kitlz

Thanks BertL. Now you're adding to the list by comparing the 'brake assist' feature and the parking brake on your SLK to the RX, LOL! Let's hope Lexus gets there or maybe exceeds it somehow one day.

Bottom line, this is a very subjective thread. We're all free to voice our opinions. But I have to ask that we keep the posts respectful.

STB63

Used the 'Hill Assist' feature today for the first time at a road construction site stop. Works like a charm. I'm a newbie here and IMHO, you are a clear, succinct and full of humour as a whole group. Glad to have found you. Agree with the no sunglasses holder gripe. I have an 11 made in Japan(vin starts with 'J'
with 14k miles. It may well have been discussed elsewhere on this site, but I'm annoyed that there is not a full sized spare tire. It may seem like a jolly good idea to hide a donut under the rear mat but gosh, I cant imagine driving on it for any length of time or veracity. Maybe thats what the SOS button (yes, I purchased the subscription and thoughts on using it anyone)?
[Edit: just found the spare tire thread]

One last annoyance and I promise to hold back, my park assist feature has a squarish tab to the left and right of the front license plate which I thought was part of my Park Assist feature. When I went to the local Portland Lexus dealer, the seemingly proficient and seasoned service rep who looked at the car said there aren't sensors there and its functioning as designed. Is this true? It seems odd th the'tabs' would be there but non functional. Your experience and expertise would be much appreciated.

BertL

STB63, Were sort of getting off-track from this original thread, but here goes on your questions:

Those are the covers for where the emergency towing eyelets can be installed. (Eyelets themselves are stored back with your spare and toolkit.) All vehicles have these -- some more visible than not. See p850+ HERE. The covers have nothing to do with Park Assist. On the exterior of your RX, you'll only see Park Assist by the little raised buttons about the size of a quarter along the front and back bumper. I'll let you find the page and diagrams of that in the manual if you like.

...on SOS, there are other threads with comments from those that do and don't like it. I'm of the camp that pays for it, more for the automatic ability of my RX to "call in" should I be in an accident and I'm unable to do so myself since I ride solo much of the time. As you determined, it has the nice side benefit of roadside assistance should you need it and not want to put that spare on yourself.

K1200ltc

Now that it is pitch black when I get home from work I hate fumbling for the opener button. There is a little down light led in the vacinity but it doesn't help me locate the button. More often than not i hit the map light button.

I´m just thinking that I might do a little exploring in the overhead bin to see if there isn't some way to illuminate these a bit.

elba123

2013 RX350: If I leave the headlights on (last position), it does not switch itself off after some time. Even in my 11 year old Dodge Caravan, that technology existed in order to prevent battery discharge if you forget and leave the lights on for an extended time.

According to section 2-3 of the owner's manual, if the headlight switch is in the auto position, it will switch itself off in 30 or 60 seconds (customizable setting). I went through section 6 of the manual (customizations) also to see if the headlight can be made to switch off automatically.

Mostly, I drive with auto-setting. But I do occasionally drive with full lights turned on manually in broad daylight in hilly areas or where there is no central concrete divider. I turn it on manually because the auto-sensor will not work in daylight and during the day, it is very easy to forget to switch off the lights when you reach the destination. Of course, when you switch off the ignition, there is a warning beep.

But that is not sufficient in my opinion. Definitely an annoyance.

Mors

That's disappointing to hear. I believe my 2002 RX lights will turn off even when in the "ON" mode. Most every time I take my car in for service, it never fails that they change the lights to ON or OFF and it takes me a few days to notice it.
On another note, it looks like Lexus did change the behavior in the 2013 RX when the headlights are in the ON position. Supposedly, the battery-save feature kicks in and should turn the lights off after 30 minutes to save the auxiliary battery. Other users have mentioned the lights will turn off if you press the lock button twice. Do you know if either of these things are true?

elba123

I did not know that. I usually use the groove on the handle to lock. To be honest, my test to see whether the lights switched off was done without locking the car while doing the same test with my van. Also, I didn't wait 30 minutes. It is reassuring to know that a 30 minutes cut off exists.

BertL

Correct on the first assumption. Battery Saving feature is one of the 2013 improvements -- my post HERE under lighting is an extract from TIS of that change. ...and yes, if I press the lock button twice, the lights go out sooner.

On your second point, I just tried this on my US 2013 with LEDs: If I have the headlights in Auto, they stay on until the expiration time OR if I hit the lock button twice, they go out sooner. If I have the headlights in ON, they stay on regardless of my touching the door handle and/or double click of the lock button (until, I assume, the battery saving feature shuts them off). IMHO, that works just fine for me. I appreciate some may find it agitating that the vehicle leaves the lights ON when the driver tells it to, but IMHO, there would be other owners that would debate or be upset if it had more of a mind of it's own and shut them off when ON similar to how Auto operates (e.g. people using headlights while camping or whatever creative thing they may come up with). Any mfgr can never quite win with how they design things like this I suspect for 100% of the potential owners, but I suspect most won't complain with the battery saving feature they've implemented on the 3rd gen refresh.

MDames2

iTrader: (1)

I don't see any need to put the lights on manually. During the day the daytime running lights give you the visibility you need to be seen by others. Just leave the setting on auto and you will have no issues.

BertL

I very much agree. I keep my headlights in Auto 99% of the time. The only time they go ON is when it's raining, but light enough they don't come on -- and I remember to then turn them back to Auto before getting out.

Mors

Thanks for clarifying. I agree with you, and it's probably why Lexus changed the behavior. There are people out there that want the headlights to stay on for awhile (very useful in my opinion). Adding the 30 minute timeout seems like an improvement to me.

dmccombs

I've tested this feature a couple of times (accidentally), and found that the lights always go off automatically once the battery has died.

raylor4

Vlad,
My dealer said the seat belt chime is a state or federal regulation, and therefore would not disable it.
I figured out how to do it on my '11 RX350. I started a thread today.
Ray

coachlkg

ROTFL!

vlad_a

Thanks, I have seen your post. Sweet find! I had dealer provide me instructions on a Subaru, so that I would perform the change myself, but had no issues having it customized with a Prius. It probably depends on the dealer.
Of course, there's always an old-school option of yanking the connector from the seat belt buckle.
I love it when I get into my IS, it has no nannies to nag me, so I can go between parking spots without wearing a seatbelt.