new_berlin

I purchased a hs250 (I think it is a premium with Nav) from a non-lexus dealer a couple weeks ago and haven't had enough opportunity to drive and thoroughly explore yet. But everytime I run a short errand in the car, i end up with one question or another that the vehicle quick-guide i downloaded and google search don't seem to have answers for. So if somebody takes the time to answer these, I would appreciate it. TIA!

1. 12V/120W jack: What is it supposed to look like under the flip cover? In my car it's hollow like an empty cigarette lighter receptacle.

2. The trunk lid takes a bit of muscle to open like going against dampeners/shocks. My older ESes were not like that, so wondering if this is normal.

3. All door sills have a black plastic sleeve/cover over them (with no Lexus imprint). Is it reasonable to surmise that these are after-market i.e. not original/standard?

4. GPS/navigation work fine, is that sufficient to indicate that the sharkfin antenna is functional? I ask because upon close inspection looks like the dealer applied some compound and touch-paint to the fin. I would hate for it to be a decorative paperweight. :-)

5. The car has two dials between the seats -- since these dials only have "red" colored settings, does it imply these are heat-only? When I turn them, the leds next to the dials light up but I hear no fans. Are the seats supposed to have visible holes to permit airflow? I see nothing like that on my seats.

6. After driving several short 2-6 mile (each way) trips on city streets, i've seen so far a max of 7 (wider) blue-bars light up. There also appear to be 3-4 narrow bars stacked on top of these wide-bars. Are the narrow bars also supposed to light up because none of them have come on so far.

7. Is it possible to have the nav-screen NOT pop up autmatically upon start?

8. Finally, how to generate (onscreen) the mpg number? All I see is one fat blue (monthly) bar graph from which I estimate the car is giving about 32mpg over the last month. However, I've seen many posts stating they have readouts with decimal degree accuracy, so is there another way to get the mpg number.

That turned out to be a much longer list of questions than i intended for one post...hopefully not too much of an imposition :-)

Magellan55

Congrats on the new HS! From your post, I think you have the base (non-premium) model with Nav.

It should be a working cigarette lighter receptacle, for plugging in a charger.

Mine does too - my kids sometimes have a hard time opening it. Does yours have the lip spoiler? I think they failed to account for that extra weight and made the springs too soft.

Should be matte black with a bit of texture, and no Lexus imprint. not sure what you mean by a sleeve? The plastics used in the HS are a little cheap feeling, as they are made of some kind of enviro-friendly plant material.

Mine has the shark fin antenna too, but I don't have Nav so maybe it's not for GPS. Maybe it's for FM or the Lexus Connect.

Sounds like you only have heated seats, not ventilated. Premiums have ventilated (little holes in the leather) seats, so this tells me you have the base model. Other ways to tell are 17" wheels, and no rain sensors for the wipers.

Someone with Nav will have to answer these :-)

This should be on your instrument panel, left side. The toggle on your steering wheel lets you select among different readings, including outside temp, tire pressures, battery level, gas tank mpg, long term mpg, range remaining. I think it's the same whether you have Nav or not.

Have fun in your new toy!

new_berlin

Thanks Magellan, those were extremely helpful answers.

I immediately checked the dash toggle and indeed the mpg is there.
One of the dashboard screens showed a battery (shaped like a 12v battery) icon with a faint line roughly at about 80-90% level -- does it represent the gel battery is still acceptable?
[Edit: Now I realize that the dashboard battery refers to the hybrid battery (i.e. not 12v gel). ]


Added observations today:
The door sills appear in line with your description -- just very different from the ES, so I asked.

All 4-tires have different pressures ranging from 30 to 35.

I'm only getting 30mpg live reading (the averaged mpg is 32) -- so a bit of a bummer -- I do tend to have the ac always running though.

This morning (warmish 85-degree weather), when I started the car, the battery had 7-bars (on nav screen) and 80%+ (on dash-screen) but the ICE came on almost immediately. Seems to do that everytime -- before i'm backed out of the garage, the ICE fires up. Is this normal?

Magellan55

Yeah the ICE always fires up and warms before electric mode becomes available. Probably an emissions thing. The battery normally maxes out around 80%, to give it room to absorb more regenerative braking.

new_berlin

In the pinned Roll Call thread I could not but help noticing that some owners get 30/32mpg and others 36/37mpg or even 39/40mpg. Granted some variation could be due to type/style of driving or climate but the range is too large to be explained away like that. Interestingly, there appears no correlation between age of car and mpg -- there are new HSes that gave lower mpg and much older (with over 100K miles) that yield mpg at the higher end. Some ascribe lower mpg to air filter or brake-calliper configuration but doesnt seem convincing in light of the roll-call posts.

Has anyone done anything (either changed tire or some settings) to their car that significantly bumped up the mpg? i.e. WITHOUT resorting to hypermiling techniques.

Magellan55

I think it really does depend on driving style and environment. I get 36-37 indicated, or about 35 actual, and that's been steady for 7.5 years now. But I drive mostly back roads and highways, with very little real traffic. No hypermiling, and tend to drive 10-15 mph above the speed limit, though I have learned to coast more coming up to redlights to maximize regen. Tires make a bit of difference, as I've seen changes of 1-5 mpg switching out tires but some of that is just due to new tires being bigger diameter so messes with the odometer a bit. I also like to keep my tires ~38 psi.

But as soon as my wife borrows the car (or I borrow her SUV), even for a short errand, the next day my gauge is down 3-4 mpg! I doubt she'd average 30 mpg if she drove for a whole tank.

new_berlin

The anecdote about your wife is pretty convincing :-). As I think about it, I've generated 30mpg entirely in stop and go driving which is very different from your driving routes. I'd assumed that the HS was best suited for stop and go moreso than sustained speed (where I figured it had little advantage to ordinary vehicles). Perhaps I need to accept the 30mpg coz the type of driving isn't about to change in in my neck of the woods.

new_berlin

Wanted to update my mpg experience as a new owner. First 300 miles ended with 32mpg reading on dashboard while paper calculation yielded 30ish. I then cleared/reset the mpg history on the nav screen for the first time -- the next dozen miles current ended with an astounding (to me) 35.6mpg. I'm sure it will dip but for now I am convinced at least that this car is capable of advertised numbers.

Magellan55

Yeah it will improve as you begin to adjust your driving habits to suit a hybrid. Little things like how to approach a red light / stop sign make a difference in a hybrid but not a conventional car. Or accelerating in a way that keeps it in the green zones and not the white "power" zone. Or coasting in battery-only mode at lower speeds.

TheAirman

Relatively flat AZ in November? A hybrid drivers dream. You should be near 40. You need practice, or somethings wrong. Learning to drive a hybrid is a whole new driving technique, just like if you would have bought a M3. Search these forums for driving techniques, and the key to the HS is 40 mph. You'll get it soon. Just like if these were the M3 forums and we were talking about double clutching or apexing later in the corner.

Tip: The ICE starts ALWAYS within 5 seconds of the READY light (ON switch). If your water temp. is already around 180 F, press the start switch( normal start), and immediately press the EV Mode switch, this will prevent a ICE startup and you can move around the parking lot or driveway up to 20 mph for that little mileage boost.

Both your trunk problems might be caused by the hidden strut. See here:

Luggage Compartment Door Support.pdf.pdf

new_berlin

Thanks airman. You are correct in that weather and road conditions seem ideal right now for hybrid driving. I do try to coast to lights when there's nobody behind me and it has made a difference. Ive managed 34-35mpg over the last 50miles with minimal airconditioner use. Are you saying 40mpg should be achievable here effortlessly or after application of improved driving techniques?

Also is it normal for the hidden strut to make the trunk lid resistant to opening? I'm ok with it if that's how it's meant to be. I checked out the sheets you attached but wasn't able to figure it out.

​​​​​​​TIA.

Magellan55

Nothing against maximizing the capabilities of the hybrid system, but you shouldn't need any special techniques to get the EPA rating except in extremes (mountains, freezing or 100 degree weather, etc). As Dave says you should be getting EPA+ where you are right now. Biggest factor for mpg though is speed (as with any car), and you haven't said what you cruise at. No need to putter around like a Prius, but you can't go 90 and expect to knock down 35 mpg. I would think you could get 40 if you stayed under 65 mph, braked gently (not coast, but use regen only and avoid friction brakes), and accelerate gently.

Personally I don't bother as the difference in gas cost between 35 and 40 mpg just isn't worth it ($9/mo @ 12k mi/yr), and I'd rather drive in the fast lane and get where I'm going. But others enjoy the game of seeing how high they can get their mpg, which is fine too.