SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME

I have all the respect for our members here, who regularly post. That said, I was told a few years ago that "over-inflating" tires from the paltry 30's WILL NOT ... repeat, NOT cause tires to wear in the center (much less, prematurely) - as we've all heard time & time again, over many decades. Our crummy/original GoodYears (BOTH on the Prius AND the 400h) wore out in LESS than 12,000 miles, though they were kept at the "recommended" pressure in the 30's. So I gave it a try. Long story short, we run 48 psi in the Prius. Our Prius's Michelin Hydroedge tires now have over EIGHTY THOUSAND miles on them, and they're just NOW starting to show a faint sign that they're starting to wear. And that's REGULAR wear ... not in the center. Similarly our 400h tires run higher pressures, at 44psi. They've lasted over 40,000 miles and show NO signs of center wear. The folks who turned me on to this explained that radials (unlike old fashion bias tires) simply don't turn into misshaped balloons. What can I say. You can read contradictory "center wear" storiess until you're blue in the face, but deliberately using higher psi's made a believer out of me. Additionally, you get better MPG's which most folks will concede ... as well as a harder ride. But for higher mpg's ? It's worth it to me ... and we got tires that actually have lasted MUCH longer - AND higher mpg's. Go figure! What do you think? We use 0W-20 synthetic, too ... even in summer. The lower friction helps mpg's. We installed the factory block heater, and if we're regularly driving the 400h - we turn it on about 2 hours before leaving in the morning ... summer & winter. That way the ICE is already warmed up. Oh ... and we block the grill, too, even partly in the summer, until the temps are over 80 degrees. But beyond all the little tricks, a LOT of it is anticipatory driving. If you drive like someone who get 24mpg then that's what you'll get. Drive like someone who gets 34mpg - and that's what you'll get. But here's ironic observation. I've read many Lexus post about mpg's and more often than not, you read, "I don't care what kind of mileage I get - because I can afford it". Yes, it seems many Lexus drives put ride / comfort / looks / power / handling etc FIRST, and mpg's a WAY distant last place. That's the way it is with my significant other ... she drives the 400h like someone who gets 26mpg - and so she does. Yep ... it's a teeny/lonely world for the few us Lexus hyper mile'ers. :)

Strange - every Lexus hybrid tech I've spoken with says to replace the PCV at 60K ... which really just makes common sence. They're easy to DIY, and just a few bucks at the local autozone type place. But the PDF says only the following are necessary (all easy to do your self)at 60K: o Replace engine oil and oil filter; reset reminder light o Rotate tires o Visually inspect brake pads and rotors o Road-test vehicle Let us know what they do, and let us know what they charge, if you don't mind.

Correct ... whether you have the AWD, or the FWD no button. +1 On the other hand, it IS important to have good snow tires. The stock tread suck major sphincter.

Ray - read THIS post ... it's the VERY same, minimum junk: http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-prius-care-maintenance-troubleshooting/28970-what-services-you-need-what-you-don-t.html The list of stuff was put together by a certified factory hybrid tech. Edit: You can go down to the dealer and ask them for a run down of what you get for your HUNDREDS of dollars at 60K. Inspect brake lines (nope, none cracked/leaking), inspect brake pads (nope, plenty left) change cabin filter ($14 on line ... and BOOM, 35 seconds to install) etc. These so called MAJOR service checkpoints are NOT necessary to keep your warranty valid. Want to REALLY make the service manager squirm? Ask him, "what's the MINIMUM I HAVE to do to keep the warranty valid?" It's a great honesty/integrity test too.

We have it in the 2006 400h. It works fine. It allows access to phone/bluetooth menu dialing as well. Easy to install, it was up & running in less than 30 minutes. I give it 2 thumbs up.

Just read a bit of Wikipedia's 400h description. Is my calculater bad? Check out the math regarding front electric motor, rear electric motor. When you add them together, their math would mean the ICE gets less than 100hp. EDIT ... sorry for the spelling in the 'Topic' ... can't find how to edit, using the new board software (grumble grumble)

Yes ... THIS is helpfull ... Lexus shop is NOT helpfull. We're ready for our THIRD ... count 'em ... THIRD set of tires, in only 42,000 miles. (TSB relating to alignment pulls to right) No problem? TSB applies if you're under 50,000 miles. Yet according to Lexus our 400h has over 48 months FRIOM IN-SERVICE date. Lexus says that means once it was manufactured ... even if it wasn't bought/driven/registered for THREE months prior! I'm thinking, "eh! no big deal ... 6 months ago, we paid $2,000 for Lexus' extended bumper to bumper warranty (just in case these people tried to wiggle out of stuff like this). I wouldn't think we'd have to pull the extended warranty card. After all, we've been having to get it aligned & aligned & aligned again & again to no avail. WHY didn't these people run a TSB check?!? Why is it that the customer has to WAVE the TSB in their face?!? WHY won't they simply CHANGE OUT the G.D. part?!? (taking a deep breath). OK, so I'm going back down again, today, to see what the next run around will be. (sigh) Maybe I should take it to the Toyota shop in stead. They've always shown more integrity & character regarding repairs than any of our Lexus experiences. I'd certainly prefer to experience customer care, and integrity ... than a waiting room that serves foo-foo coffee. Meah - maybe that's just me.

I will say this about how bullet proof the HSD is. Out of over TWO MILLION hybrids running around the landscape with HSD, I've only heard of a couple persons having problems ... & I've looked for them on the web, different forums etc. In addition, although the Stealership will want you to come in sooner, the CVT does NOT need to have its fluid changed for NINTY thousand miles. This nuget was given to by by TWO hybrid tech specialists ... but if you want to wast perfectly good fluid, knock yerself out!

I've found that reporting major defects in nav data bases to garmin, gets you no where ... and not even a 'thanks now leave us alone'. .

We went with a seperate set of wheel/show tires that we throw on just during winter. Pirelli 'winter carving edge' tires. But studs my not be legal in your area. If I remember, it seems they were a couple hundred buck, each. With the quasi-awd and studs, it's not too shabby, even cornering on slick ice. .

My spouse plays her ipod on the RX-400h and I play mine in the Prius. I installed the 'dice silverline' in both. It took about the same amount of time to install ... in each car ... about 20 minutes. You can control the ipod using the MFD, once the dice is installed. See here for a demonstration of the ipod song selection process using the mfd: There are other interface devices besides the dice, but that was our preference. The controls are a bit different on the RX, turning on which type of radio/CD player that came in your Lexus. .

:P Poor poor, 250h ... all by its lonesome in a solo column ... wouldn't it be appropriate to glom it's colums onto it's siblings, with all the other Lexus hybrid threads? Seems only fair, now that it IS in production. Oh! and our neighbor has one too. Just brought it over to show off. So we have THREE ... count 'em ... THREE hybrids in the driveway:

That's right, it won't rev ... no matter how much pedel you stomp. Why? Beats me. I just saw a working mechanical model that showed the process way better than I could ever attempt to explain it. I'll see if I can find the web link. Another obscure issue is the mechanical key. On a REGULARE ICE car ... when you turn the key to 'start' - ALL power is killed (radio, etc ... maybe with the exception of headlights, which will dim way down) so that the starter motor has as much of the starter battery as necessary. On the RX hybrid (prior to the newest gen, which has the 'Power On' button) if you have your NAV screen up when you turn the key to 'start' ... the MFD gets conked out as though you'd turned the car off ... which is completely unnecessary, since the ICE start is done by the traction pack ... not the aux battery. The aux battery mearly needs to boot up the ECU's. You'd think Lexus would have bypassed the internal part of the ignition switch that kills other electronics that are running.

Thanks for the high price heads up. I'll be checking out the salvage yards if/when the time comes. Their nation wide search tools work pretty good.

No. The rear motor is electric, and has NO connection to the front drive line. If that doesn't blow your mind enough, consider the 'reverse' factoid: In reverse ... even the ICE delivers 0% power to propulsion ... reverse is strictly electric. The whole 'lock' concept stems back to the good ol' days, when you'd get out of your 4x4, and twist the front hub locks so that the entire front axle would be engaged. Otherwise it'd spin free, which helped reduce wear & increase mpg's. .

dbh100, I'm over 220lbs and notice that wear often happens according to how much load the seat has on it, as well as how long you're sitting in the car. So my wife's driver's seat has a lot less wear than my seat has. Still, one shouldn't see failure before 10k miles.

You just missed the twice a year most excellent Tire / Costco sale that ended last Sunday. If you can make it 'till the next one, it's well worth the wait.

Well ... I tried to be subtle :P : http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index...showtopic=29142 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lexus_ES http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtopic....1abb93d2c9197c6 Not to say that re-badging makes the Lexus less a car ... just that those whacky folks at Toyota know how to get a lot of mileage out of a platform. ;)

We run the electric block heater (EBH) for about 2 hours when we run routine chores in the morning. The garage has gotten down as low at 10 degrees f. The heater will be MUCH warmer, much quicker. The EBH is the same for Lexus as it is many toyotas ... a one size fits all port manufactured right into the block. We even run the EBH in the summer & it makes the 1st 8 or 10 minutes of driving mpg's much better. You can also block your grill (like truckers do) to keep the ICE warmer in sub freezing winters.

of course it does ... Then there's always the other wacky alternative ... turn off the ignition. ;) btw, there's already a ton of dialogue going on about this under the "general" threads. .

+1

Who knows, After all, our hybrid RX is built (i believe) on the camry platform. How many other Lexus products are similarly built on Toyota platforms. .

Good news is that Toyota hardware/software is now complete that will cause the 'fly by wire' accelerator to disengauge if/when the brake & accelerator are applied (or stuck) simultaneously. It's true that it's "near impossible" to trace. But pinpointing with 95% accuracy is do-able. If for example, there are after market mats, thrown over the top of OEM mats, then you have a known issue. If you have a driver who has never been shown how to shove a car into neutral, then you have a contributing cause, traced to within 95% accuracy. Few things in life are beyond all probability, & - 100% always a certain way. .

Oh that's right. Sorry. But after following the post, on & on & on & on & on . . . like many, I'd forgotten the first part way way way back up there at the top. Folks tend to remember the last stuff. In this case: So talking about a new German made SUV (to me) made it sound like it would soon be time to dump the Lexus. Soon, because who knows how cars, or dealerships, or independent shop will be 1/2 decade from now. Yea, I guess you could have meant to keep the lexus ... but since (aparently) independent shops are not a good choice for what ever reason ... well, one can guess how I jumped to conclusions. But for many, if you (for example) love diamonds, you have diamonds. If the diamond cleaning shop is junky, many don't get rid of the diamonds and start buying rubys. You simply clean the diamonds some other place ... or some folks DIY. For many, it turns on hou much you love what you have. To each his/her own. .

Here's the deal: http://www.cbc.ca/fp/story/2010/01/27/2491...l#ixzz0drYDV8so In short, Toyota grew so fast, that their primary supplier (Denso, a Japanese company, but manufacturing is still done world wide) was not able to make parts fast enough. So the brake part in question was outsourced to CTS (an Indiana based company, making parts world wide ... though the defective parts were made only by their canadian location). Since Lexus quantities a much lower, you won't ever see the kind of defect numbers you see with toyota. Btw, the parts also go on the Pontiac Vibe, and Fords made in China ... so Toyota isn't the only buyer ... their simply the largest. That fact makes them the biggest target, just like when GM was on top of the world. .