NeoN

great article, very informative, you must have spent years locating a tech article that lexus actually releases!!

Just checked, the website doesn't even sell a grill guard for an RX330 let alone an RX350/400h. Anyone know where else I could possibly look for one? Thanks,

I recently adjusted the crap out of my low beams, they are insane now, I should probably adjust them back down a bit as they are aimed a bit too high, although I want to test them out on the highway to see if they aim downward after I exceed speeds of 40 mph.

Hey, I was referred to the RX350 Forum by the Hybrid guys, I wanted to add a Chrome bumper guard to the front of my vehicle (RX400h). I found a few on ebay but they were black not chrome(stainless steel). Can anyone help me out here? Thanks, -Brett

You'll really freak then if you ever have to drive through Oregon. Funkie rule they have (maybe other states too?) sez only the station attendant is allowed to re-fill the tank. Talk about job protection. New Jersey has the same law. When I leave Long Island I start out with a full tank and don't stop for gas till I get through New Jersey yea i live in jersey and regularly pump my gas, the attendants don't stop you just tell them your car is special and its of utmost importance and you have a court order that you can pump your gas, throw some big words at them like arraignment and reconciliatory obligation and they will get most likely get scared and leave you alone.

anyone??

I actually tried this "pulse" technique last night and got 17 mpg on the way home from the train station, impressive it works, I'm going to try this more often in the morning and we'll see what works. I'm still on my first tank of gas by the way

There is a CBEST setting that the dealer can change which controls the delay for the headlights after you remove the key from the ignition and open the drivers side door. I have mine set to zero so that my headlights go off immediately. Since I park in well lit carport, I have no need for light when I get out of the car. If I had a garage, I might want 30s or a minute to get over to the garage light switch before the lights went out (but then most door openers have a built in light too...) Now whether this setting controls the DRL or not, I'm not sure. Since mine go off when I open the door, I'm not sure if that is always the case or if its tied to the headlight timer. so your saying its impossible to adjust this ourselves?

anyone know how to turn off the DRL 90 sec shut off delay? can we adjust that to 30 or 60 seconds?

heh, I actually got 14 mpg today on my morning commute 3.5miles @ 28 degrees outside lol, with a cold engine its impossible to get good MPG!! I wish this car had a function you could press on the dash for electric only power or at least make the electric motor run 70%/ 30% Gas engine. I would love if someone came up with a "chip" or add-on switch so we could accomplish these feats, trade-off power for more MPG, I would pay $$$

Update!! Yesterday, I ventured into Advance Auto parts and purchased the Optima Group 51R Yellow Top Deep Cycle battery ($149), installed the battery in less than 5 mins and put everything back together. Installation was a breeze, I didn't have to change the posts like another member stated I would have had to do. The battery works fine, everything booted up OK, I had to re-initialize the windows, (can't use the drivers' 4-window control unit until you manually activate each windows' controls (eg. sit in the back seat and use the buttons back there 1 time- fully up and down). Then your window functions will now work properly from the drivers' controls. I'll let you guys know what happens down the road, if the battery ever dies again and if the battery charges up quickly if it does decide to die on me. I believe the battery is listed at 500 CCA, and 650 CA (cranking amps @32 degrees) Demand More from Your Vehicle? The YellowTop is one of the only true dual-purpose batteries available. It is commonly used in any application that demands cranking power and heavy cycling. Trucks with winches, cars with high-demand audio systems, commercial trucks and equipment all rely on this battery to provide ultimate starting and deep cycle power. Benefits and Applications: * Dual-purpose * Deep cycling and cranking power all packed into one battery. * Longer life * Lasts up to 2 times longer than traditional flat-plate batteries. * More power in the initial 1, 3, 5, and 10 seconds of the starting process than comparably rated conventional lead-acid batteries. * Higher reserve capacity * Constant performance quality, which keeps your battery running at the same level even as it's being discharged. * Optimal starting power * More power in the initial 1, 3, 5, and 10 seconds of the starting process than comparably rated conventional lead-acid batteries. * Longer shelf-life (lower self-discharge) * Ideal for seasonal use, fully charged it can sit unused for up to 12 months at room temperature (or below) and still start a vehicle. * Vibration resistance * 15 times more resistant to vibration than traditional lead-acid batteries. * Leak-proof * Mountable in almost any position What does everyone take of the "More power in the initial 1, 3, 5, and 10 seconds of the starting process than comparably rated conventional lead-acid batteries." Isn't our battery used just to start up the engine every 3 seconds? It doesn't run the P/S and A/C right?

We are getting less mileage with cooler temps (40s - 60s) - the engine runs more to keep at operating temp - premium has consistently added 1.8 to 2.6 miles per gallon - we have 24,000 miles on our RX400 and have averaged a true 24.3 mpg - we use middle grade as a compromise for fuel unless heading up into the mountains. My wife drags our overall (15,500miles) mpg down to 26.0 using regular. Ours is AWD. Part of this is from Montana winter driving too. Mostly though it's So. Cal driving. When I was the primary / solo driver I could regularly get 30mpg ... using pulse driving I learned with the prius. My wife though, opts for the cheep gas. I'll see if I can get her to consistently use primium and see if that makes a difference. what do you mean by "pulse" driving? Pulse and glide driving is where you accelerate past your desired speed then coast down to below your desired speed and repeat this technique to maximize your fuel ecomny. The following link has more info: http://www.metrompg.com/posts/pulse-and-glide.htm Great article, too bad this doesn't work for my daily 3.5 mile commute. Has anyone had any experience with pulse driving? Any tips or tricks for RX400h drivers?

are you kidding me? what a pain in the !Removed!, those *BLEEP*s. I did some research today, advanceautoparts.com came up with a group 51R yellow top optima battery only 450 CCA? What a weak battery in the first place but I'm surprised I can't get a decent upgrade for it, not too much room to expand either. I'll see what the shop has today when I go to buy the battery and i'll let everyone know how it works. ] Someone stated on a previous post that the battery isn't a deep cycle and needs to be trickle charged, is this true? I've left my charger on 2amp slow charge all day and haven't seen any progress in 8 hours, im not sure of the exact voltage level of the battery but I can check when I get home, I hope it was accecpting my charge, considering its brand new! Anyone try a type 2 or 3 charge cycle? 2 or 3 is more deep cycle batteries for boats, etc... I was honestly surprised my car just shut off when the battery died, no warning, nothing! I couldn't start it up, I was *BLEEP*ed the battery that came with the car is so pathetic, I wish there was room to upgrade. Here is the chart for Optima Yellow top Batteries MODEL NUMBER D34/78 D75/25 D34 D35 D51 & D51R PERFORMANCE Voltage 12v 12V 12v 12v 12v Cold Cranking Amps @ 0F 750 650 750 650 500 Cranking Amps @ 32F 870 810 870 810 625 Reserve Capacity 120 98 120 98 70 Capacity (C/20 Rate) 55 48 55 48 41 Internal Resistance (ohms) .0028 .0030 .0028 .0030 .0046 PHYSICAL SPECS Length 10" 9 5/16" 10" 9 5/16" 9 5/16" Width 6 7/8" 6 13/16" 6 7/8" 6 13/16" 5 1/16" Height 7 13/16" 7 5/8" 7 13/16" 7 5/8" 8 15/16" Mimimum Weight (lbs) 43.5 37.8 42.9 36.4 26 Type Post/Terminal Dual SAE & GM Dual SAE & GM SAE Post SAE Post SAE Post BCI Group 34/78 75/25 34 35 51 & 51R

hey im having the same problem, I've already drained my battery in the first week of ownership while tuning my amp that i had installed, anyone know the correct battery group for the rx400h? I wanna try and purchase an aftermarket deep cycle battery so I don't run into this problem again.

anyone know the correct number of turns for adjusting the headlights?

Ok, well I would like to respond to this post, although i'm still on my first tank of gas in my RX400h... I mainly drive the car to the train station, its about a 3.3 mile trip each way. 35 mph max, stop and go traffic, cold car, etc. I leave my car in the garage at night if that helps at all. My gas mileage has only been 18-19mpg for this trip so I was a bit worried if those figures would improve or not. Does anyone think that after break-in my mpg figures will improve? anything I can do to improve my mpg on my own? I've filled my michilens to 37 psi all around and try and drive as gently as possible. However, I took a trip down the highway at 75 mph and got 37mpg for a 10 mile stretch of highway, I was impressed!! over and out, -Brett

spoke to the dudes today, they said they are in the process of developing a system for the 08' RX400h, the lockpick 3 does NOT work with the 2008 RX400h. Anyone know anywhere else we could a nav hack from?

Hey I tried searching for the proper break-in period for the RX400h, and to no avail, found nothing. I was just wondering if anyone could help me out with some tips on breaking in my RX400h, certain do's and don'ts, should I use 87 or 93? should I baby it? drive normally? drive it like I stole it?

called again today, left another message, well see when these guys call me back.

We are getting less mileage with cooler temps (40s - 60s) - the engine runs more to keep at operating temp - premium has consistently added 1.8 to 2.6 miles per gallon - we have 24,000 miles on our RX400 and have averaged a true 24.3 mpg - we use middle grade as a compromise for fuel unless heading up into the mountains. My wife drags our overall (15,500miles) mpg down to 26.0 using regular. Ours is AWD. Part of this is from Montana winter driving too. Mostly though it's So. Cal driving. When I was the primary / solo driver I could regularly get 30mpg ... using pulse driving I learned with the prius. My wife though, opts for the cheep gas. I'll see if I can get her to consistently use primium and see if that makes a difference. what do you mean by "pulse" driving?

im having the same problem, their email response sucks! i just called them and they claimed they would call me back, we'll see how long this takes.

so your saying the car is XM Ready but needs the dealer Varis add-on right? This runs $300-$400 right?

Hey, recently picked up my RX400h, I was wondering where to purchase a bumper guard/grill guard for the rx400h, I found a couple ones made by Waag that all come in black but none in stainless steel, anyone know where I can find one in stainless steel or have any pics of it in stainless steel? There is also another manufacturer, rampage, who makes a bumper grill guard in stainless steel for the rx400h, has anyone purchased this or has an experience with it whatsoever? All feedback is greatly appreciated, -Brett

you lose 2-3 mpg using the heat??

im picking mine up from ray catena this weekend so i'll let you guys know how that goes.