lemon

+1 Touchless in the winter months (or one of those places where you spray the car yourself), and hand wash in the summer.

Drove to work today with the Scangauge II hooked up (and didn't use the block heater). However, it was much warmer (-2 celsius vs -16 celsius a few days ago). On the highway at a steady 120km/h, the temp was 180-182ish. Anyone else have a scangauge who can tell me what temp your engine is on the highway? I'll have to check my shop manual later to see what temp the thermostat is rated.

Granted the AWD on the 400h is not like Audi Quattro, Subaru Symmetrical, Jeep Quadra Trac etc. etc. However, tires make a HUGE difference on any vehicle, and as you've found out the OE Michelins suck. I believe the ExtremeContact DWS, are the new breed of 'all weather' tires (not all season), in the sense that they meet the requirements to get the 'mountain/snowflake' symbol, meaning they are decent in snow, yet they can be left on all year, unlike a traditional winter tire. You may want to research all weather tires (they are a few out there, and more coming). Nokian WGR2, Goodyear Fortera Triple Tred and Yokohama W drive are all considered all weather tires and have the mountain/snowflake qualification.

Yes, you can put it into neutral while driving (at any speed) - just don't go too far and drop it into reverse. If you just shove the transmission lever forward while in D, it should only move as far as N anyway. In our hybrid, there is no need to slip into neutral at a stop since the engine usually shuts down when you stop (depending on outside temp, how warm the engine is, state of traction battery charge etc.) Remember too that in the 400h, if you are in neutral, the traction battery will NOT charge. In a regular vehicle, slipping into neutral as you stop or at a stop - ?? - I doesn't hurt anything. I recently read about some new car (can't remember which) that will automatically go into neutral at a stop to save fuel.

Shifting into neutral disconnects the transmission from the front wheels (or does it disconnec the transmission from the engine - regardless the end result is the same - no power to the drive wheels). So yes, putting any vehicle into neutral and using the brakes will bring it to a stop. With a stuck gas pedal, the engine will rev away (or possibly the software will not allow this to happen in neutral - try revving a new DBW vehicle when parked and you'll see that the engine doesn't rev up like in the old days), but the power won't be going to the transmission. I really find it hard to understand that many drivers have no idea what neutral does and/or don't know how to put the vehicle into neutral while in motion.

Thank you. I went on their UK site and ordered just what I needed. Only difference is prices are the same but in British pounds rather than us$... I guess that must be part of Europe's charm.. :) They have a UK site? That's cool. I thought it was great that they had a dedicated Canadian site (in CDN dollars). It's good when a company makes it convienient to order their products without worry about figuring out shipping and the exchange etc. etc.

I installed a block heater already (on my own...bit of a PITA, but doable if you have a bit of mechanical know how). Unfortunately, this is at work where I don't have a handy outlet to plug into. There's no idling involved. The quickest way to warm up any vehicle is to drive it, not let it sit idling for umpteen minutes. Also, when just idling, the differential, and tranny fluid to an extent aren't getting warmed up at all. I my case, I start the vehicle, drive off within probably 15 seconds (just time to put seatbelt on) and almost immediately get on the highway. I would think with the highway driving it would warm up faster. I'll be checking temps with my Scangauge tomorrow anyway.

So, it's been around -10 to -14 (celsius) in my neck of the woods. I notice the 400h takes quite a while to blow decent heat. This is even with it running constantly (when I drive home from work, I'm on the highway in about 3 mins, where the ICE runs constantly. Do you all experience the same thing? I drove my wife's 2010 Equinox yesterday and it was at operating temp (per the dash gauge) much much sooner than the RX. I plan to use my Scanguage II next time I drive to see what the coolant temp is while I'm in motion on the highway. My wife used to have a Beetle, and the thermostat was stuck slightly open. In the city the coolant ran at 190, but on the highway it dropped to 160-170. A new thermostat solved the problem and it ran at 190 all the time. Wondering if I might have the same problem with the RX (and the thermostat doesn't look too easy to replace in our vehicles)

I hate to sound like a broken record, but IF you have a 2006 and IF you have ever disconnected, replaced or run your 12 volt battery below 7 volts, you have to have the Idle Speed Control Learning Procedure done. See here http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=58930 You can take it to the dealer, or try the DIY method, which I did and it worked like a charm. This was summer just past, and my mileage went from about 10 l/100km to 8 l/100km (dunno what that is in US MPG). However, I will concede that once the cold weather arrived (in conjunction with the winter gas, which also negatively affects mileage) my mileage has crept up to about 9.6 l/100km. So if you do the ISC learning procedure, you may not experience a dramatic increase in mileage because of the cold. However, you may see an increase in that 26mpg you were getting in the summer. Other's who have done the ISC learning procedure have also noticed an increase in mileage. Another side benefit is you will hear less 'clunking/rattling' from the transmission while the vehicle is parked and idling when you first start it (that clunking/rattling noise is normal by the way).

This is great. Seven pages on a $0.97 mod. I love it. Just as an aside, what's with the advertising links? I don't remember them being here before. Like in the post above - "if I were you" is highlighted in green and takes me to some stupid ad...

If you're not dead set on the factory mats, consider WeatherTech Digital Fit Floor Liners http://www.weathertech.com/store/mvproduct...7&Year=2006 These things offer complete (you can't even see any carpet) protection and, as is obvious from the pictures, can't get stuck over the gas pedal. Just as an aside, isn't it funny that when cars came with rubber floors, we wanted carpeted mats - now cars come with carpeted floors and we want rubber mats. Also, I think Toyota is now admitting that there might be a 'wee' problem with accelerators, as well as the mat problem. http://www.usatoday.com/money/autos/2010-0...talong_st_N.htm

http://www.blackstone-labs.com/ http://www.wearcheck.com There's more if you search. Might also try asking about your yellow particles at http://www.bobistheoilguy.com

I do believe that those switches are not backlit on the 450h. They were on the 400h. I guess this gives Lexus something to 'improve' in the next few years models. I really wonder why they would do away with the backlighting..

Yeah, potholes and bumps etc might cause this more often. The freeze/thaw cycle in the winter just wreaks havoc on the road. Funny though I haven't been experiencing this very much lately. It seemed more often in the fall for some reason.

The twelve volt battery powers the computers that run everything else. I guess it likely powers some accessories as well (seeing as you can drain the battery by listening to the radio or playing with the NAV system without the car in READY mode). However, there is no starter in our vehicles for the 12 volt battery to start. Instead one of the front motor generators (there is MG1 MG2 (both front) and MGR (rear if you have awd) starts the engine when it's needed. So, yes, technically the traction battery starts the engine via MG1 or MG2 (I think it's MG1, which also charges the traction battery - MG2 powers the front wheels). Also, there is no alternator - the 12 volt battery is charged by the traction battery.

Does anyone actually have a copy of the TSB that they could post? Thanks.

What it is, is the regenerative braking (electric motors) ceasing and the regular braking (hydraulic / calipers) taking over. There can be no ABS with the regenerative braking - calipers are needed and the calipers are also much more powerful than the regenerative when heavy braking is needed. In your case, I'm guessing going over the bump in the road lessens the load on a wheel enough that it momentarily locks up or slows enough in comparison to the other wheels that the system thinks it needs or will need ABS. So it disengages the regenerative and activates fully the hydraulic braking circuit to activate or prepare to activate the ABS. If you slam the brakes on in an emergency stop, you'll see that the regenerative is not activated at all (watch your power meter) and only the traditional hydraulic brakes are used. My car does the same thing now and again. It would have been nice if Toyota could have made this function more seamless. I'm at work, but at home I have a shop manual that explains this. I can post a more technical (and probably more accurate) explanation if you really want it.

I can confirm, the blue looked good (and didn't take away any brightness), the red not so good. I did try adding a second layer of red acetate to get a deeper red, and cduluk was right - it got too dark. However, replacing SMT's on the circuit board with red ones or red leds or blue ones or blue leds is WAY above my soldering skills - unless it's just a plug in. But from cduluk's blue gauge post it didn't look like it was as easy as plugging in a lightbulb...

I'm a bit surprised you feel that way about red. My daughter's Mazda also has red gauge illumination and in most cultures, red signifies "warning", "caution", or "danger". I find it somewhat distracting compared to the soothing blue color which for most people signifies "cool" or "calm". Also, I think Lemon found that a red tint results in a pink hue, not red. If you're not female, having pink gauges can easily be misconstrued.... I didn't realize that the plastic behind the bezel was tinted. Maybe that mixed with the red acetate gave it the pinky hue I experienced. The other possiblity is that there are different shades of acetate. A deeper red shade might come out less pink looking. As you mentioned, I do find the blue to be a soothing colour. Wife used to have a 2000 Beetle and the blue was quite nice, compared to my in-laws Pontiac which was a garish orangey red. I do find the red used by BMW and Audi to be a different shade from the Pontiac, and a bit more pleasing to my eye anyway.

cduluk, you are a fountain of knowledge. I had no idea the bezel just popped off like that. Now, instead of cutting the acetate film into three separate shapes, I can just pull the bezel and cut one big piece to fit over the tinted cover. FWIW, I still like your blue gauges better, but the work involved is just way too much for me (and the equipment like the paint sprayer). This method is quick and easy (like 'blue gauge project for dummies..hahaha). Too bad you didn't live in my neck of the woods (hey you'd have universal health care..!!) and I'd get you to do the mod for me.

Wow...never had any problems with Lexus of Oakville, here in Ontario. It was in for the steering recall and that was done no problem - the recall includes a front end alignment - maybe they forgot to do it the first time with your car? My inverter was also replaced under the hybrid warranty due to leaking and no trouble there either. In your case, the rock to the windshield did add insult to injury and IMO the dealer should fix this at their cost and not involve your insurance company, however, blaming the valet doesn't make any sense. If a rock flies up off the roadway from another car, I don't see how it could be the valet's fault. It's not like could see it coming and swerve to avoid it. All your other issues are just poor workmanship and carelessness on the part of the dealer employee. BTW, do you have any info on the recall for the hatch struts. Mine are rusted as well. If it's a TSB I'm out of luck as my warranty is done - if it's a recall, then I can have them replaced.

Yeah, I did that at the drive-in last summer. Watched my MPG drop as the engine would kick in and run for about 10 mins to charge the traction battery. It would last about 1/2 hr before needing to start the engine again. In regards to the specs for the battery...found it here (the car batteries are at the bottom) http://svrbatteries.com/battery_page.php?bid=23 or here http://svrbatteries.com/download/svrbatteries.pdf

On my radio display, there is the 'ASL' symbol in the lower right corner when ASL is on. I noticed for the first time that there is a little 'signal bar' type display (like for battery or signal strength on a cell phone for example) just below the ASL symbol. As you drive faster, bars get added and get progressively higher to correspond to the amount of volume and tone boosting going on. When you slow down, the bars drop off. Kind of neat, and weird that I'd never noticed it before tonight (probably because I'm usually watching the road, but the wife was driving tonight) Speaking of tone boosting... I read with interest this post http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...amp;mode=linear because I've noticed that when I turn the ASL off, the tone goes for a dump. It turns out that the ASL does indeed adjust volume AND tone. Pretty advanced, say compared to the SSV (speed sensitive volume) in GM products which only boost the volume. I also noticed that the higher you turn the volume, the less the ASL boosts the tone and volume, as indicated by the indicator bars.

Wow...hate to reply to a thread over two years old, but I have noticed (on my 2006 RX400h) exactly what the original poster describes. The ASL affects tone as well as volume, and it sounds like crap if I shut the ASL off. From my owner's manual - AUTOMATIC SOUND LEVELIZER (ASL) When the audio sound becomes difficult to be heard due to road noise, wind noise, etc. during driving, the system adjusts to the optimum volume AND TONE QUALITY according to the noise level.

That SVR battery looks good. It has a reserve capacity of 90, which is the highest I've seen. The reserve capacity on the Optima is 65 and the battery I actually put in my RX has a reserve capacity of 70. From reading their literature, it looks like it is an AGM battery much like the Optima, but with a rectangular case. The Optima case is sort of rectangular, but you can make out the shape of each cylinder.