baneling

HI all, does anyone have this car? I drove a hybrid once and when I was at a stop and then I pressed the gas to go, it made a very quiet sound like the engine was starting again. I found that odd. the other day I test drove an NX 350h and asked the salesman about this. he said he disabled feature. I should have told him to enable it again so I can hear how it sounds but I didn't. my bad. if anyone has this car, is this sound annoying? Also, anyone know if the 2024 models will be redesigned?

thanks

nx450plus

A lot of information available here to get you started.
https://www.lexus.ca/lexus/en/automobiles/hybrids
From the "At a Stop" section:
When you come to a stop, the gas engine may switch off, saving fuel and minimizing emissions*. If the hybrid battery is running low, the gas engine knows to start, generating the energy required to charge the battery. Press the accelerator, and the virtuous cycle begins anew.

* Disclaimer: The gas engine does not automatically switch off in all cases. It is dependent on many operating conditions

baneling

thanks for the info, but does this feature of turning the engine back on tend to annoy people?

JasDmw

The "feature" is the engine shutting off. I do not think there is a way to disable that.

I don't have an issue with the engine starting/stopping at all. It's doing it's thing and saves fuel. It's not annoying to me at least. This is the 2nd hybrid we've owned and the previous one did the same thing. That's how they work.

Freds430

Fifth hybrid and don't even think about this so I guess not annoying. In our NX 350h what is not annoying is averaging 40 mpg in the winter months and never replacing a brake pad.

jgrnt1

This is my third hybrid. I don't find it annoying at all. Since the car will start moving right away with the electric motors, the engine startup doesn't slow things down either.

Most new non-hybrid cars come with this feature as well, to reduce emissions and improve gas mileage. It works well with some, but not so well with others. My 2014 Audi A6 diesel had no issues with the system. My 2017 A6 with the stock supercharged V6 always hesitated when trying to start up and pull away from a stop sign or traffic light. I travel a lot and regularly use rental cars as well. I can't think of one recently that did not have the auto engine shutoff. Most can have this feature turned off for the drive, but not permanently, unless you go into the diagnostics and disable it.

blueless

As the others said, the sound is the ICE starting. That's how old-fashioned hybrids work. The car will engage the ICE when more power is needed than the electric motor and battery level can provide.
When I start from a standstill, I don't stomp on the accelerator. I apply a gentle steady pressure so the car starts off in electric-only EV mode, then eventually the ICE will kick in. If I stomp on the accelerator, the ICE will engage immediately. The computer will calculate other situations when the ICE will run or not. The sound is noticeable but not annoying to me.
My longest EV-only drive has been 1.7 miles, around the neighborhoods.

bt10

1.7 miles, nice! I've gotten up to 38mph on EV only as well. Can't do that with other traffic around tho.

43sbest

The auto stop/start feature is found on just about all new cars, trucks, SUVs and etc. Most have a disable button that turns it off but you have to disable every time you start the car.
The auto stop/start operates mainly when the weather is cool/cold and demand on the AC is low/none (at least where I live).
IMHO and this is only my opinion I would not have it if I had a choice, and disable it when I or my wife starts the NX, 22 Honda Ridgeline, 20 BMW X6 and 2019 Corvette 3LT(the last REAL Corvette and the wife DOES NOT drive it). The more you start a car the more you reduce battery life (Lexus does not use AGM battery's) and increase wear on the starter and the engine. The gas you save is negligible----------------again IMHO.
Others have a different opinion and that's OK with me.

websurfer

It's pretty nice NX overall. Appears to be run flat tires tho, I wish it wasn't run flat and had a spare tire. I had it as a loaner and it drove great.

Droid13

I'm surprised the comments about disabling the engine stop feature. I've never heard of disabling engine stop in a ToyLex hybrid and pretty sure no such feature exists on the 350h. Yea, you can put the engine computer into maintenance mode to keep the engine running, but no one is going to do that driving around normally. You could also hold the engine running in P by keeping your foot on the gas, but hard to drive around in P. Very weird a salesman would say he disabled the feature, unless communications got crossed up and he was thinking non-hybrid.

bt10

baneling

how often do they usually redesign the car? I think it was redesigned in 2022 right? so when do you think it will get redesigned?

lexsc4

Historically Lexus do a minor facelift after 3 model years, then a total redesign after 6 models years. So maybe 2028 will be a new model?

azieba

Redesign generally is tied to the category and competition for which the vehicle plays in. That said most vehicles get a mid cycle refresh (fascia and slight looks/features modification) every 3 years and total redesign every 6 years. I say this, as that has been the historical trend. However, we are currently at an inflection point where the industry is pivoting toward full electrification. Since the NX is partially electrified I imagine mid cycle refresh would focus on more enhancements in electrification alongside the fascia/looks and the total redesign would more of an evolution to a full electric product (BEV or Battery EV). Gas engines will still be around for quite a while but most of the vehicles sold will be hybrids (HEV like the 350h or PHEV like the 450h). So in a roundabout way, I guess, I don't think the next iteration will lose the start/stop, in fact it is native in hybrids, so I imagine we will see more until it is redesigned to be a pure battery electric vehicle.