SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME

Ever looked at the front calipers on your hybrid (much less, the rear)? We have over 70K miles on one of our hybrids. There's so much of the stopping power done by regenerative energy recapture, that literally the minimum wear ever takes place. Our front pad? You'd be hard pressed to even guess that they have 4K miles on 'em ... much less the rear pads. You'd really have to be doing tons of crazy-insane breaking to get pads to wear a lot, on a hybrid. In fact, the bigger problem for those who drive extra carefull in hybrids, is rust building up on the rotors. So I hit 'em hard ever so often, to keep the rust off ... just in case. As for fluid change, since the Toyota hybrid specialist confirms 100K miles is do-able. That's when we'll be doing the flush.

The ultimate lockpick won't require dash disassembly, but the regular one, and lockpick-blue WILL have to be accessed behind the MFD. Different versions of the lockpick have different modular sockets, male & female. So the more expensive lockpicks can plug directly into the NAV dvd box under the tool set. Thus, some will still have to take the dash apart. Edit: BUT .. the good news is that even if you buy the simle lockpicks that require dash removal ... you're only taking out the panels around the radio ... it's pretty easy ... unscrew the shift knob ... pull up the shift er trim, then the trim above it pulls out, then unscrew the radio (only 4 10mm screws) then it pulls out, then the MFD pulls out. The panels pull out because they're just held in by clips. Once the mfd is pulled out, the lockpick plugs into the wire harness plug.

You call that a crowd? That aint a crowd. THIS is a crowd. http://bp0.blogger.com/_i6SyfpkY09o/R5-RmY...ina+Beach+5.bmp http://bp1.blogger.com/_i6SyfpkY09o/R5-Rzo...ian+Beach+6.bmp http://bp3.blogger.com/_i6SyfpkY09o/R5-RbI...ina+Beach+4.bmp Now, THAT's pee. :P

once you get your system back in order, get a copy of "rollbackRX". It'll take an image of your system "just as it is". So whether you erased your operating system, or simply get a virus, it'll restore every thing ... roll it back to just as it was. The software runs quick, is not memory intensive, and you can set it up to image (in less than 10 seconds) as many times as you want ... whether a dozen times per day, or once a month. It doesn't require an emergency CD to run it either. good luck!

Morning CDR A, And Welcome! 6'-5" here ... 35" inseam. I like long walks on the beach - Oh! wrong forum :P Sorry, couldn't resist. But no problem here. Both my wife & I find the seating / lumbar support just fine, & we've made a trip back & forth between So Cal & the Flathead Valley MT a couple times ... once, straight thru - 19hours.

The rear wheels deliver power at any speed, turning on how much power demand is required, not just low speed. Having the 400h ~ and using it on MT winter roads sometimes, yes, wheelspin CAN be an issue ... as it can w/ ANY car. Much of it turns on experience the driver has, driving on ice or snow. Someone mention that Lexus says NO chains on the 400h rear, but the Toyota tech (when we asked) said studs are no issue. So we run studs & the ice driving is no better / worse than any other vehicle we've driven.

Those who just barely eek by can't afford to be environmentalists ... whether the Pakistani burning coal to stay warm, or the West Verginian poor slob who can only afford a smog belching gas wasting 70's road runner. Only those w/ a little extra cash can afford to 'do right'. We've been buying CFL's since the mid 90's when they 1st came out. They were horrible compared to modern ones. Now they're more efficient, come in warmer colors, contain less mercury, etc. Plus, more & more places are set up for recycling them. If no one ever bought them, they'd never be made better ... just like hybrids, or battery cars. Now with econo lighting, the best is LED ... but the excelent ones (for use in R30 can lights) cost over $115 a piece. But if those of us who can afford 'em never buy them, then the prices will never come down via mass production. It's just as easy to bag on 'CFL users' (... claiming how they can harm the environment if not disposed of properly) as it is to bag on hybrid drivers. People say about hybrids, "your not helping w/ your high mileage car, because it costs more energy to build it" ... etc. Yep, there's alway something folks can find on the negative side. Gore? I'm not for or against the guy, but from experience I know OUR home uses over $500 in electricity some months, because we run our small businesses out of the home. So the AC has to be set around 72 for customer comfort. Now if I had a ton of Secret Service on property, and who knows how many other folks running around the landscape, I'd probably be using 8 or 10 times more power. All that to say 'walk a mile in their shoes'. Do the best you can. That's all you can do.

I don't see the problem. The traction battery is warranted to 100K (150K miles in some states) unless you're driving a salvaged vehicle. Lexus gives you a rental car during the interim. Traction batteries comprize lots of littler batteries, built into a bigger moduel. The dealer's service department has equipment that can determine which of the individual cels are bad. Boom. Back on the road you go. Think about it, there are over 1,000,000 hybrids on the road now. There's bound to be one or more traction packs that will die early ... just like a regular car's equipment sometimes dies prematurly. When they finish, you should be good to go! BTW, Lemon laws don't apply until there are multiples of the same occurance. You cover several more issues ... like the ICE continuing to run when you're 4 bars down. If your A.C. is running, that's normal. Many here don't grasp how to have the vent on strictly, without the A.C. but you CAN do that. But being in many parts in AZ, you might not want to. Better mpg in the rental? How many miles did it have on it compared to yours. The 400h like many hybrids seems to have multiple break in periods. Some notice improved mpg's around 2K-3K miles, then again more around 10K. Now if your issues are deeper, Lexus is pretty good about 'making it right'. So now that your case is documented (and you DO keep your hybrid beyond the warranty, tho most don't), Lexus will most likely take care of you ... and if they go bad again, early, you will mostly be taken well care of in a timely maner.

Hugh? Brake fluid turn to steam? Brake fluid is oil ... so, no steam

There's another thread burried on this folder w/ instructions on how to install a switch. This was our route. I like being able to turn 'em off. Just sitting there in the parking lot in stealth mode? Who needs em?

From the dealer's hybrid specialist (though this flatly contradicts the 'overkill' maintenance scheduel) ... off the record, but still, from one who is as 'in-the-know' as one can possibly be: http://priuschat.com/forums/care-maintenan...-you-don-t.html So if you ARE paranoid, or have cash to throw around you can ... but it's nice to know you don't have to.

LU1DE ... just curious ~ what is the conection between Estonia, and Argentina ?

Maybe some are missing the point. If I'm reading the O.P. correctly, they simply want to do what we did w/ our 400h. We got chincy ugly steel buggy wheels just to mount 4 studded tires on. In harsh winter ice driving, weight, beauty, best ride and mpg are not the over riding factors, rather traction. The location in the OP's avatar shows Canada, so I'm guessing they deal w/ a good amount of slick ice, as we've had to do on a couple winters. We didn't have to go down 1" with our ugly steel wheels as there is plenty of room as is. Note, we didn't look for 'cool' steel rims, as winter driving in the north is not about 'cool' ... except for the temps :P . That said there is a member here that actually installed appx. 1" taller tires on the stock 400h rims w/ no harm.

I hear ya. Too bad, as some of the input was good (whether I agreed or not), after filtering the 'stuff' out. It was odd to have someone have so much to say about the hybrid experience w/o ever owning one.

Chicago glr, The foo foo coffee, pick up & drop off etc service is fine, for the service department. But 'sales' folks often know squat about their product. That needs work. Lastly, the interface between dealership & manufacturing / design is dismal. When your customers tell you what we want, you have no ability to transfer that input to corporate. That too, would be great. Good luck!

hmm, looking at the numbers below: EPA gas mileage (city/highway, mpg) For RX350 19/24 EPA gas mileage (city/highway, mpg) For RX400h 31/27 Not sure what you mean by "... little reason to optimize HSD ... for freeway use" It seems the highway numbers for the 400h ARE better than the 350's straight ICE. So are you saying that if the 400h's ECU's controlled battery function differently, that the highways numbers would be / could be even higher?

(knock knock knock) Helo in there ... anyone ready for a dose of reality yet? Here's a recent article from CBS: http://wbztv.com/national/gas.prices.economy.2.758255.html It's not WHEN will gas be $7 a gallon, but whether it'll be in a year ... or three. Just like it is already in Asia and Europe allready. Speculators? . . . Saudi Conspiracy? . . . First ~ for every speculator that makes a ton of money in a hedge fund, there are an equal numper of speculators that loose. Add them all together, and surprise surprise surprise ... they zero out. Oh, but our emotions feel so good when we can blame supply & demand factors on ANYTYHING other than supply and demand. Sure ... it's the speculators. Second: The Saudi conspiracy ~ Saudi wells have been pumping for over 3/4 of a century. Now, the giant fields are on the decline. Geologists have been saying our current scarcity / supply & demand scenerio would hit ... and the only reason it wasn't even more exact, is because geologists couldn't predict how much demand would increase via China & India. Eventually, the dose of reality will sink in to the hard core denial crowd ~ that the fossle fuel era is nearing its sunset. And WHAHH ... those in denial won't be able to drive their over powered fuel slugs, like there's no tomorrow ... ever bitching at the growing number of people in the slow lane, to "get out of my way & stop making me go around you". Even as we enter another month ... July of '08 ... there are folks who sadly predicted, "we'll be returning to $2/gallon gas any day now". Meanwhile, in the world of reality, the global market prepares for $150 a barrel prices. For those not in touch with reality, it's time to wind your predictions off 'till the next month ... August. Maybe it'll be August that gas returns to $2 ?? Dream on ... we'll see you in August. Hope you have an alternat plan ... you know ... just in case.

hi iloveprius, Even if your battery meter is all the way 'full' ... the traction battery is STILL not full. It never is. It's not designed to be. If your meter ever shows full, that actually means it's appx. 80% full. This feature actually is the most efficient way to make the battery last for over 100,000 miles. In fact, there are some Prius' battery packs (canadian taxi companies) that have over 300,000 miles. Same battery scenerio is true, when your meter 'looks' empty. Again, it's not. The ECU's prevent the traction pack from dipping below 20% ... so if you get to what looks like 'empty' ... don't worry, they're not. The engineers decided that to let the batterys completly depleat, would shorten their lives. Toyota tries to make the system idiot proof. But there IS a way you can defeat the 'idiot-proof' system. Turn on your AC when in stealth mode, and shift to neutral. The ICE won't come on to recharge the pack, unless the hybrid is either in 'park' or in 'drive'. In other words, "DON'T ever do that". :P

Hi gryphix, The greatest MPG killer is short trips ... those short trips will kill more than a lead foot on the accelerator. The lead foot is simply a learned habbit that can get corrected. But the ICE simply is NOT as efficient as when it's up to operating temperature. You'd be lucky to average even 25mpg if a moderate portion of your trips are under 5 miles. That said, Toyota does sell an electric block heater (ebh) that makes a big difference for us on BOTH our hybrids. Example: Without block heater on our prius, our 1st five minutes will average about 20mpg. WITH the ebh, the 1st five minutes go up to 50mpg. Similarly on the 400h, the first 5 minutes w/out the ebh, it will get 14mpg. Using the EBH gets the 400h's first 5 minutes up to 29mph or more. This helps even in the summer ... much less the winter. And when I do the math, the 65 or 75 minutes of electricity (we use a timer to energize the extension cord) to warm the block is less costly then the gas we'd have used. Better mpg's don't come naturally, either. It takes effort & practice. Good luck!

Sorry about that... writing too fast ... but yes. The 40% loss is based off conversion (heat source to steam to generator to transmitted source). Whereas locally located photo cels are more efficient. So with fossle fuel costs, it only makes sense to me ... to tell the dealer (when (s)he asks what model I want) the next vehicle I buy, will only have an electric motor ... whether it's a hihy, an RX, or one of those little 'think' EV's which are schedueled to come out next year (62mph for over 100 miles ... woo hoo!).

CNG, EV, and numerous other alternatives will be necessary. Cheep oil kept most of glued to it as the 'sole' sorce, but now, there IS no silver bullet. As for pure EV cars and the power grid ... well, the "over-stressed" issue isn't as great an obstical as one might think. Sure, the oilies want us to think this way, but consider this. The grid can (usually) handle hot summers with the central AC running at home, electric ovens baking, etc ... as well as factories. EV charging takes less than that. But "off-peak" (10AM-6PM) charging doesn't "over-stress" the grid. In fact, since the generators are still spinning all night anyway, THAT power is just going to waste. Then, if you factor in implementing solar panels, at home, on condo roofs, parking structure roofs, etc. You're REALLY styleing because the "grid" power can have as much as 40% loss ... just in transmission resistance. But panels located right at the charging source? Now you're talking efficiency. Sadly, most of our highest efficiency panels / technology get gobbled up by long term european contracts ... where they better understand the wisdom of the technology. Thus, all those photo cel manufacturing jobs end up over seas as well (SHAKING HEAD)

Actually, she hinted the Ford's 'Chincy' factor was a little too high for her. sure, the FE isn't as high on the 400h, BUT ... many re-learn how to drive the 400H (and hihy) to get over 30mpg's. So IF you have to regularly shlub a lot of stuff, AND shlub it up a nice grade ... heck, it's nice to have the 400h's surplus power. BUT, it's nice to know that if you DO put forth the effort to get high MPG's, well the 400h CAN get in the 30mpg ... kind of the best of both worlds. Whereas the Ford will always have less power.

I talked to the folks a couple years ago at a convention, and they were nice & helpfull. From their side of the 'issue' THEY have to deal w/ (to use your word) idiots, all day ... day after day. So, you have a company that have cornered the market w/ a device, and no one else wants to hassle w/ the ... (let's just call them 'impatient') customers that 'don't get it'. Many buy the wrong thing, then threaten to 'sue' for a defect that doesn't exist, etc. They'd just as likely not sell 'em anymore as have to take on more ... er ... 'customers' that cause more headaches then the sale is worth. The point: There's often 2 sides.

Not many folks that you can say are fans of SYNC, as anything from Microsoft is prone to the blue screen of death. Gawd, they've single handly messed up PC's and smart phones ... now they're working their freez prone software into cars. That can only spell disaster.

Welcome! I'd 2nd the Michelins opinion, that they're hands down over the OEM Goodyears ... which some find ok ... but more often than not ~ folks find they simply wore out way too quick. As for NAV & sterio, those are more personal. Some find aftermarket NAV's more functional, but comparing it to our Garmin, it does everything it needs to, for us. Lexus hasn't been definative whether a new style w/ new goodies will be available of the '09 model year ... but it's all the rumor ... and if it DOES have SKS (versus the 75 year old technology - mechanicle ignition key) man I'd get that in a heartbeat.