I hope I can snag a deal for this 2012 im looking at as yea it would work just fine for me in my book. Ive been approved for 2 lenders but the payments are pretty high because my credit sucks.

 

I did the switch like a month ago from 2008 RX400h to 2014 RX450h.
The new RX is like completely different car and the driving experience is more "sporty"
Gen3 is with lighter steering wheel and feels much more stable on the road.
The ride quality is more rough, but the feeling from the car is like for a new and luxury car.
So far I am very happy with the switch.

 

If i/we can somehow make a deal happen for the 3rd gen 2012 i have on hold for me; i will be more than satisfied im sure. it will be far better than what i have now; as a couple weeks ago i took my current second gen rx350 to a lexus/toyota other japanese specialist shop to have them see whats up with it as i was getting a very prominent knocking on cold startup and cold acceleration; only to find out its got the start of a very bad rod knock happening. so i know we have to do something sooner than later before my current still drivable second gen rx becomes totally undrivable and unuseable as a trade in.

 

I really don't want to disappoint you for your current car, but I had the same issue on my rx400 and it is using the same engine 3MZ.
It was because of cracked cylinder head, it does not have the symptoms of a one, but that was the issue for 2 friends also.
For testing purposes I can suggest to use one of those addons for the engine coolant.
If adding stops the cracking noise, than you can be sure what is the issue and save money on services.
As for the ride quality I ordered the KYB rear shocks, but they don't have it here, so I am waiting for delivery from US.
I will let you know how the ride compares with those on.

 

as I said the shop I paid to have look at my vehicle already tested it and it’s got a rod knock not a cracked head.

 

Please explain this. How did you do it?

 

To adjust the door, first I measured how much it sticks out. Then I removed the door-lock striker from the door pillar, and I grinded the bolt holes enough to slide it. They are countersunk screws, so it took some work, but now my car looks well put together

 

TEST DRIVE the vehicle with NO music on. Listen with intent for rattling, rattling is a very common issue and there is a HUGE thread on these forums to solve them. If you can pick those up before purchasing the vehicle you can likely have Lexus fix any rattling issues at no cost prior to spending money.

 

Here are the differences I found between Gen 2 and Gen 3. Some of it applies to hybrids.

- Gen 2 hybrid cars electric steering but ICE cars had hydraulic power steering whereas Gen 3 had crappy electric steering - this also means that you have to turkey baster out the fluid once in a while on Gen 2's.

- Gen 2 (late model years) had 18 inch wheels where as Gen 3 had 18's and 19's available. Tire width were the same 235's.

- Gen 2 had softer ride - this is my preference but this varies by person

- Gen 3 does not require timing belt change - cost savings

- Gen 2 uses touch screen. Gen 3 has the dreaded joy stick type mechanism. Let me not get started on that dreaded thing.....

- Gen 2 had issues with water vapor forming inside the headlight lens but Lexus eventually extended the warranty to cover that issue. At least it had HID. Gen 3 has halogen from the 80's when Miami Vice was cool.

- Gen 2 stereo is almost top notch. Levinson sounded really top notch. Gen 3 stereo is just average. Gen 3 Levinson is above average. I know...... I tore mine apart and witnessed the paper cones and tiny magnets.

- Gen 2 had heated seats but no seat ventilation. Gen 3 has seat ventilation. I hate that ventilation fan sticking up at my **** but some people like it. it also has about 190 posts from people complaining about the seat comfort. Gen 2, on the other hand, has some complaints but not nearly as many posts.

- Gen 2 had higher wind noise. Gen 3's wind noise is more manageable.

- Gen 2 had a "b" mode for braking with engine. While Gen 3 had fake manual shifting to control how much you want to brake. (applies to hybrids only)

- Gen 3 has power folding mirrors

- Gen 2's stereo system had no aux input. and no ipod connection ability. I think no USB connection either. It did have a cassette deck. LOL.

- Gen 2 didn't have parking sensors. Gen 3 has them but quite annoying. It did save my butt one time, for the record.

- Gen 3 has blind spot monitoring system which doesn't work very well. It should really be called blind spot plus 10 feet behind monitoring system.

- Gen 2 has an overhead sunglasses holder. Gen 3 has an SOS button there.

- Gen 3 has keyless entry and touch sensitive lock/unlock feature on the front door handles.

- Gen 3 has tire pressure monitoring system but Gen 2 has only the warning system

 

Well either way I definitely want a 3rd with the ventilated seats because around here during the hot desert summer it definitely is a plus to have that.

 

Bear in mind that the ventilated seats feature is essentially a gimmick on these RX vehicles. Those of us who have them realize that they do very little to cool you down during the hot summer months.

 

so ur saying that they dont actually work all that well like one would think they are?

 

also another plus to have on the 3rd gen is the actual tpms instead of just a ltp warning light coming on. I would much rather have it show the actual pressure instead.

 

I have ventilated seats and I use the ventilator sometimes.
It's true that they don't do much, but they do something. When you first get in the car on a hot day, they do very little, but as the whole car cools, the cooling sensation on your back improves.
Believe it or not, but I sometimes use it in the winter too.
In my opinion it's better to have it, than not.
Note: you can hear the fan noise when the ventilator is running.

 

Agreed with all except Gen 3 also have HIDs, except the hi-beams.

Adding to the list, the backup camera on the Gen 3s has no grid lines to guide you. Not sure what the Gen 2s had, if any.

The stereo on my ‘15 ( Mark Levinson ) is a POS and if it didn’t already come included I would have never paid extra for it!

All said and done, it’s a good vehicle but I can’t honestly recommend it because of either my personal preferences or issues I’ve had/have. I might be in the minority here!

GL with your quest though!