katzjamr

it is normal to see mostly blue down to two bars that turn rose color, you will see green from time to time usually after a cruise down some hills. the main battery is never charged 100% or depleted all the way to keep it in a sweet spot for longevity. it is the extreme cycling that shortens battery life. the next time you are in for service at the dealer you can have them make sure your ISC is set correctly, it can get out of whack if the starter battery is changed or disconnected, that might be affecting your mileage. i dont see where u are posting from, a warmer climate will also improve mpg, i.e. there is a winter mileage penalty and about three mpg increase in warmer weather. it also helps to drive in a hybrid style that increases mpg, you can read about that here. even tho some dont agree, premium fuel will also increase power and mpg usually enough to offset the increased cost. also we like to inflate the tires to 34 up to 36 psi, its better for mileage too.

your iphone will pair with the 400h. on your iphone under settings, general and bluetooth, is it set to ON and NOW DISCOVERABLE? there is also a passcode you need to enter during the pairing process, it is very simple like 1111, or 1234, it should appear either on the screen or in the manuel. my dealer in tacoma, wa has a dedicated electronics person who answers all these questions at no charge, i am sure they would help if you call.

at the 30K service when the dealer first brings this stuff up, (no one ever asked for the ac flush LOL) i told them to do only the items that toyota requires to keep the warranty in effect, no more and the bill went from $450 to $125. i did change the cabin filter at that time it gets pretty dirty. I also agree on the techron added to the gas from time to time, i like to do it just before a long trip, never had to do any other injector cleaning.

i have had the dealer reset things a couple times and as long as i ask them while it is there for another service they have always done it no charge.

i was also plesantly surprised to see that you get a comlimentary four wheel alignment after the recall service is done.

yes i will admit meterologically you can be considered a seattlite. when you rotate the sensitivity switch on the wiper stalk it does take one or two swipes for the new setting to kick in. its funny today in a light sprinkle i found my wipers wiping more frequently than i would like at the slowest setting.

the good part of a quality car wash i guess is that they recycle the water. the bad part is that there can be sand and other soils in that water that are used to wash your car. it seems to me that many car wash operations miss certain areas of the vehicle and parts can be stripped off. i would rather hand wash and know what products are going on my vehicle, also connecting to a utility sink where i can use warm water makes it easier in the winter, im talking warm water out of the hose. my lexus dealer went from hand washing after service to an automatic carwash that is state of the art, but i still tell em no thanks ill do it myself, that and no tire rotation at the dealer cuts my oil change bill in half. i imagine an auto car wash is better than nothing at all, and washing in a constantly frozen winter would take some dedication.

not to pile on but in the years ive been around this site i have never seen a complaint about lexus paint or corrosion. and in the pacific northwest we dont have alot of salt use on the highway, fortunately. still on average i do hand wash my vehicle twice a week. i will say the lexus does tend to collect more rock chips on the hood and bumper than other cars ive owned. as everyone has mentioned consult that body shop, and be forthcoming as you have been here about your infrequency of washing. would love to hear what they have to say. i know that the british invented rust and licensed it to the italians, and its no fun to have.

15 C equals about 59F which is great for a garage but my experience is it takes 70F or higher before the engine likes electric only for longer periods of time. (the traction battery is more efficient in warm weather) what others have already mentioned is its a good idea for your engine to start up at least once at the beginning of the day or after a long rest to circulate the oil in the engine. the warmer weather really will make a difference. there is a good reason the rx400's were introduced to reporters in hawaii. also your catalytic converter (do they have those in europe) needs to constantly be hot for lower emissions.

also is there an old phone in there that is causing a conflict, were all the old phones from previous owners deleted before you synced the vu?

im no expert but i would think the long trips twice a month would go along way to negate the moisture from the short trips. i got the lexus dealer to reduce the oil change cost by half because i did them more frequently. alot of toyota and lexus dealers were using a better quality synthetic blend oil, now i see they have gone to a cheaper bulk regular oil in many cases and not advising people of the change. I did call them on that after my last oil change and i have to admit the service guy took the 400h right back (i was still at the dealer) went to the auto parts store, got my blend oil and replaced it at no charge.

when i put mine in neutral and floor it it will go to 2 to3000 rpms, mechanics still have to have a way to get the ICE running during service when needed, so hitting the accelerator in neutral will certainly do that, so i dont understand why you say no fuel is delivered.

also the 2006 had a voluntary recall on the steering, ask if they were notified and if it has been taken in for that service., if not you might call a dealer and ask how that is handled with the second owner. you might expect 25 to 27 mpg in the summer and lower in the winter, the battery is not as efficient in cold weather, perhaps 20 to 23 mpg in a cold chicago winter. also depends on how well you choose to drive in a hybrid style. and if you take short trips 5 miles or less at a time rather than longer, your mileage will suffer. i would ask if the car had a garage or was kept outside, it makes a difference in the quality of the finish, check the aluminum wheels for nicks and gouges, its easy to do with these low profile tires. Over the long term the lexus will cost you less in maintenance than the bmw i would think, others may correct me on that. make sure you get an owners manuel, altho it is online and a service schedule, there was also a 300 page entertainment manual in addition. get as many keys as you can. the car came with two full function keys, one valet key and an emergency wallet size key in a plastic credit card. the full function keys(black with the buttons) are expensive to replace, or duplicate if you need to so it would be nice to get two of those.

i would want service records, make sure the 30k more expensive service was done, dont buy the car with the goodyear eagle tires, ask for money to replace them with michelins at least if there are goodyears on the car. just a thot, but with the new model coming out there are great values on new ones at the dealer, full warranty of course, better gps screen, 0 miles, just a smile for your down payment (:o

i am in seattle (which by the way is not woodinville) ;) and the rain sensing wipers work well. i am curious when you say they are really bad, what is it that doesnt work for u? have you tried cleaning the inside of the window where the sensing patch is? and the outside for that matter.

The low fuel light will go on with about three gallons left in the tank if you are able to notice it right when it happens. Regarding miles to empty, toyota was worried that too many people would run the tank low enough to run out of gas in the 400h. If that happens you only have three times to start it before the system shuts down to protect the main battery, then its a tow to the dealer to reset it.

i considered the yellow top, its even sold at costco but at three times the cost of a costco battery, and with only a one year guarantee vs the other batteries three years no questions asked, and a longer prorated warranty after, that i thot id go with the costco one.

Charles Ergen from Echostar has been buying up the debt from XM Sirius, he already has pumped hundreds of millions into the company and intends to make their debt payment of 175 million on February 17. The sattelite radio service will continue, however the shareholders are losing all the equity they had in the companies.

This doctor heads the state board that oversees the practice of medicine in arkansas, he rules on disciplinary action against doctors, physician assitants and therapists who are the subjects of complaints. I think that is the source of his bomb. It looks like he has lost an eye, broken arm, shrapnel in his abdomen, im not sure he will make it.

well its true that there is no dip stick for the tranny, however the level should be checked at the dealer or ur mechanic at 30,000 miles and replaced at least at 100k per ur service schedule. personally i would replace it sooner. it is toyota world synthetic tranny fluid however.

ATF did verify an explosive device, and the dr is in critical condition, he is an asthma dr, and involved in the state medical board. the wife was at first thot to be injured too but it was his blood on her. the explosion was felt and heard up to a mile away. this is from the ark chronicle newspaper on google

thank you mindmachine for much more eloquently explaining why premium gas used in the 400h does in fact result in better mpg, all other things being equal. (i.e. agressive driving obviously will lower mpg regardless of fuel) I understand that premium may not provide better results in other engines and in fact i use regular in our fleet of work trucks.

jrober: when i joined this group in june of 2005 the use of premium or regular fuel was a hot topic with literally hundreds of posts on this issue. at that time the owners manual didnt specify an octane grade. some people felt the 400h being sold as a green suv, should run on regular. some people wouldnt put anything but premium in thier lexus. many of us tried both and for those who did we found out: premium gave a better throttle response, better miles per gallon (in most cases negating the higher cost) and a sharper jolt as the engine cut in and out during its normal operation, dont ask me why. regular was just fine for alot of people, they didnt want to spend the extra money, were happy with the performance, and the small side benefit of the smoother engine start and stop as it cut in and out most noticably at idle. (not at speed) it takes three tanks on average to feel the difference one way or the other, going from premium to regular and vice versa. as everyone knows i have never represented myself as an 'expert' on this forum. what i am is a person who has been greatly helped by the people who post here, and one who has posted hundreds of my own real world experiences in an effort to help others, not to mention a three and a half year 400h owner with over 45,000 miles on the odometer. i encourage you to do a search on this forum using words like, premium/regular/fuel/which/best, and see what pops up. that and a decent memory are my 'proof'. please feel free to use whatever fuel u want, variety makes the world go round.

the 400h will give better mpg with premium although it can run on a lower grade of fuel.

some 400h owners have found that after a dead battery, or after body shop service where they often disconnect the battery for safety and to keep from running down with the doors open, that the dealer has to recalibrate the ISC in the hybrid ECU. as mentioned here already alot of otherwise knowledgable service reps have no idea why that is important, just tell them for your piece of mind to do it. they will get a reading that the system is set correctly or that they need to reset it in either case they can fix it. some owners were reporting decreased mpg after a battery failure as you are 08rx 400h, and after the system was reset everything returned to normal for them. i also ran this by my service rep and it was his feeling that any system that needed to be reset would result in a check engine light signal continuously on. at the same time i think some of these things can get out of setting without tripping the check engine light. please keep us posted, dave