RX400h

As I tell people all the time, if you take a leisurely drive to work, either on an empty highway or down a lonely country road, you will gain nothing in fuel mileage if you choose a 400h vs a 330. Unfortunately, the majority of working folks have to put up with a tememndous amount of daily traffic, five days per week, 47+ weeks per year. I have two coworkers who drive RX330s, both are achieving no more than 16-17 MPG on average. Our RX400h, on the other hand, is averaging 25+ MPG.

Okay, now let's look at some other "real world" mileage numbers taken from Road & Track:

Acura TSX: 24.3

Acura RL: 18.4

BMW 530i: 21.1

Chrysler 300C: 18.3

Ford Mustang GT: 18.0

Honda Accord V6: 23.3

Lexus GS430: 17.6

Lexus IS300: 23.3

Mazda 3s: 26.6

Mercedes ML500: 18.0

Nissan Maxima 3.5SE: 21.0

Porsche Cayenne Turbo: 12.8

Toyota Celica GT-S (2500 lbs): 24.7

Volkswagen Toureg V8: 14.8

Volvo XC90 AWD T6: 17.0

Needless to say, hybrid technology WORKS!

I was checking out the dashboard of 400h's today, and saw that there isn't a tach.  Why is that?  Only a gauge to show the use of the hybrid system.

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Does any of the hybrids have a tach? It may be totally unnecessary if the vehicle utilizes a CV transmission. The KW gage is like a boost gage - more entertaining than necessary.

I would definately be looking for rental re-imbursement either from lexus or from the guy's insurance company. Talk to your insurance agent about it.

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I agree with Steve, et. al. 100%. You shouldn't be out 1 penny for the rental vehicle.

Is it not possible for the body shop to put the damaged bumper back on and give you YOUR car back until a new bumper cover is located?? No offense to anyone but, at this point, that would seem to be the sensible thing to do. Who knows how long it will take to get the necessary parts.

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Actually, this is exactly what I intended to do last Monday. Before I did, I called Lexus parts and the guy there insisted that the bumper cover was due to arrive on Wednesday. Upon hearing this, I canceled my plan to retrieve the RX. Of course, every day since Wednesday has been sending my blood pressure up. The two things that bother me most is that our RX is not being driven (startup battery is slowly losing its charge and engine fluids are not being circulated - never a good thing) and for the time being, we are being reimbursed only 85% of the rental fee (which we have to pay up-front) Should eventual arbitration deem that we did NOT have to beep at the guy as he suddenly veered into our RX, then we will receive the other 15%. However, that may take months.

What I don't want to do is drop off the rental car, pick up the Rx and hear two days later that the part is in and we will need to drop off the RX for two or three days. Murphy's law says that this is what will happen. In the meantime, we drive a Maxima that smells like smoke, gets worse gas mileage, and has no NAV!

I WOULD SEND THE RENTAL CAR BILL TO LEXUS if your insurance doesn't cover it!!!  No way I would pay it myself.  Not your fault Lexus didn't plan ahead for replacement parts!!

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I called the bumper-basher's insurance company today and their representative agreed that it is certainly not our fault that we've had the rental car for so long. The RX is very drivable, but we and the repair facility were duped into thinking that the bumper cover would be in soon. Of course, the repar facility's listing of damaged parts, including a 2005 RX330 bumper cover couldn't have helped matters, either. When I asked them about this, they replied that the RX400h "isn't in the system, and we HAD to list something". So, the dealership could've been duped as well! What a mess!

At least the agent is not going to withold payment to us for use of the rental vehicle. But I agree that Lexus should pay for some of it.

One tip:  check your tire pressure monthly.  I actually increased my tire pressure to 35 (factory is 30 psi).  Less rolling resistance without much difference in handling.  Maybe this is the reason for my high MPG.

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Unfortunately, keeping your tires at 35 psi will likely result in heavy wear at the center of each tire and little wear around the inside and outside of the tread. Your tire life will be reduced significantly and I'm betting that these tires are NOT inexpensive.

My god! The rental bill must be insane...

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It is and getting worse by the day. The other thing is that we were getting spoiled by the NAV. Now we feel like lost nomads in the Sahara!

"If you can determine the part number for the bumper or any other Lexus part then you can search the parts inventories of Lexus dealers nationwide at http://www.partsvoice.com/partsvoice/conte...part.html"

The Lexus parts guy did scan the country and found zero - nada front bumper covers for the 2006 RX400h. Ours is coming from Japan.

Well, our RX400h has been at the collision center for 9 days now and Lexus cannot come up with an RX400h bumper. So far, two RX330 bumpers have been sent to the collision center and I'm hearing that there are NO RX400h front bumpers in the US. In the meantime, my wife is renting a Maxima and getting a bit upset.

Does anyone know the  Lexus corporate phone number?

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....18 days and no bumper yet! Everyone, please, do not allow anyone to damage either of your bumpers. Boy, do we miss the 400h.

Wow! That was some of the best stock investment advice I've ever read. Sadly, most people will read savy advice and just continue to live their lives as they have. I once worked with a woman whose husband invested in apartment buildings here in San Diego since the early 80s. During the early 90s, he advised me to start buying apartment buildings. Boy, am I sorry I didn't persue this form of investment! As most of you know, real estate has skyrocked more in California than almost anywhere else in the nation.

It should've been a no-brainer for me at the time. But, as RX in NC stated, you have to make a commitment and persist.

You have more confidence in Lexus Customer Service than I do LOL, seems every story I hear about a customer reporting an issue with a dealer to Lexus they get "thats between you and the dealer".

Of course you can't just use any shop, you have to find a good one. Ask your friends who are as picky as you who they use, look at their cars, tour the shop it should be clean and have the latest equipment, they should be thrilled to let you see everything and see the cars they work on. Don't be too married to high dollar cars, IMHO people with more modest cars care more than people with expensive cars...

A good body shop is something you need like a good mechanic, a good accountant, a good lawyer, a good dentist...

The dealer is good at what they're usually good at...costing a lot.

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Well, since I have initially called Lexus Customer Service last week, they have called me at least four times to let me know that they are working with the dealership and collision center to get the bumper cover in as soon as possible. Certainly, it is possible that some independent body shop wcould work as closely with Lexus parts and Corporate headquarters, but in all likelyhood, this wouldn't happen.

Here's an example of why I usually stay away from small shops for auto repair: We took our old van in for new brake padsand fluid flush not too long ago. After driving the van for a short distance afterward, we noticed that the brakes were very mushy (scary). When we brought the van back, the technician took it for a drive and announced that the master cylinder was bad and needed replacement ($200). Upon questioning the technician, I found out that they didn't have a pressure bleeder (the type that dealerships use) and pumped the brake pedal manually. When I explained that by extending the master cylinder further (during manual brake bleeding) than it normally travels during normal braking, the shaft seals can become scored/torn, resulting in fluid leakage past the seals (and mushy brake feel), the technician and owner admitted that this could be true. My proof was that other than thin pads, the brakes were fine before I brought the van in for service. The shop owner ended up replacing the master cylinder, but had they bled the brakes correctly or with tools that eliminated manual pedal bleeding, I wouldn't have had to go there twice, wasting many hours of my time.

This is just one reason why I tend to pay a little bit more at a dealership. Others like yourself may have different experiences, but until I have a good experience with a mom-and-pop shop, to the dealership I will go!

Actually believe it or not, you'll probably get a much better job by an independent body shop than by the dealer. Usually dealer shops do volume work not quality work. They have a steady influx of business from the dealership and don't have to worry about making a name for themselves or having their quality stand on its own. Find a shop with high tech color matching equipment (Lexus doesn't make paint) that has good references and you'll be fine.

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I believe that there are some good independent shops out there, just as there are some good independent auto repair shops. My experience, however, has shown that the body shops that repair any type of vehicle are not always the best choice for repairing a very expensive vehicle. 20 year-olds who have their 1983 Civic body damage repaired are normally not as picky as a 50 year-old executive who is having his or her 745i BMW repaired. I made the mistake twice of bringing my old Corvette to a local, family-owned shop.

As I mentioned, the Toyota Collision center that we chose has plenty of Lexus-specific experience and must answer to both the owners of those vehicles and Lexus Customer Service, both of whom tend to be very meticulous when it comes to receiving high quality of work.

I recently was front-ended by a guy who decided to back up without looking at a gas station. Upon calling the three Lexus dealerships in my area, I found that one refers customers to a Chevy body shop nearby, another, to a Mercedes collision shp, and the third, to a Toyota collision center. Now I look at body shops the same way I do auto shops. How often does the local repair place work on a newer Lexus? How experienced can they be with my vehicle if they service 10 other makes of vehicles? The Toyota collision center was getting ready to repair an identical (even the same color) 2006 RX400h when I arrived for a quote. To me, they are likely to be the only body shop in town that has repaired an RX400h and are accustomed to doing the job right.

So, I recommend that you not skimp on repairwork. Go to a place that knows your vehicle. You'll be happy you did many years from now.

Good luck!

I think the noise may be coming from the electric motors, not the engine. High-powered electric motors tend to be very noisy. Fortunately, the noise surfaces primarily while heavy throttle is being applied. Cruising is very quiet.

I got a flat via a puncture in the sidewall of my tire. The dealer put the spare on (glad Lexus has full size spares), but he told me that the Michelins that my 400 has are on back order. Its been two weeks and he still doesn't know when they will be in.

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Until then, hope that you don't get another flat!

Apparently, Lexus thought about having enough parts to ship RX400hs but forgot about spare parts!

I may have to have the collision center reinstall the old bumper. Letting the vehicle sit for extended periods is NOT recommended.

The sad thing is that I purposely asked the appraisers if there would be much of a delay in getting ahold of the bumper, considering how new the vehicle is. I was told 3-5 days was sufficient to get the part. The good news is that more than a few people are trying to find a bumper. The bad news is that the rental car bill is piling up as we wait. :cries:

It is on the windsheild but i guess you don't have the car to know.

1-800-25-lexus

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Thanks. They are looking into the situation.

Well, our RX400h has been at the collision center for 9 days now and Lexus cannot come up with an RX400h bumper. So far, two RX330 bumpers have been sent to the collision center and I'm hearing that there are NO RX400h front bumpers in the US. In the meantime, my wife is renting a Maxima and getting a bit upset.

Does anyone know the Lexus corporate phone number?

Normal :D

Just clean and condition the leather each month or like I do after each cleaning which is very often...

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I agree; clean thoroughly to get the wrinkle lines out and then condition with Connoly or Zaino leather-in-a-bottle.

First of all, short trips will kill your oil quickly, so avoid them like the plague. Secondly, it doesn't matter what vehicle you are driving (except pure-electrics) - short trips kill mileage. The beauty of full hybrids is that you can get stuck in daily traffic and actually gain mileage compared to just cruising at highway speeds.

As a general rule-of-thumb, make sure all trips are at least 8-10 miles long or are combined to achieve this distance.

Most new vehicles' electronics draw current (milliamps) while the vehicle is off. Because of this, not starting your vehicle for extended periods of time may result in a battery charge that is not capable of starting the vehicle. If you DO need to leave your RX400h sitting for more than a few weeks, I would look into the possiblity of using the Battery Tender Plus. It keeps the 12-volt battery "topped off" so that its capacity is always sufficient to start the engine.

This Battery tender can be found at Walmart. Check out its description here:

http://www.batterymart.com/battery.mv?p=DE...&source=froogle

This service is offered by most dealerships (who may subcontract to outside companies), but is fairly expensive. To me, the chrome characters go with the high-tech theme of the RX400h.

Page 451 of the RX400H owners manual, left column:

"            !CAUTION

Under certain slippery road conditions, full traction of the vehicle and power against drive wheels cannot be maintained, even though the traction control system is in operation.."

Anyone care to guess what this statement might mean??

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Ice!

Semi on topic:

...even more so i dont mind traffic jams as much because at least while im stuck im saving fuel....

I have heard that idleing actually uses a significant amount of fuel. Is that true? I can see how a hybrid is efficent when idleing, becuase the electric motor is used at slow speeds.

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The Toyota hybrids idle much less often, compared to common vehicles, hence their fantastic city mileage.

I recently drove up the coast to Monterey and as those of you who have done this know, the route looks like a bunched-up snake - lots of left and right curves. We never had any issues with the steering and I doubt we'll be entering in any slalom contests with the 400 any time soon........

I don't think that there is much regarding charging/fuel mileage differences, depending on braking technique, but check this out: http://www.ambulancedriving.com/extra-info...-e4-pce-03.html

A transmission leak should never require that the engine is replaced. I think you're getting worried over nothing much. My differential gasket in my Corvette had to be replaced (under warranty) and it was a task that was easily completed by the service technician in a minimum amount of time.

Relax and enjoy your RX!