Toyota's been actively pursuing market segments for a long time, and the Lexus brand itself is a perfect example of that. Established in 1989, Lexus was Toyota's solution to the age-old problem of transitioning from economy car roots upmarket to more rarefied dollars. The RX compact luxury crossover SUV might seem like a slightly odd fit for a company that made its name selling compact and mid-sized luxury cars, but it's really just another example of Toyota finding a ripe marketplace niche and sliding smartly into it.
Unscrew and remove the nut on the base of the antenna on the outside of the car.
Have a friend turn on the radio, which will force the antenna to extend. Remove the antenna from the body of the car by pulling up on the antenna as it is extending. Be sure that the outer grounding/retaining sleeve at the bottom of the antenna has been removed with the antenna. If the antenna is stuck, attach a vice to the bottom of the antenna and pull the antenna out. It may be necessary to exert a great deal of force to remove the antenna, as the outer grounding/retaining sleeve has likely bonded to the antenna tube.
Visually inspect the new and old antennas, ensuring that the new antenna is the exact same as the old antenna. If the white cables at the bottom of the two antennas are not the same length, then the cable more than likely has broken off inside of the power unit. To access the power unit, remove the interior panel on the side of the antenna by removing the the seven black, plastic fasteners on top of the wheel well with a trim panel tool or screwdriver.
Remove the two 10 mm nuts at the bottom on the antenna base to remove the power assembly. Open the power assembly by removing the six Phillips head screws. Once the power assembly is open, you can remove the broken cable. Once the cable is removed, reassemble and reinstall the power assembly and replace the cargo net hooks, wheel well cover and interior panel.
Insert the new antenna into the antenna tube with the teeth on the cable facing the front of the car. Have a friend turn the radio off and guide the antenna into place. If the antenna does not fully retract, turn the radio back on to raise the antenna and off again to lower it. Repeat this step until the antenna is aligned properly
Replace the nut that was located at the base of the antenna to complete the installation.
