BobBass

cd, I don't think it's a matter of "uptightness," just that as RX400h implies, most of us are OLDER than you with many more miles and years of driving behind us. Your original post, although proudly exhibiting the POWER of the 400h, also smacked of "left-lane banditry." I was frustrated by that TWICE today on my way home from a 18 mile trip and thought of this thread while it was going on. On the other hand, an out-of-state guy in an Audi A6 DID move over at his first opportunity to let me by. Hey - NONE of us are "perfect" drivers and I certainly drive a lot differently now than I did when I was 22. Here's wishing a HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL who've been a part of this interesting thread!

I just stumbled across this the other day after having mine serviced. For some reason, the tech lowered the dimmer and when I rotated it back, I passed the "detent" and all of a sudden the NAV screen went to daylight mode.

Lemon, Thanks for taking my post in the "joshing" nature with which is was intended. Just couldn't resist! As far as 0-60-0, back when I was a kid in high school, I think it was "Car & Driver" who touted the original Shelby Cobra as being the only production car (or something like that) that could do that in under 10 seconds. I may be mixing it up with 0-100-0, but even today (or by 2006 at least), that can't be accomplished in under 10 seconds by anything except the Bugatti Veyron 16/4. Here's another link to stopping distances: 22 Cars that Stop from 60 MPH in Less Than 100 Feet

Lemon, I certainly hope our RXs stop in less TIME than that. Funny - I never thought much about the time it takes to stop. Most specs refer to DISTANCE. Here's a pretty good article on braking in general: Keep Your (Braking) Distance: More Than Just Slowing Down

cdluk, I can recall reading some posts authored by you in the past on this forum, but not any specific topic. However, THIS one I surely will. IMHO, “Lemon” sums this up perfectly. Were you merely, 1) “motoring along” in the left lane at 10 mph over the speed limit, or, 2) unable to move over due to traffic? If you were doing the former and saw this guy coming up on you at an overtaking speed, the responsible and courteous thing to do is to MOVE OVER to the inside lane. Otherwise, this is classic “left-lane bandit” behavior regardless of whether you sped up to demonstrate the power of the 400h. If you wanted to do that, you should have moved over to the inside lane and THEN accelerated. I’m sure we’ve all experienced situations where you’re in the left lane and see a car approaching at an overtaking speed while you are about to pass slower moving traffic in the inside lane. You can tell that car will be directly behind you before you are able to pass the slower moving traffic and move over to the inside lane. In that case, I always try to speed up just enough to get past the slower moving traffic, and then move over IMMEDIATELY to the inside lane, timing it to allow the overtaking vehicle to pass unimpeded. In other words, I GET THE HELL OUT OF THE WAY! I understand you wanting to demonstrate the impressive power of the 400h, but the way the way you chose to do it was just plain wrong. Look at it this way - what do you think the M-B owner thought of your actions? Do you think he was impressed by the exhibition of power or thinking about the left-lane bandit that wouldn’t move over to let him pass? I know what I would have thought.

Buk is absolutely correct. The only way to achieve maximum mileage on these vehicles (ANY vehicle) is to drive using all the regular gas-saving techniques. About the only difference is that under certain circumstances (level road, low speed, slow acceleration) you can coax them into not firing up the ICE. I've also seen my mpg go UP while stuck in traffic jams. And, colder temps do affect your mileage...my winter mileage is always at least one mpg less. BTW, judging your mileage by using the "most miles I could drive" readout (if that's what you're doing) is a new one on me. I keep my '08 gauge display on average mpg all the time. Lastly, at 1K miles, your vehicle is still breaking in. You probably won't achieve maximum mileage potential until it has passed 5K. GOOD LUCK!

lenore, Thank goodness you posted a "realistic" mileage number. I run regular gas and in mixed driving (more short trips than long), get ~24 in the summer and ~22 in the winter on 10% ethanol gas here in southeastern PA. To be fair, I do not drive 100% of the time trying to maximize the mpg. I had leased my '08 400h and liked it so much that I bought it out of the lease after 3 years. I still prefer the exterior design and wheels of this generation compared to the newest one, but that is a matter of taste. The BIG thing about ANY of these luxo-brands is the SERVICE cost. If you are not used to that "surcharge," you better prepare yourself. However, as Paul said, these vehicles are very reliable. You have a 4 year warranty which covers just about everything. My ICE battery failed a few months ago while still under warranty and figured the dealer would rock me >$150 to replace it. Imagine my shock when I went to pay the bill and there was NO CHARGE! I did have to replace the OEM Michelins and just went for the same tires again - that wasn't cheap...the dealer didn't give me a break on that. One of the headlamp assemblies developed a slight condensation problem and they replaced that under warranty; no charge/no questions. As CDluk said, you'll probably never overcome the extra cost of the hybrid, but there is a tremendous "satisfaction factor" when you're stuck in a traffic jam and your mpg actually goes UP. Also when the ICE shuts off at stoplights and while coasting. The other thing is this vehicle really gets out of its way. 0-60 mph on the '08 was ~6.7 sec. I don't know what the 2012 is but it surely must be <7. That's quick enough for me. Finally, although it's not a true AWD system, I've experienced nothing but confidence while driving in rain, snow, and ice. Bottom line - look into the standard maintenance service costs at the dealer. If they seem WAY off base and you'd be ticked off paying them, look at the Highlander hybrid. Personally, I don't mind paying the extra cost knowing I'm driving a true quality vehicle that will retain its resale value more than most anything else in its class. Also, see if they have any incentives if you sign up for the Lexus credit card at time of purchase. I got $500 in "points" to use at a Lexus dealership when I signed up. That covers quite a few services and you earn 1% on ALL purchases you can use at the dealership. It's a no-annual fee card. GOOD LUCK!

I don't know for sure, but if you look thru the posts by people with overide who upgraded, they lost it. And, there's no going back once you've upgraded the operating system. At least that's what I gleaned from reading those posts.

Like richard4u, I've been running 87 ethanolized gas in my '08 almost exclusively with no problems, not counting the possible lower MPG I might be getting. As far as "conversion," you might as well forget about that. You'd probably have to change the cylinder heads, pistons, CPU, and who knows what else to achieve that.

Sounds like typical luxo-car repair ripoff prices. Sorry I cannot answer your question but am curious; how many miles did you get out of the OEM brakes? THANKS!

KLAATU BARADA NIKTO! (Would you believe this is the SECOND time today I've posted this on a message board in response to someone's Gort avatar?)

I have an '08 400h bought new and live in suburban Philadelphia. The vehicle now has ~28K on it and I use regular gas (10% ethanol). Just general running around locally I get 22.5 winter and 24.5 summer. If I get out on the highway and behave myself (rare), I can squeeze 26-27 out of it. All these people that talk about HIGH 20's...I'm happy for them, but either they live in flatlands, have warmer climate, can find non-ethanolized gas, or they have a more...patient driver style than me.

The mystery of insurance rates is mind boggling. When I got my '08 RX400h in 11/07, it replaced my four year old Nissan Maxima. The rate DROPPED. In January, I traded an '85 Corvette in on an '09 Corvette. The rate dropped ~$80. Hey, I'm not complaining, but what sense does this make? In the latter case, it probably has something to do with the added safety features of the newer vehicle, but how can they lower the rate on the Lexus which is valued ~$25K more? They probably used the old "performance vehicle" (Maxima) excuse on that one. Gee, Rey, now I have something to look forward to from my company when they catch on to what's happening in CA.

I have an '08 400h and to my knowledge, there are no "guide lines" for the rear view camera. If there are, I've been clueless for 3.5 years.

I've had my '08 400h for 3.5 years and with the type of driving I do, I've rarely seen the purple bar level for the battery. My recollection is that the monitor shows what you would expect when stopped with the purple bars showing - that the ICE kicks in charging the battery. Once the battery has received enough of a charge, the engine shuts off. We also have a TCH and it operates the same. If no one else opines on this with a good explanation, I'd have the dealer check it out. It's CPO plus it still should be under original factory warranty.

If it's just a momentary "shake," what you've experienced is "Hybrid Shudder," for want of a better term. The engine shutting down/starting up happens all the time when you're underway, but the "shudder" is just not as noticeable when the car is moving. BTW, if you want to minimize engine startup while sitting, switch off the HVAC. The only reason the engine will fire up then is to keep the catalytic converter hot. Of course, if it's REALLY cold out, then you need the HVAC on to provide heat; the engine fires up to keep the coolant warm enough to provide cabin heat.

I wish you luck with the extended warranty SNAFU. You story has really made me reconsider getting one for my '08 400h before the factory warranty expires. RE: the Infiniti; I test drove one of those awhile back. What about the ride? The early FX's were notorious were having very stiff ride which was verified by my test drive. It was one of the factors in me going with the RX.

What year is your Vette?

I had that issue with my '08. The dealer did a software update or something and it's been fine ever since.

I haven't done anything, yet, so it's not too late. I'll try that strategy when the time comes. When I mentioned to the service writer (who is one of the younger guys at the dealership) about bringing in my own tires, he said something like they would install but not warranty them. It would just be my luck that there'd be a problem. Who is your dealer, if I may ask? I could always say that "Blah-Blah Lexus" offers a price match policy, how about you? And, all I can say to the "Michelin MXV4-haters" out there is that for my application, they are just fine. I do not drive in rain/mud/snow frequently and when I have the urge to "straighten out some curves" on back roads, I'll take the Vette. ;)

Whit, LOVE YOUR AVATAR!

I'm going to need new tires for my '08 RX400h AWD soon (have a little over 25K on the OEM Michelin Energy MXV4 S8's). My Lexus dealer said they probably will need replacing before the 30K service. Lexus stocks these and wants a little under $1,200 for a new set including mounting, balancing, alignment, and two year hazard warranty. I was satisfied with the way these Michelins drove in overall conditions (obviously not crazy about the "early wearout.") I am a "Michelin guy" and the only alternative I've seen that looks good to me is the "Latitude." My initial reaction was "what a ripoff," but I'm thinking that it might be worth the extra $ if there is ANY problem in the process. I have had an issue with the vehicle pulling to the left since driving off from delivery - they checked alignment and found nothing wrong. I just inflate the left tire 4 lbs. more than the right for it to track straight. If it still does this with the new tires, I can really have them troubleshoot this. Am I nuts for thinking this way and spending the extra $ for piece of mind? This has been a GREAT dealership experience so far except for the usual ripoff luxocar service prices.

Assuming you simply have the OEM alarm and nothing else is wrong, it should be a simple matter of pushing the "unlock" button on the remote or turning the key in the driver's door to unlock in the door. This should stop the alarm and enable normal operation. At least this process worked in our 2004 Toyota Sienna MiniVan when the battery went dead in an airport parkng lot (left an interior light on) and I hooked up a jumper battery. Good luck and lemme know if this works.

As usual, Rey, very thoughtfully put. We're fortunate to NOT be stuck in many traffic jams, but just two weeks ago while approaching Maine on I-495 we were in a MAJOR one. My mileage INCREASED by .4 while inching along. Takes a bit of the "edge" off the frustration.

Rey, I just scanned the Grabber HTS reviews on TireRack and it seems (to me) an inordinate amount of people had trouble with balance. Doesn't sound good in that respect.