skyrush

Hey Guys,

My gf just purchased a new (to her) used HS 250H premium with all of the goodies (tech package, front camera, parking sensors, etc), and we just had a few questions about the car as we are starting to get a feel for driving it.

1) Is there a way we can activate the parking sensors while driving forward? At the moment, they only activate when in reverse.

2) While trying to use dial a number using Siri over bluetooth, the phone starts to connect but then the car disconnects it. I found that people are having this problem with 2010 prius/sienna/etc. Is there a fix out for this issue that I am not aware off? If not, do you guys have any good workarounds for it?

3) What is the difference in the actual mpg vs what is displayed on the computer? IE, in my ct200h, it always shows 2 mpg higher than what I actually get. Is that the same for this car as well? or is it very accurate?

Thats all I have at the moment. Thanks!

toomeypj

I have pretty much the same vehicle (HS250h Premium with all accessories except Mark Levinson sound and LED headlights). I leave my parking sensors on all the time and they work both front and rear. For example, every time I drive up to get my mail the LCD screen shows a flashing icon on the drivers side and it beeps. You must have a blown fuse or something.

Magellan55

Congrats on the new car! My 2010 HS mpg meter runs about 1.5 mpg high compared to manual calculation, so similar to your CT.

skywise

Congrats on the new gadget-mobile.
I've found no solution to Siri dialing, I just use the car's dialer when I need to dial out.

mcomer

Welcome to you both, you should go to www.lexusdrivers.com and join. No charge, just enter a username
and password then enter the VIN when prompted. If you have the Owner's Manuals go to pp 301-308 of the
Navigation Guide for the Intuitive Park Assist information. If not then they are all available here along with the
service records and more.

The four corner sensors have a range of 1.6 ft while the two in the center rear are approx. 4.9 ft. Are you really getting that close to the front to set them off? Try standing thisclose to the front sensors while she is holding the brakes on in D and see/hear what you get.

How often do you fully turn off your iPhone? The connectivity cooperation goes up with a freshly booted phone.
Might try completely unpairing the phone(s), delete from both car and phone, cycle the phone and then repair.

The trip computers are a bit optimistic. Have you gotten into the Menu/Info/fuel mileage screen yet? Watch what you get when you reset the "Average MPG" using the steering wheel control "Enter". You get a new graph bar...

skyrush

Thanks for the replies guys. Turns out that the front sensors do work when going forward...its just that you need to be very close to another object for it to start beeping. The car is so large that it is hard to tell if you are about to sideswipe another car while parking.

Yeah, bummer that it runs so high. I was hoping for mid 30s, but looks like she is getting about 32 overall (still early). Better than her old car though....a C55 AMG that got 16/20 (best was 23, worst was 11 in the city).

mcomer: not often, we uploaded the contact list to the car, so she is able to dial using voice command that way. Still, I think siri is better at voice recognition.

Yeah, what is the deal with the fuel mileage screen? Does it only work every time you reset the mpg?

mcomer

The car is so large that it is hard to tell if you are about to sideswipe another car while parking.

Are we talking about our beloved HS here? My wife Kathy really enjoyed it being 8 inches shorter
than her former Solara!

Review the many forums on extracting the best MPG from your Hybrid. Basic is to learn the difference
between the very light brake touch that provides regen battery charging and the ever so heavier tap
that turns your energy into brake dust !

When voice commanding a call be sure you say just what the phone has on record "Sally Smith" is not
going to get a call if you say Sal or Smitty. I have seen a lot of "Sally and John Smith Home" entries
that got transferred over from the first analog phone you ever owned...change them to single names and
refresh the index in the car, Phone/Option/Update

The Fuel Mileage screen is just a fun way to keep the big picture on hand. If you used to avoid resetting
the Average Fuel Econ so you could have a long time/mile sample AND you carefully avoided resetting
conventional "Trip B" so you knew when you last reset it... you still didn't know what season(s) of the year
and temp was included. Now you just clear it and have a record of the dates. Try every Monday morning!

skyrush

Yeah, but my gf's other car was a few inches shorter and narrower...it is also significantly larger than my ct.

I've been reading up on the techniques, but I am sure she is not interested in learning them. She just wants to drive the car...thats pretty much it. Been a bit disappointed with the gas mileage. She is getting about 30, maybe 31...about 50% in town driving. Kinda low for a hybrid and many non-hybrids of this size now get the same mileage. The tire pressure is at 37, but not sure if they are LRR (will check, could be the issue). Other used 250hs I've seen also had mileage at about 30/31.

Yup, she just told me the other day she figured out how to use the voice command. Pretty cool.

Magellan55

mpg can vary widely depending on driving style. I don't do any hypermiling techniques, and I normally drive 10-15 mph over the speed limit (like everyone where I live), but over time I've adjusted to driving a hybrid, hitting the brakes sooner and more gently when approaching a red light, etc. I get 34-36 mpg actual depending on season in ECO mode. But when my wife drives it, mpg plummets, and it takes a week to get my avg mpg back up :-) So it could be your gf is just a leadfoot!

mcomer

Advanced class for the voice command: try saying "raise temperature" or "69 degrees". "Show ATM's" and "show Mexican dining" can be followed later with "Clear icons"! "FM radio" or "Satellite radio" work OK but you can not then chose a station or frequency Back to the phone commands: try saying "redial" or "call back". Zoom in and/or Zoom out work but the rocker switch between the Menu and Map keys is quicker and
doesn't interupt your music.

skyrush

Magellan55: Yeah it does. I was able to get 37 on a short freeway trip, but that road usually lends itself to good mileage. I took a look at the tires and they are not LRR, I am guessing that is one of the things that is hurting her mileage. I doubt she will get even 34, but the thing is, she doesn't drive that hard or fast. It should be doable.

mcomer

Our Toyos were LRR and thus had the unfortunate combination of both fairly harsh ride from the low profile "18 and yet did not stick in the turns very well due to the hard compound and easy tread pattern. Dispite the warning label regarding the 20K mileage expectation we did leave them on until the lease matured at 35k miles.

skyrush

Yeah, that is what you tend to compromise on. My gf's tires are Michelin Pilot Sport a/s Plus. I am pretty sure they are not LRRs. I remember when I switched from LRRs to non-LRRs on my civic hybrid, my mileage dropped by about 3-4 mpg. I am thinking that might be the same issue. If we switch to LRRs maybe she will get 33-34 mpg.