400h Instruments (gauges)

[uthorns1976]

Wouldn't another gauge or gauges have been more useful than the Kw gauge in the 400h?

[RX400h]

Wouldn't another gauge or gauges have been more useful than the Kw gauge in the 400h?

←

Yes, the KW gage is like a boost gage in super or turbo-charged vehicles. I can think of a few that would be more useful - battery voltage, oil pressure, oil temperature, etc.

[markatty]

I kind of like seeing the Kw used, but find the Kw generated portion of the gauge pretty poor. First you get little indication of how much electricity you are generating. Not until up to five minutes later when the consumption graph shows the electricity boxes do you know and then it is often hard to remember what you did to generate the boxes.

Also I think the guage should have some indication as to when the wheel braking kicks in. Often I can see a red light from a distance, so apply the brakes lightly to get regenerative braking. The harder you press the more regenerative braking, but at some point the wheel brakes kick-in and now I'm riding the brakes, which I think is going to lead to over-heating and premature brake wear. (It would be ironic if gas savings were eaten up by prematurely having to replace the brakes.) A red light on the gauge to show when the regular brakes kick-in so you could back up would be helpful.

[uthorns1976]

Wouldn't another gauge or gauges have been more useful than the Kw gauge in the 400h?

←

Yes, the KW gage is like a boost gage in super or turbo-charged vehicles. I can think of a few that would be more useful - battery voltage, oil pressure, oil temperature, etc.

←

RX400h...I agree with you 100%. I'm used to full instrumentation in my cars: fuel, engine temp., oil pressure, battery voltage, etc.

Does the touch-screen in the dash allow you to display readings for oil pressure, battery voltage, etc. or do you have to depend on an "idiot light??"

[katzjamr]

I would vote for a Kw gauge that was calibrated more finely in the regenerative department. The ICE turns on an off so frequently that an oil pressure guage might be distracting LOL. Speaking of distracting, perhaps Toyota felt that one more guage to watch instead of driving would be a safety hazard.

[RX400h]

RX400h...I agree with you 100%.  I'm used to full instrumentation in my cars: fuel, engine temp., oil pressure, battery voltage, etc.

Does the touch-screen in the dash allow you to display readings for oil pressure, battery voltage, etc. or do you have to depend on an "idiot light??"

←

...not as far as I've seen, although I haven't played with ALL the features yet. FYI, BEL radar detectors can display system voltage if desired. I am really spoiled in my Corvette. Not only are there analog gages for water temp, oil pressure, voltage and fuel, but you can cycle through digital readouts of water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, voltage, individual tire pressure, percentage of oil life, instantaneous fuel mileage, miles to empty, average fuel mileage, etc.

In addition, the Heads Up Display can show digital speed, engine speed (bar graph), fuel level, oil pressure, and turn signals. Now you why I believe too much info is better than not having enough!

[uthorns1976]

RX400h...I agree with you 100%.  I'm used to full instrumentation in my cars: fuel, engine temp., oil pressure, battery voltage, etc.

Does the touch-screen in the dash allow you to display readings for oil pressure, battery voltage, etc. or do you have to depend on an "idiot light??"

←

...not as far as I've seen, although I haven't played with ALL the features yet. FYI, BEL radar detectors can display system voltage if desired. I am really spoiled in my Corvette. Not only are there analog gages for water temp, oil pressure, voltage and fuel, but you can cycle through digital readouts of water temp, oil temp, oil pressure, voltage, individual tire pressure, percentage of oil life, instantaneous fuel mileage, miles to empty, average fuel mileage, etc.

In addition, the Heads Up Display can show digital speed, engine speed (bar graph), fuel level, oil pressure, and turn signals. Now you why I believe too much info is better than not having enough!

←

Funny you should mention the Head Up display. When I was telling a friend of mine about the 400h, he asked me if it has a Head Up display. I said No. He said his Buick LeSabre has it and he loves it. My response was something like, "Well, the Lexus already costs $50,000. I guess they had to draw the line somewhere. But, it does have a cassette deck!!!"

I'm with you, RX400h. I don't think having too much info. is a bad thing. Those guys at Corvette evidently agree with us.

[RX400h]

To some it appears superfluous, but I really enjoy mine. Here's a pic and interesting article:

http://www.dupont.com/safetyglass/lgn/stories/1004.html