My wife drove her 00 RX in the fog the other day and turned on the headlights in the manual mode. When she stopped the car and took the key out, there was no verbal warning that the headlights were on (just the little indicator light on the dash). Is this the way the car is supposed to work or is it a malfunction?

I know that the headlights go out if the door is locked with the remote, but it would still be very easy to leave the headlights on.

Thanks,

 

The headlights should turn off if left on in manual mode like in automatic mode.

 

Hmmm, once I turn of my '02 RX , my headlights turn off in
30 seconds regardless of the doorlocks. The only time the
lights haven't turned off was when a door was ajar. It may
be possible for Lexus service to set a warning tone for your
lights in the C-Best ("Customized Body Electronics" System)
settings.

Check out the RX 300 FAQ posted at the top of the RX 300
forum. The C-Best thread is near the end of that post.

 

I have left them in the manual mode on my 99, and they did not turn off. Luckily, I was only in the store for five minutes.

 

Hmm,
The system is connected to the door sensors. When you open the driver's door, does the "door open" light always turn on? I heard that the RX's sometimes suffer from door sensors that work intermetently. If that's the case with your RX, the lights would never turn off because the car would never know that you opened the door.
If your sensors work fine, disconnect the battery for 20 minutes or so to clear your computer. This will reset the system and many glitches will go away as the system re-learns.
Gotta love Lexus, The car that fixes itself.