lemon

True, though having owned an Outback, I wouldn't call it an SUV. Just a very capable station wagon with good ground clearance and a very very good AWD system. I dunno what all the carping is about. The RX is obviously not an off-road vehicle and I can't believe anyone would mistake it as such. It's basically just a jacked up station wagon as well without the very very good AWD system. It's AWD can help it inclement weather. Not made to do the Rubicon, or plow through 18" of snow. I haven't experienced the VDIC in any snow as yet, so I'll withhold judgement on that. I do have winter tires, which will hopefully make up for any shortcomings in the AWD system.

With all the new tire technology, they're not known as 'snow' tires anymore, but 'winter' tires. According to the tire gurus, anytime the temp falls below 7 celsius, all season tires harden, and begin sticking to the road less. Winter tires remain flexible below 7 celsius, thus maintaining more grip to the road. They're not only useful in the snow/ice, but also on the cold pavement. Regardless, winter tires will help, but it does seem to be a flaw in the design of the vehicle not being able to shut the traction control off. My last car was a Subaru Outback, well known for a fantastic AWD system, and I also ran winter tires on it. It was truly unstoppable, never having left me stuck. We have yet to get a good dumping of snow here, but I'm hoping I'm not disappointed in the RX, especially after the Subaru AWD system impressed me so much.

I have Bridgestone Blizzaks, size 235/65R17, mounted on dedicated alloys for winter driving. For summer, Bridgestone Alenzas mounted on the OE alloys, size 235/55/R18. While the 235/65/17 works for winter (and is in fact what I have on my RX - not by choice - bought used Lexus rims with Pilot Alpins) a better size for winter would in fact be 225/65/17. Good tire calculator here http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html where you can see that the stock 235/55/18 has a diameter of 28.2 and the 225/65/17 has a diameter of 28.5 vs the 235/65/17 with a diameter of 29. Not a huge difference, but the closer the replacement diameter is to the original, the better.

Do you have a button to disable the VDIC (vehicle dynamics integrated control - the combination of traction control and skid control) on that year of the 400h? If you do, disabling it may have helped. On my 2006, there is no off switch for the VDIC, so I'm stuck with it. I have heard that when starting with excessive wheel spin (like in deep snow, ice, or uphill with deep snow/ice like you were in) the system reduces power to stop the wheels from spinning (either reducing engine power or braking the spinning wheel), however, sometimes in deep snow it's best to have a bit of wheel spin to dig through the snow. With VDIC, the common complaint (do a search, others have complained of this as well) is that it reduces power to almost nothing, thereby preventing any forward motion of the vehicle. Do you have winter tires? That may help as well, as there may be less wheelspin, so the system won't try to stop it by reducing power/braking.

cduluk, why don't you install a block heater. I use one when it's colder out, even though the RX is kept in the garage (unheated, but insulated - gets down to around 0 - 5 celsuis no matter how cold it gets outside). When the vehicle is first started and driven when it's cold, the engine is charging the traction battery, instead of the traction battery assisting the engine. Makes sense when it's colder that the battery will need more charging. Having said that, I don't really notice any difference from summer to winter power, but I have noticed a big 1 -2 km/l worse mileage.

2006 RX400h with 125000 KM. Have seen it a few times, but it is rare. More often I've seen it green, but one bar from the top. Usually this happens if the truck has been parked close to the 80%, then the at the next start up, I drive agressively enough to keep the ICE running.

Yeah...just reading the owner's manual again...looks like I need to get over 15km/h before VDIC kicks in.

Just starting getting snowy, icy conditions here. Car has Michelin Pilot Alpins, which are working quite well. Had to try really hard to get the vehicle to break loose, however, when it did, I saw the VDC/traction light (the little car with the squiggly lines behind it) light up on the dash, but there was no warning chime. I thought there was supposed to be one. Can anyone confirm if there should be a chime? Thanks.

Now that you mention this, I just realized I never have an upset stomach when I drive my RX...

In the summer I was getting 8.2 l/100km (28.68 U.S. mpg). Since the cold weather has arrived (and the winter gas at the pumps - ugh) my mileage has dropped (or increased..??) to 9.8 l/100km (23.9 mpg). I also find it much harder to keep the vehicle in electric mode with the cold weather. Just a little push on the gas pedal and the ICE seems to want to kick in. Oh well, 23.9 is still pretty good all things considered.

He's in the UK. Probably different models (SE-L) and nomenclature (ICE usually stands for Internal Combustion Engine) but it must be something something Entertainment). I guess the location of the DVD player is different also. **edit*** In Car Entertainment = ICE????

Dude, did you ever think of trying to solve poverty, or creating world peace or something.... That's a lot of work for 5mm of light...you must be OCD...? Looks good, though. So far I like your steering wheel mod the best.

Can't do that if you live where it's cold, or you will fog up all the interior windows.

Some info here http://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-second-generation-164/

What he said. I had the same thing happen when I first got my RX and was playing around with the NAV. If you ever go to a drive-in theatre, you'll have to leave the vehicle in READY mode, and it will cycle on and off as your stereo drains the traction batter. I can't imagine it's good for the battery, so I tend to take my wife's car when going to the drive-in.

From the dealer (up here in Canada). I don't think US dealers stock it, but they can order it for you. I did a short write up here http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=60576 and now I remember it wasn't as easy as I thought. Actually, I just didn't have the right socket to remove those bolts holding the cover over the block heater hole.

I can't even imagine how complicated this would be. The battery is 288 volts, but the inverter boosts it up to 650 or something when powering the motors. I guess you could wire something directly to the traction battery (I dunno), but I can almost guarantee you'll void the hybrid warranty (unless you're outside of warranty). Why not just install a block heater (it's easy - I've done it to mine) and run the Toyota 0w20 to help with the cold starts when not near an outlet?

Trust me, you're not missing anything. Even now that I know I can do it, I still find it easier to just reach out and push the temp up/down button etc.

I can understand that, but I don't believe that Toyota would back spec a 20 weight for their engines without having fully researched it. Also, like I mentioned. Toyota is spec'ing 0w20 for the 2008 400h, and I doubt the engine in the '08 is markedly different than the engine in our 06's. Honda and Ford have been spec'ing 20 weights for their engines for several years now, and there are no reports of mass engine failures. There are several good UOAs on engines running 20 weights at bobistheoilguy.com

The manual spec's 5w30, but there was a 2006 TSB ok'ing 5w20. Since then 0w20 has been the specified motor oil. (check owner's manual for the 2008 online at lexus.com or click here https://secure.drivers.lexus.com/lexusdrive...l&locale=en I bought a case of 0w20 at a Toyota dealer here in Canada for roughly $5 a litre, which is a GREAT price for what this oil appears to be. While at the dealer, the parts manager showed me an internal Toyota bulletin confirming that the 0w20 is a full synthetic, and also listing a number of engines (ours included) that were back spec'd to run 0w20. The bulletin went on confirming that in the near future, 0w20 would be the only oil spec'd for all Toyota/Lexus vehicles.

I had it tested at two labs, as I thought the original lab made a mistake in the Visc@100c. I also had it tested twice at the original lab. Results were - lab #1 - Visc@100c - 9.7 or 9.3 (on the retest) - lab #2 - Visc@100c - 8.85 The stats per Toyota are: Kinematic Viscosity at 40C: 39.3 Kinematic Viscosity at 100C: 8.8 Flash Point: Over 200C Viscosity Index: 214 That's a smokin' Viscosity Index by the way.

Just posted info on Toyota's own 0w20 synthetic (actually made by Idemitsu for Toyota (and Honda). Check here - http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=61361 It's currently in my 400h. The VOA indicates a very well put together oil.

Don't want to post again, so check here http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=61361 Believe me, the VOA indicates a very good oil.

Hi. I have had a VOA (virgin oil analysis) done on Toyota 0w20 oil by two different labs, and the results are extremely good. This looks like a well designed robust oil (made by Idemitsu as far as we can tell) with a ton of Moly in it (a good antiwear additive). It also has a viscosity index in the 210-240 range depending on which lab you believe. A high viscosity index is a good thing. I will be having a UOA (used oil analysis) done when I change the oil, but that won't be until spring. I can then see how well it fared in my RX400h. http://www.bobistheoilguy.com/forums/ubbth...3357&page=1 Trust me, you'll have no trouble running this oil in any Lexus or Toyota (or many other vehicles - Honda 0w20 is also made by Idemitsu, but the VOA on it is slightly different). When I bought a case of 12 from the Toyota dealership, the parts guy showed me an internal Toyota bulletin regarding the 0w20 oil specifically. It IS a synthetic oil, despite the lack of labeling as such on the bottle. The bulletin went on for 4 pages, but it looks like 0w20 will be the ONLY oil spec'd in most upcoming Toyota and Lexus models. It has also been back spec'd for quite a number of Toyota/Lexus engines, but I don't recall which ones. The 2nd generation RX was listed for sure. Best bet if you want to run it on an older engine is to ask your dealership (or Toyota corporate) if your engine has been back spec'd.

Yup. The RX is not on the list. Here it is right from the horse's mouth http://pressroom.toyota.com/pr/tms/lexus/l...aspx?ncid=12040