Battery capabilities

[Sybaris]

Hi

Looking at a 450h and this will be my first hybrid so I am a little new to this.

What sort of range do you get from the Battery?  I am hoping that say I can do a 20 mile run, park do a bit of shopping and 20 miles back on Battery?

What happens if I use my remaining Battery charge?  Does petrol then kick in?

Lastly, does anyone know the lifetime of the Battery and what is the cost to replace one?

My current NX 200t does about 23 mpg in town and 34 on motorways so I am hoping this will be more fuel efficient.

 

Thanks

[PCM]

From our experience, the Battery and petrol just, 'do their thing'. Working together... automatically.

Not really like a fully electric vehicle, just more efficient ( I hope ) than a petrol only car.

Don't expect to get 20 miles on all-electric... or anything near that.

You notice it mostly in stop-start-traffic... the silence.

[rayaans]

32 minutes ago, Sybaris said:

Hi

Looking at a 450h and this will be my first hybrid so I am a little new to this.

What sort of range do you get from the battery?  I am hoping that say I can do a 20 mile run, park do a bit of shopping and 20 miles back on battery?

What happens if I use my remaining battery charge?  Does petrol then kick in?

Lastly, does anyone know the lifetime of the battery and what is the cost to replace one?

My current NX 200t does about 23 mpg in town and 34 on motorways so I am hoping this will be more fuel efficient.

 

Thanks

You get about 1 mile from the Battery itself in EV mode which sounds quite small. However, leave it in normal and the vehicle will use the Battery at low speeds and then the engine will kick in at higher speeds, recharge the Battery whilst also braking will cause it to regenerate. So it essentially does this over and over again. 

Lifetime of the Battery is difficult to gauge but Ive had Lexus hybrids since 2012 and never had any issues with the 450h. Its a very reliable unit. I sold my 3rd gen RX450h with 55k miles, my current RX has 47k miles on it and the IS300h we had had 18k when sold so I honestly wouldnt worry about the Battery. Not sure on the cost but I dont think many have been replaced whatsoever.

I think MPG wise im getting about 25mpg in town and can get 35-38mpg on a steady 70mph run

[PCM]

PS. Just make sure the Battery has had its Lexus Hybrid Battery Check...

https://mag.lexus.co.uk/lexus-hybrid-health-check-2/  etc... 

[Sybaris]

Great, thanks for that.

Will add the Battery check to my list.  

Wow, those MPG figures are better than my 200t and thats comparing a 2.0l turbo vs a 3.5 v6.  You would expect the RX to be more thirsty

[Spock66]

2 hours ago, Sybaris said:

Lastly, does anyone know the lifetime of the battery and what is the cost to replace one?

If you keep the Hybrid health check up to date there is a 15-year unlimited mileage warranty on the Battery.

The Honest John real world mpg for the 4th Gen RX is 33.8mpg which is pretty much what I get, never had less than 30mpg from a tankful.

[royoftherovers]

23 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

If you keep the Hybrid health check up to date there is a 15-year unlimited mileage warranty on the battery.

The Honest John real world mpg for the 4th Gen RX is 33.8mpg which is pretty much what I get, never had less than 30mpg from a tankful.

Andrew, the mileage limit on the Hybrid Battery is 10,000 miles per year for each of the 15 years, I understand.

[Herbie]

@Sybaris If this is your first hybrid you may find the following info useful. Apologies to others on the forum who must have seen me post this many times

First of all, hybrids don't have a traditional starter motor or alternator, or anything that would normally be driven by a belt from the engine because the engine doesn't run all the time - imagine being halfway through a turn and you lose power steering because the engine shuts down! Instead, it's all driven electrically.

 

The 12V Battery boots up the computers and gets the car into READY mode, equivalent to switching on the ignition in a conventional car. At this point you can drive off on Battery power alone if you so wish, but these aren't electric cars and you'd only get a couple of miles (if that) before the traction (hybrid) Battery was effectively flat. When the hybrid system wants the petrol engine (ICE - Internal Combustion Engine) to run, it energises Motor/Generator 1 (MG1) and uses that to spin the ICE up to 1,000rpm before applying fuel and a spark to fire it.

 

In a standard car the 12V Battery is charged up by the alternator but we don't have one. Instead, a device called a DC/DC converter steps down the 288V from the traction Battery to about 14.5V to charge it. Other converter/inverters use the same process for other systems like the power steering which, if I remember correctly, uses 48V.

 

The aircon compressor is driven by a 500V 3-phase AC variable frequency motor and the two hybrid transaxle motors MG1 and MG2 are both 650V permanent magnet motors. Talking of the aircon compressor, if the system ever needs to be regassed, make sure that you take it to an aircon specialist (or, of course, a Lexus dealer) who knows and can deal with hybrids.

The reason for this is that, although the refrigerant gas is the same as any other car, the lubricating oil isn't. As I said above, the aircon compressor is driven by an electric motor and the motor windings are immersed in the oil for cooling purposes. Standard compressor lubricant is called PAG oil but it's a low dielectric oil which means that it conducts electricity and it will damage the motor windings. We need to use ND11 oil which is a high dielectric and won't damage the windings. It's been shown that as little as 1% contamination by PAG oil can, and will, cause problems. Maybe not immediately but it will. Ideally, a specialist should have a dedicated ND11 machine so that cross-contamination with PAG can't happen.

 

Although it's perfectly alright to jump start a hybrid with a standard car, NEVER, EVER, do it the other way round - you may get away with it but it's not worth the risk. The 12V Battery in any car is only used for starting and then the alternator or equivalent takes over the running of the 12V systems such as lights, radio etc., etc. When jump starting, the 'donor' car should have its engine running before the 'recipient' car attempts to start. This is so that the recipient will draw on the donor alternator, not its Battery. This is all fine and dandy for a standard alternator because it can output anywhere upwards of 300A and a conventional starter motor will need every Amp of that, but our DC/DC converter can't supply anywhere near that amount and if it was asked to do so it may well expire with a very loud bang and lead to a very expensive repair.

When coming to a stop at traffic lights or whatever, if you think you'll be moving away again very soon just sit with the car in 'D' and your foot on the brake. If it's going to be a few minutes then you can put the car in 'P' and take your foot off the brake. Don't put the car in 'N' because the hybrid system doesn't charge the batteries when 'N' is selected.

Hope that helps. I'm sure I've missed lots of things but someone else will fill in the gaps. Above all else, enjoy the car

[Barry14UK]

Very useful post Herbie.

[Spock66]

43 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

Andrew, the mileage limit on the Hybrid Battery is 10,000 miles per year for each of the 15 years, I understand.

Yes so you would need a Hybrid health check at 10,000 miles or 1-year (whichever occurs first), but there is no overall mileage limit.

[Sybaris]

Is a Hybrid health check done separately at 10,000 miles or is that part of the service?

[Spock66]

Just now, Sybaris said:

Is a Hybrid health check done separately at 10,000 miles or is that part of the service?

It's free when included with a service which is also 1-year / 10,000 miles for the RX.

[royoftherovers]

21 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

Yes so you would need a Hybrid health check at 10,000 miles or 1-year (whichever occurs first), but there is no overall mileage limit.

correct.

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, Sybaris said:

Is a Hybrid health check done separately at 10,000 miles or is that part of the service?

Free with a service or £59 as a stand-alone.