Jim Clark

I hadn't, but she mostly drives it and she just noticed today.

My wife called me this morning from work and said her windshield has a crack. It's at the top on the driver's side. It apparently starts at the very top, comes down some, meanders in an irregular way to the right and back to the top. She says she wasn't hit by anything. Anything hitting hard enough to cause a crack would certainly have been noticed. Anyone else had a similar problem (crack without a hit)?

This one DOES interest me. I always buckle up but sometimes if I'm moving from one part of a large parking lot to another, I don't want the hassle. But the annoying chime makes me put it on, even if I'm only traveling a short distance at 5 mph.

Thanks for the info. I had Pirelli Scorpion A/T's on my Jeep Grand Cherokee for a number of years. They were quite good. They were replaced by Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's (highest rated at TireRack at that time). They are currently rated #4 but have a whopping 57 million miles of experience in the ratings.

I thought pretty much all gas was up to 10% ethanol these days. Your gas engine may be running more in the very hot weather. The A/C is electrically driven off the main battery packs. I believe the separate liquid cooling system for the front electric motor is also electrically driven. This may be draining the batteries faster and require the gas engine to run more for charging the batteries. 27 mpg average is very good.

I'll PM you to avoid sounding like a comercial. As for the 'In service Date' ~ that's what I would have presumed. But the Toyota/Lexus terms are clear ... date of manufacture. Probably only 1-2 months difference anyway.

Can't we all just get along? Again, to the OP, from the description of your problem, it needs more diagnostic work before spending money on a yellow top battery.

The ICE may be on more in that Vegas heat to provide engine cooling (keep the coolant circulating through the radiator). The A/C is electric and not run from a belt off the ICE. I believe the front electric motor is also water cooled but it is a separate system from the ICE water cooling so I would guess it's also electrically pumped. Maybe all the above combines to require more power from the ICE to keep the hybrid batteries charged as they are providing the power to cool both the cabin and the front electric motor.

May '05 is not that early for a 2006. The extended warranty should be from the IN-SERVICE date, the day you bought the car.

5000 with dino is probably OK for our cars. With a good synthetic, you could go 10k no problem.

I have heard of other people having the battery die but it was typically a door not fully shut and the interior lights running it down overnight. Your problem sounds different and I think your dealer needs to do a little more diagnostic work. It could be that you've been unlucky and got two bad batteries but that seems highly unlikely. It seems something's wrong with your charging system or there's something that's remaining on after shutdown and draining it.

When one of the car mags did a track test of high-end performance cars, they liked the Ferrari 360 best. BUT, they said if price was one of the judging criteria, the Vette won hands down.

When we bought our new '08, the price difference between used and new wasn't even that much, it was more like $6k. That made the decision pretty easy, at $10k we would have thought about it more. You're paying extra for the CPO. There is probably at least 1.5 years left on the factory warranty, maybe 2 or more, that means it's really only getting you 1-1.5 years extra beyond the factory warranty. If you'll drive a boatload of miles, the CPO might be worth it, but Lexus's are so darn reliable you'll probably never need it. Whichever you choose, get it loaded including AWD and Nav, any future buyer will want both. I think the dealers order them all with the Preferred + pkg and you definitely want it. 2006 was the first year for the 400h but I haven't heard of any major or recurring problems with them. I'm not sure what changed from 2006-2008. Our '08 has certain gadgets that we were used to and wanted including memory seats, auto-dimming mirrors, etc.

Re-read this thread: http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=47259 Even if gas prices reach $5.20 per gallon, the payback is still 5 years or 60,000 miles.

Pictures! :chairshot:

I don't think it's changing until 2010 which would be out mid-late 2009.

You'd have a hard time finding a new 400h without nav. Dealers nearly always order these cars loaded because the great majority of customers want them that way. When you go to re-sell it, the next buyer will want the nav. It's a pretty good system, better than your Ipod. Your gas mileage will be better on average with more city driving. BUT, gas mileage by itself is not a good enough reason to spend the extra $3700 for the hybrid. The payback is too long. But there are other reasons that make it worth it like the excellent torque provided by the electric motors and the CVT transmission. I'm not sure the Mark Levinson stereo is worth the extra money. For that money, you could do a better aftermarket upgrade.

Entering data into the screen while driving is probably not a good idea for obvious safety reasons. There are voice commands that can be used while driving but people have had mixed results with their usefulness. The new portable GPS units are probably better than the built-in nav systems but you need the nav for resale. Everyone buying one of these used will want it. I think the BT speakerphone works quite well. You need to record a keyword for each number for voice command dialing.

We rarely see the light green bars. I don't think I've ever seen bars all the way to the top. The other day I really stomped on it from a stop with both electric motors kicking in big time. I was surprised how much the charge had gone down after I did this, probably went down two bars. They have programed it to not allow it to charge too much or too little as either could damage the batteries. Normal is 60-75%.

That's an apples and oranges analogy. You have to compare the SAME vehicle with both non-hybrid and hybrid versions which is what I did. My simple point was that increased gas mileage is not a compelling reason to get the more expensive hybrid version. My analysis assumed premium fuel in both vehicles. We knew when we bought the 400h that we would not get a payback based on gas mileage for a very long time, if ever. I think the only two significant reasons for the hybrid are the improved low-end torque and lower emissions. The CVT tranny is also a nice benefit. I assume the 350 can be equipped with basically the same options as the 400h. The improved gas mileage is a good thing but not reason enough by itself for the hybrid. Add up all the things I just mentioned and I think it is worth it.

Better recalculate Jim :D It's aint coming back down. Near our So Cal home the average is over $4 / gallon, and next year, we'll all be lamenting, "remember when gas was only $5 a gallon?" So if you have to have a SUV, the 400h mpg's is about as good as you can get. Holy price gouging Batman!!! We're still about $3.80-3.90 here for premium. At $4.50 per gallon, the savings is $608. that lowers payback to 6 years or 72,000 miles. At $5.20 for premium, the savings is $702 per year which lowers payback to a little over 5 years or 60,000 miles. It's still a long payback.

Did they Road Force Balance them? It's not quite as critical as with higher performance cars/tires but it's still a good idea.

The salesman doesn't care. The finance manager does because they get commissions on the financing. They also love to sell the extended warranties, commissions are very good there. With a lease, it can be difficult to tell what you're actually paying for the car. Some companies are offering very competitive financing packages. We leased one of our Audi wagons because the implicit interest was about 1%. We paid cash for the last few cars we bought.

Many good points. Just make sure the doors are all closed and the battery will not be an issue. Acceleration and ride are excellent. Some people think the ride is too soft and handling is less than optimal. We think it's fine. Creature comforts and gadgets are great. It also has plenty of room for passengers and cargo. The AWD system is a joke compared to many others out there. BUT, get it for the resale, the next buyer will want it. Gas mileage is not a great reason to get the 400h. If you compare it to the RX350, based on 12,000 miles per year, $3.80 per gallon, 25 mpg for the 400 and 19.5 mpg for the 350, your savings are $513 per year. The base price difference is $3,680. That's over 7 years or 84,000 miles for payback and doesn't even consider the interest factor on the savings. The emissions are considerably lower for the 400h than non-hybrid SUV's. In the DC area, the 400h qualifies to use HOV lanes with only the driver aboard. That's the real reason we bought it, my wive saves a lot of time in her commute.

Just a quick update on my problems, which now seem to be solved. I went back to the service department of my Lexus dealer and asked them for a road test with the foreman of the shop floor. When I arrived there and explained what I believe the problem was, the foreman said that he probably already knows what's wrong with the car and we even don't have to go for the road test. He asked if my battery was dead at some point in the past, and I confirmed it (I once left the interior light on over night, and the next day I couldn't start the car anymore and had to jumpstart it). So he said that the ECM was most likely the problem and he wanted to reset it so that it starts learning again. He also showed me a printout in which one item (I believe it was the ECM) was incomplete when I brought the car in, and complete after they fixed it. He also showed me a service document that listed some of the symptoms that I experienced, and the remedy for it (resetting of or relearning for the ECM). Since then my Lexus is performing well again, and the mileage is up to 28 to 29mpg from 21 to 22. I am very, very happy again with the car, and believe me, I was pretty upset before. I was really happy with the service this time, but I am pretty disappointed with my last 20k service where I had already complained about the same problems, and they told me that they read back the diagnostics and couldn't find anything wrong with the car. I wonder what diagnostics they checked this time. Also last time when I picked up the car after the service and got into the car in the pickup garage, a service reminder popped up on the center display informing that a service (don't remember which one) is due. That also made me think how thorough the service was performed in the first place, and how serious they had taken my complaint that the hybrid doesn't work properly anymore. Does any of you know if I always have to get the ECM reset if I drain my battery? If it has to be done, can it be done by the user or do I always have to take it to the Lexus service? That's good info, thanks for posting it. Doubt you can do the reset yourself. The diagnostic computer that the dealer hooks up to the car would probably be used to perform that task. I don't know if there's any third party diagnostic software you can get for Lexus's.