Hello,
I have just moved to Saskatoon SK where winter temps sometime go below 40 deg C (with windchill). My RX350 has approx 105k km and could someone please tell me if the RX350 has an engine block heater or heating coils around the cooling system to connect to an AC plug outlet, which is provided in most external parking stalls here to heat up the car engine/oil during winters..
I've been informed that vehicles sold in Northern Canada are all fitted with such arrangements, however I don't see any electrical chord around the front end.
I would appreciate any feedback on this issue.
Tony

 

I suspect you may have to buy your own engine block heater. You can see if Lexus offers one at one of the online OEM parts dealers. Or buy an aftermarket one such as this https://www.etrailer.com/heater-2015_Lexus_RX+350.htm

I have seen some OEM ones on eBay. Search this on eBay "Toyota OEM Engine Block Heater SEE BODY FOR VEHICLE FIT" it says it fits the RX350 looks similar to the etrailer heater

Look at this thread https://www.clublexus.com/forums/rx-...nywhere-2.html

 

Will do, Thank you for the informationTony

 

If your're going to go with the OEM heater you might want to buy it from a dealership.

There was a recall on the things late last/early this year so some third parties, i.e. eBay sellers, may still have some old stock sitting around. I would assume a dealership would have to throw out the parts that are bad.

 

Windchill factor is for living things and not for machines. Just use the actual temp as the factor for fluids and use.

Salim

 

I must agree with Salim that only living-beings will feel the windchill factor. Mind you though that wind speed will accelerate the cool down of a warm engine so parking overnight won't make a difference.
I have never plugged in mine although temperature reaches -30c in Calgary, AB. I'm under the impression that 0W20 full synthetic oil is still able to flow freely at this temperature.
Having said that, my RX350-F Sport comes equipped with one.

Last, please look behind the front grill with a flashlight. Mine was shoved back for cosmetic reasons.

 

Clipped from the RX-350 manual. You should be safe down to ~ -34C (-30F)

 

OK, Thank you for that.
Tony

 

Yes, that's logical. Just repeating the talk around here to convey how cold it gets.
Tony

 

OK will check below the grill, My vehicle has 0W20 synthetic oil and never had a problem in Toronto despite being parked outside in temps reaching -20C (w/out windchill

 

That windchill factor has been the ultimate debate with my friends and it sounds confusing I must say. In the other regions of the world such as South Eastern Asia and the Middle East, they have a similar term called "Heat Index". It's rather the summation of temperature + humidity. Temperature can be 45C but with the massive humidity there it reads 65C which makes it suffocating during the day.

All the best with the relocation.. Sam

 

Hopefully the thread will not become a wether/climate discussion .. i hope this helps:
Say temp is -15C and you hear the weatherperson say windchill will makes it -25C.
If you leave any object out long enough, and measure its temperature, it will be -15C and not -25C. Where the windchill plays a part is how quickly the object will cool. With a lower windchill [assuming you have not insulated it] it will cool quicker.
For humans we have sensors that detect the heat flow [+/-] and when exposed we feel the flow rate based on the environment difference and constant loss/gain and hence the terms wind-chill factor and heat_index_factor.
Salim

 

I had a block heater in my Gen 2 RX since in my previous place, the outdoor temperature is pretty much the temperature in the garage at it had no heated section above like a bedroom. I liked the block heater as it does make for an easier start and faster warm up of the heating core and interior.

My newish place has a bedroom above the garage. Temp in the garage is about 7 degree to as much as 20 degree Celsius warmer (say when it's -30 degrees Celsius overnight) than outdoor temp in the winter. So I didn't add the block heater when I got the 2011 RX. My first world problem in the winter now is that all the snow and slush that the car brings in the garage melts and becomes ice as the water reaches the garage door. Another unfortunate effect is that rusting from all the road salt is accelerated since the garage is above freezing for most of the winter.

The Lexus block heater does not seem excessively expensive as you only need to put it once for the life of the vehicle: https://www.lexus.ca/lexus/en/config...x#/accessories

Let us know what you decide to do.

Btw, I spent two winters in Edmonton and car was parked outside, you definitely need a block heater there.:-)

 

Thanks for that. I'm thinking o contacting the Lexus dealer here and get a quote from them.

 

With synthetic oil, I just don't see the need. I live in Northern Vermont, it routinely gets to -20--30 here, sometimes colder, and I've never seen the need with our 2013....I used block heaters years ago with some large lumbering American car engines, but the world has changed.
At those temps, the only thing I do is refrain from big acceleration for the first mile or two, that's it.