rcomeau

Hi, Sorry you are not happy. I have a 2010 RX450h (just turned 3) and my lifetime average is 9.0. It fluctuates between 8.8 and 9, depending on the season. I live in Montreal and I get lower mileage in the winter. I have done 3 summers and 2.5 winters, so 9,1 is probably more accurate. I do mostly city driving with long hauls to NY and Boston. I think this matches my previous Ford Escape Hybrid and is obviously better in every other respect (quiet, comfort, power etc...).

Hi, Sorry, but as a former Escape Hybrid owner, I have to comment here. A common misconception is that Ford licensed the technology from Toyota. This is not the case. Ford developed their hybrids at the same time, and Ford and Toyota came to an agreement to cross-licenced certain things to avoid unnecessary patent fights. I don't know if the electric ranges are comparable, but Ford also really babies their batteries so they would not have a lot of warranty replacements to do (and no one really knew how the batteries would hold up in real world use). The Escape cabs in NY and San Francisco proved that they held up very well indeed. Some went 500k miles and still had respectable EV capabilities.

As said above, the RX was not designed to go long distance in electric mode. The main benefit of the electric motor is to allow the gas engine (ICE) to shut down as much as possible (coasting, short range level driving) and to use energy re-captured during braking (regen braking). The ICE is still the primary source of acceleration. The electric supplements it but does not replace it. The Volt ias the next generation of the hybrid idea. The gas engine never touches the wheels. It just charges a battery when it is depleted. The Volt has a larger battery and more powerful electric motors. It does not have the same performance of the RX so it is unclear if that approach would be popular enough to be commercially viable at this point. I'd get one, but how many would? Time will tell...

Don't know what the swish sound is, but regarding the emergency brake... It is often called a hand-brake (they still are hand-brake levers in many cars) or more generally parking brakes. They are designed to be used all the time, not just for emergencies. They keep the pressure off the automatic transmission parking pin (does a CVT even have this?) so it is a good idea to use it all the time, not just once and a while. It adds an element of safety to ensure the car does not roll down a hill if you did not engage the transmission into park properly. It is more commonly used in manual transmissions, but still worth keeping the habit up. This also keeps it from sticking. Cheers.

Unfortunately, 2/3 of the Lexus dealers in Montreal are owned by the same company, and the two are pretty far from me. I used to drive 30 minutes in traffic to go to the VW dealer where I bought my car because of the great service. They changed managers at one point and the pace went downhill fast. I always thought it would be best to build a good relationship with the dealer for service, but my experience with that is mixed. I'll keep going to my dealer, but as you suggest, I'll do my homework now and be stricter about what they do for scheduled maintenance. Would have liked to build up some trust, but that does not exist anymore. Thanks.

Hi, On this topic, I'd like to get some general feedback on maintenance costs. My RX450h is now one year old, and while I am very happy with the rig, I am not so sure about my dealer where I get the service done. First, I feel that it is expensive. They always seem to have a long list of things to do for each scheduled visit. Inspections, clean this, check that. I never seem to get a bill less than $500 for what started out as a scheduled maintenance. Also, they are a bit sloppy. They NEVER change the oil change reminder sticker on the windshield and made a sloppy mistake of getting overspray on my fender when I had the front bumper repainted. They buffed it out, but I would expect better from a premium service centre. Is the cost just part of being the owner of a premium car? I had a Ford Escape Hybrid and found the service at my Ford dealer worse, but neither the Ford or Lexus dealer match the VW dealer I dealt with 10 years ado when I had a GTI. Cheers!

Hi, Thanks for the reply. The Bluetooth part works quite well (have to re-discover a few times a year) and have no complaints. The phone is also essentially an iPod so I can also connect it via the USB connector to the audio system. Thats where the issue is. Technically, the iPhone 4 is not a supported iPod, however for a long time, the only problem I had was the occasional message on the phone saying it was not connected to a supported device. After a recent iPhone update, the iPod functionality stopped working altogether. I was hoping someone with a newer 2010 or 2011 RX would have tried connecting and would be able to report results, particularly since the software was updated mid year last year which solved some of the issues. You would think that they would automatically apply the software revision rather than ask me to pay $200+ for it after just one year with the car. As I said, my dealer is ok at service, but not stellar. I don't think asking them anything technical will get a straight answer. They seem good at making an oil change become a $500 extravaganza of preventative maintenance and whatnot, but they can't be bothered to even replace the oil change reminder sticker on the windshield (a pet peeve of mine), let alone know about nav software versions and upgrades. Cheers, Roch

Hi, This has been discussed before to some degree, but not quite resolved. Anyone with an early 2010 RX45h knows that support for the iPhone is lacking at best. At first, when I plugged it in, I got the "unsupported device" message on the phone, but was still able to play music on it, but the menus did not work well (when scrolling, it selected the song at the top of the list and played it immediately, making scrolling impossible). After one of my iPhone software updates, the phone stopped working at all (the USB option stays dimmed out). In some of the previous messages, it came out that there was a software update that was applied at the factory that solved the scrolling problem. I asked my dealer to look into the update, and while it addresses problems, they have to order a USB and will charge me $200+ to get and install it. Before I decide whether or not I want to go ahead, I'd appreciate if some someone can answer the following: 1: Can anyone conform that they have the iPhone working properly on their audio system? 2: Were there any other improvements to the nav/audio software in the 2011 model, and if so, is the hardware in my 2010 model able to use this latest software? I'd ask my dealer, but I honestly don't think they have a clue about any of this, and will say yes if they think I'll pony up the money for the upgrade. Thanks, Roch

Cool. I thought if it was that then I'd see the OIL or one of the other items hilighted. They have a strange definition of REQUIRED... thanks The oil light usually means that the oil pressure is critically low (e.g. leak or burning it off), which is different than a pre-set time or mileage having been reached. I think the conventional wisdom is: Maintenance light goes on, you make an appointment when convenient. Oil light goes on, you pull over right away (ASAP) and get some oil in the crank case before driving again because you may be damaging the engine. Cheers.

Did they charge for the firmware upgrade, or was it considered a warranty issue? Mine stopped working altogether since the last iPhone software update. Does yours still work? Thanks

Hi, This is an extension to a couple of posts about the iPhone incompatibility issues. Has anyone tried the new iPod Nano? While I'd rather have the phone work (it now refuses to play at all since the latest iPhone update ), I would get a nano just for the music otherwise. Thanks!

I sometimes play music by connecting my iPhone 4. It works, but I get an "unsupported device" message on the iPhone when I plug it in, and the last time I used it, the sound quality was poor (lots of distortion). Not sure why since the USB is a digital interface. By the way, i don't think the volume on the iPod makes a difference either when using the USB for the same reason. The iPod is basically an external disk at this point. Plugging through the headphone jack is a different story as this is an analog output controlled by the iPod. The car becomes an elaborate set of headphones. Let us know if youmget it working. The iPod support is definitely poor on the RX.

Yes, I get the same thing unfortunately. I found that if you scroll real fast, you can get through a few pages without the song starting. One of the problems is that when it plays the new song, it sometimes returns to the currently playing song screen, so you have to go back and pay with the menus to get tot he selection pages again. Crappy, crapy interface. It should be noted that when I plug in my iPhone, I usually get a message that the device is unsupported. One glaring flaw in an otherwise nice ride.

Hi, I've had mine for 3 months and no issues other than the bumper not being immune to being scratched when backed into by another car At about 14,000km, averaging 9.1L/100km with a combination of long trips and lots of really short trips (5km commute). This is consistent with my previous Ford Escape Hybrid and better than the Golf GTI VR6 before that. Handles ok (not a sports car) and I really appreciate the nicer features (compared to the FEH). More power, very quiet (I forgot how nice that was to have a quiet drive) and the cooled seats are welcome these days. No regrets at all.

Hi, You should see the brown defroster stripes under where the wipers park. I have them although could not find how to turn them in until after winter. I assumed it went on with the rear defogger, but later found it was part of the climate controls on the computer. Nor at all intuitive. Look forward to using it next winter. Rcomeau