As the IS owners are doing, I have started to use my snow mode around city right now to get 5-6 more mile per gallon. Not a bad idea. On the highway, the car is getting 35 miles per gallon. This is a 2006 Lexus GS300 AWD. The ECT snow mode just decrease engine spin, there is not much slowing down of the car at all, the car is able to cruise on highway but the accelerator pedal feels harder to push down to increase speed. I hear it the ECT snow mode doesn't strain the engine at all.

Not a bad way to squeeze some miles out of it at times.

 

if you put the ECT in normal mode and ease off on your gas, you will probably get the same too. the snow mode mostly retards all the throttle and timing

 

how does this make any sense for hwy mileage? I can understand perhaps city mileage being a bit higher...

 

Sorry, let me clarify what I said earlier.

In the city around 40-50 mph, cruising, the car gives me 35 MPG with ECT snow mode. On highways around 70-80 mph cruising, the car gives me 30-32 mpg with ECT snow mode.

Regular mode 21 in city and 27 on highways.

 

You might be right, so I will go on a full tank and do some test and see what I can get out of my tank in terms of total cruising range and compare it to my normal cruising range without snow mode.

 

I've been thinking about trying this on my 2GS4... Might have to give it a shot considering I just filled up the tank...

 

no fun, no care. i like the power when i can feel the car downshift. i did it today and it was pretty damn quick... been a while.

 

I tried this on my 2004 IS300 E-Shift a long while ago when I was doing a 100 mile roundtrip a day commute. Using snow mode didn't make a difference with the thirsty 2JZ-GE.