kitlz

Prius on steroids. Too funny, Nate. You couldn't have said it better about the 450h's performance, hitting on every little nuance with the RXh. Happy anniversary to Alexis. I'm approaching five years with lifetime close to 26 MPG. Not bad for a 5-6 mile one way commute with hills. Odometer hit 35K the other day

Cruiter

Anita, If you give me your (h) for just a few weeks, I'll get the average up for ya . It just requires driving a bit past the warm up stage . Got 63K on Watson now and Urkel's only got 35K ???

kitlz

How about I keep the RXh and my 5 mile commute, you can take the hills And here's the odometer before i went out Sunday morning.

Cruiter

LOL, Big next mile

NateJG

...and then accelerate "normally" -- you will mask the start-up of the engine -- which, I believe, is the shudder you're feeling.

When you accelerate from a stop with enough force to trigger the engine starting, discerning owners (like you) may notice/feel the engine start up. If you can accept launching your car very carefully without causing the engine to start and then wait until the vehicle speed is approximately 10~15 or so, you may find that you'll have to really stretch your awareness a bit in order to feel/hear the engine start.

I was a mechanic, then a prototype build technician, then engineer, then then then - and I am blessed (cursed, actually) to hear/feel/observe every nuance of every car I'm in. I can tell when the RX' engne is running, the exhaust is puffing, the tires are wobbling, the wipers are on - etc. Every little tick or vibration is analyzed ad nauseum - and fixed or worried about.

I've finally, after a year, grown to accept the transmission shifting (or lack thereof), the engine groaning (or efficiency seeking), and even not to go looking for other nuances (like watching the battery discharge); and I've come to the comfortable resolution that I actually PREFER those to having an automatic transmission nudge me each time I stop at a light or blip the throttle. I'm actually letting the radio do it's thing - entertain - and relieve me from whining about not being able to hear the engine or see the RPM etc.

Now, if I could only figure out a good/rational reason to use the manual shifter (yeah, I know - someday I might want to use engine braking when overcharging the batteries on a downhill; but then again, the Lexus Engineers actually programmed-in an automatic response for that).

I still haven't seen a response from anyone as to whether they routinely use the Normal mode - or whether it's the norm for everyone to use the Eco mode - but that's not my reason for this response.

Best,

NateJG

SeventyGTX

Thanks Nate. I assumed the slight shudder was the gas engine taking over. Now with about 680 miles on the car, I am pleased to report it is showing 29.7 average after fill up. This is a combination of town and highway driving. It really jumped up after going from the 87 octane the dealer filled it with, to the 91 I put in it. Plus it has broken in slightly. I find myself babying it trying to see if I can hit that magic number 30mpg.
Oh, and this is generally in normal mode as it seems to default to that even if I put in Eco or Sport. When we shut it off and start it again, I forget to change the settings.

RXSF

I am not sure if they have done anything to reduce the shudder from the earlier RXs but I had that since day 1. Many reviewers say that Lexus and Toyota are best at masking this shudder, and that they don't feel anything. Well we must be more perceptive then they are. For me, it shudders when taking off slowly. When accelerating harder and faster, the momentum and movement of the car probably makes it more difficult to detect engine shudder. You guys are lucky. In hilly SF and lots of stop and go traffic, my mpg averages around 25mpg, but that is still better than the 13-15 I was getting in my old RX330

COPAPILOT

I have owned my Lexus RX450h for 3 1/2 months (5000 miles) and was getting 31-32 mpg in town and averaged 28.7 mpg on a round trip between Chicago and Philadelphia which included going through the mountains of northern Pennsylvania. However since the weather turned cold the around town mileage has dropped to 25 mpg due to the fact the engine starts up to warm up at every start and the engine cools off quickly. I called Lexus to get a block heater installed so we could start off with a warm engine when leaving the garage. The told me that only the Canadian version can have a block heater installed. I am going to see if I can get a blanket type heater installed "after market". Lexus doesn't understand that some places in the US get every bit as cold as Canada.

I keep a gas log in all my cars/truck and enter the information into "Gas Buddy" where it keeps track of gas mileage and amount spent on gas by vehicle and month and year.

wa3cuj

I think the newer 450h's warm up very fast compared to my old 2010. Certainly the cold weather has a lot to do with the change in mileage you are seeing but I think the changeover to a winter blend of gas also has a big impact. I see a drop in mileage during the winter months even when we spend them in Florida.

I have tracked every drop of gas that I have put into my 2013 since picking it up last December and have averaged 28.7 mpg over 12,000 miles.

I had a block heater in an old Pontiac Gran Prix diesel that I had. The nicest thing about it was that when I pulled out of the garage in the morning and turned on the heater, there was nice warm air coming out immediately!!!

Art234

Now that you mention it I have to agree--the 2015 does warm up considerably faster than my 2010 did, and that one was faster warming than the 2006 we had first.

This is our third hybrid RX, and while the changes have been subtle we have noticed a few...
Now averaging between 26 and 28 mpg on a tank.

kitlz

I was actually up to 30 MPG until I hit some hills on the way home. Still, I'd take this kind of mileage and temperature in December

raviola4

Now that temps more like December, and if the so called winter gas formula in place have noticed some mpg drop. From combined 28.5 to 27 . Still on local back road in lower Delaware hitting 30 but not the 32 from late summer. But still overall no complaints. Did have to add air to tires as all dropped to around 30 . We have a 2010 RX450H and only 24K miles so far.

Pentiger

Just filled up and got 28.0 mpg for 388 miles of 40% "city" and 60% highway.

BertL

OK, it's been 30 months -- and a very low 9,335 miles -- since I've taken delivery of my new 2013 RX450h, so thought I'd provide a quick status.I run around in Eco Mode most of the time with windows up and AirCon/Heat always on Auto, using only 91+ grade gasoline. I try to never drive like a hypermiler, and use the accelerator on my hybrid to GO, just like any other ride while keeping up with traffic. The vast majority of my roundtrips are 5-20 miles, with fairly substantial hills here in mostly sunny and temperate SoCal.

Net is, my mileage is as I expected it would be on this ride -- about the same as my previous 2006 RX400h. Most of my daily trips are not optimum allowing the hybrid to really warm up and click in with it's MPG benefits, and my foot is a little heavy on the open road the few times a year I'm on a road trip. If I'd not try to keep up with everyone on the interstates, its easy to achieve over 30 MPG, and this ride does wonders the few times I've been stuck in LA or San Diego freeway traffic for extended periods -- it would be a terrific commuter vehicle if I was still doing that. Unfortunately, the long on-ramps here in SoCal speak to me wanting to see what my AWD acceleration can do... and its hard to not push the pedal towards the metal when there is no one ahead -- gotta have a little fun, right? ...and lastly, "Would I buy another RXh given my driving habits, and it being hard to justify the RXh on MPG alone?" -- Yes, without hesitation.

Aptosuser

I am averaging 28.4 mpg after putting a bit over 14,000 miles on our 2010 RX450h since we bought it a year ago this past November (with under 15K on it). You're right; if you didn't try to keep up with the other drivers, you could do a lot better fuel-efficiency-wise. I don't bother trying. I stick to the speed limits and when It's safe (lots of lanes and not a lot of traffic; I-280 up here in the Bay Area is a good road for that). And I often even drive a couple of mph below the limit, sticking to the slow lane of course. We don't lose much time over the distances we drive. I also keep a light foot on the gas pedal and do a lot of "pulsing and gliding" to keep the left-hand needle in the eco zone as much as possible. I love the acceleration when I need it -- mainly for merging safely onto freeways, and sometimes to get away from some idiot who's been tailgating me on an on-ramp. (I often wonder what they make of this "slow-poke" in front of them leaving them in the proverbial dust and chuckle when they finally zoom past me on the freeway.)

I'm retired, so I'm rarely in a hurry to get anywhere, which keeps me calm in traffic. In fact, I have a bumper sticker on my car that sums it all up. See below: