RX400h

How many miles are on the odometer?

Based upon this tool's capability, I can almost guarantee you that all RX400hs have OBD II. My 2001 Corvette has it and that car is 4 years older than our 2006 RX400h (which we purchased in 2005). http://www.autopartsdeal.com/Parts_List/scan_tool/lexus/rx400h/

Uh oh, it looks like you'll need a Diagnostic Test Kit and a CAN Interface Module Kit to do the relearn procedure.

Keep in mind that many reviews are written after only 1000 miles of driving. Our Bridgestone Alenzas were incredible tires until about 30,000 miles when they started to "sing". Perhaps my 5-6000 mile rotations contributed to the noise but I've done the same with other tires and did not have this issue. (Except for Sumitomos which sounded off after only 10,000 miles).

Thanks for letting us know about that. Standard tranny Hondas are very reliable, that's for certain. Now my 89 Mazda MX6 GT with 150,000 miles on its auto tranny is still running well despite a couple of fluid leaks (not related to the transmission). I surely wouldn't mind replacing the Mazda with a Lexus CT200h some day.

That's very good mileage - congrats.

By the way, the traction batteries are nickel-metal Hydride, not lithium.

After owning many different brands of vehicles and speaking to many owners of other vehicles (including Toyotas), I can say without a doubt that Lexus is the most reliable. We have not had one issue in over 52,000 miles. That being said, I must also mention that should something happen now, especially something that incurs no charge to us, I would never say that I would never buy a Toyota or Lexus again. I can't imagine why you would feel this way unless you've never owned a Mercedes, BMW, Audi, or Land Rover - all having far worse reliability. What brand other than maybe Acura (and it is certainly not free of issues) would you switch to?

Can I ask why on earth you would have 17-inch wheels and tires? What happened to the OEM sets?

Totally unique and beautiful work. You should work for the Lexus division!

I agree with Lemon. Ours was done last year.

Mmmmm, our RX400h has its original battery and it is now 5 years and 3 months old. It starts the car like it is brand new. I suspect those who have batteries that fail early were unlucky. Most Toyota batteries last well over 5 years from what I've seen. The Costco Kirkland battery is an excellent battery, especially for the very low cost.

Out of all the hybrids on the road, there has yet to be one with depleted batteries, and that includes Prius versions with over 250,000 miles on them. Unless you plan to drive 50,000 miles per year, you really don't have to worry about having to replace the traction batteries. Regarding reliability: Our RX400h is now more than 5 years old with more than 50,000 miles on it and we have not had one problem. That in of itself is truly amazing and a good sign of future reliability.

Yes, when most of us here list MPG, the gallons are US. 27.2 MPG is a very good number as average MPG.

There was a recall a while back that involved steering components. (not sure if that's the TSB you referred to) Have you had this service done? Ours has about 52,000 miles on it and we've never had any issues whatsoever.

I really like this car as well. I think Lexus created a vehicle that is aimed at the younger (<60) crowd that values handling over silky-smooth ride. The lighter the vehicle weight, the more I'll like it. Bring it on!

With most non-hybrids, a steady 30-50 MPH on back country roads will result in very good gas mileage. This would explain your 24 MPG number. My son's 1997 Honda Civic CX would most likely achieve almost 50 MPG under those conditions. However, the majority of the population in the US is in or near heavily populated areas (cities and counties) and as such, are severely penalized by driving non-hybrid/heavy vehicles. I know of a few RX330 and RX350 owners who typically achieve only 16 MPG under the same conditions under which we achieve 24-26 MPG or more. The gap widens as frequency of city and high traffic conditions increase. Folks who live in the Los Angeles area can see 30 MPG when driving RX400h and RX450h SUVs.

Chand3 is correct if the conversion includes US gallons. If using British gallons, the answer becomes 34.4 MPG (not likely).

For those who doubt that higher pressures reduce tire contact area, try this simple test. Inflate a tire to 42 psi and then drive over some moist dirt or clay. Look at the area of tire that is covered with the dirt. Now deflate the tire to 32 psi and repeat the test aftet cleaning the tire. I believe you will notice more dirt on the properly-inflated tire. This means that the tire will contact pavement with more rubber, making handling more secure. Think about this as well - If there was nothing wrong with inflating tires to the max pressures listed on the sidewall, why doesn't Toyota do that with their hybrid vehicles. Wouldn't it be better press for them to have customers achieve higher gas mileage? Another thought.....If each of us removed our intake air filter, we'd get better fuel mileage as well but that doesn't mean we should, does it? Now what if we could somehow reprogram our hybrids so that we could run down the batteries to 20%. We'd certainly get better fuel mileage but what are the consequences?

Okay, I had a good chuckle when I read the part about overinflation. First of all, I should mention that I have over 30 years experience with measuring equipment of all types and about that many years running radial tires on my cars. In fact, I worked for Uniroyal world headquarters for a time. I have measured many tires' tread depths with digital and dial calipers and I can tell you honestly that radial tires do wear in the center if overinflated. This is especially true of heavier vehicles' tires, at least from what I've seen. My Corvette's tires will wear out in the center if I keep them inflated over an optimum pressure by just a few psi. Really, all you have to do is ask the tire pros at tirerack.com. Here's what they have to say: Or how about this article snippet from USA Today: Note: Harold Herzlich is a consultant for the Rubber Manufacturers Association. Please, keep the proper tire patch area on the road by inflating your tires to no more than a few psi over the recommended pressure listed on the door sticker. You and your vehicle will be better off (and safer).

Please keep in mind that if you inflate your tires past approx. 34 psi (cold), they will wear out in the center, rather quickly. I had my tires at 35 psi for a while until I noticed that they were wearing out in the center. Currently, I have them set to 32-33 psi and their wear has evened out.

Uh Oh, it's BACK with a vengence! Steve, please check it out again. Thanks, Dave 7/9/10 update: All is well again.

I think I wouldn't be impressed, either if I drove only 7 miles to work. To get the oil hot enough, most vehicles need to be driven at least 10 miles, but as much as 20 miles on cooler days. As the oil gets hotter its viscosity decreases and fuel mileage increases. We average 24-26 MPG with more highway than city driving. I'm certain that if we spent more time in the city or during high traffic times, our fuel mileage would go up. We do not drive super conservatively and I've been known to blast by X5s every now and then. By the way, here's a post that includes a graph of RX400h owners' average fuel mileage. http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=21500

Thanks, Steve, It got to the point where I didn't want to log in from my work computer. I'll give it another try on Tuesday. Dave

Lenny, I have presented this question to the other moderators and owner of this forum. I and quite a few others are seeing the same message. My Windows 7 computer with Norton AV doesn't display any messages but my computer with Trend Micro does. I'll let you know what I find out when it happens. Dave