now i know that my RX did not come with HID's and i have looked around on this sight and seen that if i want a true conversion to HID's that it will cost me an arm and a leg. why is that? if reasonably priced what would be the best kit to go with? if not,which bulbs should i replace my stock ones to get the best/brightest look? Hmm, many options here. Personally i would NEVER just throw in an HID "kit" into a halogen unit. You'd get tons of glare, and the "reflector type" HID headlights are becoming a thing of the past. Projectors are now being used with HID on new cars. The 04-09 Rx's came with 2 types of HID headlights, both looking identical. Difference is in internal components. One type is HID with a projector that is able to move left and right based on your steering (called AFS). The second type of HID uses a similar (but different) projector but does not have the AFS parts. It's fixed in position. Both HID types also have auto-leveling, where the beams move upwards and downwards based on ride height etc. Personally, i would pick myself up a pair of the 07-09 Rx350 HID AFS type HID headlights from ebay, maybe $200/pair complete with bulb and ballast. STAY AWAY FROM 04-06 YEARS- they had major condensation issues. The 07-09 will fit in your car no problem, only difference b/t years is the way they seal them. And with a little wiring, you could wire your present low beam wires to the ballast in the HID unit which would light up the HID bulb just fine. And wire the rest of the bulbs in the headlights as well. Would require a lot of custom wiring, but would be totally worth it. :D I would NOT go with the non-AFS type because the projector cannot compare in performance to the AFS projector. I don't know why Denso did that, but they did... And keep in mind as of right now, there's no method to retrofit the AFS and/or the auto-leveling to function on a non-HID equipped car... So you would just leave those functions OFF on the headlights. 4. Taillights - What would be the best way to "black out" my tail lights? Basically two options here- one is a "spray", like i mentioned above, but it's very unlikely you will get an even finish, ESPECIALLY since the RX taillights are chrome and not red to begin with. You would definitely be able to see dust or any imperfections in the spray. The second method is to apply a "tint" to the taillights, kind of like tinting a window... But again i highly doubt you'd be able to get it just right... I've worked with tinting film before, and it's a pain in the bum. So i don't really know which method i would choose if i wanted my tails blacked out... probably just do a lot of testing with the spray and do my best. 5. Rims - i have gone back and forth on this, rims just don't seem to look right on an RX. what do you think? I agree 100%. I searched through catalogs and catalogs and sites like cardomain.com and such, and couldn't find ONE set of aftermarket wheels i thought looked very elegant on the Rx400h (same as yours...). I ended up finding a set of factory 400h wheels that had been chromed on ebay WITH tires for $1300. I like the style of the stock rims (similar to yours) the best. I believe the rims were updated for the 07 rx350 from the 04-06 rx330, but i could be wrong... I'd check ebay. 6. Interior - Any suggestions on the interior of the RX? Ah! My specialty <_< You can follow the links in my signature as i've done a lot of custom work in the interior of my Rx400h and old Rx300. What interior color is your RX? If you have the tan leather you'll notice the wood used is sort of a yellow-ish color (which i personally can't stand) but you can change the stain to anything you want. It's just a long project as getting the wood pieces removed is a bit of a hassle. I also replaced the stock steering wheel, airbag and radio controls to one from the 05-06 ES. I just liked the styling better... and the controls are a direct replacement into the clockspring. But other than the wood, some simple things you can upgrade are the dome lights and such. I switched all my interior lights to white LED's (replacement bulbs on ebay) to make everything more "modern". I also did some upgrades into the gauge display, but it's a bit of a hassle as well... There are SO many things you can do to make your RX stand out from the rest. <_<

I would just use a Super Toyota K+CAN commander ...and you think you will be able to read the code and make the necessary changes you want to? I HIGHLY doubt it will be easy to read or make these changes.

Oh nice! So "Club-bot" is just ebay? So they take some random ebay items with the keyword "lexus" and advertise them on LOC? Not a bad idea for the forum to get some money =) When I login and view the section, the "new thread" button is illuminated, so I'd assume anyone could post/respond, but I'll wait for confirmation =) I'm on ebay 24/7 constantly looking for rare items and such. If I find something rare or for a good price, is it OK to post? Might alert members on the forum to some nice stuff!

Hey guys. I don't know if i've just never noticed it before or if it's new, but what's with the "Lexus Ebay Deals" section of this forum? In it are a few posts with links to Lexus' being sold on ebay by a member called "Club-Bot". Can anyone post with links to Lexus "parts" on ebay too? Or is it for certain members and only for actual "cars" being sold? Thanks!

They are indeed very delicate <_< But they're always in supply so it's OK if you break one or two ;)

Well, the only way to get rid of the "yellow" look of halogen bulbs is to go with HID bulbs. And they're not just a simple plug and play switch. HID bulbs require what's called a "ballast"- it's a 4"x"5"x1" box that is wired between the power source and the bulb, required to ignite the special bulb. And this ballast needs to be attached somewhere. So you'd need to do a LOT of wiring, a lot of cutting of wires, etc. There are "kits" out there that make it easier, but you still need to worry about locating a good spot for the ballast. And there's always an issue with glare from replacing a halogen bulb with an HID bulb. See, the halogen reflector units are designed differently than HID bulb units since their focal points are at different locations. Putting one bulb into the others' unit will cause an issue with reflection and cause light to go everywhere, potentially blinding oncoming drivers and not giving you enough light on the road. Personally i'd buy an OEM (the lexus version) HID headlights, and do the conversion that way. It would give you a very factory look and output. But since your car is a lease, i doubt Lexus would accept the car back after you've made that type of modification. :(

Do you think we will notice a difference in Toyota/Lexus quality in the next few years? Will quality increase? Or will it decrease? Half of me is thinking logically... all of these recent problems with recalls and lawsuits must be killing Toyota and Lexus economically. All of the money they're wasting on these issues is money lost that they cannot use to build better quality cars in the future. But then there's the other argument that Toyota and Lexus must "step it up" for future models to re-build customers' respect. So what do you guys think will happen in the next couple of years? We've already been noticing a decrease in quality of Lexus' interior/exterior materials, so will all this crap going on with Toyota make it worse due to lack of funding? Or will Toyota and Lexus be able to "find the money" and make an effort to build better cars in the next couple of years? Please share your thoughts! :)

It really depends.... there are 3 versions of the 010 Rx350 headlight. Type A is halogen. No projector. Type B is HID, without AFS (projector in outer portion of headlight) Type C is also HID, but has AFS (projector in inner portion of headlight). Which do you have? I would also advise against installing any HID kits that might be an issue with your lease...

...

Because! :P If they didn't angle them low from the factory, they'd have to recall all their cars because 80 people out of 1,978,679 cars sold per year complained that they were blinding oncoming drivers ... just my thoughts continuing from another thread about the insanity going on with Toyota and rediculous recalls...

Depends on which GS and which features the car has. In some GS's different switches go there. For example the AWD GS might have a new switch the non-AWD does. And the 450h may lack the traction control button and have another. And the sport design GS might have a button to control ride softness etc... Some possibilities are: Active stabilizer Shift pattern Tract ctl switch Adaptive suspension ECT

what year is your RX? Is your RX AWD or FWD?

It's funny what a year makes <_< We shouldn't doubt this is a real issue. We have no reason not to. Computers can have problems. I can give several examples of how computers make mistakes... Sometimes when i turn my phone on, the background screen goes blank for a few minutes, then mysteriously comes back (sometimes). Another example, sometimes my computer will freeze, and i'll have to manually turn it off (again, sometimes...). The cars computer telling the engine to power up even though it hasn't received proper input... totally understandable. I can't even count how many times my computer or phone will turn on or off even though i didn't give it a direct command... The issue here is that this "runaway car" problem is happening too often and is very dangerous.

Toyota isn't telling people to "put it in neutral if this happens" in an attempt to justify anything... it's just a suggestion! The fact is, there's the possibility that this problem could happen to some of the toyota models. And until a cure is found, there's not much you can do besides putting the car in Neutral. And honestly, this "sudden acceleration" could happen to any car for any reason. The old "drive by direct cable" designs had problems too. Cables would brake, get mechanically "stuck", it wasn't a flawless design either. Or you could drop something in the cabin that could hold down the gas pedal... what would your excuse be then? That the car doesn't have enough cabin space?? Seriously, these issues could happen to anyone, in any car, for any reason- especially as cars become more advanced. When a car company takes chances with new "features" and new designs, you run the risk of having problems. It's just the way life is. The best thing you can do is be educated. Realize these problems could occur, and make a note as to how you'd help yourself if the problem occurred. If an uneducated or inexperienced driver had this happen to them, it would definitely take them a lot longer to figure out what to do... <_<

Oh my GOD... are you serious?? 80 complaints out of HOW MANY SOLD? Next, people will be complaining that the heated seats are too hot, or that the radio is in the wrong place...

Knew it! <_< To re-install properly, place the bulb onto the reflector (making sure the notch lines up) then hold the bulb in place by the metal clamps. At this point, the bulb should be very secure. If it isn't, you may have inserted the bulb incorrectly. There's a little notch cutout in the bulb base that fits only a certain way onto the reflector. If you do this and there's still a security issue, then you may need to bend the metal clamps a little to put more pressure onto the bulb base to hold it in place... When you get the bulb secured tightly enough with the clamps, press on the igniter (watching for the notches) and rotate clockwise a little. And you're done!

If you can find a way to hack into the car's CPU and edit code (without a port or proper equipment designed for the car) then i say go for it! I hope you know it isn't your average C++ type programming... Why don't you show us some of your previous work? Because as of right now you just sound a little... nuts.

lol...

My feeling is that the floor mat, gas pedal and the computer plays a role in the different cases of sudden accelaration. By issuing recalls on the floor mats and gas pedal, Toyota will have eliminated soem future case of sudden accelaration. There no way for Toyota to issue a recall on the computer system because no one is sure if that is even the cause. Until there is some solid finding, the last thing Toyota want to do is stir up some more panic. As of right now, there's no way to tell if it is indeed a computer issue, as no engineer has tested the computers of cars while they were failing. As soon as they run out of "other" ideas (mats, pedals...), the ultimate conclusion will be that the computer is messed up somewhere, they'll just need to find where. There's no other component that could cause these spontaneous failures.

It's not a warranty issue, why would you expect anything from the dealer?

The solution to the problem is not that simple... There are two types of normal braking on the 400h- there's the normal disc brakes, and the regenerative braking system (which adjusts the transmission and other hidden components of the car). The brake pedal is just a switch that tells the computer how much braking the driver expects. The computer then tells the two devices how much energy from each to apply. The car uses several input devices to determine the ratio of stopping energies to be used based on the situation. The ratio is totally linear between the two, so it's not like the regen. is ON or OFF, but it is applied with different amounts controlled by the cars computer. If you're braking and you hit a bump, the car senses this (with the traction control and speed sensors), and lowers the amount of regenerative braking. Why? Because when you hit a bump, you lose traction, so no energy can be gained at that point. It's just the way the car's computer is wired. Also putting the car in NEUTRAL down a hill will prevent the regen. braking from working. At that point, you would only be using the normal brakes. One possible solution would be to record the signal from the traction control switches during normal braking, then wire a circuit to replicate this signal, and allow for this new circuit to be opened just before hitting a bump (so the car would have no idea you ever hit a bump). But unless you can predict when you're going to hit a bump, this won't really work. And if you were to wire this new circuit permanently, the car's computer will know something is wrong, and give you a traction control warning light while turning the system off completely... and this will cause problems with the traction control system itself, cause problems in snow, cause issues during an accident... really wouldn't wanna go there. It's just not possible without getting into the car's programming itself...