lemon

http://m.caranddriver.com/article.rbml?id=http://blog.caranddriver.com/?p-77219

Just thought I'd bump my post up, since I did the PCV valve again today. If you haven't replaced yours ever, this is fairly straight forward. I'm on the fence about doing the spark plugs myself (they are due to be changed soon) - only because the rears are so hard to access. Really, though, I should have done the fronts myself when I had the airbox off...damn. Might just pay the dealer to do it....maybe on Monday when it's in for the crankshaft pulley recall. I'm at 180 000 KM and I think the recommended interval is 192 000 KM.

cduluk, I went out today and drove for about 1/2 hour. Here's what I did...started car, pushed climate button, turned fan on 2nd speed, set temp at 24 celsius, turned on recirc, made sure A/C was off Drove for 30 mins. Systems stayed in recirc for the entire drive. Outside temp was 5 celsius.

Cduluk, can you try this next time and see what happens... Hit the AUTO button first, then adjust everything - fan, temp, mode etc. (you'll have to turn AC off manually because AUTO turns it on) . If the recirc is on, turn it off then back on..if it's off, just turn it on. My reasoning is this...when you hit AUTO, the system does everything on it's own, however each setting you change yourself after hitting AUTO, then falls under manual control. I'm thinking if you hit AUTO then adjust everything yourself, the system will be truly in manual mode. Just a thought. I'm going to try in my vehicle what you do and see what happens...so turn fan on, select mode, select temp, select recirc, no AC?

cduluk, are you hitting the AUTO button and it's automatically in RECIRC, and then it switches to FRESH? Or are you hitting AUTO, then selecting RECIRC yourself manually?

My wife's 2010 Equinox can be put in recirc and it will stay there indefinitely for the rest of that ignition cycle. However, it will automatically engage the A/C compressor when recirc is selected. Her 2006 Impala was the same. On my RX400h, if I select MAX cool, the system goes into recirc and stays there. It does not revert to fresh anytime as long as MAX cool is selected.

There was someone else on this forum (or maybe clublexus.com) who had a completely different experience. He bought a used RX400h and the dealer refused to give it to him until the recall had been dealt with. This was sometime in the early fall IIRC, and he was peeved that he had to wait until 'early 2012' as he was told, to get the vehicle.

I'm pretty sure I read in my service manual that the 12 volt battery is used to power all the 12 volt accessories in the vehicle. I can check when I get home. It is recharged as necessary via the traction battery (and some sort of inverter/converter I think - to manage the 288 volts of the traction battery). Perhaps this is why the battery is so prone to failure - the amount of discharge/charge cycles?

There is a long history of 12 volt battery failures in the 400h (or batteries lasting two to three years). So either the batteries were of poor quality, or underpowered or the design of the 400h is inherently hard on the battery. Like I said in the other battery post, the 12 volt battery is used to power all the 12 volt accessories in the vehicle (I'm fairly sure I read this in my service manual). It's recharged via the traction battery - there is no alternator. Maybe all this charging and discharging would have been better handled by a deep cycle battery. *edit* best as I can tell, the 12 volt battery is the same in the 400h and the 450h.

All I want to know is if Lexus put a bigger battery in the 450h than was in the 400h.

Except the 12 volt battery is powering the stereo and all the other things that run on 12 volts - headlights too. Would a diode and a few capacitors be able to keep the headlights on?

Just wondering i anyone with an RX450h can tell me what size the 12 volt battery is (Group #, or CCA, or reserve capacity (or all of the above)). I'm curious as to whether Lexus increased the capacity since the one in the 400h was woefully inadequate. Thanks.

It powers up the computers first, which are needed to regulate the power coming from the traction battery. It also runs all the things that normally use 12 volts in a regular car, like the computers just mentioned, the stereo, the power windows, power locks, power seats etc. etc., since the traction battery is 288 volts and if it was used to run everything, the 288 volts would have to be stepped down to 12 volts.

I kind of like this, since it doesn't use the high beam bulb as a DRL, so does away with the deposit/melting problem associated with that system. Plus it lights the tails up as well, which I like. jaswood, what happens to that LED in the parking light when the regular lights are activated? Does it just remain the way it is, get dimmer? Brighter?

RXREY, do you know what version of the map disc you had prior to taking your RX in for service? Either way, why don't you look up the disc version from the GPS and tell us what it is. I 'think' the latest version is 11.1 If you've never upgraded it, the original in the 2006 RX was 4.something I think. I'm still leaning to the battery was disconnected and they just gave you some lame !Removed! reason because the person you spoke to at the dealer had no idea what to tell you. In that case, I'll once again stress that you make sure they did the ISC reset (or do it yourself).

Do the previous addresses get lost if the battery is disconnected? Could it be as simple as that? If they did disconnect the battery, make sure they have done the ISC reset. By upgraded, do they mean that they ihstalled a newer version of the map disc? Usually they charge $200 to $250 (which, by the way is ABSOLUTE highway robbery), so I find it hard to believe they would do that for free (even if you're a really nice guy).

It's great reading all this stuff (I thought I'd seen all the old reviews for the 400h - that's a new one jaswood). Me, personally - I don't care if I meet the numbers posted by the EPA / Transport Canada. All I know is my fuel economy is much better than that of a friend with a 2008 RX350 and better than that of my wife's 2010 Equinox. I may not be seeing the magical numbers posted by the EPA (and very few people / vehicles ever do as those tests are under controlled conditions - driving in the real world introduces many more variables like wind, passengers, cargo, road conditions, traffic etc.) but I'm quite happy with 8.1 l/100km in the summer and 9.5 in the winter (per the onboard trip computer, which may not be as accurate as manual calculation). Hmm...looks like those numbers I'm seeing exceed the EPA estimates...lol.

Ok..that's done. Thanks for the help. Didn't appear loose - maybe the filament was broken, but still making the connection the odd time. Anyway, the side marker lights also use the same bulb, but it seems to me like the whole headlamp assembly would have to come out to reach those ones - correct? Or really small hands and remove the battery and washer reservoir on the passenger side and the fuse box and some other bits and pieces on the driver's side?

Cduluk, thanks. I could see the light but I tried twisting and turning and it wouldn't budge. I'll have another go at it tonight. Mine works intermittently - maybe it's loose, but I may just use LEDs like you did.

On the high beam side of the headlamp assembly there is a tiny light at the top that lights up when the low beams are on. Anyone know how to remove this? I'm having technical difficulties. Thanks

jaswood, the LEDs you put in replaced your high beam bulbs? Do they work now as DRLs and as high beams when you need them? If I can find a replacement LED for the 9005 that works I'll gladly swap them in and be done with the halogens. So to be more specific, do the LEDs work as a high beam bulb or is the light all scattered (I would think the reflector in the headlamp would be designed to work with the beam pattern of a halogen bulb? Would the 18 different lights of the LED bulb cause some...weirdness?)

Yes, I forgot that the 450 uses an Atkinson cycle ICE. Whether the THS functions differently because of that I don't know. What I can tell you is that in my 400h, driving on the highway and watching the hybrid display in the NAV screen, I've seen (many times) the power flow from the ICE to the front electric motor completely bypassing the battery. So in that case there would be no need to run 'elevated' to bring back up the SOC of the traction battery as the traction battery was not being used to power the front electric motor. Also, in that case the ICE is not creating the additional torque directly, it is powering the electric motor and that is producing the additional torque. All I can say is that my 400h gets better gas mileage on the highway than a 330. Does it match the EPA (or in my case Transport Canada) stats? No, but not many cars, hybrid or not, do.

Thanks. She's quite something in the car - "How do you make the spray on the windshield? How do you make the high beams come on? Why did you shut them off? (approaching / following a vehicle) Can I put this in Drive, Reverse, Park? You're speeding....lol. If anyone is interested in WHY my bulbs ended up like that (and why yours might too, if you have DRL) see this post where someone gave a detailed response http://www.bobistheo...616#Post2529616 Evidently, it's an effect of using the halogen bulb high beams at less than full power, which doesn't allow them to run at the proper temperature. Most of the DRL systems I"ve seen use this method (though I have seen newer vehicles using the fogs, and even some using the marker lights (like the 1996 to 2000 or so Dodge Caravan) - I guess colour doesn't matter for DRL, only strength of the beam??? Anyway, I think DRLs are standard on the U.S. RX as well, so I'd encourage you all to check your high beam bulbs if they are getting on in years (and even if not, as I have no idea how quickly this problem crops up). You don't have to remove the bulb, you can just look into your headlamp at the high beam bulb and it should be obvious (I think)

So my 10yr old daughter says to me (after driving to ski resort and home at night, once in my 2006 RX400h and once in Mom's 2010 Equinox), Mom's high beams are brighter than yours. Now, I know that bulbs deteriorate over time, and these are probably the original (since March 2005) high beam bulbs, AND we have daytime running lights here in Canada, so the bulbs are on continuously, so I decide to swap in some new bulbs. I have HID low beams, but the high beams are 9005. I grabbed some Sylvania Xtravision (cheaper than Ultravision, Nighthawk Platinums etc etc.) When I took the old ones out, I quickly discovered why the output was so low. Any idea why both bulbs would have done this, or is just and age/heat thing (or maybe when they were installed, someone's oily fingerprints were left on the bulb- I know that's a big no no with these bulbs, so I used gloves putting my new ones in) Don't think I need to point out which are new and which are old...lol

You know there is an internal combustion engine in a hybrid that can output more torque for climbing an incline JUST like a regular non hybrid vehicle. The extra torque does not ONLY have to come from the electric motors. The THS computer does a pretty good job of figuring out which one will be more efficient in any given situation.