New owner's impressions
 

I live in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. I took delivery of a Smokey Granite Mica HS250h on Jan. 17/11. I traded in a 2006 Prius. I had considered the 3G Prius, but after driving a rental for a several days last summer, I didn’t find a big enough difference between it and the 2006 to make me want to take the plunge. I also looked into the Camry hybrid, but it wasn’t sporty enough for me. I had read reviews (generally favourable) of the HS250h, but had not given it serious thought because it was out of my price range. Then I saw an ad from Lexus offering a $5,500 cash incentive on 2010s. I decided to drop by the dealership, and ended up test-driving a demonstrator Premium (the Canadian base model - no nav or other high tech electronics) with Sport Package. I really liked it, and made an offer. With the Lexus cash incentive plus the dealer’s discount, I actually payed less for the HS250h than I did for my Prius back in 2006.

I thought folks might be interested in how the HS has performed in Winnipeg’s winter conditions. Since I’ve had the car, the temperature only has gotten above 0C (32F) about 3 times; warmest day was 7C (45F). Overnight temperatures consistently have been in the range of -17C (1F) to -25C (-13F). On the first night I had the car home, the temperature dipped to -29C (-20F)! Here are some of my observations:

1) Starting in cold weather is not a problem thanks to the potency of the high voltage battery, and my use of an engine block heater (a mandatory option on all cars sold here).

2) A couple of times after a cold start, while the engine is idling, the rpms will surge and then drop back. Sometimes this rise and drop pattern repeats several times. I plan on mentioning this when I get the next service.

3) The heater starts to warm up the cabin pretty quickly (helped no doubt by the use of the block heater); the heated seats (which I’ve not had before) are much appreciated, especially when the temperature inside the car is -20C (-4F).

4) Until the interior gets above 0C (based on a small thermometer I’ve stuck below the instrument cluster), there are a couple of issues:
5) I love the Smart access system (had it on the Prius), but I can’t lock the doors from the outside if I have gloves on.:sad: Having to take off a glove to lock the door is an issue in our climate. However, unlocking the door from the outside can be done with gloves on.

6) Overall fuel consumption has been 8.7L/100km (27.0 mpg[US]). Consumption has ranged from a best of 7.9L/100km (29.8 mpg[US]) to a worst of 9.2L/100 km (25.6 mpg[US]). I’m not disappointed considering the larger engine in the HS, and that I usually make short trips, so that the engine often doesn't get warm enough to shut down at stop lights. BTW, I find that fuel consumption shown on the car’s information display consistently is about 10% better (i.e., optimistic) than the rate of consumption calculated manually.

7) Traction with the 18" Toyo Proxis a/s tires is much better than I anticipated. I’d rate them as good on compacted snow/ice, and fair in fresh snow (12 cm/5in is most I’ve had to deal with so far). I plan on using the a/s tires through the rest of this winter, and will look into getting a set of winter tires and rims for next winter.

So far, I’m very pleased with the HS. It feels much more solid than my Prius. The sport suspension makes for good handling, but it definitely gives a firm ride, one that makes me very aware of Winnipeg’s “infrastructure deficit,” i.e., poorly maintained streets.

Nice write-up. Welcome to the family :-)

Regarding the rattles from the dash: it's possibly coming from the sun visor. My HS and a loaner I once had during cold weather both had a cracking sound from the visor, which could be eliminated by flipping it up.

Re console lid rattle: if you're referring to the lid over the cup holder, it could be the removable plastic drink spacer in the compartment is loose.

Re locking door from outside with gloves: Try grasping both the top and bottom edge of the handle simultaneously, as opposed to just touching the top edge. It's a capacitive sensor that detects both types of touch, and squeezing both sensing areas may actuate it even with gloves.

Thanks for trying to help.

It's not the sun visor. The creaking noise is associated with the body flexing (e.g., when only one front wheel goes over a bump). It may have something to do with temperature differences between the windshield and the dash.

It's the lid on the console box (the term in the manual) that is rattling. If I put my elbow on the padded top, the rattle stops. The bits of foam tape I've used eventually get compressed, and the rattle returns. I'll keep experimenting.

I've tried the method you suggest, but the door will only lock when a bare finger contacts the depression on the top front of the door handle. The 2G Prius w/Smart Key has a raised button on the door handle that lets you lock the door while wearing gloves.

I purchased My HS in January also and experienced the creaks in the (driver's side) dash at the windshield as you did. It would occur only on the coldest days and always when the left front wheel hit a pothole (even a minor one). I would estimate the nominal outside temperature's at which the creaking occurred was in the teens or twenties. Now that spring is almost here the creaking has stopped. I hope this is not a systemic problem.

My Hs was in for 2 weeks trying to find the cause: Had that rattle noise just like others over bumps, in the cold. Here is what they did as the fix:INSULATE WIPER TRAY AND L/F FENDER LINER - No rattle since.

Thanks for the information. I'll mention what was done on your car when I bring mine in. BTW, did your service department say anything about Lexus having issued a service bulletin on this issue?

I bought my HS on 12-15-10. A week later this rattle was driving me crazy, so I brought it to the dealer and they held it for two days. They said it was the pre delivery teams fault, they forgot to put screws underneath.....Ok I picked up the car and next morning same rattle. Next morning back to the dealer. Now the HS is held for two more days and result, they can't hear it. Next morning I get in the car same rattle. Long story short I went back and forth to the dealer and they could not duplicate the problem. Mind you, from 12-15-10 until 1-20-11, I had the car 9 days total. I went to another dealer and they went on a test ride with me. Outcome was that they hear the rattle and confirm the noise. Back at the service writers desk, I am told it will take a week to fix, don't call us will call you. Ok, I can live with that. Two and half weeks later, the only work they did on the car was change the Lexus license frame from the selling dealer to their dealer frame. I take the car from the second dealer back to the purchasing dealer telling them I want a new HS....Ok but lets try to solve the problem....a week later noise is gone. No TSB, just constant diagnosing.....To date no noise. Again, the fix:INSULATE WIPER TRAY AND L/F FENDER LINER - No rattle since.
Good luck.
Oh yes I was pissed but in the end, Selling dealer gave me entire clear bra protection, one year of enform and one year of Xm with weather and traffic .

I didn't mention it b/c the OP said he has the model w/o navigation, but if you have the nav system and there's a rattle from that area, there's a TSB for adding felt to some of the tabs holding the pop-up screen to the dash.