mrBillFL

I normally average 36 mpg. I don't baby it.


I have made 39.6 mpg on 1 tank when I tried to coax the mpgs...

FiOSDave

What am I doing wrong? I have 1200 miles on my 2015 ES300H and it is only showing 26 mpg. I've reset the indicator several times. I'm on my 2nd tank of fuel and ready for the next fill. I drive fairly conservatively and try to leave it in the ECO mode.
I do use the sport mode when entering a freeway or for passing, but then tap it back to ECO mode. I'm using name brand, regular fuel. Local temps have been in the 40s to 50s. Most of my driving is local streets about 30% and freeway driving 70%.
Thanks in advance...
Any clues?

Mike728

Are you sure you don't have a 350?

Canesguy

You went on to say that you do 70% freeway driving, and that could have something to do with it. Hybrids generally do better on mpg in city driving. Still, it definitely seems low. With my worst tankful I think I got 34-5 mpg. If you haven't, I would complain to the dealer. Is this actual calculated mpg, or what the car's computer shows? Could it be a software problem?

jollick

I recommend only calculating manually on a fill-up when you have 10 to 40 miles left on the "miles left" indicator. Also, be sure the heat is off unless you need it.

chromedome

I was getting 40 mpg during the winter months on my commute on mainly city roads. I use Eco mode in the city, Normal mode on highways, and I accelerate either within the top end of the Eco gauge or just inside the Power end. Full throttle acceleration wastes fuel and doesn't get me to cruising speed much faster anyway. Running the heater constantly also brought down mpg.

Now that it's a lot warmer (20C+ in the day), I've been getting 44 mpg on the current full tank. I can now leave the house in EV mode without the engine kicking in. I use cruise control on straight city roads with smooth traffic and I look ahead for red lights to maximize coasting time.

This car can turn in some amazing numbers if you're careful with the right foot. On highways, I usually don't go past 70 mph to keep fuel consumption down. You start getting less than 35 mpg once you hit 80.

PirelliRC

i think that is part of the reason why im getting an average of 34 mpg, if traffic permits i cruise on the highway 75-80mph. I could do 75 all the time but its uncomfortable doing 70 mpg or less on Los Angeles highways when everyone else is going 85-90 mph. All i wanted to get was 500 miles from every tank when i bought the car and that is pretty much what im getting, give or take a couple miles so im very happy.

SLH

I used to drive a pickup truck that got about 10 mpg. When I started using a Camry hybrid that got about 35mpg, that reduced my fuel bill from about $7000/year to about $2000/year. That Camry wore out after a hard life. The ES300h that I got to replace it also gets about 35mpg. Most of those miles are on Interstate during rush hour -- so either 75mph or stop-and-go, with very little in-between.

I'm not going to quibble about the difference between 35mpg and 40mpg. The difference in my fuel bill would only be another $250, or less...

If you want to help the environment, just talk to your neighbor or co-worker who still drives a pickup truck. It will make a much larger difference for the environment than anything you could do to your own car that already gets 35+mpg. Trucks are sometimes needed, but not for commuting with nothing in the back.

chromedome

What's with all the speeding?

I thought the California speed limit was 65 mph. I'm surprised people are zipping around at 85-90... No fear of tickets?

Anyway I've done the same journey at 120 km/h vs. 250 km/h (not saying where or when) and the extra speed doesn't matter at all. I arrived slightly faster but a lot more frazzled and fuel consumption went through the roof. With the ESh, I feel a lot calmer behind the wheel and the quiet interior helps a lot.

To wowzer, how did you get 49 mpg in city driving? I'm doing my best and I can only get 44 mpg. Hitting 50 mpg on a huge car like this would be awesome.

zes

You guys are getting amazing mileage. I drive like a grandma and still get around 36-37 mpg per tank. Don't go over 70 mph and time the lights,

Arty101

Those in So. Calif tend to drive faster, and CHP will not bother you if you're going with the flow which is 70-80. You may even get a ticket going 60-65 b/c you are a hazard.

I'm surprised your ICE doesn't start up for at least the first few minutes even at 20c. Maybe you don't have the same emission controls as back in the States? The other reason we may not be getting the better FE is due to the special gas formulation not found in any of the other 49 states, and the 10% minimum ethenol that is required. When a refinery goes down due to an accident, maintenance or change in winter/summer formulation, prices tend to go up since we can't just truck gas from our neighboring states.

Arty101

Funny, since I see so many people, especially soccer moms driving their big SUVs that get not much better the your old p/u. Part of the problem is that they use either their corporate card or use their business to write off the cost of gasoline. There's very little incentive for FE when that happens.

chromedome

I don't think Lexus tune the ES300h ECU to suit specific markets. The manual says 89 octane fuel is the minimum, here we get RON93 and 97. No ethanol either, just pure dino juice. I stick with 93 because it's cheap and available everywhere.

During winter, with outside temps of 5-15C, the engine would always turn on when I started the car. This is to warm up the catalytic converters to reduce emissions from a cold engine. Now that the weather's warmer, I can leave the house on EV mode, just like what a Texas ESh owner talked about previously. The hybrid system aims to reduce fuel consumption and emissions; sometimes one gets compromised for the other.

Arty101

Your regular grade is higher than our premium. Our reg/premium is 87/91. And that corn stuff ( thanks to those corn lobbyist) sure doesn't help the FE either.

rudyH

As long as you're not weaving or being a hazard, the CHP will generally leave you alone, but not always. On the I5 on Sundays a lot of people get pulled over. Today, i was going 85 on my motorcycle in the HOV lane and the cars in the regular lanes were passing me. That's not unusual.