5,000 Mile Report

[Ron O]

First of all I must tell you that I bought the Lexus H out of necessity. :(

Over the past year I have had some unfortunate luck -- I broke my right leg twice and dislocated my hip once. This has forced me to give up driving my passions, a BMW - “M Roadster” and a new Audi S4. These are both very fast and handle extremely well.

I have been a car enthusiast for years, see http://www.ronovers.com/ and link to my “cars” pages.

Now to the stats:

The mileage has settled down to between 24 –26 MPG depending what the driving involves. I never did achive 30 MPG however I believe I could have if I had babied it and kept the speed under 40 MPH. The grade of fuel used did not seem to matter -- 87 worked as well as 93. Nor did I feel that power was affected. I plan to take measurements with my Passport G Timer with in the next few weeks.

Driving impressions were as follows:

If you looked at my URL cars pages you can see that I have had a lot of experience and have in the past entered road races in my Porsche.

I have been constantly surprised with the “H”. For such a large vehicle it handles very well. I don’t feel confident enough yet to get to the “drifting “ stages but neither do I ever feel insecure. The only real disappointments have been over the brakes. The “softness” of the pedal to occasionally allowed me to bridge over to the accelerator concurrent with braking. This is not good. I have learned to move my big (12 W) foot more to the left when applying the brakes.

The best feature in my opinion is the transmittion and the seamless transfer of power from the V6 to the electric and the combination of both. I’m an engineer and can’t imagine how they programmed this. The CTV is a feature that always gives me a big smile every time I accelerate or pass. It has a lot of "pep"

You have to drive it to really experience it.

I AM an enthusiast. :D

PS I first had a '05 RX330 for about 2 months and ~ 3,000 miles

[thesaintjim]

First of all I must tell you that I bought the Lexus H out of necessity. :( 

Over the past year I have had some unfortunate  luck  --  I broke my right leg twice and dislocated my hip once. This has forced me to give up driving my passions, a BMW  -  “M Roadster” and a new Audi S4. These are both very fast and handle extremely well.

I have been a car enthusiast for years, see http://www.ronovers.com/ and link to my  “cars” pages.

Now to the stats: 

The mileage has settled down to between 24 –26 MPG depending what the driving involves. I never did achive 30 MPG however I believe I could have if I had babied it and kept the speed under 40 MPH. The grade of fuel used did not seem to matter --  87  worked as well as 93. Nor did I feel that power was affected. I plan to take measurements with my Passport G Timer with in the next few weeks.

Driving impressions were as follows:

First of all if you looked at my URL cars pages you can see that I have had a lot of experience and have in the past entered road races in my Porsche.

I have been constantly surprised with the “H”. For such a large vehicle it handles very well. I don’t feel confident enough yet to get to the “drifting “ stages but neither do I ever feel insecure.  The only real disappointments have been over the brakes. The  “softness” of the pedal  to occasionally allowed me to bridge over to the accelerator concurrent with braking. This is not good.  I have learned to move my big (12 W) foot more to the left when applying the brakes.

The best feature in my opinion is the transmittion and the seamless transfer of power from the V6 to the electric and the combination of both. I’m an engineer and can’t imagine how they programmed this.  The CTV is a feature that always gives me a big smile  every time I accelerate or pass. It has a lot of "pep"

You have to drive it to really experience it.

I AM an enthusiast.  :D

PS I first had a '05 RX330 for about 2 months and ~ 3,000 miles

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You..have..a lot of toys

[RX400h]

You definitely don't want to drive a Maxima, then - grabby brakes, super-touchy throttle and air vents that don't adjust sideways! Yes, the RX400h is a winner. However, it's funny how so many people are in denial as to the fuel savings it achieves. My wife's coworker drives a Mercedes ML320 and insists that there is very little difference in gas mileage between it and the RX400h! How ignorant can someone be?

[markatty]

I just got to 5,000 miles also and the car is driving me crazy, because the "Maintenance Required" notice has taken over the information system under the speedometer. When ever you change the display to show the screen that you want, it only stays there for a few seconds before the damn "Maintenance Required" pops up again.

The reason it is so irritating is that I use the instanteous mileage display to give me feedback on my driving. Now I'm left with using the Trip Info display on the dashboard screen, which takes my eyes away from the road more. Also the other screens on the speedometer display can't be used for the same reason. Once again all this information is available on the dashboard screen, but you can't cycle through it easily on the center console like you can on speedometer display by using the steering wheel buttons.

I know the dealer can turn this notice off, but the earliest appointment my dealer could give me is over a week away. Its not a big deal, just stupid programming. Its my car, remind me when I turn on the car and get out of the way.

As to my 5,000 mile experience, I like the car a lot. I have taken to doing what I call "active driving" where I monitor the instaneous mileage continually and try to adjust my driving to increase mileage just cuz its fun to do and gives me something to do on the commute. On my 35 mile mostly highway commute, I'm getting between 27 and 34 mpg. I drive 60 to 70 mph on the highways and get most of my good mileage by coasting when appropriate, long light applications of the brakes and not going over 70 for most of the trip.

To get the higher mileage, hills and even undulations are key. Driving on a flat road at a constant speed knocks my mpg to around 20 mpg. I've found that if I coast down long hills and then accelerate gently towards the bottom I can coast a good distance up the next hill, which save lots of gas. I don't drive like a little old lady, I accelerate hard when I need to and usually drive in fast lane on highways. To people around me, they don't even notice what I'm doing.

I really wonder how much of my mileage savings over a 330 is due to the electrics and how much is due to giving people understandable, immediate feedback. I bet the US could lower gas consumption at least 10% if every car had the same info systems as the 400.

[patt]

Markatty, I know what you mean. Our 5000 mile maintenance required notice popped up toward the end of a long car trip. The method to clear it is in the owner's manual (and if Lexus would get the RX400H manual on the Lexus Owners site, I could look it up and tell you, but they haven't). I'm not sure I remember exactly what I had to do to clear it. I think it was something like:

get the odometer/trip meter set to odometer

turn the car off and back on

hold the odometer button down until something happens.

[Ron O]

I just got to 5,000 miles also and the car is driving me crazy, because the "Maintenance Required" notice has taken over the information system under the speedometer. When ever you change the display to show the screen that you want, it only stays there for a few seconds before the damn "Maintenance Required" pops up again.

The reason it is so irritating is that I use the instanteous mileage display to give me feedback on my driving. Now I'm left with using the Trip Info display on the dashboard screen, which takes my eyes away from the road more. Also the other screens on the speedometer display can't be used for the same reason. Once again all this information is available on the dashboard screen, but you can't cycle through it easily on the center console like you can on speedometer display by using the steering wheel buttons.

I know the dealer can turn this notice off, but the earliest appointment my dealer could give me is over a week away. Its not a big deal, just stupid programming. Its my car, remind me when I turn on the car and get out of the way.

As to my 5,000 mile experience, I like the car a lot. I have taken to doing what I call "active driving" where I monitor the instaneous mileage continually and try to adjust my driving to increase mileage just cuz its fun to do and gives me something to do on the commute. On my 35 mile mostly highway commute, I'm getting between 27 and 34 mpg. I drive 60 to 70 mph on the highways and get most of my good mileage by coasting when appropriate, long light applications of the brakes and not going over 70 for most of the trip.

To get the higher mileage, hills and even undulations are key. Driving on a flat road at a constant speed knocks my mpg to around 20 mpg. I've found that if I coast down long hills and then accelerate gently towards the bottom I can coast a good distance up the next hill, which save lots of gas. I don't drive like a little old lady, I accelerate hard when I need to and usually drive in fast lane on highways. To people  around me, they don't even notice what I'm doing.

I really wonder how much of my mileage savings over a 330 is due to the electrics and how much is due to giving people understandable, immediate feedback. I bet the US could lower gas consumption at least 10% if every car had the same info systems as the 400.

←

I think we are using the car in the same way and have the same expectations from it. I wondered how you got the over 27 mpg readings -- I have tried to do it many times and never was able to get over that “Chinese Wall” of 27 mpg.

As I said I have taken the car in for the 5K FREE oil change and asked

1. What the cost of future oil changes ?

The answer was $100. + parts. Walmart here I come.

2. How do you turn off the red warning.?

The answer was as offered in a subsequent post -- You index to the total mileage display – than completely turn off the car and while holding the reset button in turn on the key as to start the car. The display will go through a count down and the reset will be complete

[thesaintjim]

I just got to 5,000 miles also and the car is driving me crazy, because the "Maintenance Required" notice has taken over the information system under the speedometer. When ever you change the display to show the screen that you want, it only stays there for a few seconds before the damn "Maintenance Required" pops up again.

The reason it is so irritating is that I use the instanteous mileage display to give me feedback on my driving. Now I'm left with using the Trip Info display on the dashboard screen, which takes my eyes away from the road more. Also the other screens on the speedometer display can't be used for the same reason. Once again all this information is available on the dashboard screen, but you can't cycle through it easily on the center console like you can on speedometer display by using the steering wheel buttons.

I know the dealer can turn this notice off, but the earliest appointment my dealer could give me is over a week away. Its not a big deal, just stupid programming. Its my car, remind me when I turn on the car and get out of the way.

As to my 5,000 mile experience, I like the car a lot. I have taken to doing what I call "active driving" where I monitor the instaneous mileage continually and try to adjust my driving to increase mileage just cuz its fun to do and gives me something to do on the commute. On my 35 mile mostly highway commute, I'm getting between 27 and 34 mpg. I drive 60 to 70 mph on the highways and get most of my good mileage by coasting when appropriate, long light applications of the brakes and not going over 70 for most of the trip.

To get the higher mileage, hills and even undulations are key. Driving on a flat road at a constant speed knocks my mpg to around 20 mpg. I've found that if I coast down long hills and then accelerate gently towards the bottom I can coast a good distance up the next hill, which save lots of gas. I don't drive like a little old lady, I accelerate hard when I need to and usually drive in fast lane on highways. To people  around me, they don't even notice what I'm doing.

I really wonder how much of my mileage savings over a 330 is due to the electrics and how much is due to giving people understandable, immediate feedback. I bet the US could lower gas consumption at least 10% if every car had the same info systems as the 400.

←

I think we are using the car in the same way and have the same expectations from it. I wondered how you got the over 27 mpg readings -- I have tried to do it many times and never was able to get over that “Chinese Wall” of 27 mpg.

As I said I have taken the car in for the 5K FREE oil change and asked

1. What the cost of future oil changes ?

The answer was $100. + parts. Walmart here I come.

2. How do you turn off the red warning.?

The answer was as offered in a subsequent post -- You index to the total mileage display – than completely turn off the car and while holding the reset button in turn on the key as to start the car. The display will go through a count down and the reset will be complete

←

I average 27-28 mpg and I do all highway (80 a day). The key is coasting.

[markatty]

I average 27-28 mpg and I do all highway (80 a day). The key is coasting.

←

I agree that coasting is crucial, but for today's oxymoron I try to do powered coasting. Whenever there is a downhill stretch, I do try to coast, however, whenever I see a rise or hill coming up after the downhill section I step very lightly on the accelerator. Ideally I want the mpg graph to go from infinity to about 5 mpg below the top so that I can build up as much speed as possible (but never going over 100 mph ;) while coasting down the latter part of the hill. I hold this accelerator postion as I hit the up hill section, when my mpg graphs drops I slowly take my foot off the accelerator. If the up hill portion is not too long, you can coast all the way to the next down slope without having to accelerate up hill, which kills your mpg. It may sounds a little complicated, but I do it almost instinctively now. It just takes a little practice.

[SW03ES]

Its fun isn't it? We have a Prius (my fiance drives it mostly) and I do agree it is fun to see how you can drive to achieve better mileage.

Really hits home that our driving habits are pretty inefficient.

[rexmiami]

I just returned from servicing my 400h after 5000 miles. My actual mileage to date is 26.808 mpg. My navigation system generally reports from 1/2 to 1 mpg higher than when calculated mathematically. My service consultant says that his other 400h customers are reporting in the low 26 range.

My driving included a 2900 mile trip from Seattle to Lake Tahoe and back. I generally set my cruise control at the speed limit when it is safe to do so. The balance of my driving has been 90% highway and 10% city with very little stop and go traffic and some short trips of 2-5 miles.

I ran 2 tanks of 92 octane and the rest 87 octane. I generally leave the AC on auto at 73 degrees. I estimate the average temperature was 75.

It appears that the EPA highway mileage of 27 mpg is accurate, but I question the 31 mpg city estimate. To be fair, I have not driven much stop and go city driving with a warm engine.

The first 5000 miles have been an enjoyable driving experience. I loved my 2003 RX300, but my 400h is a step up in mileage and performance. The whine from the electric motors when slowing to a stop and the slight shudder when the ice shuts down are minor annoyances that no longer bother me.

[markatty]

The answer was as offered in a subsequent post -- You index to the  total mileage  display – than completely turn off the car and while holding the reset button in turn on the key as to start the car. The display will go through a count down  and the reset will be complete 

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RonO and Patt,

Thanks for the info on how turn off the damn Maintenance required message. (It would have been nice if the Lexus service manager had told me this instead of saying I had to bring it in so that they could do this.) Its nice having control of that screen back.