SOMEONE ELSE'S GOT MY NAME

Try coastaletech dot com & then search for 'lockpick' for your model year ... then confirm with the company that yours is is the model it's designed for. Oh, and be patient w/ them (if they're slow to respond ... phone works best for me) as it's a tiny mom&pop outfit. Welcome to the group, too.

My understanding is moisture forms from blow by. The Atkinson engine's crank used in the prius only completes one revolution (instead of the usual 2) per 4 piston strokes, I've read this configuration is less suseptible to blowby/moisture. In addition, I use a block heater, even in the summer, which means my 1st 5 minutes of 'warmup' are pretty much already done. Anywho, there's even a rotary version of the atkinson engine (a second cousin to the wankel ICE used in Mazda). It too has higher efficiency / less emission issues: http://white-smoke.wetpaint.com/page/2.+General+Description I'm guessing the lower hp from atkinson type engines is compensated by the electric motors, and I think I also heard that Lexus too is going to use atkinson ICE in their hybrids. Anyone heard if that's the case for the 2010 RX hybrid? Oh! never mind, I did my own homework and it looks like the 2010 is using an atkinson ICE. http://autos.canada.com/news/story.html?id...dd-d302206d2fc7

There IS no dealer in the Flathead Valley MT :P All the more reason to DYI whenever possible. For example: Change an air filter ($12.00) you can do yourself in 9 minutes? Lexus nearly charges $100. How do you spell b-e-n-d-o-v-e-r

On the topic of spreadsheets, I believe it's on (something like) greenhybrid.com where you'll find a nifty little software program (that'll post on threads like this below your entry) for logging your mpg's ... from tank to tank, your best ever tank, and your average over all. On the oil topic, I recently switched to 0w-30 synthetic and it seems to help a bit mileage wise, on winter drives. I'm thinking it'll make a difference on cold summer mornings too, but it's a bit early to tell. Will post a follow up in a few months. so far, so good

Are you kidding? $100 to put a DVD into the drive ?? It's maybe a 10 minute job at the longest to take the plastic junk out from under the rear carpet, and put it back in. Another minute to remove & install the DVD. This is the reason I re-started doing my own maintenance ... what a rip.

Altenator? :P

Hi wildta, First, saying "the rx400h isn't much different" is true, ONLY as applied to the basics of the HSD. Other than that the SUV version is VERY different from the Prius. The Prius was deliberatly made as light as practical, and it's low drag / shape was deliberatly made to defeat wind resistance. Not so, with the SUV. In comparison, it's a slug ... much heaver, and more drag, and 'over-powered' because it's market is to a buyer that expects more power. I too, wish Lexus' luxury RX sought to economize ... but you and I are in the minority. Then there's hacking into the HSD's hardware. The 400h's ECU's control how much electric power is managed / used / cooled / charged / discharged. The folks who do this, really have to know what they're doing. Done in a slipshod manner, it'll take you into the realm of irreversable trouble codes ... and at that junction, you can kiss your warranty good bye. That said, it HAS been done before. Dr. Andy Frank (U.C. Davis Prof) was one of the grand fathers of the plug in hybrid, and one of his first vehicles (that he had his students do) was a mongo Suburban sized land barge. And YES, it was averaging over 100mpg. But the whole 100mpg is kind of slippery. Sure, if you drive X amount of miles EV versus ICE, then you'll get 100mpg. But if you seldom recharge, your mpg may actually be WORSE than a standard vehicle. One of my favorite quotes of Dr. Frank: "This whole 'drill, baby, drill' thing is b*llsh*t" BTW, using synthetic oil, these early conversions (done over 9 years ago now, in some cases) have suffered NO discernable acidic / sludgy wear ... much less the later ones being done by commercial companies. Some have logged over 100K miles, along the way, doing stints from 20 to 40 pure EV miles. There's some pretty cool mod's going on. But for SUV hybrids? None commercially, when it comes to PHEV's. A few conversions have been done on the smaller Ford SUV, the Escape ... but the mod is not offered for sale. I checked. http://content.zdnet.com/2346-9595_22-18853.html

I guess I didn't know that mechanical Engineering would encompas all there is to know about rubber chemestry ... and how those varrying chemestires react under different loads and temperatures and durations and manufacturing techniques when mingled with other materials, or how the extra torque created by dual electric motors (as the AWD has), and extra battery weight has to be taken into account, comparred to the porsche/bmw / lighter suv's. My crazy thinking is that since a tire &/or auto manufacturer has express and implied warranties, that those kinds of responsibilities would carry more weight, than say if some shloemoe like me posts a thread that contradicts. I mean after all, if I'm wrong, buyer beware, right? Heck, even the tire companies don't know everything ... or am I the only one who remembers the SUV roll-over fatalities atributed to Firestone tires. http://www.detnews.com/specialreports/2002...restonetire.jpg

+1 Seems like the simplest sollution would be to go to the local junk yard. Get the NAV DVD player out of the junked car (either the Lexus or similar Toyoto), put your European DVD into it (the one it's designed for) & you'd be good to go. Double check w/ the dealer's service tech, he'll likely say that's the way to go.

Nothing? Oh, I don't know . . . have you ever tried Glacier National Park in the Summer? ;) But maybe I'm prejudice.

yea, but the 100mpg Prius? that's adding more battery power. What's the point of a plug-in lexus if you only get 2 miles at best on battery? Edit: Now if the OP meant CAN batteries be added, and CAN the hardware be hacked, yes. The Ford Escape is built on a very similar platform as Toyota, and the Escape has been mod'ed, so it's possible. Wheather it HAS been done is another question.

Welcome gla, sorry your join relates to an 'issue'. On the good side, consider this. Your dealer says they never saw this. Often, that's a good thing, relating to the reliability of the 400h. Considering how quick they brough the SUV HSD to market back in '06 (late '05) it's been pretty trouble free. I wouldn't let one thing shake my faith. Consider how the dealer took care of the issue, as well as yours & others trouble free miles.

Sorry if I don't understand, but that was a very cursory comment. Did the dealer say why they're replacing your rack? The recall is for the electric power steering link ... not the rack. What did they say was wrong with it? Are they saying they're doing the rack work under the 8K3E-464 recall? Are they working on your IS 250? ... or your 400h?

Nope. No DIAGNOSTICS buttons on the secret screen. And its MENU, VOLUME, upper left, lower left, upper left, lower left to get to the screen. . . . and this only works if your NAV DVD version is older than rev 6.1 ... unless you hack your disk with a new loading file.

Welcome sgordon, The fact that your ipod or whatever is low power drain is not your main concern. Your 400h's 12v accessory battery is pretty small. It doesn't have cranking power, because the HSD doesn't have a starter moter ... rather it uses the car's traction motor to start. It's a great system, but the down side is that the manufacturer was able to install a smaller battery that was never intended to be used a lot (design defect?). You can read several threads here on folks that drained their battery simply because they left a door ajar ... or they were installing / testing a satelite radio. So if you activate enough 12v power to use your little device, there's a high probability some other paracitic power consumption source will also be in the same circuit. Next thing you know ... bam . . . she no start. Now if you want to install a larger battery, there are several that have gone to the Optima (sized for a Miata, I believe) battery, thereby preventing battery drain. It's similary sized, but it has cranking amps ... which will allow you to accidently leave doors ajar, etc. & not end up having to get a jump start.

There are actually four 'variables' on the Lexus. Model year, MFD type, Software data versions, and the NAV DVD player / hardware versions. What really muddies the waters is that you can't just go out and buy a new DVD, and expect it to work with your older MFD or older year model Lexus. For example, your older NAV DVD player may allow you to access the old style over ride screen, but a newer DVD disk upgrade may stop you from accessing that feature. Yet if you know what NAV DVD hardware you have, you can get a new map upgrade DVD disk, with the old hardware (over ride) features. It's a bit convoluted. That's why I suggest the lockpic for over ride features. Although the folks there may take their time in returning inquiries . . . . they deal with this stuff daily so (even if you have to return your purchase) you will at least get your over rides.

There's only about what . . . 10 thousand 'conversion' web sites? :P but I'll bite (once per month) . . . enjoy http://www.ask.com/web?q=Unit+Conversions+...:20090126173406 . . . . but don't ask me to input the numbers for you . . . that'd be ridiculous

Toyota part # is CO140-00644 ... if you want the block heater for the 3.3L ICE (when it's super frosty, & you've got 90 minutes prior notice, don't leave home w/out it previously running ;) ... you'll see the mpg difference). They're about $47 USD and you'll save about $200 if you do it yourself ... just like you'll save yourself $75 by changing your own ICE air filter.

If I read it correctly, this is strictly a European thing. I found a web page (sorry for not locating it right now) that lists VIN's of affected vehicles. Our '06 400h is therefore not within the purview of the recall, and why we aren't being notified by Lexus, and why the media isn't making a field day about it here in the U.S.A. Edit: Europe AND China: (link to follow) . . . sorry for the delay: http://www.techdoc.lexus-europe.com/toms_c...EN/8K3E-464.pdf

Any time you disconect the aux battery you'll reset settings to factory default, so you may notice windows roll up differently, mfd settings / map defaults / seat / mirror adj is funky etc . . . outside of that stuff, there shouldn't be anything different. It may be your mpg's are down simply due to winter temps. That'll always kill averages.

Is there a TSB # on it?

If you install an EBH (engine block heater, though some may not have access to a 110v outlet) and block your grill, the sub zero temps will have less impact, especiall if you have only short trips. Short trips are the real enemy of hi mpg's ... right next to extra cold temps. Battery chemestry isn't at a place, where efficiency remains high, below freezing.

Great info! Do you know what other states besides Colorado who is still during this tax credit? Btw, when reading this, it's still a little bit unclear on whether they allowed used vehicles or new vehicles only. Perhaps someone who live in CO can confirm this? "HEVs also qualify for this incentive. This credit is only available in the year during which the vehicle was purchased or converted, and a vehicle may only qualify for this credit one time" Many states (like california) ... in fact the majority, require hybrids to not only be more smog efficient, but more importantly, require them to get 45mpg or better. That obviously knocks any SUV out of the park. The states that allow low mpg vehicles? That just seems wrong & lame ... imo.

Just curious ... do you run 5w-30 oil? . . . or 0w-30. In cold temps, I find the 0w-30 synthetic improves on sub zero mpg. But sometimes, just getting around on those days is enough of a feet.

I must be missing something. If temps are sub zero, why wouldn't the V6 benefit just as much as a 1.3liter 4 banger would benefit from having a secondary heater? Common sense would tell you the V6 block is larger & thus take longer to warm up, thus benefiting the same way the small ICE would benefit. There are other heating tricks, BTW. You can put a 10 degrees warmer thermostat in the cooling system. I think the stock one opens around 180 degrees f. But they do make 190's. Lastly, there's always 'grill-blocking'. It's a bit tricky, but you can stuff the grill with foam pipe insulation. Everyone has seen diesel tractor's with canvas covers over the radiator ... it's the same effect. Works good, too. Heck, there are some new cars comming out this year that do grill blocking automatically, using mechanical louvers. Edit: Found out that the (PCT) secondary heating elements are only installed in "cold area" models, and only put out about 300watts. I'm going to have to see if I got 'em.