I know people have started this topic already, but the info provided were not complete and a lot of things were not factor in. Perhaps there are some new info people would like to share regarding their MPG.

Please share the following (RX400h/RX350/RX330):

Year:
Make:
MPG:
Location:
Current Temp:
% City Driving:
% Highway Driving:
Average MPH:
Gas Type:
AWD/FWD:



Here is mine:

2008 RX400h
MPG: 25.2
Location: Minnesota
Temp: 35-45 F
% City: 20%
% Highway: 80%
Average MPH: 55-60MPH
Gas: 91
AWD

By the way, does anyone know the speed you need to drive in order to consider city driving?

Year:'08
MPG:26.5
Location:S. Florida
Current Temp:65-80
% City Driving:60
% Highway Driving:40
Average MPH:55


The speed you need to drive in order to consider city driving? I would say it's 0-45.

Morning,
City driving is that which is not freeway driving. In other words, you're driving a road with no stop signs or control lights. Sure there's grey area ... for example near our Montana home you can drive for 20 or more miles on a narrow divided road with no lights or stop signs, but you get the idea. Basicly, under 50ish makes it city driving too, but it's not like there's an official book or something.

Your survey ought to include 2 more elements:

1) WHO'S driving, because there's a 6 mile difference between my spouse (who drives it the most) and I. She's doing better ... getting up to 26mpg, but, making a game out of it, I can get over 31mpg. I'd love to have the time to hypermile an entire tank, just to see what I could get. With practice, in our Prius, I've gotten over 700 miles on a single tank of gas, ie; less than 10 gallons of gas:

Click to view attachment

But that's with NO freeway driving, just surface streets. Pulse & gliding? I'm thinking you could get between 35-40mph. I'm guessing if I had the time, personally I could possible get over 38mpg, with the AWD version driving the same technique. Freeway / city mix though between my wife and I, 26 versus 31 is what we get.

2) Factor FWD or AWD: I think those of us that have the (quasi) AWD version get maybe a mile or 2 less per gallon.

2006.
Octane 90
CA sometimes & MT sometimes.
This time of year, 38 - 45 degrees in the morning MT, versus 55 degrees CA
Some will say, "JUST DRIVE IT !! " but heck, it it's safe and fun to do, go ahead & have fun with it. Enjoy!

Wow! Thanks for your extended analysis, I guess you must be a big fan to Toyota & Hybrid to own both the RX400h and the Prius.

You are absolutely right about who driving the vehicle. My father likes to accelerate the gas hard, while I like to jerk it just enough so it can slide with just using the battery power (although it's still REALLY COLD here in MN, so the gas engine fires up ALL THE TIME).

I'm having an AWD, it's so helpful here in MN because of the snow.

One thing I forgot to add in, what type of gas are you using? (91, 89, 87).

Btw, do you use the Prius mostly for highway or city driving? I commute 70 miles round trip per day to work (80% highway). I wonder if I should get the Prius or just a Camry 4 Cycl since I use freeway a lot.

Year:'08
MPG:26.5
Location:S. Florida
Current Temp:65-80
% City Driving:60
% Highway Driving:40
Average MPH:55
Gas: 89

The Prius is about 50-50 city highway, most of the time with a car pool person.
By the way, for Cold weather driving? Get yourself an Electric Block Heater (EBH), you'll never regret it. The EBH install isn't so complicated that you can't do it yourself, with limited tools & mechanicle skills. If you have decent skills you can knock it out in less than 2 hours. They'll REALLY boost your mpg's in the winter, especially on short trips, like when your average trips are under 10-15 minutes. Plus, the EBH will let your cabin heater come on extra quick as an added benefit. Nice on those sub ZERO days!! They're only $70 or so from Toyota (interchangeable with the Hy-Hi SUV) Dealer, and on line maybe a little less. Put it on a timer for maybe 90 minutes before your trip starts & you're good to go.
Enjoy

Thanks for the tip about the EBH, it's the first time I ever heard about it. Is it only for hybrid vehicle or any vehicle is fine? How much better MPG does it gives (approximately). I usually take long trip, 30+ miles, and try to avoid short trip as much as I can during the winter. And what do you say about a timer? You mean I have to warm it up before using the car? I'm confused. Do I have to take it off during the summer so it won't over heat the engine?

Anyway, I driving around 70 miles per day to work, 5 days a week = 350, plus grocery shopping and church on weekend. I can easily put in 400 miles per week. That's almost 21K per year. I thought it was a waste putting a $50K vehicle in such wear and tear, so I'm looking at a more fuel efficient car just for work and enjoy this bad boy on the weekend.

Here is the EPA definition of City and Highway driving- http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml
It is interesting to see the added test conditions to make the test results more real world.

Yes, they make EBH's for most cars. No you don't warm up the timer ... the EBH warms up your engine. You plug the EBH into a 100v outlet to warm up the engine before you travel. You don't need to waste electricity by leaving the EBH on all night. You only need to run 'em for maybe 90 minutes before you leave in the morning ... maybe 2hrs at the most. Well the timer is just what we use, to turn the EBH on. So in stead of plugging the EBH into an extension cord, we plug it in, the following night, on a timer ... so the timer turns the EBH on atl 2:30am. I leave at 4am. The timer comes on at 2:30am and shuts off at 4am right before I leave. It's the same kind of timer that folks use to turn Xmas lights on in the evening. Makes the process automatic. Xmas Lights come on automaticly at 7pm and turn off at maybe 10pm ... get it? So the timer is just for convenience. You don't have to use a timer. Pluging into a timer just means I don't have to wake up at 2:30am just to plug the EBH into the outlet. Sorry for the confusion.

Just to play the devils advocate.

Most engine block heaters probably use about 1000-1200 watts+ of electricity. I haven't done the actual math, but the cost of running a high wattage electric heating element for 1 1/2 - 2 hours just to allow the car engine to heat up a few minutes faster, probably doesn't save any money. The electricity rates are very high where I live so I suspect that this is is quite cost ineffective.

You might be right about that jrober, the electricity where I live is through the roof. Plus, I usually warm my car 2-3 minutes before driving during the winter months while putting on my shoes and jacket, so there is no need of this device if it requires 90 minutes to warming up.

But someone'selsetookmyname may be correct if another purpose of the device was ALSO to keep the engine from getting cold while driving, then it might be cost effective. (FYI: Here in MN, when the engine warmed up, it doesn't stay warm automatically, it needs a lot more fuel just to maintain at the right temp because it is FRIGID cold here, SAD!)

I thought we are supposed to only report some basic info about individual 400h in this thread?

That's the beauty of being in the position of being the OP'er . . . you can take it wherever you want, and ilovelexus2000 DID ask the questions

That being said, and being that the topic is mpg, & it's variables, many who live in cold winter areas swear on the benefits of EBH's ... one of which is better mpg's weighed against the roughly $2.50 year average electricity cost that it takes to run 'em for 90 minutes in the morning (your cost / area may vary). What we did, was average our mpg per week before and after installation. Even when gas was "only" $2.50 ... we were saving about $2 a week, which meant the dang thing paid for itself in less than a year. But that was based off our average (15 minute) trip ... your trips may vary. Your EBH will vary to, some are over 1K watts, some are as little as 750 watts, so that's another variable.

Even if the EBH would't save us gas (which wasn't our purpose in buying it) the heater reving up much quicker was our goal. Heck, some folks simply use 'em just as added protection to protect freeze plugs from blowing out on super frigid days. That said, our area in the Flathead Valley MT has about 15% cheeper than the national average electricity, so again, your results may vary. No, I'm not an EBH salesman, but I do enjoy it when a plan works ... and for us ... this time ... it did. That helps balance out the plans that go south

Thanks someoneelsetookmyname for the detailed answers. And YES! The whole purpose of this forum is to not only discuss about Lexus cars, but also the experience from the owners and tips and knowledge that we can share to each others to maximize the profit of how to best handling the vehicle and our enjoyment. (No disrecpect to 08RX400h).

Btw, do any of you ever considered purchasing a used RX400h before bought it brand new? I heard the vehicle depreciate as much as 20% during its first year. Is that true?

Wow! That per centage hits it right on the head. In '06 we bought ours used for $42K (In Amish PA where we bought it, that was a great price'cuz there aint a big demand for 400h's in that area) though 10 months earlier (early lease return) it sold new for $52K with our option package. That's 20%.

52K is the MSRP correct? You did not factor in the usual 3-4K discount when buying new? (maybe less than 3-4K in some area). But what was your milage at that time? When did you buy the 2006 RX400h?

I was offer a 2007 RX400h at 30,000 miles on Nov. 2007 for $39,000. The MSRP was around $50,500. I refused to buy. I wonder if I passed out a good deal.

Just returned from a 420 mile same day round trip between Chicago and Springfield, IL. Light winds, flat terrain, new Bridgestone Alenzas. Usual MPG 22 in the winter and about 26 in the summer. Cruise Control on most of the time. Drove at 67mph. MPG stable. At 70mph the MPG started creeping down. A perfect test bed. The EPA tests were based on highway driving below 60mph.

Year:2006
Make:400h
MPG:36000
Location:Chicago to Springfield RT
Current Temp: 50
% City Driving:1%
% Highway Driving:99%
Average MPH:25
Gas Type:93
AWD/FWD:AWD

We got our '06 IN '06 with just under 10K miles on it, and there WERE no deals on new ... you either paid or walked

That was a very good deal you got there, under 10K and save 10G. So the offer I received 2007 RX400h, 30K for $39G (MSRP $50.5G) was a bad one.

Anybody has any idea how big of a factor mileage plays in determine a vehicle price?

Just an update on MPG:

It's start to get warm here in MN (finally), the temp in last week was about 60-75F.

My new MPG went up to a new height (since I bought the RX400h in January 08).

MPG: 28.73
Gas: 89
City: 20%
Hwy: 80%
Average Speed: 60MPH

Obviously, I was very light on my foot and carefully monitor the odometer to adjust the best driving style, but still very impressive for an AWD SUV.
Hopefully, I will get higher MPG as the summer progresses.

Year: '08
Make: RX 400H
MPG: 23
Location: Hawaii (oahu)
Current Temp: 72 F
% City Driving: 70
% Highway Driving: 30
Average MPH: 35-40
Gas Type: all 3 with No change in the MPG or Performance that I could see
AWD/FWD: Front Wheel Drive


A note on my horrid mileage. I live on top of a Mountain. Coming home my mileage drops every time. When leaving the house the car gets warm about the time I get to the bottom of the Mountain.

I have a 2006 400H and decided to start running 89 octane gas because it was not that much more than 87 octane and thought it would improve my mileage. Well for some reason I am getting worse mileage , from 25mpg to 22mpg, I have ran about 10 tank fulls including 500 mile trips and town driving. Bought the car new and have 25,000 miles on it now.

J Wes, I don't think the different kind of gasoline grade effects the MPG, higher octane is only for better performance. You said you switched from 87 to 89 or 91/92 to 89? Where I live, 89 and 87 are the same price at some stations, so I get 89.

Also, anybody knows about Top Tier gasoline? I've just learned it recently and I thought it was good info to know, especially those who have luxury cars.

It may have been the cooler spring temps we just came out of, rather than the octane. Many here (me included) report that supreme gives enough mpg boost to outweigh the cost.

Year: 2006
Make: Rx400h
MPG: 30 - 32
Location: Boston suburban
Current Temp: 75
% City Driving: 80
% Highway Driving: 20
Average MPH: 30
Gas Type: 87
AWD/FWD: AWD

I get over 30mpg consistently in warm weather, including highway at 55 - 60. In winter, I'm lucky to get 25.

2008 RX400h AWD
MPG 21.9
Location Las Vegas, NV
Current temp: 102
85% city
Average MPH - 55
Gas : 91

In the cooler months I got about 22.3. The absolute best I can do now that I'm frequently using the air conditioner is 21.9.

How are you guys getting such great mileage out of this vehicle???

Hi gryphix,
The greatest MPG killer is short trips ... those short trips will kill more than a lead foot on the accelerator. The lead foot is simply a learned habbit that can get corrected. But the ICE simply is NOT as efficient as when it's up to operating temperature. You'd be lucky to average even 25mpg if a moderate portion of your trips are under 5 miles. That said, Toyota does sell an electric block heater (ebh) that makes a big difference for us on BOTH our hybrids. Example: Without block heater on our prius, our 1st five minutes will average about 20mpg. WITH the ebh, the 1st five minutes go up to 50mpg. Similarly on the 400h, the first 5 minutes w/out the ebh, it will get 14mpg. Using the EBH gets the 400h's first 5 minutes up to 29mph or more. This helps even in the summer ... much less the winter. And when I do the math, the 65 or 75 minutes of electricity (we use a timer to energize the extension cord) to warm the block is less costly then the gas we'd have used.

Better mpg's don't come naturally, either. It takes effort & practice.
Good luck!

FYI, I stumbled upon this GREAT install guide for the EBH. It looks fairly easy and straight forward:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/wiki/index.php/...on_Instructions

MY only problem is my RX is parked outdoors with no easy access to a power source. But I might
just be tempted to run an extension cord for it.

I am surprised it makes that much difference even in summer weather. I would think the catalyst
would take as much time to get up to temp as the coolant. Guess that is not so.

From a post:
-----------------------------------------------------------
And it IS a Toyota part, from Toyota of Canada. Have your dealer check at Toyota Associated Products.
You can view the parts online, but you have to be a dealer to order from them.
It's Pyroil Engine Heater 644, SKU: 001130021300644
-----------------------------------------------------------



/Steve

Year: 2008
Make: Rx400H
MPG: 28.3
Location: Los Angeles
Current Temp: 70 F
% City Driving: 70%
% Highway Driving: 30%
Average MPH: 45
Gas Type: switch between plus and premium every tank stop
AWD/FWD: AWD

Have you noticed your hybrid(Toyota) making unusual sounds after it is parked. Guess what! The Toyota Hybrid system has a thermos storage system that pumps hot antifreeze into an insulated (Thermos style) storage tank that keeps the fluid hot for up to 8 hours. When you restart your Hybrid, say maybe 2 hours later the pump pumps the hot antifreeze back into the radiator so you have almost instant warm up of the gas engine. I guess a block heater would help for an overnight park but short (under 4 hours) of parking probably wouldn't need a heater.

Luke

According to:

http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/lexus-announces.html

The RX450h uses exhaust heat instead of coolant storage.

The exhaust heat recovery system used in the RX 450h is simpler and less expensive to construct than the coolant heat storage system (CHSS) uses on Toyota’s current Prius, which employs a stainless-steel 3-liter coolant heat storage tank, two electric coolant pumps, and a motorized coolant valve assembly to carry out similar functions.

Year: 2010
Model: RX450h
MPG: 28.4
Location: California
Current Temp: 50-80 F
% City Driving: 30%
% Highway Driving: 70%
Average MPH: 37
Gas Type: 91
AWD/FWD: AWD

I've gotten as much as 36 mpg when I drive carefully in mixed highway and urban traffic. I'm pretty sure I could get over 40 on country roads if I drove under 40 mph and there weren't many hills.

[quote name='skycaptain' date='Oct 11 2009, 11:31 AM' post='389461']
Have you noticed your hybrid(Toyota) making unusual sounds after it is parked. Guess what! The Toyota Hybrid system has a thermos storage system that pumps hot antifreeze into an insulated (Thermos style) storage tank that keeps the fluid hot for up to 8 hours. When you restart your Hybrid, say maybe 2 hours later the pump pumps the hot antifreeze back into the radiator so you have almost instant warm up of the gas engine. I guess a block heater would help for an overnight park but short (under 4 hours) of parking probably wouldn't need a heater.

Luke



The RX400h doesn't have anything like this. The Prius has this (I think).

The RX450h does have some sort of new exhaust heat recovery system or something as someone already mentioned.

Year: 2006
Make: RX 400h
MPG: 25.3
Location: Northern Italy
Current Temp: 70 F
% City Driving: 70
% Highway Driving: 30
Average MPH: 40-50
Gas Type: 98
AWD/FWD: FWD

The only explanation for a drop in mileage when you switch from 87 to 89 octane is perhaps the 87 is pure gasoline and the 89 octane is 10% ethanol. Ethanol is an octane booster and may appear in higher octane fuels as a result.