TomMartin

Getting ready to head out in a few days on a nearly 5,000 miles road trip...yes, southern climates

Couple of "new car" questions.

1) What oil is in the car new...I assume synthetic 0W-20. I want to bring a quart or two with for the trip (hope/assume I will not need ANY?

2) Rear seat "grab bars"? I was putting in a rear seat clothes bar and was disappointed with what seems like a pretty "wimpy" set of grab bars. Then I was reading about the grab bars and the manual says "Do not grab as assist in getting out of car"...or essentially that.

My problem is we have two houses and USE the clothes bar when traveling both between houses and on trips such as I am getting ready for.

First, anyone have comments on the strength and use of the grab bars? My 2008 Accord had a clothes bar zip tied and mounted full-time as we used it often...NO concerns about its anchor or strength.

With the trunk already quite a bit smaller than the Accord (partly hybrid battery and partly just a bit smaller...BTW...I was aware of this)...we will need to rely on clothes bar hung on grab bars for our hang up clothes. I will be as cautious as possible when loading and unloading but am juts a bit concerned.

ANY thoughts from 2016 ES owners (I assume 350 and 300h have same grab bars).

Has anyone found a way to strengthen the grab bars at all??

Our other car is a Toyota Land Cruiser and the grab bars are super tough...I know it is a different vehicle but to say "do not use to assist in getting out of vehicle"...really disappointing. BTW...they say they are for "holding onto while driving".

Thanks...May have a couple of other questions b4 packed up and ready to go. Less than 1000 miles to date as it has been very cold and snowy and we have used the Land Cruiser rather than risk a winter accident in our new car.

Thanks...Tom R

chromedome

My 300h hasn't consumed any oil in 15k miles despite some hard and long drives. A small bottle of the same oil you've previously filled with (0W20?) is OK to bring along just in case. I'd also bring along a Bluetooth OBD dongle so you can check diagnostic codes on your smartphone if an error code pops up.

I don't know how strong the rear grab handles are. I've hung a coat or two off them for a short while and they seemed OK, but hanging a stick full of clothing might be a bit too much.

Enjoy the drive, the 300h is a quiet, smooth workhorse of a car. For lower fuel consumption I suggest setting cruise control on flat highways and chilling

SW17LS

Yeah I don't know about the handles. My guess is they'll be fine.

The factory fill is Toyota 0W20 full synthetic. It won't use any oil.

Great car for a road trip!

don1

I've used a clothes bar across the grab handles for long trips for exactly the same reason as you. There have been no issues whatsoever.

As far as oil is concerned I do not carry any extra and have never had a need for it. If for any reason my level required a top up I would just stop at a dealer and pick some up. I've followed this practice for the previous 3 cars and probably before that and have never had to add oil between normal oil changes.

I agree with the practice of using cruise control. On hills especially the hybrid is a lot of work for the driver to maintain a constant speed due to the low power and torque. Using cruise takes care of this and you will maintain your speed effortlessly.

TomMartin

Thanks all for the input...checked the oil for the first time yesterday and just a bit over full. I will not worry about bringing any oil along...if needed will just stop at Lexus garage on the way. Probably have a nice Lexus dealership in Palm Springs/Ranch Mirage/valley area.

I have noticed cruise seems to work well and will probably use cruise nearly all the time on many miles of freeway driving...that and books on tape

LOTS of features I have not begun to learn!

BTW...I believe I read where you can get "features" set by the dealer one time for no charge? We will put about 5K on during the trip and I will probably go in for service at 5K when we get back. I also will likely have the oil/filter changed at 5K even though I am aware most say you do not need to. Trust me...it will be hard for me to avoid a 1-2K old change

So far about 1,000 miles in unpleasantly cold temps and some snow...all seems great! It IS quiet...should be able to listen to hours of books on tape in comfort.

I will report on mileage from the trip...first 930 miles 26.767 gallons for 34.74 MPG...not unhappy at all with that MPG...temps ranged from -25F up to about 40F during the month and snowy conditions. about 400 freeway miles. Also, two drivers "experimenting" with new car features.

Should get a very good test as we head south...stops in Mississippi/New Orleans French Quarter/Conroe, Texas/Scottsdale, AZ/Rancho Mirage, CA/San Diego, CA and ??? Friends and relatives to visit along the way...SB between 4-5K miles depending on side trips and re-routes we decide as we go...that's the fun part of a "road trip".

BTW...any other "learning curve" items that you can think of? Thanks...TMR

alex1372

In cold temps MPG usually drops; new engine is not broken-in yet so it also doesn't help. I'm sure you'll be amazed at all aspects during warmer months

TomMartin

Trip well underway. First two tanks actual calculated MPG...right around 35 MPG...current tank started in low 40s now settled around 39 (on gauge indicated amount).

Note that trip started out with just 1K miles on car and now about 2.5K. AND...probably more importantly EVERY square inch in the car and trunk is full of heavy luggage and "stuff". My thought is that the newness of the car along with all of the weight on board has impact on the MPG.

I am tracking actual calculated MPG by tank and will post somewhere along the way...another 3-4K miles to go

BTW...this car is QUIET...hard to believe how smooth and quiet at 70-80 miles per hour. We have a long stretch of freeway in west Tezas that speed limit is 80 MPH...not sure if I will travel at that speed or hold it down a bit...

TMR...in Conroe, TX...north of Huston

mcomer

We didn't have the weight you are carrying but I would add that the speed does play
a part in the results. Round town summer it's an easy 41+. Open highway over a couple
tanks at 70-72 got us 38...step up to 80 to keep up with traffic and it dropped to 32

SLH

"Then I was reading about the grab bars and the manual says "Do not grab as assist in getting out of car"...or essentially that."

That has to have been written by a lawyer. I pity the lawyer who has to explain to a jury that the "grab bar" is not intended to be used for its obvious purpose. If I were on that jury, that nonsense would only add a couple of digits to the amount of the judgement.

TomMartin

Trip wrap-up.

Total miles...5,510...Cumulative MPG...35.07.

A couple of tanks in the low 30s and one over 41. All of my MPG was hand calculated on each tank...and in total. I am sure some "fill" variability is involved but cumulative would be quite accurate...although I do need to go back and double check my Excel work

As I said earlier...the car was very full with heavy luggage...and speeds varied from low 70s to mid 80s. (West Texas I20 with 80 MPH speed limit and much at 75 MPH) Also, I found that the travel through mountainous areas was not good for gas mileage (with much weight on board) and also found the 4 cylinder to be a bit anemic on the hills...guess both should be expected. Not much of a problem as I will not be in mountains very often...I will have weight on board on occasion.

My best mileage was a stretch from Phoenix to Rancho Mirage on interstate I10.

I did find the ride quite acceptable and the noise very quiet on decent pavement and a bit noisy on some poor pavement...also probably pretty normal. On good pavement it really was quiet.

Now to get it in for 5K service and to get it cleaned up...TomMartin

don1

Very interesting report TomMartin. I just finished a 4300 mile trip over about 3 months. Basically south to Florida late December and back mid-March. Some of these miles were in local driving in the Tampa Bay area. My calculated mpg was 37.6 overall.

I found that highway driving was slightly better than city which is the opposite of what I would have expected from the hybrid. Speed limits were mostly 65-70 and I usually drove 5-10 over. Many drivers were much faster.

I too found that the 4 cylinder was anemic in the mountains of Kentucky and Tennessee after having owned several Acura TLs which handled these hills without thinking. I did find that using the cruise control on the ES made driving the mountains much easier and it could easily maintain whatever speed I set.

I agree fully with you on the effect of different pavements on noise level. I have the MIchelins which were also on the noisy side on my TLs. The ES is quieter overall though.

zes

Did you have it in ECO mode in the hills? I find my 300h to be very anemic in ECO mode on the highway. In NORMAL mode it is much better and in hilly areas I put it in sport mode and extra torque from the traction motor compensates for the 4 cyl. Sport mode really helps in the hills and also in passing situations. Note that the 300h has the Atkinson cycle 4 cyl which is thermodynamically more efficient but has less torque than a comparable Otto cycle 4 cyl in all other non hybrid cars.

TomMartin

Yes, I decided to primarily use ECO during the trip. I did find that the cruise seemed to "work better" in hilly situation...maybe just noticed the weak 4 cal more when NOT in cruise. If I traveled the hills/wountains again I would likely experiment with Normal and Sport a bit more...MPG might actually improve a bit in the tougher environments.

On the other hand...with a really full auto and pretty high speed driving...75-85MPH...plus only 1K miles on the car to start the trip...I am not discouraged by hand calculated MPG of just over 35 for the full trip. I would anticipate at least 2-3 MPG improvement traveling with less weight on more basic terrain...may a few miles per hour slower...on average.

TomMartin

zes

OK, that was the problem then! I don't know how you drove 5,000 miles in ECO mode on the highway. You are a better man than me! I did not like how my 300h handled in highway driving in ECO mode at all. For example, it was scary to switch to the left lane which would be going 10-20 mph faster unless there was lots of room, and sometimes that is just not possible, especially in large cities with interstates passing through them. In sport mode the traction motor provides a lot of torque to help the engine and the car behaves more like it has a 6 cyl engine. I change modes all the time on the highway, i.e. keep it in "eco" under cruise control, keep it in "normal" when not using cruise on a level highway (it is a lot more responsive and fun to drive in "normal"), and switching to "sport" when changing lanes, passing, or in hilly areas. Sport mode is also fun peeling off a traffic light every now and then when no one is looking. The Bridgestone tires are so crappy, it does a wheelspin quite easily :-) Try it. Your driving enjoyment from the hybrid drive will increase enormously. With fuel so cheap, I bought the 300h basically because I think it has an amazing drivetrain; it has no clutches, no fixed gears, no parts that will wear out (other than the battery of course), is amazingly quiet and is proven technology in New York cab duty.

chromedome

Agree on the hybrid drivetrain, some days I really baby it to get 50 mpg on my commute and some days I roast the tires at every traffic light

I'd also recommend using Normal mode on highways. In Eco mode, the steering feels too light at high speed and the engine feels like it's running on molasses. Sport mode steering is firm but the throttle response is too abrupt.

What was the longest stretch you did in a day? Any issues with the seat? I've got some vacation time coming up and I was thinking of doing a crazy long drive to the desert.