Rx400h Not Up To Specs

[katzjamr]

Nater you have expertly put into words what i have wanted to say to people who complain about thier 400h mpg. Of course short trips and AC account for some of it, after that its driving style. If they cant figure out how to get better mileage with all the feedback this vehicle has available to them, then they shouldnt blame the vehicle, its up to them.

[smalcom]

Maybe I'm crazy, but I didn't buy my 400h for fuel economy. It would be nice if it comes in better than my 2004 RX330, but I liked the idea of the power of a V-8 engine. I always expect a "larger" engine to consume more gasoline. Anything over the 330 is gravy as far as I am concerned. And, oh yes, this one runs on regular gas.

[SW03ES]

Holy ancient threads batman...

[wstr75]

We're happy 400h owners. My wife loves the quietness and the cool factor. I like the gas mileage and technology. I'm happy to be getting 10 mpg better gas mileage than my former 2002 Yukon. I'm also happy to have the fastest car I've ever owned. On an Interstate this baby jumps from 55 to 70 pretty doggoned fast. Stuck in the middle lane behind grandpa and only a have short of window of opportunity opening-up in the left lane? No problem go from 55 to 70 and jump around grandpa in a flash. I wish an ES 350 hybrid was available. I'd be trading our gas sucking (18.5 mpg average) 2002 RL. Recently drove a hybrid Camry and am seriously considering purchasing it with Navigation and leather (that's about the extent of what can be added to a hybrid Camry).

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

I have had my RX for over a week now...driven it about 350 miles. I have found that if you drive the car no more than 65 mph on the highway (and with cruise) or on flat ground with no need to accelerate, you can get good mileage...otherwise, the car, so far, is a bust.

The reason I say this?

I have not seen any numbers above 24 mpg on my car. No matter how gingerly or hard I drive it, I can't get the mpg up...whether I accelerate like a grandma or hit the gas 'briskly', the car's gas motor seems to suck down gas...and it seems to run virtually all the time.

Lexus should be ashamed of this vehicle!

Headless

A relevant thread, SW03ES, is never too old to resurrect.

Hmm ... ( ... 24mpg "no matter how ... hard I drive it". We've gotten as BAD as 22mpg driving ours hard. Anyway the-headless_horseman never said what kind of weather conditions there were, during your mileage tests, or whether a 2wd or AWD. We drive in MT & CA ... thus very hot, to very coldl ... hilly & flat. With 20K miles +, our life time is 25.8mpg. Ours is the AWD version. I think Lexus should be proud of the vehicle & they probably are.

If my wife drives ... the mileage drops, if I drive, I can beat the EPA & have gotten as high as 34.1mpg on a single tank. Yes, you have to drive like a dork, but it IS possible to even beat the EPA ... in any vehicle, for that matter. Good mileage is like slicing roast beef really thin. You gota practice. It doesn't come out great without plenty of trial & error. Don't be so quick to throw in the towel. Many great ball players, for example, would never be great if they went, "WAAHHH !!! I hate this game!!!" ... when at 4 years of age, they first tried to catch a ball and it bounced off their heads.

[Gryphon]

We have two 2007 RX400h's in our family and both are getting around 23-24 mpg in a combination of short-trip and local freeway travel. Perhaps not up to EPA numbers but neither of our vehicles have had their first oil change yet. If the break-in theory is true, our mileages may increase slightly. And, we both enjoy the performance of our cars and do not intend to "baby" them to try and achieve EPA mileage estimates. We find them to be fun, luxurious cars with a decent amount of performance thrown in. Also the technology is just really cool.

FYI, there have been many posts about Lexus's claimed mileage numbers. Neither Lexus nor any other manufacturer "creates" these numbers. They come from very specific testing based on a cycle dictated by the EPA. Blame the government's failure to simulate real-world conditions, or your specific driving conditions, not the manufacturers.

Tom

[RX400h]

We're happy 400h owners. My wife loves the quietness and the cool factor. I like the gas mileage and technology. I'm happy to be getting 10 mpg better gas mileage than my former 2002 Yukon. I'm also happy to have the fastest car I've ever owned. On an Interstate this baby jumps from 55 to 70 pretty doggoned fast. Stuck in the middle lane behind grandpa and only a have short of window of opportunity opening-up in the left lane? No problem go from 55 to 70 and jump around grandpa in a flash. I wish an ES 350 hybrid was available. I'd be trading our gas sucking (18.5 mpg average) 2002 RL. Recently drove a hybrid Camry and am seriously considering purchasing it with Navigation and leather (that's about the extent of what can be added to a hybrid Camry).

...and the hybrid Camry is said to average 36 MPG!!!!! That's amazing!

[wb578]

I've had my '07 RX400h for about a month now. For the first week and 250 miles, my mileage was worse than yours. But after I checked and reset my tire pressures; my mileage immediately went up to 25 Highway / 27 City. The dealer had my tires at 31 PSI (cold). I've reset them to 36 PSI (cold).

I've also learned to coast a bit more and drive smoother. By being less agressive with the gas, I'm now getting 27 Highway and 28 or 29 in the City.

[Still]

My 400h is about two months old now and I'm getting over 30 MPG without even trying. (Well, I do pretty consistently use the engine brake feature when I'm going downhill and I do live in the mountains.)

I love this car (although I just now read the thread on "pulling to the right" and now I'm thinking I may wish to check the alignment.)

Also, will somebody kindly direct me to the snowtires thread? I seem to have completely misplaced it and ol' man winter's on his way to my house! :)

[RX400h]

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=36993

[SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME]

My 400h is about two months old now and I'm getting over 30 MPG without even trying. (Well, I do pretty consistently use the engine brake feature when I'm going downhill and I do live in the mountains.)

I love this car (although I just now read the thread on "pulling to the right" and now I'm thinking I may wish to check the alignment.)

Also, will somebody kindly direct me to the snowtires thread? I seem to have completely misplaced it and ol' man winter's on his way to my house! :)

Still, do a search on the 'B' mode. You'll find that running it above 20mpg actually costs you mpg. Even so ... you're getting 30mpg? Excellent! Wish I could get you to instruct my wife how to 'go easy' as she really knows how to kill our average ... knocking it down to just under 25. But for an AWD that's still not too shabby.