Lexus Rx400h Thread

[mblack]

Hey Guys,

I got a 57 400h.

I'm getting 240 miles on a full tank (actually, after filling it up, I only had to add 52 liters, so it wasn't a full tank) .. seems wrong, driving in London most of the time, trying to keep to slow acceleration ... the computer shows average of 22.5 mpg .

Is it me or the car ?

thanks

mat

[Cainey]

Hey Guys,

I got a 57 400h.

I'm getting 240 miles on a full tank (actually, after filling it up, I only had to add 52 liters, so it wasn't a full tank) .. seems wrong, driving in London most of the time, trying to keep to slow acceleration ... the computer shows average of 22.5 mpg .

Is it me or the car ?

thanks

mat

That seems quite low to me, i can get around 400 out of a tank if i do mostly m'way driving at around 70ish and 350-400 around town driving normally. I have noticed that the fuel consumption has dropped a little recently because of the colder weather.

[rudders]

I have been away from these boards for some 2 years now after buying a RX300SE and outing it very quickly due to very poor economy (18 MPG average).

My local Lexus dealer has asked me if I would test drive the NEW RX450h when it arrives as he says "It will be very much more economical than any of the others"................ Well the last RX400h I borrowed from a mate only gave 27MPG nursing it so this new one me suspects will not be much better, your thoughts?.

If I 'nurse' my 400 cross country I can get around 38. Hit the motoway, stay around 70 then about 30.

Crikey - methinks not all RX400h's are created equal. Switching the air-con off makes a big difference, but at motorway speeds I couldn't get anywhere near 30mpg.

Best mpg is at a steady 35-40mph.

I would hate to get stuck behind you when you're getting 38mpg cross country :)

I've also noticed the first 5 minutes have much worse mpg in winter. It obviously uses quite a bit of fuel warming everything up. I've only had it since Oct, so looking forward to the summer (if we get one).

[energyman]

I am literally in the process of part-exchanging my Audi A4 avant for a RX400H on a '55 plate.The dealer has been quoting much better consumption figures than you lads are saying. Does the rest of the advantages of the 400 in your opinion outweigh the worse than expected mileage figures. I would really appreciate some honest replies, before I shell out £16K plus. Regards Energyman.

[Linehill]

I am literally in the process of part-exchanging my Audi A4 avant for a RX400H on a '55 plate.The dealer has been quoting much better consumption figures than you lads are saying. Does the rest of the advantages of the 400 in your opinion outweigh the worse than expected mileage figures. I would really appreciate some honest replies, before I shell out £16K plus. Regards Energyman.

[Linehill]

I am literally in the process of part-exchanging my Audi A4 avant for a RX400H on a '55 plate.The dealer has been quoting much better consumption figures than you lads are saying. Does the rest of the advantages of the 400 in your opinion outweigh the worse than expected mileage figures. I would really appreciate some honest replies, before I shell out £16K plus. Regards Energyman.

[RonnieF]

Do not buy this vehicle just for the mpg it is misleading to claim an average of 34mpg. Consumption of the RX400h depends not so much on how you drive but the nature of the journey. A conventional engine at constant speeed usually gives better consumption, particularly a diesel. The RX 400 will return a lower mpg on a high speed journey where the hybrid technology rarely comes into play. In a recent comparison test between a Mercedes ML 3.2l diesel and a RX 400h both driven at consistent high speed coast to coast in America, the Mercedes diesel gave considerably better fuel consumption than the Lexus. I use my RX 400h for frequent trips to the south of France a distance of 880 miles totally on autoroutes at a constant 80 mph. The consumption I achieve is 29 mpg. My previous BMW 3 litre petrol engine achieved 31mpg. In the UK on mixed runs over the same distance the Lexus gives 33mpg. It is possible to achieve greater than 35 mpg but not in any way which you could call average or enjoyable driving. I hope this helps.

[Valkirk]

As said above, the 400H and also the 450H are all about lowering consumption in town driving. At motorway / highway speeds you will just be using the petrol engine all the time as you would in a normal car (In addition to having to carry the weight of the batteries!)

These cars excel at stop start and low speed driving where the electric running comes into it's own.

[BarryGee]

I have owned an RX400h SE since October last year.

My one criticism is the petrol consumption is nowhere near Lexus quoted figure, I get around 31mpg on my journey to and from work and around 28mpg on a motorway journey.

This is still very good for a vehicle of its type, but I do wonder why they don't make a diesel hybrid, surely this would be the true fuel saver.

bill

[BarryGee]

Our Fuel Consumption seems to be affected by the prevailing temperature....when temp is in single figures we

average around 22mpg...when in double figs...around 32 mpg.

Is this common to other vehicles,or relevant only to ours.

Any comments would be appreciated

BarryGee

[Poppey]

Hi

Yesterday I drove for 2 1/2 hr from Stavanger Norway to Lindesnes this is "country road" up hill and down hill. Speed between 40-55 mph. On that distance I made 38.2 mpg (UK) or 31.8 mpg (US. To and from work at home, short distance I only make 28 mpg (UK)

Previously I hade a BMW X5 diesel and to and from work the consumption was more or less the same as the RX400h but long distance on Norwegian rollercoaster roads the RX400h is far better.

[comedians]

Reading all these reported fuel consumption figures makes me think I drive very badly, or my Lexus dealer has never set the car up correctly.

The best consumption I have every attained on my 58 400h is 26.7 mpg (UK).

I envy the rest of you but then what the heck, I enjoy the car.

[3 putt king]

Used my 400h from UK to French Alps in the winter. Glasgow to Courchevel via Hull / Zeebrugge and back with roof bars and a ski rack, at French M/Way speeds, gave an average of just over 25mpg (UK), which I felt was pretty good. Comedians - check your tyre pressures - the RX fuel consumption is very sensitive to low tyre pressures.

The consumption does drop in the winter, as the motor has to run more frequently, to keep, principally, the cat convertor warm, but also other engine parts - so I was reliably informed by the dealer.

[Stevet9964]

Hi,

Picked up my '09 plate RX400h on Friday evening just gone. Reset the trip computer and did about 200 miles over the weekend in it. Average MPG was showing as 30. Most of the driving was high speed (80mph) motorway work so was pretty happy with that. The performance is really there so it always tempting to use it but you can see the instantaneous MPG drop to about 10 when you do, so I think it's all down to driving style. The car, which has done 25K miles, was showing 34.5MPG average when I picked it up from the dealership which I thought was encouraging as that is supposed to be the average MPG for the RX400h.

I'm expecting the MPG to creep up to the 35 level when it gets more low speed town work and it is running on batteries, although I noticed cruising on the motorway at 80mph it would spend some time running off the Battery only. It seemed to do this more when the cruise control was driving rather than me.

Steve T

[Queen of Essex]

I have owned an RX400h SE since October last year.

My one criticism is the petrol consumption is nowhere near Lexus quoted figure, I get around 31mpg on my journey to and from work and around 28mpg on a motorway journey.

This is still very good for a vehicle of its type, but I do wonder why they don't make a diesel hybrid, surely this would be the true fuel saver.

bill

[Queen of Essex]

well Bill. I am very interested in your concern on fuel consumption on your RX400H. We bought a Rx400H "07"plate only last week from a Lexus main dealer.We were told a return of 44.8 mpg maximum, though would average around 36 mpg. We have covered 730 miles with a return of 23.5 mpg. We are so gutted!!!!. We feel we have been mis sold

[Queen of Essex]

I have owned an RX400h SE since October last year.

My one criticism is the petrol consumption is nowhere near Lexus quoted figure, I get around 31mpg on my journey to and from work and around 28mpg on a motorway journey.

This is still very good for a vehicle of its type, but I do wonder why they don't make a diesel hybrid, surely this would be the true fuel saver.

bill

Hi Bill, I have owned the Lexus hybrid since July of 2005. We are only getting 23-24 mph on the highway and the same in town, so you are doing much better. How do you get such great mileage?

Steve

[400h SE-L]

I am also getting a low 22mpg despite consciously trying to get it higher. I am wondering if the wide range of enconomy figures qouted by owners is connected to when the petrol engine kicks in. Even with the slightest touch mine comes in well before 10mph when it doesn't feel like it needs to. I have seen others mention that 30mph is where their petrol engine starts. Do others agree and has anyone had theirs looked at / fixed with a low speed petrol engine issue??

[JBPRX400h]

I am also getting a low 22mpg despite consciously trying to get it higher. I am wondering if the wide range of enconomy figures qouted by owners is connected to when the petrol engine kicks in. Even with the slightest touch mine comes in well before 10mph when it doesn't feel like it needs to. I have seen others mention that 30mph is where their petrol engine starts. Do others agree and has anyone had theirs looked at / fixed with a low speed petrol engine issue??

You could try carrying out the ISC (Idle Speed Control) Learning Procedure.

Here is a link to Lemon's post on the USA forum.

http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=58930&st=0&p=379201&hl=learning&fromsearch=1entry379201

Certainly made a difference to our car!

JBP

[Normski]

well Bill. I am very interested in your concern on fuel consumption on your RX400H. We bought a Rx400H "07"plate only last week from a Lexus main dealer.We were told a return of 44.8 mpg maximum, though would average around 36 mpg. We have covered 730 miles with a return of 23.5 mpg. We are so gutted!!!!. We feel we have been mis sold

I drive an '04 RX300 and on a calculated MPG I currently see 25mpg. 90% of this is motorway miles. Rest is heavy city traffic. Must say I wasn't expecting a great deal more than this as it's a big car. I enjoy it's comfort/reliability/etc. so I'm happy B)

[jashcroft]

I'm averaging at the moment 25mpg. This is with mainly very short runs to and from work (about 4 miles) I try not to accelerate hard. Going to work is mainly down hill and mostly up hill going home.

[uncle_rob]

well Bill. I am very interested in your concern on fuel consumption on your RX400H. We bought a Rx400H "07"plate only last week from a Lexus main dealer.We were told a return of 44.8 mpg maximum, though would average around 36 mpg. We have covered 730 miles with a return of 23.5 mpg. We are so gutted!!!!. We feel we have been mis sold

44.8 is for the rx450h. 32ish average for the rx400h. I currently get 35mpg from my rx400h during the summer, drops to 32mpg in the winter. Biggest tip is use the hybrid! Slow accelerate. Most of all, remember their is no engine braking, so use the brakes less and cruise along further with your feet off the peddles.

Rob.

[ColinBarber]

The biggest tip is once you are up to speed come of the accelerator for 0.5s and then lightly press again, that way it will run on electric only and you will see 99.9mpg on the display. The hybrid system will very rarely switch itself automatically if you don't come of the gas.

[jeffreygash]

I have owned an RX400h SE since October last year.

My one criticism is the petrol consumption is nowhere near Lexus quoted figure, I get around 31mpg on my journey to and from work and around 28mpg on a motorway journey.

This is still very good for a vehicle of its type, but I do wonder why they don't make a diesel hybrid, surely this would be the true fuel saver.

bill

Hi Bill, I have owned the Lexus hybrid since July of 2005. We are only getting 23-24 mph on the highway and the same in town, so you are doing much better. How do you get such great mileage?

Steve

[jeffreygash]

Hi Bill. Ive had our RX400H since March this year. Our average consumption since then (about 2000 miles) is 33.1 mpg. this is almost all city driving. on the motorway we get a little more. I have to say that we are pretty slow drivers however!