RX400h

I think the battery warranty is eight or ten years. Of course, you'd have to try to calculate whether the cost of new batteries offsets the higher mileage. It's funny how no matter how well some things are engineered, there's always someone who has a "better" idea. Many are well-researched, but the plug-in concept, I'm afraid, was not.

Dave

"Toyota has been tracking battery life of its hybrid cars, on sale in Japan since 1997 (and over here since 2000). The latest word is that the hybrid battery pack - note, not the ordinary 12-volt battery running "hotel loads" - is good for the design life of the car.

Engineers usually figure this at 150,000 miles, with an expected bell curve of low and high extremes.

The reason for this longevity is interesting, and it also augurs poorly for the plug-in hybrid concept. The greatest chemical stress on any battery occurs at its operational extremes, the last 20 percent before full discharge and the top 20 percent of full recharge.

To avoid these extremes and enhance life, Toyota's hybrid battery pack is designed to operate at 60-percent charge, +/- 10 percent. Under extreme conditions, this is stretched perhaps another 5 percent in either direction. Therefore, the hybrid battery pack spends most of its life at 50-to-70-percent charge, avoiding the detrimental effects of low or high extremes.

By contrast, a plug-in hybrid car gains range and performance by exploiting this plug-in pack to the fullest. As wth ordinary rechargeable batteries, it's likely to trade longevity for this capability."

Thanks, Steve. It is my pleasure to help out the forum and to meet so many incredible people.

Dave

Typically, when a procedure calls for turning the ignition "On", it refers to rotating the key from "Off" to "On", without starting the engine. This is part of my Corvette's procedure to reset the "Oil Life Remaining" display back to 0%.

Greetings,

Since wear out of tires leads to replacement, I searched for what options exist.

The revs per mile differ among the 4 and 5 star tires offerred at http://www.tirerack.com/

They range from 731 to 739 , about 1%. I assume I can ignore this as long as I get the

tires in a matched set. Anyone disagree?

The site has Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Blackwall as the best seller. If everyone does

their research, then I can assume it rates better than the others. Does anyone have a better

suggestion if I want a good traction tire for all seasons, i.e. rain in winter and 110F and dry in summer?

Sincerely,

Bill

Lately, I've been reading very good things about Goodyear (not OEM) tires. Consumer reports has rated GY tires #1 for the past couple of years. I don't have my mags handy at this time, but anyone who subscribes can check into this.

I do know that the Goodyear GSD3s (ultra high-performance tires) are not only the best tires I've ever driven on in the rain and on dry roads, but they also trounced every other high-performance tire in a recent Car & Driver test.

I could've sworn I saw an article about an IS diesel. Has anyone else seen this?

I think you'll find the stopping distances a bit longer than on the other cars you mention you've driven. My 400h replaces a 5 series (E39) BMW. I've just had to adjust my driving habits to accommodate. Think of the 400h as a truck. The latest Consumer Reports (came in the mail yesterday) compares the Camry hybrid with other Camries and other mid-size sedans. The Camry hybrid had noticeably longer stopping distances than the other Camry models. I assume this is at least in part because of the regenerative braking system and the complex integration with regular binders. It'll be interesting to see how Toyota deals with this aspect of the GS450h and the LS600h, which are really supposed to be sporty cars.

I agree. We have to remember what the 400h weighs: 4600 lbs. I'll bet that if an H2 were to try to stop quickly and didn't allow an incredibly long distance between it and the vehicle in front of it, there's be one squashed vehicle as a result.

I am spoiled royally by the Corvette - unbelieveably short stopping distances and seats that not only provide perfect lower back support, but also coddle from the sides. Everything is a compromise of sorts and our RX400h is no exception.

If you really want to know if your brakes are faulty, I recommend that you drive another h to compare.

My boss has an RX400h and discovered a possible problem involving the vehicle's airbags. He told me that he was driving the car recently and his 16 year old daughter was in the front passenger seat. He noticed that when his daughter reclined the front passnger seat fully so that it was virtually completely horizontal so that she could take a nap, that the indicator on the dashboard indicated "Passenger Airbag Off," or words to that affect. It is his recollection that when the seat is empty that message should be displayed. When the seat is occupied it should not be. Why, he wonders, would the airbag protection be deactivated when the backrest is fully reclined?

Anybody know?

Thanks.

Don't know but I can speculate with the best of them...

The sensor is pressure/weight activated and if she reclined all they way a large protion of her weight would be on the back of the seat and not on the bottom part (where the sensor is). Could be that she also shifted her weight so that it was not on the sensor.

I doubt that it has any connection to the position of the seat back.

Also, in that position neither the seat belt or the air bag are going to be of any use in protecting her from an impact... she should learn to sleep sitting up.

I agree 100%. Now, let me tell you a true story that happened one year ago.

My nephew, who was taking a break from being stationed in Iraq, went for a night out with one of his military buddies. As they were returning to base in his friend's Cavalier, my nephew decided to take a nap in the passenger seat in the fully-reclined position. Unfortunately, the driver lost control of his vehicle and it rolled over on a desolate road, not too far from the base. My nephew's head was pounded by the door and he died almost instantly. He was about 29 years old.

So please, never let anyone recline the seat while the vehicle is moving.

Most Lexus dealers don't do body repairs. Glad it looks like its resolved!

My dealer in Wilmington, DE also doesn't do body. Do you know why Lexus dealers have chosen not to have body shops? My insurance company sent me to a Chevy dealer (fat chance!) Found an independent shop to fix my front bumper ($3K - ouch.) They did a beautiful job.

My guess is that many recommend the Toyota collision centers for that kind of work. This is what we found to be the case for one of the three Lexus dealerships near us. One dealership recommended a Mercedes body shop and the other, the Chevy dealership shop. Keep in mind, though, that many Chevy body shops work on Corvettes and believe me, Corvette owners tend to picky after spending over $50K for a vehicle.

Hi Guys!! :)

I hope you're OK.

Click on THIS to watch a 'youtube' video of a 'Fifth Gear' road test/review of the GS450h.

Craig!! :)

Nice - thanks!

Car is VERY sensitive to highway speed, at above 70 mph mileage drops significantly at 80 mph and up it is down dramattically. Up to about 65 mph even gradual downhills are sufficeint for engine to shut down above 70 mph engine almost never shuts down. At 65 mph and less car can get great mileage with a little effort.

My God, who drives THAT slowly????? Obviously, you do NOT live in California! :)

Actually, I believe this is not a dealer-installed option. It IS odd that it is missing, however.

Thanks for the excellent review. I will certainly save it for future reference.

Dave

All that rain must boost fuel mileage! :) Seriously, people here in San Diego who drive 65 during off-peak hours will get rear-ended in a heatbeat. Most average 80 MPH during my morning commute. That being said, I must add that we average 24.8, while a couple of former coworkers could do no better than 16-18 MPG in their RX330s. My Corvette averages 19.5 MPG and is significantly lighter than the RX (3200 vs 4600 lbs). Still, sudden bursts of speed to 115 don't help achieve high mileage ;)

So far, we've racked up 13,000 miles after 14 months and have had zero problems.

Back a while ago, our main garage door's cable binded and the resulting strain bucked the door at its center. When the door was being replaced, my wife asked the installer if it would be possible to raise the door in its open position (sectional door). He did and now I am proud to say that the hatch doesn't hit the garage door anymore! I didn't think it was possible, but the proof is in the pudding!

So, if any of you who do have clearance problems, be sure to request an "adjustment" the next time you replace your door. In fact, it may very well be possible to do it to an older door. I just wish I were there to see what the guy did.

Dave

The B position is used while descending steep inclines - helps save the brakes (although brake pads on hybrids tend to last a long, long time.

We have been averaging 25 MPG - gentle weekdays (wife), but heavy foot-weekends (me). Yours will get better as the engine breaks in.

I don't have a bluetooth phone, but we did chip in a few bucks for a service that not only guides you as to what phones are compatible, but also help you to set things up. Someday, I will get to try them out.

I burned a couple of CDs that play perfectly.

Welcome to the club!

Dave

According to Consumer Reports, the RX400h gets slightly better fuel mileage, is a bit quieter, and has a smoother ride. The Highlander handles slightly better.

Have yours gone out already????

You may be the only RX400h owner in the world to experience this type of issue. Please let us know how it turns out.

Problem Solved. I had the alarm sensors added to the headlamps and it was set to be too sensitive. The dealer adjusted the sensors and all is good.

I would have never guessed THAT one. Still, it's good to know it wasn't some weird anomaly!

You may be the only RX400h owner in the world to experience this type of issue. Please let us know how it turns out.

Car is super quiet and much smoother than the RX400h (no thunks when engine kicks in),

I'm not sure about your RX400h, but our RX400h's electric/ICE transition is virtually imperceptable - no clunking at all.

The run-flat tires that came with my car are Bridgestone Turanza ER33's. Haven't driven enough to have a strong opinion on these, but I think I will replace them with something better in the future.

The brakes are much better than the ones in the RX400h. Not grabby, none of the pulsing you feel in the RX during regenerative braking.

We must have an exceptional RX400h, as its braking is smooth and progressive - no pulsing or grabbing at all.

Throttle control is also better than the RX400h's. Press lightly and the car leaps forward. No pause before you get full power. The pedal resistance also seems to be adjusted better, might be a 2 stage type of thing because it seems to be easer to modulate the accelerator pedal to stay on electric-only power. Maybe it's just my imagination but so far it seems like I need to press very slightly harder to cross the threshold from electric-only to electric+gas.

The GS does have quite a bit more power, so I would expect that. However, the RX's power progression is very acceptable to me, and I also drive a 375 HP vehicle that weighs only 3200 lbs.

That being said, I think this is a great review - thanks!

I find it extremely hard to believe that disconnecting the 12V battery would result in having to do all this work. Are you sure they are not talking about disconnecting the NiMH batteries? If I disconnect the battery in my Corvette, all presets (such as radio, seat memory, light settings, etc) are retained.

This procedure is in your owner's manual. I did it after changing the oil, myself and yes, getting at the filter is a bit of a pain. Fortunately, my replacement K&N filter has a welded-on nut at its top. This'll make it much easier to unscrew, the next time I change the oil.

What's an owner's manual? ;)

I'm a bit of a DIY guy on a lot of stuff. So, it is easy to say, "If you can afford..." But, taking that argument far enough would lead to us doing nothing for ourselves unless we couldn't afford it. To me, there's satisfaction in a job well done, in addition to the $$ savings. I detail my car myself. I could afford to pay a good detailer who would arguably do a better job and take less time (it usually takes me an entire weekend). But, I save the money and know that the job is done reasonably well -- and I enjoy it. So, go for it! When someone uses their own mechanic or changes the oil themselves, we all benefit indirectly -- Lexus has to keep their price somewhat competitive, lest we all go the non-Lexus route.

I learn something new everytime I change the oil in any of my vehicles. This, and "getting the job well done" as you mentioned, are very satisfying.

My experience has been just the opposite, at least with my other cars. Michelins are almost always the most expensive tires you can buy. However, Goodyear has consistantly topped the tire ratings in Consumer Reports and Car & Driver magazine. My Goodyear GSD3s (on the Corvette) are the best tires I've ever owned.

They couldn't, but they showed me the trick to reset it myself. Make sure at your first 5k you get your dealer to show you how to do that. It is some combinatino of pressing the odometer button (while the total mileage odometer display is showing) while turning the key, I think.

This procedure is in your owner's manual. I did it after changing the oil, myself and yes, getting at the filter is a bit of a pain. Fortunately, my replacement K&N filter has a welded-on nut at its top. This'll make it much easier to unscrew, the next time I change the oil.