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I called cooperate lexus and as of right now, I'm not overly thrilled with their response. I flat out asked that if once the new pump is installed and we find that the inverter is still working, will they not replace it in spite of the many documented failure cases? No was the reply. So essentially the inverter will need to completely fail, possibly while I'm driving and not able to pull over with possibly hurting someone or myself. Nice lexus . . .
Back again after 2 1/2 years after the initial inverter failure. Good news was that Lexus subsequently replaced it FOC, after which I received a recall notice regarding, yes you guessed it, inverter problem. Well confident that I had just had mine done, I politely declined to visit, but after a second recall notice was issued, I decided to get it booked in. 1st available date January 2014. No problem. No issues, I can wait……. or so I thought. Today the VSC and Hybrid check system lights came on….. so tomorrow morning, I'll be contacting Lexus, two days before Christmas. This should test their Customer Service to the limit!
Turns out the fault is 'water in the hybrid'. Apparently its got in round the rear light cluster seals and blown the fuse board underneath the actual hybrid batteries…. quote is for £1000+ and its now the 8th of Jan and still no car…. they say possibly by the weekend as they need to get the seals in and fit them.
yes, the rear pivot pins seize up and this causes the callipers to freeze rather than float, resulting in initial uneven wear on the discs and pads, but also causing heat issues with the callipers. Strip down using a blow torch to free off the pins, new pins, discs and pads with all rubber seals, and all running fine. Bit of a mucky job, and advise you wear goggles and a mask when dealing with brakes and dust….
I live in Michigan and own a 2007 RX400h with about 70,000 miles on it.
Last November (2013), while in Toronto, after parking following a 20 minute evening drive in light snow, I was unable to restart the vehicle. The "READY" light would not appear and the normal indicators prior to start-up were displayed. Frustrated, I spent the next 30 minutes trying to find the local Lexus dealership and was about to search for a towing service. Giving it one last try, the "READY" light appeared and we were able to return to our hotel. During the next maintenance, I informed the Michigan dealership of the problem and they said there was no problem with the battery or the charging system.
In January, I took the vehicle in for the Inverter Recall, but did not realize until I checked this forum what impact it had with the operation of the vehicle.
Today, around 4:30PM, my RX400h did the same thing after it was parked at local post office following a heavy rain storm. I do not know if this moisture has any effect on the situation, but I thought I would mention it.
Unfortunately, it would not restart (i.e.available "READY" light) like it did in Toronto. I gave it an hour before trying it again, but without success.
After a 6PM call to the local Lexus dealership, one of the service guys said that the battery needed a jump charge-- but that did not work either.
So tomorrow I expect to have the vehicle towed to the dealership for some of the same inverter maintenance.
Fortunately, I purchased the extended warranty for the vehicle, so I do not expect to have any costly support problems in that area. (I do understand that there is a 100,000 mile warranty on some parts of the vehicle, but never sure if I will get nickeled-dimed for associated items during maintenance). My vehicle has been serviced every 5,000 miles by the Lexus dealership.
I will update this saga after the problems have been resolved.
Electrical gremlins always seem tricky to pin down. Definitely keep us updated on how things are going. Sharing these "adventures" will be very helpful to others I'm sure!
Update: The good news is that after the vehicle was sitting for 17 hours, I was able to get a "READY" light on the first try with the key. It appeared that the RX400h is charging the batteries, so I cancelled the tow truck and drove the vehicle about 15 miles to the dealer. They were given the link to this forum and three examples that seem to match my situation.
Interesting use of the forums! I know that some users have printed out forums posts to take with them to dealers to show that they're not the only one experiencing a problem. Let us know if they actually check out the posts.
Update: After checking the RX400h out for an entire day, the dealership called to inform me the vehicle can be picked up-- they could not find a problem and recommended I drive it more to charge up the battery. (I was told the battery was low and there were no error/problem codes recorded). No cost for their efforts. Since I am retired, I do not drive as much, but I do drive the SUV several times a week, which I thought was adequate for my primary vehicle. It sounds like I need to go to the stores on the other side of town. (smiles)
I did bring to their attention that this problem happened after driving 200+ miles to Toronto, so I am not whole-heartedly convinced that there is no problem. However, it is what it is.
As for accessing the edmunds forum on this topic, I did provide the link info to the service agent and he said he would pass it along to the mechanic. However, I do not know if they really followed up in this manner.
A lot of "war stories." I've driven our 2006 RX400h (we bought new) 150,000 miles without a single battery problem. Many sound like no-no's for ANY car, i.e. driving into/through too much standing water.
Hi, Is the inverter replacement discussed in this thread included in the sept2013 recall?
My 06 RX400h is now having problems, "VSC System" error momentarily flashing while the car tries to turn on. It is eventually turning on after holding the key 15-30 seconds.
I had the recall done last year.
Car has 108k miles. I found the 12v Battery had drained. I trickle charged, no luck. Tried a brand new 12v battery, still same issue starting. No water/moisture in hybrid battery area (carefully checked access hole).
Found this thread and now trying to not spend $9000!
Thanks!!
Lexus RX400h Inverter Recall
Mr_Shiftright said:
Thanks. The technical specifics of the recall say they replaced the IPM module, apparently just a part of the inverter. Not sure if this is replacing the whole plastic case thing with a new one in a metal case, as discussed here. Will ask dealership today.
Soooo... Ended up being a bad 12v starter battery.
Sheepish story here that may help others.
Car having trouble starting, figured bad battery. Trickle charged overnight, then drove rx to Autozone to check battery. Said battery was good, but only 35% charged. Couldnt check alternator if battery wasnt above 50%.
So I charged another 2 nights. Still had trouble starting, flashing VSC error sometimes. Took back to autozone, said battery was good with 60% charge, alternator was good. I decided to try a new battery anyway. They swapped it for me, I tried ignition, it appeared to not start like normal. Tried twice, figured it was something else, found this post. Returned new battery. Drove to Lexus with inverter info in hand. Lexus' battery checker indicated a bad battery, gave car a new one and swore it was working correctly. I had them keep my car in the lot for a few days just to make sure it wasn't draining. All ok. Sterling McCall is a great place, only charged me $220 ($50 more than autozone battery).
So explaining what happened is kinda tricky... Let me try.
I'd grown accustomed to holding the ignition key a long time to get the car to start with the bad battery, only releasing it when it was fully on. Like 30 seconds. This was necessary with bad battery. But with a good battery, holding the ignition in start position PREVENTS the screen from turning on. So if I had just started it and released the key it would have looked normal with the new autozone battery, which would have been free as it was still in warrantee. So I'm out $200, and we are all a little smarter.
Sorry for long post. Hope its helpful!
Lexus corporate was of no assistance today. They said picking up the labor cost when I had the module replaced on Aug 3rd was the best they could do because of the miles on my car (220K approx. at that time) and the fact that a car with as many miles as mine and as old as mine usually gets no consideration. Ha! What does that have to do with the part failure that evidently has not been fixed? And, how do I know this will not happen again at high speed?
Same story. Bought used 2006 rx400h with 122k miles. After heavy rain got check hybrid system warning light along with the VSC warning. Lexus dealer found battery compartment comprised with water. They wanted $10,500 to fix!
I found a battery for around $800 and had it installed for $250.
This lasted for 9 months. Now I have same warning light but car is running fine. Lexus dealer checked code and said it was battery fan low voltage. Their estimate is $1650 to replace.
I plan to buy the fans and attempt reair myself. Gas anyone done this?
Thanks all!