jw5334

Incidence aside, car has its own " mile life expectancy". My 450H has 75K on it, I try to have a plan; to hold it till the end, or swap it after certain mileage. I follow the maintenance schedule and have normal driving condition. So far I don't detect any issue, as I stated in another post it gets very good mileage during regular driving.
It may be asked before but I can't find such discussion. Thanks for your opinion.

Droid13

I'm almost at 80,000 miles now, and all's been pretty good so far. Only incident of note was a water pump replacement around 65,000 miles which could happen to any vehicle of any maker. I have been thinking lately about the timing of my exit from my 2010 too. The Toyota hybrid systems in general so far have a decent track record for life span over the 16 years since introduction, through the various generations. To be honest, the thing that concerns my most is the exhaust system. Most vehicles will likely start to suffer from localized corrosion and pin holes after a decade, and the RX450h exhaust is a lot more special (read "expensive") given that it has coolant circulating around it for the exhaust heat recovery system. Hard to say how long it will last, I think that system first showed up on the Prius around 2008?

My current thinking is to pick up a 2015 that is 2 or 3 years old, so that means hanging on for another 2 years give or take. I don't care for the 2016 styling and, had a close look at one just yesterday in the showroom, hate the way the main screen looks like a tablet taped to the dash, no thanks.

litzdog911

Well, for what it's worth, our 2006 RX400h just passed 150,000 mi and has zero issues. In fact, it's my daughter's car now since we got our 2015 RX400h

jw5334

Congratulations ! What about exterior? By the way, you must mean the new car is a 2015 RX 450H.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I wouldn't own a hybrid past the hybrid 8yr/100K warranty.

litzdog911

Why? .

jw5334

I wonder too. Can Joeb enlighten us by some statistics? "Life expectancy" IS a statistics concept anyway.

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

If a hybrid component part or batteries fail,it can be a very costly repair out of warranty.

litzdog911

Of course that's true. But it's also true of many components on a non-hybrid RX. The hybrid components and batteries have generally been very reliable.

coolsaber

although the drivetrain is robust, at the end of the day you wont find too many repair shops wanting to touch a hybrid like say a regular gasoline version of the RX.

For instance if you have a problem with any of the electrical components of the RXH, you might loose the ability to reverse. Not so much on a bog standard RX.

iginoc

I have bought a 2010 RX450h with 70000 miles betting on Toyota/Lexus reputation of reliability. The only issues are the smell of interiors - I've tried everything, with no success: it has a smell of "old furniture" that I don't like - and the shock absorbers: the ride is harsh, and the front ones have some small leaks. I am thinking about having them overhauled by a specialist (not replaced by the dealer!).

However, during an inspection to the suspensions I have noticed that there are a lot of dampers and joints with rubber parts that look aged, due the time and probably the salt dispersed on the roads in the winter season. Sooner or later I will need to have them replaced... in the meanwhile I have applied a generous helping of lithium grease.

That said, my wondering is that, provided that regular maintenance is done, the Lexus RX 450h life expectance may be extimated in 20 years/200000 miles, before facing the need of a major overhaul (engine/batteries).

jw5334

May I ask what symptom did you have that you decided to replace the wp?

jw5334

I guess the previous owner had harsh driving condition.

Droid13

Over a period of a month it just got quite noisy. It was so gradual I didn't notice it at first, until 1 day I was idling at a red light with the windows down and the engine shutdown and the silent was deafening. I said to myself, "holy crap, I'm driving a diesel". Never leaked or overheated, just got noisy. Replaced it and all was quiet again.

Droid13

Have you tried to clean the vents, could be some mould in the A/C system.