By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
At the service dept, had my license plates installed and alignment and tires checked. The tow-in was adjusted "a hair," per my service advisor; but alignment was "dead-on within 400h specs." This really surprised me. The car pulls to the right every time I relax my grip on the steering wheel. Maybe it's extremely sensitive to road crown. Seems I'm just going to have to be vigilant with my steering. Any other ideas out there? Could this be some sort of Hybrid Synergy Torque-Steer Drive?
"highway" test actually has an average speed of 48 mph. Despite that, I am seeing about 27 mph on 65 mph freeway. I haven't had a chance to try I-5 at 70 mph yet. I expect the extra wind resistance pushing up the speed will drop the mileage a little.
Sorry to hear that the pull is persisting. Mine doesn't seem to have the problem. Maybe you could get a test drive in another one to see if it does the same thing. You might try a different dealer in case yours is doing something wrong in the set-up.
I am sure wind resistance is a big factor. Driving my Passat diesel on level freeway at 65 MPH I get a steady 51 MPG indication. When I kick it up to 70 MPH it drops to about 43 MPG. This is on fairly level highway not much wind. Just the vehicles own drag coefficient. I would say that 70 MPH with an RX400h getting 25 MPG is good.
The highways were crowned for drainage and there were no "pulling" issues. Heck I even left it on cruise control, climbed into the back to get a soft drink, climbed back and it was still tracking straight as an arrow. Okay ... so that was a bit of an exaggeration but the point is a $$$$$ car should not be pulling except where something is wrong or there is a good cross-wind. I know this is in the "have you checked to see that it isn't out of gas" category, but have you checked the tire pressure?
Thanks!
As far as gas milage, it pretty well goes along with what everyone else is getting. It really matters how hot it is and how much the a/c is being used.
(5) I tried using regular gas and got OK mileage but improved when I went to mid grade. Since my last SUV really needed mid grade I was hoping to double up on the savings with a lest costly fuel grade. That didn't pan out. But, I still like the idea of being somewhat environmentally responsible which for me has offset some of the perceived deficiences. It's also a really "cushy" ride and yes, when you throw on the afterburners, it really flies! Hope this helps.
I did notice that the dealer has designated one for a loaner.
Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM):
Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) [1] is a system which integrates braking, steering, Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) [2] and Traction Control (TRAC) systems to help minimize loss of traction in a turn.
Lower back pain? Sciatica? This is the answer. They work soooo good. They also
heated the lumbar area... the only drawback is that it feels sooo good you might
fall asleep!
My RX400h steering feels much firmer at freeway speeds and tends to hold the road better. When I take my hands of the wheel, the car holds it's direction in the lane. It is similar to power assist steering in some cars many years ago.
I prefer the feel of the 400h, but my preference may not be to the liking of others.
Slightly skewed in Arlington, VA
The Rx400h is called the "Harrier Hybrid" in Japan. I think the "branding" of the car would be improved in North America if they would have went with that name along with RX400h to distinguish it better from the RX330.
I like the idea of having a Harrier Hybrid.
I am in Memphis at this very moment....well actually Olive Branch MS, but close enough for horseshoes.
The only part of the RX400h I have bought at the moment is the owners manual, prepaid and hoping it comes in (Ridgeway??) before I leave early Thursday AM.
But no, I'm still vacilating between the 06 RX330 and an RX400h.
Motorola E815
*The E815 supports Bluetooth Profiles for wireless headsets, hands-free accessories. Phonebook/datebook synchronization with optional Motorola Phone Tools or Verizon Wireless Mobile Office kit. It does not support all object exchange (OBEX) profiles. Accessories and Phone Book Tool/Mobile Office Kit sold separately. See Bluetooth for details.
Thanks
Jon
"Well, I'll second the comments you sent regarding the high maintenance
cost of Audi's once the warranty has expired - that's essentially what
drove me to get a new one as well.
On the other hand, I find it totally inappropriate to compare an S4
(which is a tuned up compact sports-sedan, thus actually more of a
sports-car) with a 400h. By virture of its sports tuning and
turbo-charged engine the S4 is a totally different beast than the smooth
and comfy 400h SUV. And of course while you drive an S4 your driving
style will be very different from cruising around like you'd most likely
do in a 400h. So it is to be expected that the wear and tear on an S4 is
a lot higher, e.g. even compared to an A4.
Another thing one should keep in mind that when it comes to creature
comforts, e.g. sound system, navigation etc. a lot of development and
improvement has taken place over the years, so the proper comparison
would be between two 2005 model cars and not between a 2000 model (which
I assume for the S4, if the warranty has already expired and the car
spent so many months in the shop) and a 2005/2006 model 400h."
That experience prompted us to buy an extended warranty for the Lexus (6 years, 100K miles).
Lexus 400h Owners report Your Mileage
mirex, "Lexus RX 400h Owners: Report Your Mileage" #40, 15 Jul 2005 7:08 pm
Had the 400h for about 500miles now. Great car!
The first 200miles registered about 24mpg. At about 400miles, a 20mile intown trip (flat Florida, 93F, AC on at 81F, 3 people in car), I got 32mpg. My traded 2005 Rx330 got around 21mpg under the same condition.
So for me and my driving temperament, the 400h is worth 10mpg improvement over the 2005 330 in the city. At 25k miles in city a year (for my case), that is a savings of about 400 gals or about $900-$1000 a year.
But after 500+ miles, the real reason I bought it is... the performance: no xmission hesitation, on-demand (i.e. real time) power response when I hit the gas pedal !! It is so much fun passing people in seemingly split seconds. Normal combustion engines just can't match that spurt of power. It is not a fast vehicle, but it is a QUICK one, may the quickest SUV that I've seen, a Great intown vehicle.
And then the Bluetooth interface with my Nextel I605, it's been a good match. My only complaint about this is that I have not figured out how to use the Walkie-Talkie mode (Nextel) with the 400h's console, or how to answer a call while the vehicle in motion.
Just so that you know, the Toyota Hybrid system in the Prius was in production and sold to the Japanese market for TWO years before the Prius is sold in the US! So those of us who bought the first version of US Prius, we were buying a design that was in its third year of production.
Secondly, contrary to many statements in the press, Toyota was the first company to produce Hybrid passenger vehicles, not Honda. Honda was the first company to sell Hybrid to the US market beating out Toyota by months, but Toyota was selling Hybrids to Japan before that, for a couple of years.
That's why I am not concerned about 'kinks' when i bought the 400h; the Toyota hybrid system is about 6+ yrs old, not a virgin by any automotive standard.
It seems as though the "gluts" are mostly down south. In the northeast and cali, it seems they are still waiting for them. If we hadn't tried several dealers in our area, we would still be waiting for our specific colors/features.
It certainly seems as though distribution was botched, as well as many other things with the release. That being said, we really love the car so far. 1050 miles and going. - Don't mind being a beta tester for this one! Just hoping for a decent resale value someday since the technology will obviously improve.
The 400h would have been introduced earlier if they were not concerned about unmet demands.
Nevertheless, you are thinking in the right direction about distribution. I would guess it is the inaccurate regional forecast demands and distribution, that lead to short supply in one area and abundance in another.
The 400h can be improved with a coolant thermos that the Prius has. This will improve gas mileage right away because warmer coolant can be pumped out of the thermos to warm up the engine when you start up, and hot coolant can be saved in the thermos when you shut it down. When you have this, you will see less steep of a stair-case mpg in the first 15min of drive.
I'm getting 28mpg in mix driving in this 90+F Florida weather with fairly flat terrain and AC set at 80F. I am sure it will be better comes Fall weather.
TIA.. Lydia
It comes with the design of the car. We can't mess with it.
I posted about it a while back. Here's a quick recap: This is available on the Prius design. It is described in the Prius manual. You can actually hear it, after turning the engine off and getting out of the car. A "zzzzzzzzz" sound (15-30sec) of an electric motor pumping hot coolant into a thermos reservoir. When you get back in the car after the engine had cooled down somewhat, turn it on, and you'd here the "zzzzzzz" again, pumping the warmer coolant out to warming up the engine. So you'd get higher gas mileage right away, not having to burn gas to warm up the engine.
I am certain that the 400h '06 does not have this (no mention of it in the document and no "zzzzzzz" sound). May be a future redesign.