louis'ride

ok, thanks louis

interesting about the battery. maybe thats it, i never had this before. as i said the car had been sitting for a week. i did put about 50 miles of highway driving today. it did it when i came home to the garage. as for the TSIB, is it specifically for the "07s? the dealer said it was a '06 problem, but it hasnt been one in the '07s.

yes, it is totally different from the whirring and clicking. i do believe it does go for 2 or 3 minutes, could it be from sitting unused for a week? i did do some highway driving today, did about 50 miles, it happened right after in the garage. i dont hear it when i park outside, of course i am not hanging around the car when im out and about.

yes, i get the click and whirrs. this one is new. maybe this will send me in to check it all out, its just such a drag, they can never find what i am complaining about. thanks

hi, here is the latest on my 07 rx400hybrid. i now have 1700 miles, still dealing with the rocking, lurching, surging at 40 and 60, but not as pronounced. i am willing to give it more time, although i plan to call the dealer and ask if they have any updates on this on the '07s. i have been away for a week and the car has been unused. now that i am back, i keep getting a hissing whiney noise when i turn the car off, just short of a whistle sound. i dont notice it so much outside, but i do when i return the car to the garage. it takes 2 or 3 minutes for the sound to dissipate. sounds like pressure seeping out somewhere. i have heard clicks and whirrs when the car is still or when i open the door, but this is a new one the car has been fine otherwise. any ideas? is it normal or should i take it in now? thanks louis

Thank you. I'll see if the dealership will make me a good deal. Otherwise, I think I'll pass. ;) I passed on everything once I talked to the guy at my body shop. He told me he could do the bra near cost, but he really didn't think it was worthwhile unless you do alot of highway driving, which I don't. Although it wouldn't affect my bamboo pearl, he told me the film can turn yellow on white cars. I really anguished about the extended warranty, but then I thought, here you are putting big bucks on something that doesnt go into effect for 4 years. They take the money and invest it. Of course it's a gamble, that's what it is. There's no right answer, really. Let's talk in 4 years and we can decide who won.

First of all, I made a mistake when I referred to the display as average mpg. I mean the expanding horizontal bar graph by the odometer which gives instantaneous mpg. The times I am talking about, the graph is empty, shows no activity. It never occurred to me to compare it with the other digital display which does go up to 99.9. I will have to check and see what that display says simultaneously. Maybe the 2 are not in sync. It does make sense that all distance covered would have to be factored into the calculation. Well it must be a function of the engine being cold. Initially it shows no line or lower milage while coasting. After it warms up the bar graph goes up to 60 and the digital display says 99.9. Much ado about nothing. thanks all

First of all, I made a mistake when I referred to the display as average mpg. I mean the expanding horizontal bar graph by the odometer which gives instantaneous mpg. The times I am talking about, the graph is empty, shows no activity. It never occurred to me to compare it with the other digital display which does go up to 99.9. I will have to check and see what that display says simultaneously. Maybe the 2 are not in sync. It does make sense that all distance covered would have to be factored into the calculation.

I see it on the speedometer display. I do not have NAV, so the mini display where the NAV would be actually copies the speedometer except info is given in numbers (Excuse me if I didn't answer this in the correct format. I find it confusing, sometimes it does not come through as a quote.) Anyhow would't you think all coasting miles would figure into the mpg, or maybe they don't because you don't use any energy. Yet if you worked it out with pencil and paper they would figure in the calcualtion.

Ok all you RX400h experts... I have noticed that sometimes, usually when it is still cold, I will be coasting down our hill and my display shows nothing about the average mpg. The display will say recharging, which makes sense. But wouldn't this be counted for mpg? I don't notice it so much when the car has warmed. Wow, it's is so easy to become obsessed with this mpg thing, isn't it? ciao louis

as noted here and elsewhere, the problem is correctable. it is also not the norm and not part of the design. but make no mistake about it, it is an issue, rather than only a slight annoyance as some have suggested. if you drove a car and didn't feel anything, the car wasn't suffering from the issue. as i have reported, i thought the lurch issue was resolving, but i have noticed a resumption of the problem during our damp and humid weather the past 2 weeks. i would almost describe the ride at a consistent low speed (25-45) as "rough". my passenger husband used the word "bucking" so it is not just my hyper sensitivity. and here i thought things were getting better. i am going away for a couple of weeks but will be taking the car in right after. why would the wet weather have an effect? by the way it can do this regardless of which propulsion system is working.

Thanks for document! These are very helpful for those of us who may need a little "help" convincing our dealer's service dept that we have an issue. Yes, mine is a '06. I had to use the same wording as the bulletin to describe the issue to the dealer, and they then had to replicate the issue (wasn't too hard) - the service dept can't apply a code update with just a printed copy of the bulletin in hand. In the bulletin, it lists the VINs that where affected. It sounds like Lexus incorporated the newer code in the models manufactured after the listed VINs so this code would be in the '07's. hmmmm. maybe my car slipped through somehow, seeing that it acts exactly how the '06 problem was described. i am at 1300miles now, problems are still there, not as frequent or pronounced though i am actually afraid to have something done. you know how when you do something it inevitably affects something else. i will probably wait another 1000 before taking it in. they said if i brought it back the service manager would drive it home for the night (he has an '06) to compare with his. so frustrating that they treat it so subjectively. stay tuned and thanks for your support. louis

Cheers to you "jim".. I am working my way through "issues" ---who expects issues when you plunk down 50K-- but I still love the car. We have had Toyotas for years. This is the first luxury vehicle. I fell in love with the RX when I first saw it in 99 or whenever. The first SUV I ever wanted, and I wanted one ever since. I still wasn't comfortable with the standard milage, was prepared to feel guilty when I finally made the leap. Upgrading to the 400h was really a last minute decision. Once I decided "if not now, when", I decided the price difference was worth the personal satisfaction of better milage. Still working on improving milage, makes for a great video game. But it does make one think too. It reminds me to drive slower in town and I get a new kind of satisfaction. Safer and Greener. Great combination. Louis (my standard poodle)

Yours is a 2006? I am pleased to see the doc in black and white, or rather in pixels. of course they say its not happening in the '07s. Curious how the identical action showed up in my '07. duh, what a coincidence. Your problem showed up at 10,000? I only have about 1300 miles, will let it go for another few. Tommy said it pretty much went away after 5000. Thanks for the link!

GAS DISPLAY--does anyone know how much fuel there is left when the indicator comes on? the gauge looks like there is alot, but who knows and i dont want to find out the hard way. yes, i was surprised to find that there is no fuel until empty indicator. i do miss that.

Maybe someone dropped a cel phone down between the seats? Some phones have that sound when they give off reminder noises, that a call came in. OR A BEEPER, PERHAPS. THAT HAS HAPPENED TO ME AND I WOULD FIND MY HUSBANDS BEEPER, THOUGH NOT THE DOORBELL, WHICH DOES SOUND LIKE A CAR THING. SOMETHING GOING OFF IN INTERVALS... I HAVE BEEN HEARING A CLICK SOME TIMES WHEN THE CAR IS OFF, BUT NOT OFTEN.

When my dad drives the car I get seasick from the "lurching", I am of the assumption that it's his foot & the sensitive gas pedal that are the culprits because in cruise control I dont need gravol when he is driving. it's not my foot. and, it happens when cruise control is engaged. thanks everyone for the input. i will be calling the dealer. hi tommy did you get your surge/lurch taken care of? did it go away by itself? i have similar issues, the dealer wanted me to drive it a while. "never heard of it in the '07s." according to them. please let me know how it was resolved. thanks RXRAY, "ICE" is the internal combustion engine. the gas burning part. Louis, the surging issue dissipated over time. by 5k miles, i didn't notice it very often. every now and again i'll notice a bit at about 40 mph, but it's nothing like it was. the dealers are full of ca-ca, or, somehow completely unaware of forums like this one. if they took 2 seconds to find and review these forums, they certainly would have heard of the issue on the 07s. thank you for validating my experience. when i told them i had the same seasick experience you first reported they suggested i got the idea after reading the forum. no no no. i didn't even know about the forum until i was googling for the problem. when i saw your post i was astonished, i could have written the identical thing verbatim! i did indeed have it at 60. my husband told me i was driving unevenly and he was seasick. yes that did go away, though i still havent done enough long distance highway driving to be sure. right now i am concentrating on the 20-40mpg, its better, but i never know when it will lurch. seems like the engine/battery cant decide who should be in control. will keep you posted, thanks again. louis (my standard poodle)

When my dad drives the car I get seasick from the "lurching", I am of the assumption that it's his foot & the sensitive gas pedal that are the culprits because in cruise control I dont need gravol when he is driving. it's not my foot. and, it happens when cruise control is engaged. thanks everyone for the input. i will be calling the dealer. hi tommy did you get your surge/lurch taken care of? did it go away by itself? i have similar issues, the dealer wanted me to drive it a while. "never heard of it in the '07s." according to them. please let me know how it was resolved. thanks

Yes it is a game. I did calculate milage from the gas pump. one time it was on target. last time the calculation came out over a mile lower. I thought, like you, that the shut off from one gas pump to another might be different, so that you never know if you started on a true full tank. We shall see... thanks for your comments.

Iwill stay on top of it. I insisted they start the record of the complaint when I brought it back at 300 miles. my first concern is having them experience and recognize it. the first time i drove with the tech, he felt it, the second time he didnt. go figure. thanks

OK, now I know what you meant, the battery icon. I am getting 24mpg. i do drive gently and mindfully, hopefully it will improve. But I am grateful for even the 25% improvemnt over my volvo cross country. I will continue to monitor the surges. I think they are better, maybe subtler. Its just so frustrating when it can't be demonstrated at the dealer. Thanks for your imput.

You are right about them being sold quickly. Mine was built in March '07. I took delivery (the last one they had) on April 30. Yes, the dealer said there had been problems in '06, and denied any problems with the '07s. They said to bring it back after I had 1000 miles, which I will do. Do you think it is just normal and is actually due to battery strength? I will look again at my display. I thought the white line shows instanteous mpg. thanks

Well, this might be the same thing I just wrote about. ( I thought it might have to do with battery charge.) The dealer shop forman told me they had some problems like this reported in the '06s, but not the '07s. Well mine is an '07 and I have it. They could only tell me to wait it out, the engine has to set. Is this true?

I have the same experience. I figured it was some sort of harmonic. A small variation on speed seems to make it dissappear for me.

My RX400H is two months old. After about 1000 miles, I still get ride variations when I try to maintain low speeds around town. (under 40) There are still bucks or lurches that the dealer promised would go away after I had some real miles on the car. The ride is so unpredictable, sometimes it feels like wet sparkplugs, or something that interferes with consistent power. other times, under identical circumstances, it is perfectly fine. Is this really going to go away? Could it have to do with the charge level of the battery? I am totally unmechanical and I do not have the GSP system so my graphics are limited. What do I need to know about how to manage the battery. My graphics do not show %charge, just when it is operating or recharging, usually when I am coasting. Anyhow, I love the car, and find myself driving "the long ways" just to stay in it. I just want to get this luching thing to go away, Thanks