Lexus RX - any good?
Discussion
I have been running an RX400h 2006, since may 2016. Taken it from 85k miles to nearly 150k miles. It has been easy to look after.
Issues Apart from consumables and servicing have been
New front ball joints.
Reversing camera broke, replaced with £10 ebay camera.
Self levelling light switch connecting rod broke, replaced with couple of cheap rod bearings and a bit of threaded bar.
Complete handbrake rebuild, new cables and shoes. Easy job.
Both rear wheel bearings again easy job.
New radiator, again easy and parts were cheap.
Other wise its just servicing and new brakes like any car. Its easy to live with comfortable, quick for a barge and OK on petrol 32mpg average.
People will tell you they hate the gearbox, but then they have probably not driven one more than a mile or 2. Its not a sports car and the box is OK when you realise you not going to be racing in it.
I don't normally keep cars for this long but it just does what I want from it with no fuss. So its going to be with me a while yet.
Issues Apart from consumables and servicing have been
New front ball joints.
Reversing camera broke, replaced with £10 ebay camera.
Self levelling light switch connecting rod broke, replaced with couple of cheap rod bearings and a bit of threaded bar.
Complete handbrake rebuild, new cables and shoes. Easy job.
Both rear wheel bearings again easy job.
New radiator, again easy and parts were cheap.
Other wise its just servicing and new brakes like any car. Its easy to live with comfortable, quick for a barge and OK on petrol 32mpg average.
People will tell you they hate the gearbox, but then they have probably not driven one more than a mile or 2. Its not a sports car and the box is OK when you realise you not going to be racing in it.
I don't normally keep cars for this long but it just does what I want from it with no fuss. So its going to be with me a while yet.
I have a 450h and when I first got it wasn't sure on the drivetrain and thought the whole thing a little "beige".
Its now firmly under my skin having got used to its quirks. Having swapped from Range Rovers I think the Lexus is a great daily SUV. Loaded with kit as standard, very quiet and comfortable and surprisingly quick if you want it. A lovely thing to munch miles in.
Its also nice only having to spend money on servicing and consumables, nothing has gone wrong, its very well built and feels like it will outlast me.
Its now firmly under my skin having got used to its quirks. Having swapped from Range Rovers I think the Lexus is a great daily SUV. Loaded with kit as standard, very quiet and comfortable and surprisingly quick if you want it. A lovely thing to munch miles in.
Its also nice only having to spend money on servicing and consumables, nothing has gone wrong, its very well built and feels like it will outlast me.
I also have a 450h and concur that it's a very comfortable car to drive, and I like the eCVT transmission and find it quick and smooth. I've driven across Europe in mine and find it a very pleasant place to be on long journeys.
They're well kitted out, and are unlikely to have been owned//driven by someone who'd thrash them, so most seem well looked after.
As with any car of that age, have a look underneath for any signs of corrosion beyond surface rust, especially brake and fuel filler pipes.
Other things to look out for on older models are any signs of water ingress, so check carpets for damp, as well as lifting up all covers in the rear cargo area to check for signs of water/rust. Common areas of water ingress are blocked sunroof drains and/or roof bar fittings, so cars without either/both of these are less likely.
Overall though they have a very good reliability record, and I can thoroughly recommend.
They're well kitted out, and are unlikely to have been owned//driven by someone who'd thrash them, so most seem well looked after.
As with any car of that age, have a look underneath for any signs of corrosion beyond surface rust, especially brake and fuel filler pipes.
Other things to look out for on older models are any signs of water ingress, so check carpets for damp, as well as lifting up all covers in the rear cargo area to check for signs of water/rust. Common areas of water ingress are blocked sunroof drains and/or roof bar fittings, so cars without either/both of these are less likely.
Overall though they have a very good reliability record, and I can thoroughly recommend.
redneckLT said:
Primary target for catalytic converter thefts. Lexus/Toyota ones are worth more than others I heard. Even easer than Prius as the car sits higher. Some owners report cat was stolen twice per year. Based on this possible hassle I would not buy one.
If this is a real problem remove the original one, sell it and replace with a cheaper aftermarket one, or a straight pipe as they don't need to pass emissions tests. Alternatively live in nicer area where that sort of thing does not happen 
In the time I have mine no one has stolen the cat.
soad said:
Audis5b9 said:
I heard the same said about my CRV cat when I bought that car... its still attached so not too worried about that.
Probably depends on the area, has happened to a neighbour of ours in the past though (Honda).How good or useless is the AWD? I know good snow tires matter more but my wife needs to be able to get out in any weather and we don't quite live in the sticks but we spend a lot of time driving there for various reasons.
redneckLT said:
Primary target for catalytic converter thefts. Lexus/Toyota ones are worth more than others I heard. Even easer than Prius as the car sits higher. Some owners report cat was stolen twice per year. Based on this possible hassle I would not buy one.
This is true for the 400H. The 450H is massively less affected by catalyst theft as it is tucked up closer to the engine.The 400H is indeed a sitting duck with the cat exposed on a straight section of exhaust under a car with high ride height. It's such a shame as it put me off getting one.
Lexus sell a protective device called a Catlok now. I don't know how effective it is.
I fancy a 450H at some point but waiting for prices to soften a bit (will they ever post Covid - don't answer that as there is an entire 300+ page thread devoted to arguing!).
Every time an OP asks about RXs, the answers are usually very positive so owners are clearly very happy. The only downsides seem to be some people dislike the eCVT transmission and the boot space is a bit small for the size of car.
ARHarh said:
It's not really all wheel drive. The rear motor will.kick in if traction at the front is lost. I would not buy one expecting it to be a 4x4. That said winter tyres will sort any driving on Snow as they will with any car. And really how often are you affected by snow.
Agreed rarely. Although the father in law does live above 200m and sees more snow than we do. It would be a bonus rather than a requirement.Audis5b9 said:
Any concerns about buying a RX400h with a hybrid battery thats outside of Lexus' expected working lifetime of 15 years?
I had a read around, and from what I've found, even if you need a replacement battery, they're not prohibitively expensive to replace. Just have a look at the mileages they rack up though! They seem to last for many miles.I’d seriously consider a 300 or 350. They are not much worse on fuel but cheaper to buy in the first place. The 350 is no worse on fuel but has 70bhp more but tax is over £600 compared to £360 on the 300’s.
I’ve got a 300 and it’s a great car, easily my favourite out of anything I’ve ever owned. Mine was £2500 so needed a bit of work to get it up to scratch but it’s not been terrible.
The 4 wheel drive system on the non hybrid models is permanent 50/50 split. It won’t go where an old Land Rover will but it’s far more capable than people say and than I’ve ever needed. I’ve driven through muddy ploughed fields and over sheet ice and it’s handled all of it. Anything particularly tricky just put it in first with snow mode on and hold the throttle at 10-20% and it just keeps going. The traction control system is brilliant in crap conditions.
I’ve had mine coming up to 3 years and done all sorts with it. It’s big enough to get a lot of stuff in, more comfortable and quieter than most cars. It’ll use a fair amount of fuel but you’ll not need to repair it as much as other cars.
Rust can be an issue in the sills. The side skirts cover it completely. It can also be an issue in the top of the inner wheel arches and rear subframe.
If you get one with air suspension it can be very expensive. Mine came with air suspension but was taken off by a previous owner. The struts are £800 per corner.
A lot of Lexus parts can be unreasonably expensive I.e £300 for an engine mount or £850 for a parcel shelf. Try and find the equivalent Toyota parts numbers as they tend to be a huge amount cheaper.
I love mine, I think I’d probably replace it with a 350 once mine dies but I can’t see that happening any time soon.
I’ve got a 300 and it’s a great car, easily my favourite out of anything I’ve ever owned. Mine was £2500 so needed a bit of work to get it up to scratch but it’s not been terrible.
The 4 wheel drive system on the non hybrid models is permanent 50/50 split. It won’t go where an old Land Rover will but it’s far more capable than people say and than I’ve ever needed. I’ve driven through muddy ploughed fields and over sheet ice and it’s handled all of it. Anything particularly tricky just put it in first with snow mode on and hold the throttle at 10-20% and it just keeps going. The traction control system is brilliant in crap conditions.
I’ve had mine coming up to 3 years and done all sorts with it. It’s big enough to get a lot of stuff in, more comfortable and quieter than most cars. It’ll use a fair amount of fuel but you’ll not need to repair it as much as other cars.
Rust can be an issue in the sills. The side skirts cover it completely. It can also be an issue in the top of the inner wheel arches and rear subframe.
If you get one with air suspension it can be very expensive. Mine came with air suspension but was taken off by a previous owner. The struts are £800 per corner.
A lot of Lexus parts can be unreasonably expensive I.e £300 for an engine mount or £850 for a parcel shelf. Try and find the equivalent Toyota parts numbers as they tend to be a huge amount cheaper.
I love mine, I think I’d probably replace it with a 350 once mine dies but I can’t see that happening any time soon.
The RX400 is a good pick you'll get a nice one for around the 5-6k mark, the only real issue is the CVT but most people just get used to it.
RX400h:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208118...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110...
Alternates are hard to find as they're either high road tax, or diesel.
Subaru Tribeca:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209199...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211091...
Infiniti EX37:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211011...
EX30d:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206307...
RX400h:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202208118...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202210110...
Alternates are hard to find as they're either high road tax, or diesel.
Subaru Tribeca:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202209199...
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211091...
Infiniti EX37:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202211011...
EX30d:
https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202206307...
ARHarh said:
It's not really all wheel drive. The rear motor will.kick in if traction at the front is lost. I would not buy one expecting it to be a 4x4. That said winter tyres will sort any driving on Snow as they will with any car. And really how often are you affected by snow.
If you put it in ‘snow’ mode via the steering wheel buttons it goes to 4wd until you turn it off. I've had my 05 RX400h for over two years now. I normally get bored and look to change the car every couple of years or so, but strangely for me, I've no desire to change currently.
Currently at 150k miles, the engine is as sweet as a nut, the body is also fairly clean for a 17 year old car. No rattles, no squeaks, no clunks. Wonderfully comfortable and I don't find the CVT a chore at all. In fact I find it quite serene! As others as said, don't drive it in a way that it's not intended and the gearbox works well.
It's not my only car, but is used as the workhorse. It tows a 1500kg carvan with ease and transports a family of 5 in perfect comfort.
I've no idea what I would replace it with, hence why it's staying for the foreseeable!
Currently at 150k miles, the engine is as sweet as a nut, the body is also fairly clean for a 17 year old car. No rattles, no squeaks, no clunks. Wonderfully comfortable and I don't find the CVT a chore at all. In fact I find it quite serene! As others as said, don't drive it in a way that it's not intended and the gearbox works well.
It's not my only car, but is used as the workhorse. It tows a 1500kg carvan with ease and transports a family of 5 in perfect comfort.
I've no idea what I would replace it with, hence why it's staying for the foreseeable!
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