Hi, New to this site, hoping you can help. Love the RX, kids love it, very comfortable, been driving 400h many years but as its dated now tried the 450. In fact tried many 450s both 09 new model and facelifted 13 model, both give me massive headaches when get in. Something in the 450s thats not in the 400s. Poss flame retardant, leather i dont really know. I could change brand but want to stay with lexus if poss. Any ideas or thoughts greatly welcome. Chris

 

I'd look into a class action, if I were you.

 

We recently replaced our 2006 RX400h with a 2015 RX450h. No headaches here!

 

Hi, Thks for replies, what do you mean by class action?

 

The car is making you ill--you should sue. And if it's happening to you, there must be others similarly situated. You could all band together and start a class action lawsuit.

 

tex2670, Chris is in the UK. Their laws are probably quite different than ours. And usually lemon law is the first route to take, not a class action suit.

Chris, sorry to hear about the issue you're having. How long have you had your 450h? When did the headaches start? Immediately? Within a few days, weeks or months? Did the dealer apply any interior protectants, for example to the seats or carpet? Is the dealer aware of the issue? I would start there first as customer satisfaction is their goal. Good luck and keep us posted.

 

Thanks for posts. Yes in Uk so sueing more difficult. Also think it prob with me rather than car. Tried asking question to dealership where they always polite but am sure must think im mad as they have never heard. I only need to be in a 450h for 5 minutes and headaches began. Just a theory but have heard that due to common prob of drained battery in 400h they introduced a bigger stronger battery which emits more EMF. Someone else mentioned it but i dismissed but maybe they have a point. Also find whole thing embarassing.

 

^ is anyone in your family/ passenger experiencing the same symptoms?
that's important, there maybe a spilled chemical somewhere in the trunk or under neath the seat.


We had a patient who complains the same thing, like yours.
have seen a lot of doctors and was diagnosed with migraine to possible seizure disorder..
they did a lot of test, from CT Scan to EMG and one even suggested a spinal tap to rule out infection.


Long story short, the culprit was the " oxyclean" mixed with some laudry detergent that spilled on her carpets.

 

Chris, Do you own a 450h yet or just test driving gets you headaches?

I understand your concern. I had a new 1980 Buick and I would get headaches after being in it for 5 minutes. It had an odor from the fabric interior that only I could smell. My wife who is very sensitive had no issues with it. I had to get rid of the car.

 

Chris, I read a few articles about EMF radiation. Probably the two most talked about ones are from The New York Times and The Huffington Post. But they are not conclusive and have evoked criticism for their accuracy. So the jury is still out. EMF radiation can be measured. A simpler test for you would be to ride in other hybrid vehicles to see if you experience the same symptoms. Hopefully your dealer will oblige with this experiment. And don't be embarrassed. We're here to help, not judge.

 

I did a lot of work with regard to EMF back in the late 80's and 90's when the issue first came up. The concerns at that time were with regard to high voltage power lines and close proximity to AC things like electric blankets. The issues were not headaches but concerns for long term exposure and the correlation to certain types of childhood cancers. Subsequently, much larger studies did not find the same correlation. I have not kept up with the issue since I retired in 2006, but I do not recall seeing anything on the news about it. The emphasis has seemed to shift to other forms of nonionizing radiation like cell phones.

The larger battery mentioned is a DC device.

 

Many thanks for excellent advice and support. I will explore maybe contacting dealership and asking to sit in more 450h`s to see if any are ok. It maybe a chemical/material used in some and not other.sThanks also Kitiz, I do feel embrarassed about whole thing but your willingness to take seriously was reassuring. Chris

 

If it is something you're breathing, one easy way to tell, let the vehicle sit with all the windows open for a while, then go for a drive with all the windows open and the fan off. There would be so much fresh air that it would mostly eliminate the chance of it being a vapour from the interior.

If that works ok, next step would be to drive with the windows closed and the fan on high with the air recirc in fresh air mode to see if just getting lots of fresh air even through the vents is helpful.

If this doesn't make a difference, then perhaps it is some imperceptible sound the vehicle is making (I would tend to think this more likely that EM waves. The electric motors can emit a rather high frequency sound that most people can barely, if at all, hear. Test this simply by sitting in the vehicle with it off and the windows closed. If ok, try driving with ear plugs (just as a test, somewhere safe).

I really haven't bought into the whole allergy to EM waves thing. Around here some schools have removed WiFi systems because 1/2 the kids complain about feeling ill mostly because their parents have whipped up a frenzy about it, but they are perfectly fine walking home passing about 100 WiFi home systems and no problem using their phones, remotes, Xbox controllers all emitting similar frequencies.

 

Appreciate post Droid, I will try as you suggest and let you know outcome. I am not convinced by EM argument also but felt like i was running out of options. Thanks again, Chris

 

Chris,
I was curious if you ever found a solution to your headache problem ?
Gampa