dug320

Now with the rain my mileage has dropped. I am now at 25.9. I have noticed on roads I drive without the engine on in dry pavement at just under 40 mph now requires the engine on.

As the temperatures drop below freezing I have noticed the engine coming on in order to keep the engine hot.

Aptosuser

I bought a 2010 last month with only 15,000 miles on it. Since then, I've averaged about 27.5 mpg. The car came with Michelins, which I keep at 34 psi cold. I run mid-grade gas in the car. Would premium improve mpg enough to be worth the extra cost? I imagine I'd get an even smoother ride with the tires at 33 psi as recommended. How would that effect my mileage? Oh and by the way, I avoid jack-rabbit starts, coast to red lights and stop signs, observe all speed limits (and even keep to the right lane at 60 mph, 5 miles under the limit, in local freeway driving), try to keep the engine out of the "white zone" as much as possible and keep an eye on the display that shows battery and engine usage.

We're having a cold snap here in central coastal California, which requires heater operation and that of course runs the ICE more and cuts into mileage. We also have slightly hilly terrain in our neighborhood.

Overall, I'm pleased with the mileage I'm getting and I love the way the car drives and rides. But I'd like to see an increase in MPG to the 30 that others are reporting. What more can I do to achieve that?

markrivers

i have a 350 but i also have a Prius and an electric RAV4 so i think i can help you with your questions

the lower the PSI the smoother the ride, the higher the PSI the MORE mpgs you will get, especially on the highway. i know a lot of Prius owners hypermiling at 40 PSI.
Personally 34-35 for the RX is a sweet spot. combination of mpg and comfort.

if you can visit the milage thread for RX 350, you can see that i'm able to reach 28.3 and 29.6 on a 350. You can do more with a 450h. City driving is where your vehicle shine. To get to 30ish, you need to be doing at least 70% city driving. ( it's the other way around for the 350, highway driving increases our mpg vs city)

REcommended fuel is Premium. adjust your driving habits a bit more to get bette milage

Aptosuser

I'll try premium gas and see if it makes a difference. Many owners here contend that it doesn't. In any case, I'm getting much better around-town mileage with the 450h than I could ever get with our '07 six-cylinder RAV4 Limited. But freeway mileage between the two is pretty comparable. I learned to keep a feather foot on the gas in the RAV because that car, if anything, is overpowered. I'm giving it to one of my daughters. It doesn't even have 50,000 miles on it yet. I'm ditching it because I wanted a more comfortable car. At "best" my in-town/highway mix in the 450h is maybe 60/40, so averaging 30mpg could be difficult for me.

robartin

I think you have to drive under a very specific set of conditions and in a very specific way to achieve 30 MPGs. I've found that number almost impossible to achieve on a consistent basis.

We do a lot of short trips ( < 5 miles) and that alone will kill your mileage. Cold weather also significantly reduces mileage. We get in the high teens and low 20's routinely when it gets cold out. Climate control, including the heater or the A/C has a significant effect. Hilly terrain also tends to eat into mileage in a big way.

So unless you are routinely driving 20+ miles, in mild weather, without climate control, and no hills - consistent 30 MPGs is tough.

We average about 25 MPGs. I should mention that we drove in a loaner RX 350 and got 13.5 MPGs, so I'm not complaining too loudly.

Aptosuser

No complaints here; I love this car. It's by far the nicest I've ever owned. I expect to be driving it for at least the next 10 years if not longer, and being as I'm a bit long in the tooth (69 in May), it'll probably be the last car I'll ever own. Milking it for maximum mileage is an engaging challenge. And as for mileage, my wife makes up for the Lexus's "deficiency" in her '12 Camry hybrid. She was averaging better than 41 mpg the last time I checked. So between the two of us, it's easy being green.

markrivers

We used to own a 2011 RX 350. Recommended fuel type is Premium 93+ or higher.
I agree with the other members that fuel grade has little effect on your mpgs, IT DOES However affect your Horsepower.
Been using regular unleaded 87, and i didn't see any significant drop in mpg.

Aptosuser

Drove "over the hill" today (Santa Cruz to SF Bay Area and back over a 1,800 ft. coastal-mountains summit). Topped off the tank with premium before we left -- it took about 10 gallons -- and reset the average fuel-economy to zero. We observed the speed limits -- 50 over the hill and 65 otherwise, except for some short-distance lollygagging locally at 60 mph. I set the instrument panel display so I could monitor which way the energy was flowing -- from the battery, from the ICE, from both and to the battery and used cruise control as much as possible. Over the course of a 117-mile round trip we averaged just over 30 mpg. I understand that using premium gas won't improve mileage, but if it does increase engine power so that you don't have to put as much "pedal to the metal" as otherwise required, wouldn't that be the same thing?

ob450h

I bet you had 15 mpg going uphill and 45 mpg going downhill. I drove Santa Cruz HWY (hwy 17) before, every one was over 60mph on that twisty road.

Aptosuser

Yeah, uphill mpg sucks, but you get it all back and more on the downhill leg. Per the energy flow monitor in the instrument panel, I was mostly not burning gas on the way down. The car was either running on the battery or charging it. Plus I stick to the 50 mph limit on Highway 17 and adhere to the recommended speeds on the curves. For two reasons: (1) the road is not engineered for 60+ mph and (2) I generally have the slow lane to myself, while the fast lane is way over subscribed. In fact, it's not unusual for me to pass a lot of cars on the right when driving uphill. See, everybody thinks that the left lane will be faster than the right lane, so they're all over there and getting in each other's way. Often when there's a lot of traffic in the uphill direction, the fast lane will become the slow lane. But please don't tell anybody. I want them all to say over there.

dsinn

2013 Rx 450h
just under 2000 miles
Average 29.6
both city and hiway driving
18" Dunlops OE

sunnyside

We are nearing 25,000 on my wife's 2013 and have never dropped below 26 mpg at any time. She seems to have the heavy foot and will usually get less than I do One comment that I think is important is that I think you have to accelerate differently in this car. The CVT takes some getting used to and if I simply accelerate with moderate quickness up to the posted/traffic speed I believe the mileage is improved. You drop into the ECO zone sooner. We have done 29 plus on the highway running 75 and over 33 on the flat roads in the Florida panhandle. Temp really does make a difference especially the cold. I haven't noticed that summer has a negative effect. We love the car and it is at its worst at least 10 mpg better than the 4Runner it replaced.

Aptosuser

What's "moderate quickness"? I've been monitoring both the energy screen and the instrument-panel meter, trying to keep the car in the eco zone and using as much battery power as possible while accelerating. So I've been kind of edging up to the posted speeds. I take it that you're accelerating somewhat faster and up in the power zone more? Our area is not flat like yours. We have multiple dips and rises over the couple of miles I drive to our health club every day. The rises in elevation really take a toll on the mpg.

Craig123

Made a run over MLK weekend from the bay area to Crescent City, then over to Grants Pass via the Smith River, back down 5 to Redding, then over to the Trinity River below Weaverville and home. Average MPG edged up to 28- all on 87 octane fuel. Air temps ran from below 30 in Oregon to above 74 in Redding. No rain or snow, but a bit foggy when the temp dropped.

Aptosuser

I followed your lead on acceleration the last couple of days. Accelerating to the posted speed limit with "moderate quickness" -- which I took to mean keeping the needle in the low end of the power zone -- has significantly improved my mpg around our hilly neighborhood. I've been averaging 20-21 mpg back and forth to our fitness club, a four-mile round trip with continuous dips and rises along the way. Today I averaged better than 26 mpg driving to the club and then back by way of a flatter route when I went to check out a house for sale in a nearby neighborhood. I'm very happy with this car. Great compromise between power, smooth, quiet ride and fuel economy.