katzjamr

it takes about three tanks of premium to notice the mpg improvement, the power improvement you notice right away.

i agree with mind machine's post that the premium fuel does provide enough extra mpg, making the extra cost covered by the higher mpg with the premium. also there is a small amout of extra power with premium. i have experimented with both octane levels and still use the premium. Ironically the higher octane makes the 400h cut in and out MORE abruptly than with regular gas. I noticed this right away and others confirmed it when i posted it online at that time.

i just clicked add reply, i didnt intend to start another thread, if the powers that be want to move my reply go for it

is there a lemon law in arizona? also can you ask for compensation because your 400h used more fuel over the life of the vehicle than almost every other hybrid of its type. we know from surveys here that at least 50% of the people get 25 mph or better on their Lexus hybrids. also ask corporate if you can have the california hybrid warranty that covers your system to 150,000 miles, i think that would be reasonable since you got no satisfaction until now. just some random thoughts as I read your post.

i hear what your are saying, however based on t he wear measurements the 'technicians' take during my oil changes my brakes on the 400h are not going to make it to 60 or 80, more like 50K or less so it seems to me i will have the fluid changed at that time. i didnt see a reason for a $600 service bill at the dealer for the 30K visit. So i asked them to do what TOYOTA required at 30K and it came to $225.00 plus tax. They were not insistent on the brake service at all, only suggested it and i get the feeling most of their customers dont question their advice.

thank you for the brake fluid article, i am one of those who also never changed the brake fluid on my trucks, unless the brakes are in for service. I didnt let them do the $120 brake flush at the 30,000 mile service because i really didnt think it was necessary. I will have the fluid changed completely when the front brakes are in for service. I am at 36000 miles now and i dont think the brakes are going to make it to the 60 or 80 K we once hoped because of the type of system that is on the hybrid. Personally i am more concerned that the oil in the transmission be changed before 100K even though it is synthetic.

alot of lexus owners use toyota dealerships, in the northwest it is the same synthetic blend oil and toyota filter. some toyota dealerships run oil change specials, and of course they have hybrid trained techs there for the highlander hybrid. they are usually more than half the price less, and there are many more of them to choose from. of course you probably wont have turkey sandwiches at lunch and fresh baked cookies available at the toyota dealership. (and you probably wont miss them) i would keep the records of all non dealer maintenance incase you have a warranty issue. my lexus dealer developed a $75.00 oil filter and battery check charge for me as long as they dont rotate tires or clean the vehicle. You might build a relationship with one of the service managers and see what is possible.

wwest usually i am enlightened by and always appreciate your posts, however advising anyone who could afford the 400h to buy the older hybrid technology of the Ford products doesnt make sense to me. (im not anti Ford, we drive their econoline vans) I do agree dollar for dollar the Prius is a better value, a proven car and is where fuel economy should be. I needed the larger vehicle for work and frankly i wish the prius was more attractive.

Mitch, you have to remember the average age of a Lexus owner is 61, i would bet money you are younger. I think for that reason the decision makers at Lexus left out some of the better ideas in the entertaiment system. Not a good excuse to forget about MP3 at least but i think other things were on their radar. I am in seattle and have no problem with the Nav system it has always worked well, and i drive throughout western washington for my job. (the one glaring exception, not fixed in the new update is that the Lexus system will not recognize a street address in downtown seattle that is simply 'fifth avenue', it always wants a fifth NORTH or SOUTH, my dealer says that is a known flaw for those of us who use the GPS in the northwest) I am more grateful that toyota designed a reliable hybrid system that works well even though it is complicated. As gas races past 4.00 (premium is 4.60 in the NW as i type) to 5.00 it becomes more important every day. One also has the ability to conserve even more with thoughtful driving. I am most dissapointed at the loud rattles near the rear decklid that have returned at 36000 miles. My ford exploder on its worst day never rattled like this car. Yes the dealer will fix them again. The OEM Goodyears never should have appeared on this vehicle and honestly i think Toyota owes everyone some kind of rebate for their second set the day those things come off the vehicle. Yes i stopped using the voice recognition but thats not a deal breaker for me. Regarding the headlights, I think what you are experiencing is that they are set too low. Lexus has a habit of doing this saying they dont want to blind oncoming traffic. Nevermind that the left headlight is set even lower than the right. When i got an 08 loaner that was set noticably higher than mine i asked the dealer to adjust them higher. Even though the service tech winked when he said 'we really arent supposed to do that', i winked back and i noticed they were adjusted up after my last oil change. Lastly, Mitch while no Lexus is cheap, my friend paid 86K out the door for his X5 a few months ago, and yes i love the seats, and his bamboo inlay in the dash, and as wwwest mentions the undoutably better 4wd system, i think the 400h is a much better value. Also know that you have found valuable resource in this group of people online, who are here to help you with problems you may have, and they have been deep source of knowlegde and support with this SUV over time.

every time you disconnect that battery you risk losing programmed items like your doors, windows, memory for previous points in the navigation, and possibly other personal settings never mind ECU settings in engine management that will lower your mpg. your windows became unprogrammed also, the driver only working is a sign of this.

for some reason my sunroof tends to unprogram it self periodically with no explanation. my dealer will do it at no charge, when i bring it in for service, and they may even tell u how to do it on the phone. i watched the service manager do it last time and i think all he did was a complete open and close.

i know this steering is sensitive to crowns, however mine stopped pulling to the right when i got new michelins last week, i use 36 psi. i will be watching the wear closely.

i have a friend with a body shop that helped me rebadge my Ford Exploder when the rear deck was dented. Since the badges had to come off during painting i had him order a BMW M5 logo, it was only $70 with his discount. Its just a piece of plastic. Perhaps you can find a body shop that will help you change it out for a much more reasonable price.

neon im not dissing your post, i was responding to the one before yours. i do like the way the scorpions look, my friend has them on his X5. I think you do drive more agressively and need the added performance of the pirellis. I dont think the Michelins are the best in the world, they are better than the goodyears, (what isnt) and they are made for mpg so i thot i would stick with them. Also costco will only put OEM products on cars for replacement, so i went the easy route.

Congrats on your Michelins. I used the spare in rotation so i did get 34,000 out of the goodyears with the spare still in good shape. The four tires with the most mileage were looking pretty bad and actually my girlfriend refused to ride in the car untill i go new ones last weekend. $889.00 mounted and balanced with nitrogen from costco. The Michelins are much better tires and on my first tank i am getting 2 to 3 mpg better gas mileage than with the old tires ( at 36 psi) , probably should have done the replacement sooner. I am still a Lexus fan however i think the Goodyear tire issue is a dirty deal for those of us who didnt get OEM Michelins. Even Ford stepped up and replaced every Firestone on thier Exploders a few years ago. The 235 55 R18 MXV4 S8 Energy seem to roll faster and longer during coasting and grip the road well in wet weather.

did you leave your car with a valet, where he might have found a spare key inside your car, or kept the valet key?

i agree on the pictures especially if they want the insurance company to cover it. I offer the following true story only as an example that a rat or mouse can get into the 400h cabin even though it is totally locked up tight. My commercial building houses my retail store and a closed restaurant and the garage where i park the Lexus at night. The three areas are under one roof separated by walls but with the same crawl spaces under the entire building. The closed restaurant had left food behind and we got rats. I have trapped 26 in a two week period using 5 rat traps baited with beef jerky and my springer spaniel has caught four himself. (you havent lived until you realize your dog has been coming up and licking you just after munching on a rat in his favorite hiding place). Three mornings ago i noticed a half eaten small bag of trail mix was in the back seat, not where i left it and something had eaten all of it. Since the car was locked i thought perhaps the rat was still inside and i took everything out and looked for it. No rat. The next morning the remains of a muffin, including the paper wrapper, all of a granola bar and a one ounce sample of premium dog food were eaten. Nothing left but the plastic dog food wrapper. Yes there was a rat dropping and since we are commercial cleaners i totally vaccumed and wet cleaned the carpets. The last two nights i have been parking the 400h outside with no rat breakins. I guess tonight i could put rat traps inside the vehicle with it parked back in the garage. I dont know how it gets in or out, i cant see how its still inside, perhaps the fact that i had food in there saved my wires. I am not proud of this story, however it is actually happening.

i think the molding on the newer models is slightly different in dimension so it cannot be retrofitted, someone please correct me if im wrong.

also there is a cold weather penalty that costs 2 to 3 mpg. as soon as your chicago weather hits 60 or above your mileage will improve.

We tend to focus on mileage and it is important however the 400h also regenerates energy during each trip and has lower emissions. There is a calmness i feel driving a hybrid that at least i am getting 50% or more better gas mileage than the last SUV i drove for six years. Just sitting at the stoplight with no engine on makes so much sense. In the many many polls in the online groups at least half of the owners were getting 25mpg or better with the 400h. (especially in the warm climate of texas) The CVT transmission is the smoothest thing you will find out there, and yes it is louder during hard acceleration, i dont find that an issue. With few exceptions the RX hybrids have been very reliable and the hybrid system is guaranteed for 100,000 miles. Many of us were on waiting lists and paid list price, now there are RX's on many lots at a discount. Make sure your 400h has the Michelins on it, do not accept the Goodyears. You will not regret your decision. P. S. There is a good chance that oil by the barrel will go higher than even the record prices we see now. Third world countries and the Soviet Union are pumping less oil due to corruption and not enough investment in infrastructure. Add in the high cost of recovering new oil finds and the unknown reserves in the middle east and its very likely without a major breakthrough near term energy costs will only rise. We are not building new refineries in the US and most of them are operating at high capacity. The oil companies responded to the previous energy 'crisis' by adding production. This kept fuel prices steady for the ten years after Carter. Currently the oil companies would rather reap huge profits with existing levels of production, adding little more.

it is rare to see the battery charged fully all bars to the top. i have only seen this once in 34,000 miles going down a long mountain pass. it is more normal to see a range of two bars to one bar from the top in everyday driving. in my experience 3/4 charged is normal, however mine doesnt stay there it goes up and down in the range i have described. Usually if i am able to drive at 30 to 40 mph on electric only, on flat stretches of hiway it will go down to the two bars and start charging.

after all that is that still the dealer license plate frame? no plate jewelry for the lexus? my dealer has one that is all black or chrome with just the lexus L logo at the bottom middle, i think it would be a great addition. there are many others online. otherwise your car looks very handsome.

I just had a 30,000 mile service that the dealer claims takes half a day, so they did give me a loaner RX 350 with only 6000 miles and nav. Since i declined the front end alignment (new tires coming soon) and brake fluid change, i saved 300.00 and brought the service cost to 240.00 which was oil, lube, filter, an expensive cabin filter and a new engine air filter. They were the ones that reccomended a loaner instead of waiting for the service at the dealer.

the day mine was available there was a silver metallic that i had requested and a flint mica that was for some reason still available. since a lady had just walked in off the street and was purchasing one that day without waiting (i had waited a year) the dealer gave me the choice of color. i love the flint mica but thot it would show too much dirt, and i think the sliver metallic looks good with the black and aluminum accents so i went silver. however since there are alot of 400h's on the road in seattle i see a lot of flint micas around and always stop to admire them. i wish there was more of a medium gray available like the lexus thundercloud special edition(rx330). the first time i saw the 400h in Jan of 05 at the seattle auto show it was in a deep navy and i thought that was handsome, it is a hard color to get.

RE RX400h: I agree that the batteries and the hybrid systems have been reliable. I also tend to keep my vehicles longer, i think it represents a better value over time. All of us are hoping there will be no repair to the hybrid system over the life of the car, however no one can promise that. So regarding the leasing vs buying question it seemed to me that one thing in favor of leasing is that you always have a vehicle that is under warranty, even if the next generation is not more reliable when you turn it in, at least its on Toyota to keep it running. (btw i am purchasing mine not leasing) Since this is a person considering a new purchase i thought this would be the time to try to cover all bases. I too was a lurker prior to buying my 400h and this group has always been a welcome resource.