cduluk

That's exactly how i'd describe my experiences, also. It's a violent "lurch", the same lurch you get when you put it into park before you're totally stopped. That "rocking" back and forth does not seem normal to me. It seems to do it more often when it's cold, that i do know. From standing outside of the car, you'd swear there was "something seriously wrong" with the car. I'm thinking it's something to do with age. I seriously abuse my 400h (it's a workhorse for sure) but i'd like to be able to fix it.

It looks beautiful!!! The more i see it, the more i can appreciate the new interior color combo. I wish you a lot of luck with the car SW! Be sure to watch the gas pedal though! This thing's got power!

Hey congrats SW!!!! It looks great!!

Upon start-up with the lights on, can you confirm whether or not both headlights do their "dance" both in the vertical AND horizontal directions? During the start-up check, both headlights should move vertically and also horizontally (sort of like a crisscross). Do yours move in both directions? If the headlights are moving in the vertical direction but not horizontally (left and right around corners), then i'd be willing to bet there's a loose connection to the AFS motor on the headlight you were working on. Is it possible you accidentally removed or loosened the plug to the AFS motor? The AFS motor would be the geared box attached to the projector. If you were to hold the projector and swivel it side to side, you'd hear the "gears" of the AFS motor. Moving the projector side to side will not affect anything at all (no harm to the motor). Just check for any loose plugs to that AFS motor and report back! ^_^

The loose/missing valve cap covers should not affect pressure at all (quite honestly their only function is to keep dirt out of there). Did they do anything else to the tires (rotate, etc) other than add more air? Did you happen to accidentally/unintentionally press the push-button toggle switch below the glovebox? This switch allows you to toggle between two sets of tires (two sets of sensors if you wish to have a summer and winter set of wheels/tires/sensors). If the button is set to read a different set of tires, your car won't recognize your current set and would deliver the error light. Just a thought... BTW the "reset" should never have to be done. If everything is working OK and you lose pressure or get a flat in one or two tires, your warning light should go on. At that point, all you'd need to do is inflate the tire and the light should go off. The reset only needs to be done under unique circumstances. More often than not, the reset ends up doing more harm than good.

Which console lights are you talking about? Are you referring to the gauge cluster illumination? The center console blue LCD info screen? The green lights that illuminate the radio button icons? Etc?

Are you referring to the red blinking seatbelt light in the gauge cluster (below the speedometer) or the red seatbelt light on the passengers side (to the right of the radio)? I doubt a fuse is the issue. I'm thinking it has something to do with a malfunctioning switch. Ordinarily, the drivers side seatbelt light will always blink unless the red button on the seatbelt latch is held down (or if the seatbelt is buckled). The passenger side seatbelt light should only blink when a substantial weight is on the seat (a heavy package or a person). However if no one is on the seat, or if someone is sitting there with the belt fastened, the light should be off. What bugs me is the fact that the light still blinks if someone is sitting in the seat with the belt buckled. This means that the car doesn't know the belt is buckled (suggesting a malfunctioning buckle switch). But this doesn't explain why the light still blinks when no one is in the seat (this would suggest the pressure switch is bad). Very weird... report back as to which light (drivers side or passengers side, or both) and we'll work from there.

Looks good!!!! :D Really awesome results, i like it!

The 04-09 RX headlights absolutely cannot be clearcoated. If the plastic is wetsanded prior to painting, the "scratch marks" and cloudiness of the plastic caused by the sanding will not go away when cleared. This works when clear coating paint, but not for plastic. The only solution is to have the plastic wet-sanded and compounded.

Thanks guys! The incident really has made me think... Life is so precious. And driving is so dangerous!

Hey guys! Happy belated Thanksgiving! I thought i'd ask us all to take a second and be thankful tonight, as sometimes we forget what we have, and take things for granted. I was almost involved in a big "accident" tonight and feel especially thankful to be here in one piece! The deer are out here in RI and i came within a few feet of hitting one tonight on the highway. Luckily i was paying attention and was able to slam on the brakes before impact (i must have come within a few feet of it), but had i been distracted even for a second i would have hit it for sure. It was BIG. My memory of the beast seems to represent it's image as a single "frame", right in front of me lit up by the headlights. I've never come so close before! It truly was a miracle i didn't hit it... So let's all be thankful for having a car in one piece, no insurance claims and no injuries! And let's all keep our cellphones and other "distractions" out of the car- i really learned tonight how precious a "second" can be while driving! God bless!

see PM

Is there anything dented/damaged under the hood? Is the fender out of alignment at all? From what i can see (at a minimum) you'll need a new hood, front grille, front bumper, styro bumper reinforcer, front right headlight, and a few misc. clips, etc. They'll need to paint the hood, bumper, and blend into both side fenders. If there's no damage under the hood, and by using aftermarket parts, the absolute lowest price to get it fixed is probably about $1,000. Realistically however, with OEM parts, and by doing it correctly, you're looking at probably more than $2,000. Here are the OEM prices a body shop would likely have to pay: bumper: $305.74 bumper reinforcer: $51.84 front grille: $162.82 hood: $515.99 headlight: $364.34 Paint is probably another $600-$800, and add $100 for a few misc. clips, etc. If you want, you "can" leave the car with a body shop, call your insurance co. and make a claim, tell your insurance co. the car's at the body shop, and have your insurance send an adjuster to see the car AT the body shop. There, your shop people will deal a price with your insurance adjuster. At that point, your insurance co. can mail you a check. Or, you can have them send the check to the shop and they can fix it there. For the damage you have, i wouldn't do it out of pocket. I also wouldn't go the aftermarket route...

car-part.com

Mine automatically changed last time in my Rx400h, but not this time. :( I just had to hit the daylight savings time button and it corrected itself.

Year? Model? Is this for the driver's seat or front passenger?

I think they should have said, "White is the presence of all colors"! ^_^ I'd argue that black has the absence of color (at least from a scientific standpoint). I really like white vehicles, especially Lexus' starfire pearl. My mom's '10 ES350 has the starfire, which really makes my dad's '09 white RX350 seem "dull". I LOVE the starfire pearl! I'm glad Lexus brought some dark shade of blue back.

Maybe something to replace the "dud" IS convertible?

I'd suggest getting a mechanical buffer, something like this but the $60 version at your local store or eBay: http://www.acefixings.com/bosch-gpo12e-professional-1200w-polisher-110v-p1164 Then use Meguar's "Ultimate Compound" to polish it out. The buffer will come in handy for other buffing needs also- a great investment. Doing it by hand IMO isn't worth it...

When you get a replacement, i would HIGHLY suggest taking the part to an auto-body shop and ask to have it clearcoated. This will give it lifetime protection!

Is the leather simply discolored? Or is the top coating "peeling" at all leaving the surface rough? I would highly suggest re-dying the leather. There are many, many kits available to do this. Leather is not actually "dyed", but rather "painted" with a rather rubbery paint type coating. I would suggest magic mender's kit.

Here is the wiring diaram showing where you should place the wiring/switch. When the switch is closed, the headlights will work as they do now (no change). When the switch is open, the circuit will be broken, and both DRL's will turn off. It's as simple as that!

All you need to do is install a simple on/off switch and run a wire to the cabin. The DRL/high beam lights run in series during DRL mode, which means if one light is disconnected, the other one goes out automatically (like a string of christmas lights). Just pick one side headlight. Reach behind the headlight and find the two wires that feed the DRL bulb. Pick one of the two wires. Cut it. Install a switch between the cuts into the cabin (so you can control when electricity passes through it). If the switch is disconnected, electricity will be cut to the bulb which will cause both DRLs to go out. When the switch is on, everything will work as normal.

No question, drop the car off at the body shop of your choice. Call your insurance company, tell them the car is at the shop. Have your shop call your insurance and schedule an appt for an adjuster to come look at the car. The shop will "deal" with your insurance company to work out a price. Most likely the shop will be asking for more money once they start on the job... Just let them deal with it. Just as long as you get the car back fixed correctly who cares! By looking at the pictures, it doesn't appear that there's any internal damage. You'll need a new hood, front bumper, LH headlight, bulbs and harness, wheel liner, FL 1/4 panel, drivers door, LH passenger door (your shop will most likely locate salvaged parts and simply re-paint.. i doubt they'll go through the effort to weld new skins since there's a high quantity of used parts available), and they'll need to re-paint/blend FR 1/4 panel, hood, bumper, FL 1/4 panel, drivers door, LH passenger door, LR 1/4 panel. Using used parts i don't see why the job cannot be done for $8,000. I wouldn't be too worried about having them use new OEM parts. You'll never know the difference whether they use new or used parts. The main concern is whether or not they use aftermarket parts. Insist they do NOT take the aftermarket route. Aftermarket parts will never conform properly.

It might be difficult to find the silversport "badges/emblems" as they weren't made in high quantity. In fact, if someone with a silversport were to get into an accident damaging their black emblems, the shop will have to replace all emblems with chrome ones. There aren't any of the dark badges in stock anymore. Same for gold. You might get some luck on ebay, though!