RealMCR12

Hey Everyone,

So I recently picked up a pre-owned Lexus RC350 F-sport and have been noticing something that kinda annoys me.

So when ever the car is on "ECO" Mode, the Eco light on the dashboard blinks on and off every few seconds. Is this something normal?

Coming from a 2003 Toyota Camry, I'm a newbie to some of this stuff.

Thanks

ZAM

It's an indication of how eco-friendly your foot is acting. It is normal and if you want to stop it then put into sport mode.

Kevin350

You can turn that light off in setting.

RealMCR12

Cool,

Thanks for the info!

Canesguy

Yep, I turned mine off in settings. I didn't get this car to be Eco-friendly.

PirelliRC

What is this "ECO" mode

RealMCR12

haha, i think after driving it so far, i'm wondering the same thing.

Nightcrawl

"ECO" means you are getting 17mpg rather than 16 mpg.

mjeds

it means the car thinks you are accelerating/driving conservatively and getting the best MPG in doing so.


slow take off from a stop, keeping the rpms low, maintaining a constant speed, coasting to a stop, etc.

Kevin350

LoL this is so damn true!! Eco I get 20.2 mpg and sport plus I get 19.2

tfischer

ECO also turns of the AC compressor in some situations. This probably gets you another .01 mpg. The only difference I notice is that it's clearly slower off the line than when in the other "modes."

mjeds

I guess I'm too old.

I seldom if ever look at my dash while driving, I can gauge my speed by the cars around me and find no reason to distract myself looking at the the dash.

I thought I would miss having the HUD that I had on my last car, but I realized that I seldom even looked at that,

The car beeps, dongs, chimes, at you if there are warnings or issues, so frankly the on and off if the ECO light doesn't bother me in the least.

As for the AC compressor, unless it is in the 90s I drive with the windows and sunroof open and the AC off.

The ECO mode does make a difference, I have tested all 4 modes of the RCF:

ECO
Normal
Sport
Sport +

I drive the same route every day, so for the past 4 months I have used each mode exclusively for a month:

ECO I got 19.8 mpg avg
Normal I got 19.3 avg
Sport I got 18.0 avg
Sport + I am getting 17.5 avg

This is by exclusively using the given mode and resetting all the fuel measurements before starting the test.

It is the exact same drive to and from work every day, and not using the car on weekends as not to alter the results, also not altering my driving habits.

The difference is >2.0 mpg or getting roughly 40 more miles out of a tank of gas. For me that is one trip to and from work (my commute is 42 miles round trip).

However there are several other things to consider besides just good MPG.

Using ECO and Normal mode increased my use of the brakes because the car doesn't downshift as quickly allowing for engine braking, I tend to look ahead, see stale green light or slowing traffic and just take my foot off the gas and coast, in Sport or Sport + the car engine brakes very nicely, in ECO and Normal it does not, it coasts longer resulting in more braking when I am required to stop.

In stop and go freeway traffic as well, I again typically keep a watch on the high horizon so I can just lift my foot off the gas coasting to the stopped traffic and normally by then it is moving again, I never have to touch my brakes I simply use the engine to accelerate and decelerate in the stop and go traffic, only using the brakes if I am forced to a complete stop.

ECO and Normal mode make this more difficult, because at 20-25 mph in slow moving traffic the car is in 4th or 5th gear where in Sport or Sport + it is in 2nd, as a result the car coasts and doesn't slow as quickly resulting in more brake use.

The other issue is the complete lack of response and the slow downshift when I am at speed and approaching some moron that is doing 15 under in the passing lane, ECO and Normal do not IMO react fast enough for an overtake.

Canesguy

The only time I would use the ECO setting is when I'm in bumper-to-bumper traffic, moving minimally.

mjeds

actually the best time to use it is on a long drive where you may have cruise control set and your speed and the terrain is constant.


you would see a fairly drastic increase in overall MPG.


in stop and go traffic while usable it will not add any more MPG benefit than staying in Normal mode.

tfischer

While cruising at a constant speed I would not think that "mode" would make any difference, as long as you are in the topmost gear. I think "eco" mode shifts gears sooner when starting from a stop, and the sport modes allow the engine to run itself out in order to get the car off the line faster, which uses more gas. I don't think the mode selection does anything much more than alter the shift points, although I read somewhere that eco shuts off the compressor a bit.