RX400h

You are one extremely lucky guy!

I think having that (the Hybrid letters) on the back hatch would be nice.

I believe the noise you are referring to is the the noise created by the electric motors, primarily when high-load conditions are present. The engine itself does not have to work as hard as the engine in an RX330 does. By the way, your engine oil cannot reach its optimum temperature during a 2 mile trip. It may reach 100 degrees F, which is far from the fully warmed-up temperature of approx 200 F. Gas mileage WILL suffer until the temp has reached at least 160 F (6 miles or so). Welcome to the group and enjoy that RX! Dave

My dealership told me that the tires are over-pressurized in Japan to avoid flat-spotting during the long trip to the US. The dealership is supposed to deflate them to specified pressure as part of their prep work.

There are certain requirements that you should stick to: 1) Since the overall diameter of the wheel/tire combo must remain close to that of the OEM setup, using higher-profile tires would require a smaller diameter wheel. 2) The tire's load rating should match or exceed that of the OEM tire. 3) The tire's speed rating should be at least that of the OEM tire's speed rating. Personally, I would not want to use higher-profile tires, simply because handling and steering response would suffer. The ride may become softer, but at the expense of handling.

That's kinda sad because my Corvette not only allows me to change all settings, myself, but I can also view any service codes on the Digital Information Center. I wonder why Lexus doesn't allow this to be the case with the RX?

...from a Money magazine review of the RX400h.... "The system isn't cut out for aggressive, Hummer-style off-road missions, but it works quite well: I repeatedly steered the Lexus into knee-deep snowdrifts in upstate New York over the winter, and it easily powered through." Got snow? :D

Yeah, an optional "Sport Seat" package would help some of us "older" folks (over 40) with our occasional sore backs! The handling of the 400h is really not too bad; the weak link while taking "agressive" corners is the lack of lateral support. Of course, this is not required when my family is in the car.......... ;)

It sounds like something I would enjoy as well, as long as it is held during the weekend. Waiting for 50 minutes, however, is something I wouldn't want to do - same reason I don't like going to Disneyland anymore. I guess the LS600h wasn't there?

I'd like to reiterate what the Discount Tire salesperson told me recently: He told me that more than a few OEM tires last or have warranties not exceeding 10,000 - 20,000 miles. He advised that a short life span does not indicate that all tires made by the OEM tire manufacturer will wear prematurely in a similar fashion. Goodyear makes some of the best tires out there at this time, so please don't assume that all Goodyears are garbage. Now, getting back to the uneven wear.....this is probably not a tire issue; more statistical info is certainly welcome. Dave

Of course, not, but by the same token, does that mean that we should NEVER fly on a commercial airplane? I rember an old saying that mentioned "killing the engineer" if you want to get the product to market. What was implied by this remark is that the typical engineer is a perfectionist and will constantly try new ways to improve a prototype, even if it means delaying product introduction and suffering a loss of big bucks (as competitors enter the market before you do) because of it. Yes, there is room for improvements to virtually everything, but not buying something because it is not perfect is akin to waiting year after year to buy a computer with no flaws.......

You infered all that from the few lines of the patent! Amazing! I believe quite a few members have driven their RX400hs in sub-freezing weather and even heavy snow without any issues. In fact, I've read a few posts where it was mentioned that the traction of the RX was very reassuring.

That's good news! I hope to get a hitch to hook up a 4-bike carrier. We used to cram them into our Nissan Quest and the bikes grow along with the kids, so.......time for some new equipment.

Wow - a Grand Cherokee to an RX400h. Now THAT'S a major change. I work for a company of approx. 40 full-time employees and two of us own RX400hs! The CEO drives an LS430 (2005), claiming he's had it with BMW and Mercedes poor reliability. The only thing I would change about the RX is the front seat. I guess I am spoiled by the comfort of the "Sport seat" option in my Corvette - great lumbar and lateral support. I wish there were an option like this with the RX, but I guess nothing is perfect. Anyway, welcome to the group and enjoy the "green" side of the fence! Dave

For 1000 miles (except where noted) observe the following suggestions: Avoid full throttle acceleration. Avoid racing the hybrid system. (The explaination of this is up for debate!) Avoid hard stops the first 200 miles. No trailor-towing the first 500 miles. Overall, these are very reasonable requests, I'd say. Dave

This reminds me of an amusing (but true story) that happened many years ago. The parking lot of the company for which I worked, was "cleaned" every Tuesday at 8:00 - a time when the parking lot was 80% full. The "cleaning" method used by the Mexican immigrants was to walk around the lot with a leaf blower, blasting sand onto every vehicle within its range. Of course, many people, including I had washed their cars over the weekend and come Tuesday late morning, had sand-covered vehicles to get into later on. Eventually, side windows would develop scratches from the sand getting embedded in between the glass seal and the glass. Well, as any car-respecting person would do, I complained to the person who normally dealt with the building owner. (our receptionist). When her boss, the CFO of our company found out, he blasted me, saying "Nobody cares about getting a little sand on their cars, so drop it!" I immediately sent an email to everyone, asking them if they were concerned at all. 25 people responded and their replies were immediately forwarded to the CFO. In addition, I took pictures of the scratched glass in one of my cars and told the recptionist that if the "cleaners" don't move their cleaning time to when the parking lot was unpopulated (like on the weekends or super-early in the morning), we would be asking for money to replace car windows. Needless-to-say, the CFO was furious, but after all was said and done, the sand-blasting was done on Saturdays. The lesson learned? Be persistent to ensure that the type of incident you described is not repeated. Don't back down. I was an 8-yesr employee who was up against a 2-year CFO. He was the one who backed down. The voice of the "crowd" was just too loud for him to ignore. Dave

Because of the glass, I would use a vacuum on virtually everything that even looks to have debris on it. Depending on the severity of the damage, this sounds like it could be a very expensive mistake by the parking lot cleaner. Good luck.

Thanks. I know for sure that my coworker's was defective. Hopefully, this isn't widespread. I still need to check mine if I can remember..... Dave

Good point. I'll have to double-check mine.

I changed my oil again in the RX. Lesson learned today: NEVER buy the 5 gallon container of oil. It is almost impossible to NOT spill the stuff when trying to pour it into a funnel. One of the problems is that the oil fill opening is about 8 inches down in between a few other components, making it hard to pour oil into it. The other thing that is not convenient is the fact that the bottom of the funnel I used can't sit inside the hole sufficiently so that it can stand up on its own. You must hold the funnel while pouring the oil in it, meaning that manuevering a giant 5-gallon container of oil to pour accurately is out of the question! Ah, but these little "challenges" are fun. Oil cleanup, however, is not.....! :chairshot:

A woman at work just had her ES330 in because her side view mirror would not pivot after she shifted into reverse. I just checked my mirror and it doesn't seem to be doing this anymore. I need to peruse the owner's manual to make sure that what what I think is not happening is actually supposed to happen. I never even thought of this until my coworker mentioned it. She had to leave her car at the dealership for almost one week while they acquired the part. Anyway, I thought I'd give everyone a heads-up in case it is something that is a common problem. Dave

The good news is that there really isn't that much maintenance to do on these vehicles besides changing the oil and rotating the tires. Still, later on down the road, you may very well need to have a service manual and I'm guessing that the only one available is the factory service manual. I'm also guessing that it is likely to cost a pretty penny.

You may have to invest in a service manual. Most include electrical diagrams that may be of help. Good luck.

omg thats right up my alley. I wasnt invited because i dont own the hybrid, but i really really want to go.... maybe i should just show up anyway and act all confident like i belong there. :D The dead giveaway would be the "RX330" badge on the rear of your vehicle as you pull into the parking lot full of hybrids ............ I can see it now as "Devin" from the old weekly series "Knight Rider" announces...."Guards, would you kindly escort the RX330 owner back to his vehicle?"

I haven't see anything here in San Diego, but would be interested in attending if offered.