- #12 of 21
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Re: Lexus RX 400h battery issues [cypress_point]
by johnt7
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Apr 19, 2009 (11:55 am)
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Replying to: cypress_point (Apr 19, 2009 6:35 am)
Our RX battery failed a month or two after we bought the new car and the replacement has been trouble free since--two years ago. Hybrid batteries has a reputation for being very reliable. Toyota guarantees them for eight years. The Prius has been around for several years and its batteries enjoy a good reputation.
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- #13 of 21
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Re: Hybrid Battery Failure [stevedebi]
by lastlaflar
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Apr 20, 2009 (8:33 am)
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 25, 2008 1:58 pm)
Actually the warranty on the Hybrid system is 8 years or 100,000 miles but yes your repairs should be covered.
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- #14 of 21
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2006 RX400h Hybrid System Failure
by sam614
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Aug 31, 2009 (7:33 am)
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I experienced a similar problem with my RX400h. I was driving around 70 mph on the highway in rush hour traffic, and my car just shut off. I had heard a clanking sound (like a belt being hit by a fan), and all of the lights on the dash came on. Everything just shut down. No power steering. No brakes. Nothing. After three weeks of the dealer trying to find the problem, we still don't have the car back. So far the inverter has been replaced. It was "fried." The high voltage fuse was blown, and the relay connector was burned up. They think that this will have resolved all of the problems, but we won't know for sure for several more days.
It was a rather uncomfortable situation to be in with my car just shutting off while driving 70 on the highway in rush hour while in the left lane. I, fortunately, was able to get the car off the road without hitting someone or someone hitting me, but let me tell you it was just luck. Not to mention the hour spent waiting for the tow truck to come and rescue us. Fortunately, I wasn't alone when this happened.
My concern is that there is something more wrong with this hybrid system, i.e. battery problems that might not surface until sometime later (hopefully not when I'm on the highway again). I'm actually looking to trade the car in on a non-hybrid.
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- #15 of 21
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Lexus RX400h electrical engine problem
by rsniady
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Oct 26, 2009 (3:06 pm)
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I am the owner of a 2006 Lexus RX400h. After 51,000 miles, I did notice the electric engine is barely running. Most of the time the gasoline engine is running. It used to run mainly electric and now I am getting very poor mileage. I don't know if this is normal, but can someone clear this up for me?
The driving condition and styles are the same, so I did not change anything.
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- #16 of 21
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Re: Hybrid Battery Failure [stevedebi]
by gilo
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Nov 19, 2009 (6:55 am)
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Replying to: stevedebi (Jun 25, 2008 1:58 pm)
We have an rX400h and 2 weeks ago, it just died on us as my husband was pulling away from the lights. We bought the car second hand in July with 66k miles on it (its a 55 plate) but we did not buy from a Lexus dealer. Lexus have told us that the warranty for the hybrid is out of date as it is a 5 year 60k warranty. The cost for a new inverter is £5000 - yes that is thousand not hundred. What an absolute joke. We bought a lexus thinking they were reliable and now it is completely bust and to get it working again we are going to have to pay the equivalent of a small run around!
BE VERY WARY OF BUYING A SECOND HAND HYBRID OUT 0F WARRANTY! I still can't believe this is happening to us!   
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- #17 of 21
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Re: Hybrid Battery Failure [gilo]
by johnt7
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Nov 19, 2009 (8:48 am)
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Replying to: gilo (Nov 19, 2009 6:55 am)
In the US, the battery system is warranted for eight years. I'm assuming you're quoting the price in pounds and that you're abroad. It's seems odd that Lexus would have a much shorter warranty in other countries.
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- #18 of 21
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Re: 2006 RX400h Hybrid System Failure [sam614]
by tomnlori
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Nov 21, 2009 (2:49 pm)
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Replying to: sam614 (Aug 31, 2009 7:33 am)
I had a similar problem with a 2006 RX400h. I was accelerating on an entrance ramp and just as I merged and going about 60 mph, I felt a severe shudder, thud then nothing, no power. The dash lit up like a pinball machine including messages like "Check Hybrid System" and something about a VSC failure. Not a pleasant sensation. I coasted off the highway and called a tow truck. The dealer checked it out, determined it was a bad inverter, they ordered a new one, installed it and had the car back to me in two days. There was no charge since the car has 64,000 miles and is covered by warranty. I inquired as to what the cost would have been if the car had been out of warranty (96mo or 100k miles). On the paper work that the service desk kept, I saw that the inverter alone was $9,355. There was also a part or labor for about $300 bringing the total to $9,700 without tax. In the paper work they did not give me I also noticed there was a 2007 technical bulletin referring to a shudder at 60 to 70 mph. Sounds like Lexus knows about the problem.
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- #19 of 21
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Re: Hybrid Battery Failure [johnt7]
by gilo
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Nov 22, 2009 (9:48 am)
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Replying to: johnt7 (Nov 19, 2009 8:48 am)
Hi, yes I have the misfortune of owning a Lexus in the UK. Here it is only a 5 year warranty and 60k miles. This of course is real bad news as mine has done 70k. My advice to anyone in the UK would be not to buy a lexus hybrid anywhere near 60k miles......it could cost you the equivalent of a small car to fix it! It clearly must be a faulty part as it is a sealed unit. Maybe Lexus think it is acceptable to have to replace an inverter after 60k miles!!
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- #20 of 21
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Re: 2006 RX400h Hybrid System Failure [tomnlori]
by gilo
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Nov 22, 2009 (9:59 am)
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Replying to: tomnlori (Nov 21, 2009 2:49 pm)
Thanks....you bet they probably know about it!! Unfortunately, they are only a multi million pound company and so won't help. The UK seem to get a worse deal on the warranty for some reason
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- #21 of 21
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$9,700 to replace an inverter?
by voiced
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Nov 29, 2009 (7:09 pm)
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Am I the only one who finds it astonishing that Lexus Service will charge a customer $9,700 to fix a bad inverter that goes out at no fault of the customer?
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