MeryLexmas

Damn, that really does hang down low. I would have asked for my old parts back. You could get a few hundred for the CAT alone. I'm sure the dealer did.

Or you could possibly bypass it altogether. I have no idea what one looks like or if it has sensors running to it which would throw a CEL if the component is not present. Seems ridiculous to have to replace the entire assembly. I would do as stated earlier and try to find one off a wreck and have an exhaust shop fab it in. That is if I couldn't easily bypass it.

I think the engine mount comment it on the right track. You may have a broken one. In a non hybrid you can just put the car in gear with the hood popped and have someone brake torque it in reverse and drive. You will see the engine roll back and forth excessively if a mount it bad. Not sure how much you can brake torque a hybrid. Also bad or low octane gas can cause it. Most engine knock occurs on start up, so if the knock sensor hears knock, it's going to !Removed! timing which will make the start up less smooth.

RXRey, you are not even the subjuect of this topic anymore, at least not to me. We seem to have actually gone off topic into the abilities and potetial of the 400h. No one is ragging you for picking something you like. Chill and enjoy your purchase!

Nice post, cduluk. Nice chart too. One error though. The 06-08 FWD torque figure shoud be 459 since it lacks the rear electric motor. I think break torquing is probably why Car & Driver got the quickest acceleration #'s. Other testers probably didn't do that. Clocking the 400h with my buddies G-tech accelerometer gives acceleration times in the 5.5 - 5.8 second range. Same as his slightly modded Subaru Legacy GT turbo. Question, I've had the RX in excess of 120mph before. I thought maybe it didn't have a speed limiter. But the other day I tried again and it cut the fun at 110. Weird.

The potential is already there. It could be as simple as a reflash. Adding up the combined power of the electric motors and gasoline engine you get 440 hp and 554 lbs/ft of torque. The problem would be to have the electric motors produce or maintain peak torque up to or at the same time as the I.C.E. I think the I.C.E torque peak is around 4500rpm where as the electric motors peak at 0-1500 rpm and 0-610 rpm F/R. Another potential problem could be the ability of the CVT to handle that much torque. The GS450 is tuned to allow more HP and I believe it uses similar electric motors. The V6 is the same 3.5l used in the RX450H I believe. If you look at the Kilowatt gauge in the GS it goes up to 250 where as the 400h is limited to 200. Allowing the the Electric motors in the 400h to put out the same amount would boost performance very noticibley. Unfortunately you would probably loose the potential for 30mpg as it seems the GS can only manage 21-24 combined MPG and it weighs about 300lbs less.

I bought this 2007 400h for my wife. I did a fair amount of research before making the purchase. I saw the hp rating of 268 and felt that was ample. What I thought was weird is that I could never find any real peak combined torque figures. When we test drove it I just kind of putted around and didn't really hit the pedal much. On the way home after I bought it, I gave the go pedal a nice stab to merge into traffic from an exit. I was not prepared for what happened next. The thing lunges forward with a healthy dose of torque steer I might add, and the traction control light was blinking it's !Removed! off. I was shocked, but grinning ear to ear. I've built high powered turbo 4 bangers (used to have a 650whp Eagle Talon AWD) so I'm used to big HP, but a turbo kind of sneeks up on you and hits you gradually until full boost, then WHAM! This 400h however, has gobs of torque from the jump. Very satifying and surprising! Especially for a V6. The tinkerer in me wants to find out how to unleash the full potential of this powertrain, but I'm sure the wife wouldn't be too happy with me fiddling with her new baby!

Not quite sure how the 350 could feel more peppy than the hybrid. My 400h spins the tires with ease of the start, at least until traction control kicks in. 450h has even more power. The electric motors make tons of torque at 0 rpm giving the "h" much better acceleration. I think Rey must just prefer the feel of a conveentional transmission that shifts through gears as oppossed to the CVT that holds the engine at peak torque for a constant pull of power. If the Lexus powertrain programmers allowed the engine and electric motors in the 400h to make full power together, you would have 440hp and 554 lbs/ft of torque! That would make for some nice performance. It would probably kill fuel economy though.