BillyShaft

Wow man...with hot hoses up to the firewall, common sense engineering says there is either a valve preventing flow into the heat exchanger (I read where you said the valve was opening, but how do you know that? Just because the handle or operator moves does not imply the valve guts are actually turning.) or the heat exchanger is blocked. Heater core or heat exchanger generally do not just up and clog completely...they will typically experience degraded performance producing warm but not hot air, or more commonly, leak all over the passenger side of the car and stink. I will bet a frosty coke that the throttle valve that allows hot water into the heater core is not actually functioning. The operator may be moving, but I bet the valve itself is pooched. Can't wait to hear what you find out...good luck! ~Brian

That is beautiful! Congrats to you! ~Brian

wow...I had a BMW M3 that required a code if the battery was removed. There was a credit card in the owners manual that had this code on it. I have never heard anything about this in a Lexus, but I am interested in knowing if it is true and where the code might be. ~Brian

I admit that I am not an insurance professional or anything, but at what point or dollar figure would you recommend the guy file a claim? $4000 starts becoming real money to me, and common sense kind of implies that insurance is there to insure the vehicle against loss... If BillyShaft Insurance Company were insuring this guy, he would certainly have his rates raised and/or coverage dropped, but that is just me talking here. Interested to know, ~Brian

Man Ran, that sucks. I am pulling for you guys that the block didn't crack :( ~Brian

Hey AbadR1, I did a little write up on how to see if your update would be worth it or not, what updates are available and you can even see in real-time if the changes are in the latest update. Nav update...worth it or not? Hope this helps, ~Brian

AlphaDog obviously knows his skills and his limitations. While replacing door glass seems like a big deal to some, AD is operating from a perspective of knowledge and the task is well within his ability. The problem with DIY auto maint. is when people are unaware of their own limitations. SW03ES does have a good point...I would certainly not attempt a Paintless Dent Repair on a door ding myself, but would pay a guy who has done hundreds of them. Skills and experience matter in this case and skill increases over time. On the other hand, I refuse to let anyone do basic maint. to my cars because the care taken by me as the owner superseeds the "skills" of the employee. Removing a bolt and replacing it to proper spec is not an art. A Jiffy Lube tech certainly does more oil changes in a week than I do in 50 years, but this experience in itself does not equate to value. I can perform the oil change, I will make sure any spills are cleaned up, I will put a torque wrench on my pan plug, I will use the correct oil and I will use a better quality filter. I had my windshield replaced on my old RX300 by a company who did hundreds of these things...they used a upper seal different from the OEM Lexus part and the darned thing whistled and howled like crazy at any speed over 50mph. ~Brian

I think I can help you on the Garage Door opener! New garage door openers use rolling code technology and need to be double programmed. First you need to program homelink to emulate the portable remote. Second, you need to program the homelink to play nice with the garage door opener (GDO). 1. Get the portable remote for your GDO and take it to the car with you. 2. Hold the homelink button you want to program for about 5 secs...the LED on the homelink will light steady. 3. Push the portable garage door opener button until the LED on the homelink flashes. It is ok if the garage door starts...dont worry. 4. Release the buttons. You have just programmed the homelink to emulate your portable unit, but you have NOT connected the homelink to the opener and homelink will not operate the garage door yet. 5. Look on your Garage door opener motor...the one that physically cranks the door open. You may need a stepstool or ladder to reach it. On the back of the GDO, there is a square button. Mine is purple, but I have seen grey ones and white ones. Press it and the LED next to the button will illuminate. 6. Scramble quickly over to your Lex and push and hold the button you previously programmed. Release the button when the Garage Door opener lights flash off and on. 7. Now try the homelink button...it should work. HTH, ~Brian

X3...I like the top one. Actually, I like the black honeycomb Coach edition one the best. If you keep the bottom one, the gold emblem needs swapping out for a chrome one IMO. That couldnt cost more than $500 from your local dealer :D

By the way...you need to thank your God of choice that the hydrant was ok. If you had damaged that hydrant, your insurance would be ponying up $5-20k depending on the costs to fix it in the middle of the night. An out of service hydrant must be fixed immediately and regardless of cost. I had a friend who passed out (it was a blood-sugar thing) while driving and slicked a hydrant and a power pole...his insurance had to pay for the firemen to be standing by with a tanker, the police to direct traffic and the emergency crews to fix the damage to the water line and power pole on top of the vehicle repairs.

Hmm...are you saying that if I replace my own $1200 windshield out of pocket and dont report the claim, that my insurance will be angry or feel slighted in some way? My insurance company works FOR me and I do not owe them anything other than premiums and truthful answers to their questions. I personally self-insure the first $1000 of damage and cover anything less than that. I would not file a claim unless I had to repair in excess of $1500. To me, it seems that the Insurance company does not have a dog in this fight unless OP files a claim. The lein-holder may be concerned that their asset gets repaired correctly, but the insurance company should be happy if he doesn't file. In this case if OP is looking at >$4000 in repairs, I would file that claim and let the chips fall where they may. This is what insurance is for...fixing the big dollar accidents. You can guarantee higher rates, and frankly you should have higher rates. You may even get dropped. That is ok too, it isn't like you are going to prison, you just have to find a high-risk carrier until you do a couple accident-free years. No offense, but two claims at age 19 aint good, my friend.

Dood! I carry my portable starter in my F150 ghetto-sled, but that should be unnecessary in your 400h! I use an Optima battery in my Jeep Rubicon because it has a winch (the winch pulls a couple hundred amps under load)and on-board air (OBA pulls up to 30 amps). The RX400 is very much like my Jeep in that it has higher than normal cycle loads on the battery because of all the DC motor driven accessories. Both the RX400h and my Jeep will trash a standard battery...standard batteries simply are not designed for this load cycle. If I ever replace the battery in the wife's RX400h, I will be installing an Optima. The Optima is built specifically to deep-cycle over and over again without damaging the capacity. The RX400h is a special vehicle and like off-roaders, they have non-typical electrical needs. The best place I have found for buying an Optima battery is Costco. They are $20-$30 cheaper than anywhere else and Costco's no-questions-asked replacement warranty rules. This is only my opinion, but I would not hesitate to spend the extra money on an Optima...I guarantee you can quit carrying around that charger if you do. ~Brian EDIT--- hmm, after reading other posts about what you guys in-the-know are saying about the function of the aux battery, perhaps loading is not the factor so much as the trickle charging/discharging. I wonder if maybe a marine-rated Optima battery might be a better choice than the yellow top...the marine batteries are supposed to be better at resisting damage from trickle discharges.

Ok Joballe...it is killing me now! What is the axle ratio on the RX400h? ;) Being an avid jeeper myself, I know every ratio in my Rubicon, but I have no idea what the ratios are for the RX... ~Brian

Since I consider this to be my "Home Forum", I want to be as helpful to my "homies" as possible! :P I wrote up a How-To Guide on the eternal question: "Should I spend lots of money to update my navigation discs?" I posted it over in the maintenance section, but wanted to link it here since I have seen the question a lot in this forum too. Should I Update My Nav? Does it now include ___X____ data? Mods: if this is considered a repost, I apologize in advance and understand if you delete it... ~Brian

Thanks guys! I remember seeing the new RX400's when they first came out and I was WAY jealous. I felt ripped off driving my old beater RX300 but my lease had another year and a half on it so I couldn't make the switch... From what I understand, Lexus did not want to trickle out the RX400h and stockpiled a couple months worth of production prior to release. I imagine that prices for the RX400 will stabilize back up after the initial swarm of lease returns gets absorbed by the market. I feel extremely fortunate to be in a position to buy right now. Man, I need to talk to you RXRAY! I only have one annoying-as-heck rattle at about 70 mph from what sounds like the back seat and it sounds like a tin pan rattling. In my mind's eye I imagine it is a thin sheet metal cover over the traction batteries that has come just a little loose, but I am probably wrong. I will certainly check your posts as I am sure that I am not the only guy with this rattle.

That seems like a pretty cheap repair from what you are calculating. If it were me, I would out-of-pocket this one. There is no sense paying excess insurance premiums or being cancelled at your age over a $700 claim (before deductable). Keep your insurance for big claims.

Assuming this is a real question looking for information... I have owned 3 RX's...a 99 RX300, an 03 RX300, and now a 06 RX400h. If power is important for you, I would recommend an RX330/350 over the RX300. While the 300 is no slouch, the 330 has a lil more pep, and the styling is a lil more current. If you want some real power, get the RX400h in AWD. The 400h is a screamer. However, I think that you will be hard-pressed to find a nice RX of any flavor for under 10k USD. I recently sold a 2003 RX300 AWD with 70k miles and Nav for 15k in a weekend. You might be able to get a high-mileage FWD RX300 in your price range. Good Luck... ~Brian PS Who actually puts USD after a dollar figure ($10k USD) other than a Nigerian 419 scammer?

The nice thing about the Lexus is that you can get a Lexus warranty from your dealer. With a Lexus Warranty, you do not have to sweat the company going out of business or playing with coverage. Lexus Warranty Info I believe that you can even shop around for the best price, so I would call the Forum sponsor dealerships as well as your local dealer. ~Brian

X2 This is a conversation you need to have in person. Stand in front of the service manager with your documentation in hand showing that they do all the work on your ride. Ask him to pull up the service records for the car and then ask him why you should be responsible for this. If he doesn't immediately see that you are in the right, do like GDixon says and ask to speak to the General Manager and ask for the Corporate Customer Service number. Calm persistence will get you a new oil pan "on the house". Do not let them "fix" the drain after they stated that the pan needed replacement. ~Brian

From experience, I will say this: if you have never changed the cabin air filter, you will be horrified by all the gunk, leaves and dust caught in the filter! I would put down a towel or something on the passenger floor before I tugged the nasty filter out of the car. Also, I believe that the Owner's Manual has some pretty detailed pictures and instructions for removing the filter. Shock your husband and do it yourself! ~Brian

I have seen lots of questions regarding map updates: are they worth it or not and does the map data include the new data I have been desperately looking for? Well, I found a cool resource on the Lexus site that helps you figure out all of this information before you drop 300 of your hard-earned duckets on a new map disc. 1. Go to Lexus.com 2. Click the "Owners - My Lexus" link in the botton left of the Lexus page. 3. Log in to your My Lexus account. 4. Click on "Manage Vehicles". 5. In the Blue box at the top, click on the link "Navigation Map Feedback". Here is the cool part! -The "Release Notes" in PDF format tells you exactly what was changed for your area. -The "Map Preview" selection lets you clunk around the new version to see if the map looks right. -The "Submit Feedback" link allows you to report bad addresses roads or POI to the map people. Hopefully, this will help you decide if the update is actually worth it! ~Brian

If your dashboard lights are on max, the display ha white backdrop instead of black. X2...turn the lil knob that adjusts your dashboard lighting. If it is all the way maximum, it will click into a detent and will force your nav screen to go to day mode. Turn counter-clockwise enough that it comes out of the detent and you should be good to go. The other way to force the Nav to be in "Day Mode" is under the display menu. At night, there will be an option at the top called "Day Mode". De-select it if the problem continues. HTH, ~Brian

Hey, I had this same issue finding my Nav drive. As someone else posted, look in the tool compartment, but don't be stupid like me and remove the tool compartment bin, just look for the lil rectangle-shaped door in the right side of the bin. Use a flashlight and it will be obvious. Unclip the door and behold, the dvd player is there in all its' glory. To get the disk out, there is a button on the player on the left side if you were looking straight at it. Push the button and slide it over and the Nav DVD will be ejected into your hand. Important safety tip: when reinstalling the disk, be sure to get it into the slot and not on to the top of the player, otherwise you may have to remove the bin to retreive it...don't ask me how I know HTH, ~Brian

Hello everyone! I have been lurking around here for some time and decided to join up after my wife and I decided to purchase a used 2006 RX400h. We decided that this was like the "perfect storm" time to buy a hybrid...gas prices are low, all the early release 400h's are coming off of lease and the economy has people not buying cars. Having owned both a 1999 and a 2003 RX300, it is amazing to me how much more advanced and comfortable the 400h is... Anyway, just wanted to say hello and hopefully I will be able to contribute a bit to the forum. ~Brian