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Lexus ES 350 Real World MPG

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Comments

  • prazpraz Member Posts: 163
    http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fueleconomy/articles/125158/article.html?tid=edmun- ds.h..topfeatures.testtips.0.*
  • dubldocdubldoc Member Posts: 15
    Just to update my earlier post, I now have 24K miles on my car, about 60% in town,40% Hwy, and my overall mileage is 25.7 since the day I bought the car (and I drive pretty hard)... so I'm pretty happy. Haven't had to replace a single item other than oil and filters. I do recommend a K+N air filter for better breathing and a couple more HP. While I'd like another 30HP (am considering a chip), I've had the car up to 135mph with only 4000rpm... still had room to go... but didnt want to tempt fate further. I did just replace my Michelin MXV's with Falken ZE 912 Z rated 235/50's... about 3/4" shorter, slightly stiffer ride, but, oh god, do they hold the road!
    Somehow, an Avalon just doesnt compare in excitement and style. :shades:
  • phili1263phili1263 Member Posts: 1
    I am considering buying either a 2008 or 2009 ES350.
    The Lexus's salesman told me that the owners' manual says you need 91 octane gasoline.
    He said I could use regular unleaded gas on one fill up of gas and switch to the 91 octane gas on the next fill up of gas.
    My question is has anyone used regular unleaded gas instead of the 91 octane and didn't have any performance problems with their ES350?
  • nyeaglenyeagle Member Posts: 14
    Any significant changes in the ES from 08 to 09?
  • johnymackjohnymack Member Posts: 18
    I have a 2007 ES350 with 11,000 miles and have been using 87 octane from the first time I have ever filled the first tank. I cannot tell any different and the car runs great with plenty of power. I absolutely love this car. My previous car was an E320 Benz and I drove that car for 5-years putting in 91 octane the whole time, right before I sold it I switched to 87 octane and was surprised to find out there was no difference. I was pissed that I wasted all that extra money for nothing buying 91 octane.
    When I bought my ES I asked the same question to the sales guy and he told me that his parents put 87 octane in their Lexus and have had no problems. I would not switch back and forth; I would pick one and stay with it. Same thing with oil, pick one brand and stay with that brand.
  • tango19tango19 Member Posts: 4
    There won't be any announcements about 2009 changes in the ES until closer to fall. As with changes to the 08 models, don't expect much.
  • turbobillturbobill Member Posts: 4
    Now that my '08 ES-350 has passed the 20,000 mile mark, here are the carefully kept figures on gas mileage. After 73 fillups, the average is 27.4 miles per US gallon from a mix of probably about 50% highway, 20% urban and 30% rural driving. The best 10 fillups averaged 32.6 mpg (highway) and the 10 worst fillups averaged 21.2 mpg (urban). All of the above was on 91 octane or higher fuel. I'm pretty light-footed, but my wife (Lady Leadfoot) has been the major driver of this car.
  • msj09msj09 Member Posts: 32
    Purchased in February 2010. I drive about 85% Hiway (rolling hills though and some occasional stop and go)/15% city. My speed on the highway is usually in the mid-seventies. I have gotten anywhere from 25.5 to 29 mpg per tank. The usual is about 27.5mpg. The mpg indicator on the car is ALWAYS high....anywhere from 0.5 to 1.8mpg higher than calculated.
  • tuneguystuneguys Member Posts: 3
    I was amazed by the great gas mileage of our 2007 ES350. Amazed that is, until one day my fill up happened to take exactly 10.0 gallons. When I changed to the Trip odometer to reset it, my lifetime habit, I noticed that the trip computer's displayed TANK MPG did not match. Trip odometer/10 should have matched the TANK MPG, but it was quite a bit lower; some 13% that day. After that I began to check it at each fillup. The difference varied, but the average true mileage was 11% lower than displayed tank mpg.

    That got me thinking about how my speedometer reads higher than my GPS and how that would almost certainly be reflected in the odometer. My speedometer reads 60mph when the GPS says it's doing 58.5mph. 58.5 is 2.5% lower than 60, which means that I really only went 97.5 miles when the odometer says I went 100. Correcting for both errors, I have to reduce the mpg displayed by my trip computer by 13.5% (11 + 2.5). The long and short of it is If my trip computer displays 30mpg my true mpg is just under 26mpg. 28mpg is really 24.2, 25mpg is 21.6, and 22 is 19.9.

    A downward correction of 13.5% from displayed mpg to actual is a 15.6% overstatement from actual to displayed mpg, which is a BIG overstatement. If the speedometer overstated my speed that much it would read almost 70mph when I was really doing 60mph.

    Considering Toyota's proven ability to make the other components in its cars more precisely than anyone else in the world, I have trouble believing such an error IN THEIR FAVOR is a mistake. Fuel injection systems calculate precisely how much to inject under various conditions. Doing the math to figure a accurate mpg should be easy. So why is it wrong?
  • slam_w2kslam_w2k Member Posts: 1
    I google into this thread for why is MPG inflated in the trip computer. I also own a Toyota 4runner with 17" tires, they told me the trip computer is calculate using the oem 16" tires. But my Lexus is stock with 18" tires, so why is the trip computer MPG is wrong?

    I share the same concern as tuneguys and other in the Lexus/Toyota forum. Not only your speedometer is wrong, your odometer mileage is inflated also. Which mean if you lease a Toyota for 48,000 mile you are getting 3% less miles on your lease.
  • ansjoeansjoe Member Posts: 8
    Folks,

    This is kind of a repeat of a previous question. Any input from the experts is greatly appreciated.

    2010 ES 350 requires 91 octane fuel. On this forum heard some use 87 octane. Further, I understand in the 2011 ES 350 the manufacturer might recommend 87 octane. Given this:
    1) Is it ok to use (from an engine perspective) 87 octane
    2) How might that impact the manufacturer warranty

    Thanks
  • lucidrealtylucidrealty Member Posts: 2
    I have the same question and have a little more information but not much. The Lexus folks are telling me that the engine will compensate and should not knock but that fuel economy and performance may suffer. I'm wondering if anyone has tested the fuel economy impact.

    Also, it is my understanding that what they changed in 2011 is the ECU and its software to accommodate the 87 Octane. And, no, there is no way to make that change to a 2010 car.
  • delegatordelegator Member Posts: 4
    >The Lexus folks are telling me that the engine will compensate and should not
    >knock but that fuel economy and performance may suffer. I'm wondering if anyone
    >has tested the fuel economy impact.

    As a matter of fact, I was told the same thing about my 2001 Lexus RX300. Discussing this recently with my dealer, I told him how happy I was that it ran just fine on regular unleaded. He said that the engine would compensate, but that I would get ~10% better mileage if I switched to premium unleaded.

    So, I switched for 5 full tanks (the dealer told me it could take 2-3 tanks for the oxygen sensors to completely recalibrate). I ran each tank down to about 1/8 full so that I would change the fuel mix as completely as possible. I tried to not change my driving habits to the extent possible.

    The result? I get better mileage with REGULAR (87 octane) unleaded than with premium (93 octane). I noticed no difference in engine sound or feel. With regular unleaded I consistently average ~19.5 mpg, but with premium I was around ~18.7. This was, as I said, over the course of 5 full tanks, or about a month.

    I have since switched back to regular unleaded, and my mpg has rebounded accordingly.

    So, I will stick with regular for my vehicle. But this is one of those times when I can quite literally say, "Your mileage may vary."
  • lucidrealtylucidrealty Member Posts: 2
    Subsequently my mechanic told me I would need to clean some fuel device in the car periodically if I burn a lower octane gas. Not sure if I believe him.
  • jnadler139jnadler139 Member Posts: 1
    I have a 2008 Lexus 350 ES and use 87 octane gas. It runs quite well on this octane and get great milage with hway use, 30 mpg. At 70-75 mph the engine is only turning at about 2000 rpm. The engine is hardly working ! That's part of the reason you get great milage.
  • drowe1978drowe1978 Member Posts: 1
    You are getting great gas mileage. I get an avg of 22.0mpg and it is most city driving. With gas closing in on $4.00 a gallon for 91 Octane.... ouch
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