RX400h

No, the owner's manual clearly warns against running out of gas. Remember that the batteries must not be discharged below a certain level or their lifespan will be diminished. This is also true of a normal starting battery. You can chop one year off its life by letting it be drained (from leaving on an interior light, for example) so low so that it cannot start the engine.

I agree. We were one of the first batch of RX400h buyers in San Diego in 05 and we paid sticker - no more. Regarding the Mercedes, you might want to consider the long-term test results that Car & Driver magazine reported not too long ago: I'd stay away from that vehicle.

But wasn't it an AWD? Tom Yes, it certainly was. Of course, it had a fully-charged battery but still, that time is better than the majority of vehicles on the road.

By the way, I believe Car & Driver achieved a 0-60 MPH time of 6.7 seconds with an 06 RX400h. At the time, that meant that the RX was faster than a Porsche Cayenne-S, while still getting almost double the fuel mileage of the Porsche.

Me thinks you heard wrong, Grasshopper! ;)

I believe the antifreeze gets replaced at 90,000 miles, so I went and bought a jug at the Lexus dealership to hold me off until then. My Corvette uses Dex-Cool and it gets changed every 5 years. I may not wait longer than that to have the antifreeze in the RX changed; 90K seems to be a stretch.

I live in SD too. Do you use mid-grade during summer months but never premium? I've been using premium but started doing research into the octane thing, and thought I might be wasting money buying premium. Have you done any testing using regular for a while and then switching to premium? Just wondering if you noticed any performance or mpg difference btwn the two. I believe that the weather here is cool enough so that premium is not necessary, so I haven't used that grade of gas, at all. Keep in mind that any difference in power would be difficult to feel under normal driving conditions. This is why Consumer Reports editors advise readers who drive cars that can use any grade (because of knock sensors and computer-controlled timing and fuel trim capabilities) of gas that buying premium is essentially a waste of money if moderate driving is the norm. However, a trip to Las Vegas during August would warrant filling the tank with premium. Using midgrade, there is more than adequate power for the type of driving that my wife and I do.

Really, there should be no disadvantage to using a 0W-30 or 0W-40 oil over a 5W-30 oil. The only reason I use 5W-30 is because it is so widely available. I once spoke to a Mobil 1 technical applications person who told me that he uses Mobile 1 0W-40 in the heat of Texas. He did tell me that 10W-30 oil is essentially obsolete, as it offers no advantages over 5W-30 or 0W-30 oils.

I am thinking about using full synthetic for one reason - longer change intervals. I do this for two of my other cars, although nether one accumulates more than 6000 miles in one year (my change interval). The important factor is knowing that your oil filter can handle the extended length of time between changes. The only way to know that is to have your old oil tested by a lab like Blackstone labs. My guess is that a good quality oil filter and synthetic oil can last 12,000 miles.

I think both the 450h and the 250h will be available in the Fall.

Wow, that looks almost too bright! Are you sure those are legal in all states?

The 2006 owner's manual does state that regular is acceptable. I use regular during cooler months and switch to midgrade when the weather warms up. My guess is that an Rx400h using regular fuel when the ambient temperature is 50 is just as powerful as the RX using premium when ambient temp is 80. Since it rarely exceeds 80 here in San Diego, midgrade works well for my RX.

Should that be column? <_<

I would check to see under what circumstances the windshield can be replaced. The worst that has happened to our windshield in 4+ years is a small chip that was repaired for about $70. Other than that, we would have never spent $800 for anything else. Now if you can have the windshield replaced because of normal sand-caused shipping, then there may be value in the plan. Much may depend upon where and how often you drive.

You will notice that this happens only after traversing a bump in the road while the brakes are "regenerating". I believe the slight kickback and resulting lower compression of foot on brake pedal gives the impression of lurching or increasing speed. This is absolutely normal for our generation RX.

Wow, you have a Chevy S10 in your driveway and you see the new RX as being too bland?

I would say the invoice is approx. $45,000. That would be the most I'd pay for any $51,000 vehicle with 5000 miles on it. Most likely, they will accept less.

Yeah, the corvette HUD is really nice. I like that it's customizable. Is it difficult to see it during the day? I *really* like the idea of one in the RX. I usually can't see my speed between my steering wheel setting and the fact that I normally drive with my hands on the wheel at 12:00 & 5:00. :P There is a sliding brightness control which allows the display to be super-bright during the day, if desired. On a rare occasion when the sun hits the windshield just right, the display washes out in an array of rainbow colors, but is very rare. I'm fairly neutral about those features until I see them close-up. From a distance, I would say that they make the RX neither bettwr or worse that our generation.

I've been enjoying "HUD" for over 8 years now in the Corvette, so I am totally spoiled! That "navigation directions" part of HUD is a really nice touch. You don't want to have too much info up there, however, since it does tend to take your attention away from other things. I typically have just the vehicle speed displayed, whereas I could have oil pressure, engine speed, and a couple of other things displayed at the same time.

Ah, but let's see how you answer this one...... You buy a new computer from your local computer store. This is not just any computer, since while the average computer runs about $800, you spend $1600 on a more powerful version with upgrades in every category. The computer is warranted for 2 years and just before the warranty has expired, the dealership tells you that there is a chance your computer will catch on fire, so it will have to be serviced. In addition, they can't do any of the work on the weekends when you are not working, so you MUST take at least three hours off from work at a time when management is looking for just one good reason to send you out the door (...not because of your capability, but because money is "tight".). Traffic is horrendous, both ways. Fortunately, you will be provided a car, but of course, you must drive cross-town to bring in the computer and pick up the car. In addition, you must leave work early during one of many important meetings to give yourself enough time to fill up the tank and then pick up your computer. By the time you arrive, the service department is closed, so you can't really ask anyone why there is a gouge near the DVD burner cover. Because of the heavy traffic, you end up skipping your trip to the gym, only to come home to a cold supper. Is this acceptable? Would you be the least bit irritated?

Since we don't have an oil temperature monitor in our Lexus, I can tell you only how hot the oil in my Corvette gets after a 15-mile commute at 50 degrees F ambient temp. When I arrive at work, my oil temp. is between 186 and 210 (depending upon how aggressive my drive is). A 10-mile drive may not be sufficient to get your oil temperature up that high. However, a 70-mile drive on the weekend would certainly get rid of any moisture that has accumulated. Yes, you can certainly have a Toyota dealership do the oil change and not jeopardize the warranty. Regarding synthetic oils: Many car owners have driven 10,000+ miles or waited more than one year before changing their synthetic oil and have found through an oil analysis that the oil was still protecting the engine, even though the oil filter had not been changed in between oil changes. Here's an interesting article about extended drain intervals: http://news.carjunky.com/amsoil/exxonmobil...et_ab1439.shtml The service advisor to whom you spoke should take a look at some of the oil analysis data that was presented to those (synthetic oil users) who left their filters in place for 10,000+ miles. I have read quite a few and now am confident that my engine would be well-protected, even after one year. Still, I may get my own analysis done to show others who many not believe.

The reason why a time limit is imposed is because some people take short trips which are not sufficient to "burn off" moisture that can accumulate in the crankcase. If the trips you take are long enough so that the engine oil temperature reaches say, 200 degrees F, then extending the time limits when mileage is not exceeded is probably not dangerous at all. Still, if the vehicle is under warranty, it is best to follow the recommended oil change intervals for obvious reasons. That being said, I may, now that my RX is out of warranty, use synthetic oil and extend my intervals to 1 year or 10,000 miles. An oil analysis will tell me if this is okay to do.

It's too late for me to call, but did you try this number as well? (407) 855 5213 I agree, but as I mentioned, I've been using a small tankless air compressor for 20 years and have never had a problem with tires. If you can get 6 years of life out of any pair of tires, you are doing well. After that and even if the tread depth is okay, you should still replace that pair of tires.

Large compressors on large tanks have a water drain for good reason - hot air hits a cool tank and moisture in it condenses on the tank's inner wall. A small compressor's air won't condense as easily and since many have no tanks at all, the moisture has no where to go but into your tires. Regardless, until recently, I have always used a small Coleman compressor to top off my tires and I have never had a tire degrade to a point where it failed before its tread wore out. I now have a Craftsman Professional compressor, but really, the only way to ensure that the air is moisture-free would be to mount a particulate and coalescing filter combo right at the fitting that you press into the tire valve stem. Even having the filters mounted to the tank would not be enough to prevent air running through a fairly long hose to cool off and condense. By the way, speaking of topping off tire pressure, here's an interesting device: http://www.tireright.com/ezair.htm

...very good points here. I would like to emphasize that although the door sticker lists 30 psi as the recommended tire pressure, this is much too low. As was mentioned, keep the pressure at 34-37 psi. I set the pressure to 35 psi and average 24.3 MPG. That's about the same as a Camry 4 cylinder that weighs 1000 lbs less and has 100 horsepower less than the Rx400h.