New to hybrid....battery level expectations?

[DF-300 Sport]

Hi everyone, Being a hybrid newbie, I have a question about what i should be expecting after "normal" 25 mile motorway commute in normal drive mode...(in cruise control at 65mph and fairly flat terrain)? When i arrived at work it still had 2 bars of charge to complete after getting to that level within 15 miles and i'm just not sure if that is normal in Summer temps etc? I will probably get the hybrid system check from my local Glasgow Lexus dealer for 100% peace of mind....small price to pay, really.

Also, does anuone else have "rattly" rear number plate illuminator light housings?....just noticed this morning and thought,it felt really cheap and not up to Lexus build quality......as usual, any help and advice greatly appreciated, cheers😎👍

[Herbie]

Don't worry about it and just let the system manage it - it's working as it should. If you did a long downhill stretch those two last bars would illuminate.

As the drivers or end users of these cars, we don't have full access to all 100% of the hybrid Battery and that screen is only indicating the state of charge of the part of the Battery that's 'ours'. In reality, there's another 20% below and another 20% above that indicator (if I remember correctly).

Given that it's your first hybrid you may find the below helpful, or not 😄

 

 

[DF-300 Sport]

Cheers Herbie, thanks for this info, exactly the reassurance and reference i need to read and understand....off to read in detail now🤓👍

[Mikey B]

My understanding is it operates between 20 and 80% - I think the only time I've seen all bars lit is during a long downhill run

[Colinb623]

48 minutes ago, DF-300 Sport said:

Hi everyone, Being a hybrid newbie, I have a question about what i should be expecting after "normal" 25 mile motorway commute in normal drive mode...(in cruise control at 65mph and fairly flat terrain)? When i arrived at work it still had 2 bars of charge to complete after getting to that level within 15 miles and i'm just not sure if that is normal in Summer temps etc? I will probably get the hybrid system check from my local Glasgow Lexus dealer for 100% peace of mind....small price to pay, really.

Also, does anuone else have "rattly" rear number plate illuminator light housings?....just noticed this morning and thought,it felt really cheap and not up to Lexus build quality......as usual, any help and advice greatly appreciated, cheers😎👍

I too noticed the rattly housing on the reg plate lights . I was surprised by it to be honest .

[DF-300 Sport]

Cheers Colin, Agreed, I will drop by and have Lexus Glasgow dealership experience and respond to this observation....still have 3 months left on the Maufacturer's warranty....and 53 days left on the Arnold Clark (for what that is actually worth) 60 day warranty....update soon, cheers.....

PS, the ref info on the Hybrid system was excellent....Herbie, take the rest of the day off😎👍

[Las Palmas]

I live where we go up and down just to drive in the city.

Going up will keep the hybrid Battery on 2 o3 3 bars depending on how hard you accelerate. Going down it comes to show all bars as full just 3 - 5 km going more or less down. Hybrid Battery when I park in the garage is mostly almost full and when parking it Friday evening it will still be that Monday morning.

Driving around in malls parking places with permitted speed 10 - 15km/h will see EV lamp on most of the time. Even when only 2 bars are lit, but as soon as you press a bit hard engine will start.

Driving on plain roads 80 - 100km/h will normally see hybrid Battery more or less in the middle. On our little CT. Bigger cars have bigger batteries but also more weight to transport so I guess it could be more or less the same with all Lexus/Toyota hybrid cars. EV lamp I have never seen light in when driving faster than 80km/h.

EV lamp is always lit when driving from standstill except when going uphill.

Have been told by Lexus here that Battery (and rest of the car) is in perfect condition.

[Las Palmas]

One thing I forgot to mention:

AC is starting so quick in a hybrid as it is not the engine that is controlling the AC as in most cars. All electric and cool air come out in seconds. Even here where temperatures are generally much higher than in UK.

[wharfhouse]

13 hours ago, DF-300 Sport said:

Hi everyone, Being a hybrid newbie, I have a question about what i should be expecting after "normal" 25 mile motorway commute in normal drive mode...(in cruise control at 65mph and fairly flat terrain)? When i arrived at work it still had 2 bars of charge to complete after getting to that level within 15 miles and i'm just not sure if that is normal in Summer temps etc? I will probably get the hybrid system check from my local Glasgow Lexus dealer for 100% peace of mind....small price to pay, really.

Also, does anuone else have "rattly" rear number plate illuminator light housings?....just noticed this morning and thought,it felt really cheap and not up to Lexus build quality......as usual, any help and advice greatly appreciated, cheers😎👍

As everyone else has said that all looks absolutely normal. For the first few months with my IS 300h I used to watch the display but don't bother any more. When I do occasionally have a look out of curiosity it's still working the same as ever and mine is now nearly 8 years olds and done 120K miles. If you start seeing your mpg drop significantly that would be the time to question whether everything on the hybrid side is working ok, but otherwise just enjoy the car. I would have thought on the type of commute you mention that you should be getting around 50mpg at this time of year. If you get the car serviced by Lexus (each 12 months / 10K miles whichever comes first) they will do a hybrid health check as part of the service which also means your hybrid traction Battery can be warrantied for up to 15 years (no limit on mileage)so long as you do this every 12 months/10k miles, or you can pay for the hybrid health check at a Lexus dealer separately (around £60).

You don't mention the age or mileage on the car, but if serviced by Lexus the included (free) Relax Extended Warranty will also take you to 10 years or 100K miles (whichever comes first) and if you want further peace of mind after that you can purchase an Extended Warranty (though has to continue to be serviced by Lexus) for up to 15 years / 150K mile old (for around £500 per annum).

Yes, on closing the boot lid mine also sounds rather tinny/rattley - have just ignored that - the rest of the car is well screwed together though.

[DF-300 Sport]

20 hours ago, Colinb623 said:

I too noticed the rattly housing on the reg plate lights . I was surprised by it to be honest .

Thanks everyone, I'm sure all is fine and appreciate all the detailed feedback😎👍. Car is 69 plate with 10k miles....I suppose I was concerned about the lack of use during lockdowns? Owner was elderly gent (so the garage say)....Recently serviced and mot'd by Arnold Clark and I got their internal invoice showing all work carried out. Will get the hybrid health check done soon and consider ditching the 2 years free servicing and mot deal and return to main dealer TLC? Love the car it's amazinly smoothe.....I've still got the 2005 Sportcross for some V6 fun😲, cheers!

[Thackeray]

On 6/23/2022 at 8:12 PM, DF-300 Sport said:

Being a hybrid newbie, I have a question about what i should be expecting after "normal" 25 mile motorway commute in normal drive mode...(in cruise control at 65mph and fairly flat terrain)? When i arrived at work it still had 2 bars of charge to complete after getting to that level within 15 miles and i'm just not sure if that is normal in Summer temps etc?

It's worth remembering that the primary purpose of the hybrid Battery is to store electricity regenerated from braking. If the Battery was full, the regenerated electricity would have to be thrown away as heat.

So the car's computer aims to keep the Battery around half full. This leaves plenty of space to store newly regenerated electricity. And it also gives a decent reserve of power for the occasional boost of acceleration from the electric motors or a short gentle cruise on Battery alone with the petrol engine turned off.

What I've found with my IS300h (other Lexus hybrids may be programmed differently) is that if you leave the car stationary in Park and in Ready mode, the hybrid Battery will gradually run down to 40%. This is shown as two bars on the dashboard meter. The engine will then start and recharge the Battery up to 50% (shown as three bars) and the engine will then stop. The Battery will then start to go down again until it hits 40% and the process is repeated.

When cruising, the parameters seem to be different. I've found that setting cruise control at 70 mph results in the hybrid Battery being charged up to 60% or around six bars. The range from 50% to 60% seems to be shown by three to six bars. This sounds like your experience after 25 miles of cruise control.

I've only seen eight bars on a couple of occasions. This represents around 80% charge and at this level the car takes action to prevent overcharging the Battery. I've seen this when cruising down a long continuous hill of around two miles. At some point, it sounds as if the engine starts after not running at the start of the descent. This seems confusing. But actually the engine is turning without fuel and just sounds as if it is running. It is being turned by the electric motors to use up electricity and actually discharge the Battery slightly.

I've never seen one bar on the dashboard display. This would be less than 40%.

If you're interested in seeing all of this in action, the free Android app Hybrid Assistant is worth a look.

[DF-300 Sport]

Cheers Thackeray, lots of info and it makes perfect sense.... having never had a hybrid vehicle, i hadn't given it much thought before now🤓👍.

[DF-300 Sport]

Hi everyone....a wee update to say that i witnessed the elusive full charge on a very long descent (Crow Road on the Campsie Fells) and all is ok....have contacted Lexus, Glasgow to arrange the next service and hybrid check....thanks for all the replies, advice and expertise😎👍