RX400h

There's nothing magical or difficult about getting 24-28 MPG in typical city driving. I've known two RX330 owners who were averaging 16 MPG in the same general area of town. Needless to say, they were not too happy when I told them we were getting about 25 MPG with our RX400h.

This is certainly not true if you live or drive in a large metro area, like Los Angeles, San Diego, or any other similar city. We live 30 minutes from downtown San Diego, yet we encounter heavy trffic both in the morning and afternoon. Our minivan, which was getting about the same fuel mileage as would an RX350 (14-16 MPG in the city), required a fillup every week. Our RX400h, which achieves 27 MPG during weekly city driving and about 24.5 - 25 MPG after factoring 75 MPH highway use during the weekends, requires a fillup only every 2 weeks, saving us $40 per week. That's $2000 per year and $20,000 in the 10 years we typically keep our main driving vehicle. Happily, we made the right choice when choosing between a hybrid and non-hybrid SUV, especially with pump prices as high as they are.

I would think that the warmer the climate, the greater the increase in fuel mileage from higher vs lower octane. If you are driving in cool/cold weather, higher octane wouldn't provide any advantage over, say mid-grade or even regular grades under normal driving conditions. Saying that using super will always benefit you to that extent (+4MPG) is misleading. We average over 24 MPG using regular (Winter months) and mid-grade (Summer months). Perhaps during last week's heat spell when some areas of town saw 108 degrees, premium fuel would've been a good idea, but nnow that it is 75 degrees again, buying premium is not prudent, IMO.

Steve, That was our reasoning, exactly. My wife needed something that placed her high enough to survey much of the road ahead, and my prerequisite was good gas mileage and plenty of luxury amenities. No other vehicle comes close in those regards. I did read recently that Porsche will be coming out with a hybrid Cayenne within the next two years. Let's face it, in the US, diesels are not very popular when it comes to passenger vehicles, much to the chagrin of the German car companies. Dave

Both your Camry and Acura have a big advantage when driving at typical CA highway speeds - much lower coeficcient of drag. All Toyota-designed hybrids are running almost entirely on gas-power at cruising speeds, so I wouldn't expect a 4600 lb SUV to achieve much more than mid-twenties on a long highway run. I believe there is a software download (at the dealership) to help fix any surging complaints. Our 2006 RX400h has had no such issue. In fact, in the 2+ years since we've owned this vehicle, my only complaint was the 30 psi tire inflation recommendation that is clearly labeled on the door jam. This pressure should be 35-36 psi.

I was under the impression that higher altitude means less-dense air, which would tend to reduce power and mileage. Perhaps it's the decrease in ambient air temperature that compensates for the lower density?

The biggest advantage of choosing an RX400h over an RX350, IMO, is the city mileage. Even when choosing a Prius over a Corolla, for instance, makes no sense if most of your driving is leisurely, 65 MPH highway driving on low-density roads. 26 MPG is a 53% increase - very significant if you are going to keep your hybrid for many years. Most of our driving includes a heavy mixture of stop & go and slow-moving. Whereas before buying our RX, we had to fuel up every week, we now fuel up every two weeks - a minimum of $40 savings per week. Multiply that by 52 weeks and it's esy to see that owning our RX for just 10 years handily pays off any increase in cost for the hybrid powertrain. For big-city people (or those who live near big cities), it's a no-brainer! Dave

Hey, I thought we Californians are the only ones with absolutely NO accent at all? :whistles:

Well, so far, we have good reviews about Bridgestone Alenzas, Toyos and Goodyear (aftermarket, not OEM) tires. I think it's safe to say that almost anything is an improvement over the OEM tires. Sadly, this is true of most vehicles - stay away from OEM!

I've heard that you can call lexus (1-800-255-3987, prompt # 4) to get them to send you a complete list of voice commands.

I bet I could get your Alenzas to screech Besides, you cannot get them for $600 any more. They have become very popular and their prices have been raising rapidly. When I last checked, $805 if you buy em on line to $996 at Big O Tires. Remember, I have an 01 Corvette and have been known to activate the active-handling while traversing tight mountain corners. Unfortunately, I tend to forget what my cornering limits are when I am driving the RX. However, I am VERY impressed by the Alenzas' ability to take corners without screeching. Yes, the $600 I paid was probably an introductory price, but there is good reason why they are selling so well - they perform extremely well and the word is out! Hopefully, it will be quite a while before my Alenzas are worn out, but so far, I am very happy with them.

I'll bet if you had the Alenzas, you would've been just as amazed. I can't even get mine to screech around high-speed corners. They are truly amazing and at $600, a steal!

That, alone is evidence that the RX400hs were not designed to have larger diameter tires. Besides, the larger the diameter, the greater the rotational mass and the slower the acceleration/braking. In addition greater sectional width tends to increase fuel consumption. Granted, the adverse effects may not be noticable or significant to some people. However, I want to emphasize that many stock-sized tires provide very noticable handling and perhaps, ride improvements over the OEM tires. The only way to know whether the tires you chose are much better than say, the Bridgestone Alenzas would be to test them back-to-back. The huge improvements you feel may disappear when comparing your tires to highly-rated 235/55/18s.

Hey, you said you wanted to fill the wheels wells better..... Seriously, traditional SUVs and 4X4 trucks have always had large fender gaps, and for good reason - off roading. But that's the SUV/4X4 "look", if you will. I have to chuckle when teens used to "slam" their trucks to get rid of the fender gap and make the truck handle better. I understand they really wanted a low-slung sportscar but couldn't afford one. I admit to lowering my Corvette to reduce the fender gap, but hey, it's a sportscar and should look low-slung. My SUV? I'm going to keep it looking like an SUV, but with semi-low aspect ratio tires for decent handling (no 22-inchers!) and a fairly large fender gap! Of course, as you say, "to each his (or her) own!"

Well, it seems like this is the direction in which some of us are heading with tires. Honestly, I hope I am wrong, but the trend has already started........ <_< 22" Delta Force Wheels on 285/35/22 BFG KDW

WWest, you really should work at the Toyota R&D lab!

You are correct - post OBD-II vehicles generally respond to software changes, only.

Does it also work with the 06 RXs? What is the cost?

One thing you might want to do (if you get no answer here) is to ask the parts person at your local Lexus dealership to show you the assembly drawing of the headlight/front end. Before buying an assembly manual for my previous vehicle, I used to stop by the parts counter and ask to see how the particular part was installed. The guy at the counter had no problem showing me the drawings.

42 psi????? That's INSANE! Seriously, I have found that with my Bridgestone Alenzas (fantastic tires, by the way), 36 psi is wearing the tires perfectly. I can't help but think that you'll be seeing the center of each of your tires wear prematurely by the 10,000 mile mark or sooner. Certainly there are many good tires out there, although at $600 total cost, it's tough to beat the "Stones" for perfermance and value. Goodyears and Michelins, among others, tend to be higher-priced than the others. The same holds true for Corvette tires. I love my Goodyear GSD3s, but dang, they cost a small fortune. Keep us posted as to what the wear pattern looks like...... Dave

I have a computer cleaning kit that I bought at Office Depot. It includes a monitor screen cleaner that works great for smudges and the like. Sorry to hear about the hate crime. There are crimes of greed, crimes of passion, and crimes of desperation; yours was definitely a crime of hate. However, it's good to hear that you have your baby back!

And to think that I paid $600 + free mounting and balancing (courtesy of my dealership) for the Alenzas. Now THAT'S a bargain!

Are you sure about that 5% rule? That's almost 1.5 inches! It's hard to believe that this much difference won't be reflected in the speed reading and odometer. Regardless, I have found that although I could easily get the OEM Goodyears to squeal, it is much harder to do with the Bridgestone Alenzas, despite their same width and diameter as the OEMs. I guess if you want to track the 400h, having super high-performance tires will help, but really, the suspension is not set up for ultimate handling. Lexus chose to keep the ride smoother than that of BMW because many luxury SUV buyers like it that way. Of course, if you really just want bigger tires, that's another thing! Dave

Where is it? I have removed a few in this forum. Dave Post #6 was a double post of #5, I tried to remove #6 but I couldn't remove #6 so I edited it to ask the question "Is there any way to remove a double post?" The answer is - only if you are a moderator (as much as I know). Dave

Where is it? I have removed a few in this forum. Dave