One Year Report

[rexmiami]

I have now had my 400h for 1 full year.

15,608 miles driven.

597.564 gallons of fuel used for an average of 26.12 mpg.

$1,556.76 total fuel cost at an average of $2.61/gallon.

I live in the Seattle area where the summers are not real hot and the winters not too cool. I have taken 1 trip to South Lake Tahoe, 1 trip to Vancouver BC, and numerous trips to Portland. The rest of my driving is about 85% freeway and 15% city, which are short trips (a real mileage killer).

Some observations:

The mpg drops when the temperature drops below 50 degrees fahrenheit as it does when the temperature goes over 80. In the warmer months I can exceed 30 mpg driving to Portland if I keep my speed at 65 or below. The drop off is significant as the speed is increased.

Maximizing coasting increases mpg while hard acceleration dramatically decreases mpg.

I tried a few tanks of premium fuel, but did not notice any measurable change in mpg. Likewise when I switched to synthetic oil.

I have two friends that drive the RX330 and I consistently get about 5 mpg better that they do. That is not enough to pay for the increase in price, but I am using less foreign oil and I like the fact that I meet the California emission standards. I did get some savings with the IRS allowable deduction.

I have not experienced any problems like those in other posts.

I had one occasion where I needed an emergency stop and the brake system worked flawlessly.

I love my 400h and would not hesitate in buying it again. :)

[Peter W. Flur]

I thought I'd add my $0.02. I have also just crossed my first year with the 400h and I love it. I've got just about 18,000 miles on it and have averaged 24.9 mpg over the year (as reported by the car).

I also notice that my mpg went up significantly during the shoulder months - I was actually getting about 27mpg for the first few weeks before it got really hot, then it dropped like a bomb shortly thereafter. It goes down over the summer, then up in the fall, then down during the winter, then back up in the spring.

My parents got a 330 the day after I got my 400h; they have consistently averaged about 20mpg, so I see about the same differential.

All in all, I love this car.

[RX400h]

All that rain must boost fuel mileage! :) Seriously, people here in San Diego who drive 65 during off-peak hours will get rear-ended in a heatbeat. Most average 80 MPH during my morning commute. That being said, I must add that we average 24.8, while a couple of former coworkers could do no better than 16-18 MPG in their RX330s. My Corvette averages 19.5 MPG and is significantly lighter than the RX (3200 vs 4600 lbs). Still, sudden bursts of speed to 115 don't help achieve high mileage ;)

So far, we've racked up 13,000 miles after 14 months and have had zero problems.

[bikeandsail]

I have 29,545 miles on my RX400h and have averaged just under 25 mpg including about 4,000 miles of towing a boat a Thistle 1,300 lbs with trailer that drags the mileage down to the high teens. I have had it about 14 months.

Excepting towing. Worst mileage is winter usually 22-24 range. Next best in AC time in summer 25-27. Best mileage is when temp is about 50-70 degrees and AC is off. That has been typically 26-29 range. Best tank has been 29.5 mpg. My driving is all mixed expressway, high speed back roads and residential roads. Probably 75% expressway. Typical expressway speed is 70mph corrected, country higher speed and city lower speed.

Driving with an effort to keep engine off, accelerate and then back off on throttle, is worth a couple of mpg.

Car is VERY sensitive to highway speed, at above 70 mph mileage drops significantly at 80 mph and up it is down dramattically. Up to about 65 mph even gradual downhills are sufficeint for engine to shut down above 70 mph engine almost never shuts down. At 65 mph and less car can get great mileage with a little effort.

Oddometer error with Mitchelins is 2.5% long. Speedo error at 60 mph is 2 mph slow. The computer gas mileage is about .5 to .75 mpg high. All above numbers I quote are corrected numbers. Is it obvious I am an engineer?

Great car, fun to drive, tows great and even accelerates and brakes great towing.

Ron

[Statman]

10K miles and averaging 28.1 mpg.

[RX400h]

Car is VERY sensitive to highway speed, at above 70 mph mileage drops significantly at 80 mph and up it is down dramattically. Up to about 65 mph even gradual downhills are sufficeint for engine to shut down above 70 mph engine almost never shuts down. At 65 mph and less car can get great mileage with a little effort.

My God, who drives THAT slowly????? Obviously, you do NOT live in California! :)

[resmer]

10K miles and averaging 28.1 mpg.

Interesting that you live in Colorado and get such good mileage. I used to get around 27-28 when I lived at 7200 feet up in the mountains west of Denver. Now I've moved to Dallas, my mileage has dropped to 24. I wonder if it's the increased air resistance of all the extra atmosphere we have down here :-)

[stiksandstones]

we are at about 15,400 on ours, bought june of last year.

I echo the original posters comments about mileage, costs...

We love ours, I have to say my favorite feature is the acceleration, it really is SO much better than our 330 we used to have.

The fact we sent a message to govt. and auto industry by buying a hybrid also feels good.

[skyfish400h]

10K miles and averaging 28.1 mpg.

Interesting that you live in Colorado and get such good mileage. I used to get around 27-28 when I lived at 7200 feet up in the mountains west of Denver. Now I've moved to Dallas, my mileage has dropped to 24. I wonder if it's the increased air resistance of all the extra atmosphere we have down here :-)

It probably has more to do the reformulated gas that is sold in those areas. These would be the boutique fuels everyone was talking about recently. There are a good reasons why there are so many different blends, compensating for altitude is one of them.

[katzjamr]

After one year and 13K the 400h runs great and i love drivng the car, both in a hybrid mode and especially faster when i need to. I definately miss it when im out of town driving a rental. I did have very loud rattles on both sides of the rear hatch that the dealer has easily fixed with me waiting about half an hour. I also wish the winter mileage was better. For the last month when i push forward on the 'tilt' button for my sunroof it closes and THEN GOES BACK TO THE OPEN POSITION. It will not close unless i pulse the button with short clicks to the exact closed position. It will then retract all the way and close again. (it is not in the predelivery mode, they checked) I thot it was the switch, however the dealer wants to replace the sunroof motor, saying it is not pulling the sunroof to the right position. Also on keys, i hate to use the word lost however i have misplaced, (or the dog has carried away or burried) both my master lexus keys. So im using the valet key and since i won a good chunk of money (over 5k) on my last trip to vegas i thot what the hell ill order a new master lexus key. My dealer charges 230.00 for a new key with the remote so i ordered one. They program the key no extra charge.

I told the parts department on three occasions i had no master, they said "no problem, on the new models we can quickly program the key". So i drive down there and i am asked for my master key, again i remind them its lost and they said no problem. Well it turns out they want to erase my memory on the Lexus to make this new key work, it will take an hour and a half and ONLY THE NEW KEY WILL WORK, not my valet key or my credit card emergency key. They said the existing keys i have can be added later. I did not let them do this as i had no time, and i still have to go back for the sunroof motor install. Any thots besides dont lose your keys.

[LexRexBlue]

I've had mine a little over a year. I've only driven it about 11,000 miles but I've enjoyed driving and owning it. I really haven't had any major problems other than a flat tire the first week! (Lexus sent service who changed the tire and when I returned to my dealer they fixed it The formerly flat tire has now become my spare.) The only rattle I've had was the tourneau cover. They've added little adhesive pieces to stop it. The most annoying problems were the squeaky brakes (in reverse) which has since been resolved and the electric motors would kick in suddenly when I would brake on a hill if the car wasn't warmed up. Each time I've brought the car back to the dealer (close by) they were wonderful, took care of problems right away or provided loaners. I really love driving the car, love the acceleration and the gas mileage is nice. I don't really drive the car to save gas, but I only buy gas once in 2-3 weeks now. My old RX gets about 8-10 mpg less. I would buy another and I question whether the RX 350 really accelerates so well ( I don't mean from a standstill).

[HyBruce]

Well, I see still that after a year and 11000 miles, I STILL have the lowest MPG on the board!! (around 18MPGs here in the SoCal summer)! I got over it a long time ago, stopped obsessively keeping track of every dang statistic for every tank, and as a result I just drive how I drive and enjoy the hell out of my 400h! I still think it's really fun to drive, and love the whole bluetooth phone integration and the navigation. I do reset the car's MPG with each tank and see what I'm getting. I was up to maybe 22mpgs in the mild winter here.

A minor complaint, my brake pedal pad won't stay on. I keep putting it back on but it won't stay, the dealer put it on again at my last oil change but it came right off the next day. Harumph.

Still very happy after one year!

[Rx330driver]

did you try glueing it? :P

18mpg is not as bad as you think. You must do a lot of city driving, and with the traffic on the freeways down there, you must be doing a lot of stop and go. i get below 14 if i drive regularly, but im still obsessing on my rx330, constantly trying to coast whenever i can...

[RX400h]

you must be doing a lot of stop and go. i get below 14 if i drive regularly, but im still obsessing on my rx330, constantly trying to coast whenever i can...

Actually, stop & go driving increases fuel mileage in the RX400h. Notice that its EPA city mileage is much higher than its highway mileage. You can easily average only 18 by driving 80 MPH for extended periods of time. With our mixture of city/highway, we average 25. Of course, when I drive the vehicle, it probably gets 18, but my wife balances this out with much more "reserved" driving. I can't seem to let those BMW X5s pass me by........

[Rx330driver]

yes i noticed this about the mileage...but what if he really puts his foot down at 0mph. lol that would decrease it. :P

[RX400h]

yes i noticed this about the mileage...but what if he really puts his foot down at 0mph. lol that would decrease it. :P

Well, at 0 rpm, the motors combine with the ICE to produce a whopping 650 lbs-ft of torque - enough to spin all four tires, if desired. The temptation is there, believe me.......

[bainse]

All that rain must boost fuel mileage! :) Seriously, people here in San Diego who drive 65 during off-peak hours will get rear-ended in a heatbeat. Most average 80 MPH during my morning commute. That being said, I must add that we average 24.8, while a couple of former coworkers could do no better than 16-18 MPG in their RX330s. My Corvette averages 19.5 MPG and is significantly lighter than the RX (3200 vs 4600 lbs). Still, sudden bursts of speed to 115 don't help achieve high mileage ;)

So far, we've racked up 13,000 miles after 14 months and have had zero problems.

Ditto. I have had my 400h for just over a year, and averaged between 25 and 27 MPG. Great vehicle!

[NeoN]

yes i noticed this about the mileage...but what if he really puts his foot down at 0mph. lol that would decrease it. :P

Well, at 0 rpm, the motors combine with the ICE to produce a whopping 650 lbs-ft of torque - enough to spin all four tires, if desired. The temptation is there, believe me.......

anyone ever spin all 4 tires from a stop? is there a way to turn off traction control on our cars?

[BobBass]

The ability to turn traction control off on the 400h has been the subject of much discussion. I asked my service guy about it and he said he did not think it was possible. In the interest of protecting the electric motors from over-revving, Toyota has not included a T/C on-off switch and apparently eliminated the other process (series of key on/off/depress brake pedal, etc.) which normally works on their other vehicles.

If anybody know differently, please chime in, because I'd like to know how just in case all four wheels start slipping, T/C kicks in, and you're stranded.