katzjamr

My dealer mentioned to me that Toyota is already putting an anti sludge Castrol synthetic blend in the 400h from the factory and that is what they use at the dealership for oil changes. I think the technology is already out there to prevent sludge, and frankly i already change my oil more frequently than required by Toyota, i think its cheap insurance for all the vehicles i own.

Thanks for a link to a great article. One of the reasons i purchased a hybrid was to try to start to do something about both the fossil fuels we consume, and our funding of terrorism through mideast oil dependence. Americans have the ingenuity to fix a problem that our current government doesnt want to address. WWest are u working on a plug in lithium battery for my 400h???

In my experience cruise especially on a flat road increases mpg. The car seems more in tune with itself and is quicker to coast. I dont know if this is true for all cruise situations.

Sheb: I have a treo 650 via cingular, and the bluetooth works well with the new update from the palm site, however my contact list is 'locked'. I cannot beam it to the car phone book. I called Palm one and they were cingularly unhelpful, she said there was no way to unlock the contact list. Are you aware of any remedy? Thanks

I am a Lexus owner, however i have to say Ford did cover all repairs on my 99 exploder when the driver door handle broke ( lots of plastic parts in there) and the electric locks failed. I did get a loaner. Alot broke on that SUV from the engine to the transmission and stuff in between, but they did fix everything for free. Any time you are being denied coverage on a part that should be covered under warranty or an extended insurance policy, make them put it in writing, and cite the part of your policy that exculdes your problem. It is very easy to verbally say no, but when it has to be backed up in writing sometimes they discover, oh yea we can cover that. It also gives you documentation for further action if you need it. good luck.

Thanks, snow that makes more sense. In sales i also carry product, pick up and deliver items and was used to a more rough and tumble interior. Now with the 400h it takes some planning before i just throw stuff in the back. Also his business pays for the vehicle so he has some help with the cost of a less fuel efficient truck. Personally i was ready for more comfort and fuel economy, i have other trucks to carry big stuff, so the 400h works fine. I wonder if some patrons or employees in the bar are ribbing him about this purchase. I also see some 400h keys coming your way soon. Good luck.

Two things, black on black is great looking and a bear to maintain. Also alot can happen to a vehicle in 4000 miles. Take a close look at the car, at 1,800 miles and trying to be as careful as I have been with any vehicle in my life, i have a tiny rock chip in the windshield, some marks on the interior that dont want to clean off , the wear on the tires of course, one door scratch from i dont know where and a speck on the taillight that is a mystery. What i dont understand about your friend is he knew the size of his family and his vehicle requirements before he purchased the car, and now the 400h is too small??. I drove a Tahoe for three weeks while my exploder was being repaired and its a heavy boat of a vehicle, and not fuel efficient, never mind GM reliability and other than onstar its not very advanced either. Take your friend up on driving the car for a few days that is a great way to get to know it. Offer him 42,000 and let him try to sell it to someone else and get the first right of refusal in case he is offered more money. You also will need to pay to transfer the warranty. In this climate of gas costs it will be interesting to see the resale value of any big suv once ur friend drives that off the lot. Just my humble opinion

rv travel you are spot on with my experience. how bout some rolling stories, how far have you rolled without hitting the gas to a freeway exit or in another situation, and were the people behind u upset?

REI had some nice choices last time i went there. both yakima and thule. some will fit on a tow hook up and others on the rear hatch if no tow hookup is available. also there are roof models however im not crazy about liftiing the bikes all the way up there.

For the tax year 2005 there is a 400h 2000.00 hybrid tax deduction. I dont think it is a straight dollar for dollar deduction as is true for the folks in 2006 covered under a different tax law. (BTW regarding 2006 there is a cap on the amount of cars per manufacturer that will qualify for a tax deduction, i.e. since Toyota makes the majority of hybrids they will run up against the cap and not be able to have every car qualify for a deduction.) Getting back to 2005, it iis my understanding that a percentage of the $2,000 will be deducted. Most SUV's lose 25% or more when u drive them off the lot especially in this day of high and going higher gas prices. Lexus probably retains more than the average but i think $45,000 is generous. In my state you will have to pay tax and license all over again when you transfer the title. I guess one way to do it is to ask a dealer how much he would get to take it back. I bet it we will be surprised, and it will be closer to 40K to just walk away from it.

I dont know if the heated seats are married to the ML im sure someone online will tell us. its a popular option here in the dank northwest. I drove the 400h without the Levinson system. The standard stereo is a Bose system that is quite competent and i was tempted to go for that vehicle. It saves about 1K. It was white and as i stood and looked at it from all angles i just couldnt live with how it looked with the tail lights and the other silver gray accents on the car. I know that is very subjective, fortunately silver metallic came along about a week later.

Its sunday afternoon and i just came from a toyota dealership where i visited with a salesperson for a non auto related issue, and i asked him if he had any Highlander Hybrids for sale. Sure enough they had a sliver, limited that they were selling over sticker for 46K, he said they were in such short supply that they had to pay 'retail for it from another dealer' whatever that means. If Highlanders can sell at just 5K below a 400h, it makes me feel better about spending the extra for the Lexus.

wwest i appreciate all of your posts as you add an insight many do not have. The Lexus of Bellvue dealership also owns the one in tacoma (where i signed up and purchased my 400h). Their lists are much shorter, and all of that added crap you mentioned is optional. 400h4me, the two things you have working against you are that on the west coast these vehicles are still more popular, and only one car has come into my dealership out of all of them without the Mark Levinson. As soon as those cars hit the dock on the west coast they know the vin numbers and the options and start calling their customers. This dealership made thier first black on black 400h the demo car and has had that available for test drives since late April. (i pity the soul that purchases that abused stepchild). Still there is always one there to test. Something is up with your dealership they are not sharing with u, and at the very least i dont think they can get a vehicle optioned the way u described. Buy the one with the Mark Levinson, millenium silver with black interior is a very handsome combination in my opinon, my light gray interior has been hard to maintain, even with no dog inside.

I signed up August '04 and drove home my 400h on July 2 '05. I was offered two vehicles in June however the color was not right. I was number 28 on the list. Some people were passed over because they were unreachable, everyone on my dealers list south of Seattle who wanted bamboo pearl waited longer simply because that color was hard to get in the pacific northwest. DVD player seemend to take longer too. Ironically the night i purchased my 400h i had to wait for my salesman to finish up a sale on a flint mica 400h to a lady who had just walked in that day, she was never on any list. Been happy with my silver metallic w/gray interior. The waiting list did give me a chance to save up money for the vehicle. It seems to me you should have gotten your car already. I would call other dealers and see what is available, sometimes u just have to be in the right place at the right time. All deposits in Washington are refundable if you dont purchase a car.

Thanks for the correction.

LexRex thanks for your efforts to gather owners real world experiences. Patt i do agree with you that braking and learning to drive a hybrid makes a huge difference in mpg. It is something the NYT reviewer could not have time to learn. He also was not aware that cruise control on the freeway adds mpg over using the gas pedal. He drove the vehicle in mostly freeway conditions, not an honest way to test this SUV for mileage. He said it takes premium gas, also not true from what i can tell in my manuel. The graph that was used in his article indicated that gas would have to cost $23.50 per gallon to make it pay. That i thot had to be a typo but still it was there. He mentioned an electric whine at freeway speeds, i dont have that in my 400h. He mentioned nothing about the combination of quickness and handling that this vehicle has that is head and shoulders above anything else out there. The whole tone of the article was so unfair to what Toyota has created with the 400h. I get an honest 25 to 27 mph on regular fuel with mixed freeway/city driving. This replaces a 99 Ford Exploder that got 15 mpg, was less safe and had seats that felt like i was in a pit bulls mouth. You do the math. I am not looking through rose colored glasses with this car, yes its expensive, the interior to me is harder to maintain from a cleaning standpoint, everything marks the plastic surfaces, and the dog has been banished from this vehicle and yes hes very angry about it. Bottom line, im happy with the mpg, very happy with the quickness and comfort, the car puts a smile on my face each time i drive it and i would do it again in a heartbeat. Keep giving em hell, sincerely yours Dave in Seattle

For Treo 650 owners who use Cingular there is a new Palm One update that improves memory use, volume, and EASE OF BLUETOOTH connectivity in car applications. It is at their palm one web site.

Every time you jump start a modern vehicle you risk frying one or more expensive computer chips. In the average vehicle they can range from $300 to over 1K. With as much electronics as the 400h has i would never use it to jump start anything.

bainse: the local body shop that repairs my work trucks is able to order any car badge or decal for a car as they are often damaged in collisions or need to be removed for paint work. I am sure they can get a hybrid synergy drive tag from a Prius for u. U will be amazed a what those little pieces of plastic cost however it was fun to put a M5 tag on the back of my exploder.

The hybrid system needs time to break in, and even tho you are experienced in high mileage in a conventional car learning to get the best mpg in the 400h does take some time. Also most of your miles have been highway, make sure you use the cruise control as much as possible as this will also improve mpg. enjoy your 400h and welcome. The majority of us are getting 25 to 27 mpg in mixed hiway/city use.

its always inside the first section on A2. they are one of the only papers to publish their corrections in the front of the paper where they can actually be seen. news coverage messages can be sent to nytnews@nytimes.com Readers dissatisfied with a response or concerned about the paper's journalistic integrity can reach the public editor, Byron Calame, at public@nytimes.com He can be reached by phone 212.556.7652 The news dept can be reached by phone at 1.888.698.6397 Keep giving em hell.

I wrote a letter to the nyt correcting the errors in the article and questioning the tone and intent of the whole piece. They have responded that they are looking into it for what ever that is worth. I have also written to their public affairs editor to inquire how much of the story was changed by their editors, and asking them why they would want to smear the 400h, Toyota, and a fairly large advertiser to thier newspaper.

I find digital readouts irritating to look at and gauges much more pleasing to the eye. My friend has a GM digital speedo on her Buick and i hate it.

mix a solution of Woolite liquid soap for fine hand washing. It is safe for leather and will do a better job of cleaning than those all in one cleaner conditioners. Wash the leather with a bath towel. Rinse at the end with clear water (wiping not drowning). Then put a conditioner on the leather. The woolite will do a better job getting the old dirt out.

Jason I agree wholeheartedly with you. My real world mpg in mixed driving is consistently 25 to 27 after 1,500 miles. It is clear that Sabatini has a bias and an agenda when you read the article. He knows that hybrids get better mileage in the city and the first thing he does is go on a 200 mile trip with little city driving. He claims to be an expert in fuel economy but doesnt understand that learning the balance between power and economy in this vehicle takes longer than a test drive. The total package of this vehicle including power, safety, comfort, technological amenities and fuel economy is head and shoulders above anything else out there. In a perfect world i would love a diesel electric fueled by the bio diesel distilled from fry oil that my neighbor is making in his garage @ .50 a gallon. This vehicle does not exist at this time. Nor is there an American hybrid that is not a huge compromise. Toyota will move forward through each generation of hybrid to a mass produced version that even a cynic like Sabatini can appreciate. This is a step along the way, I'm happy to be part of the process.