Higher consumption of gas
 

I am driving my Lexus RX450 from past two years on the same route and similar driving habits . However lately my gas consumption has gone considerably higher . It used to be 9L/100 KM vs now it is almost 13L/100 KM . Any suggestions or recommendations . TIA

Gotta be all those pot holes your dodging in Buffalo. I'm from Tonawanda. As far as mileage goes--- you might want the dealer-- probably Northtown-- to check it out. I would not think your mileage should drop that much. Even though it has been horrid cold in our neck of the woods this past winter. That cold will affect your mileage big time with a hybrid. Wait a month and see where your mileage goes. If it does not improve-- I would then go to the dealer to check.

^I agree. This is my fifth year driving the 450h in the winter and the worst mileage yet. No change in driving route, habits or gas brand. And I have 37K on the odometer. I can't wait until warmer weather.

Correct me if I'm wrong-- you need high octane gasoline for the 2010--- if your,using regular it will drop your mpg.
Just a thought---try the Sunoco highest octane they put out--- try a few tanks--- will clean the injectors-- good thing---and I believe you will see a jump in mpg even when you drop to the regular 91 octane you probably should be using in that model year.

With Spring comes higher MPG
 

Chicago is getting into the 60s this week and MPG is at 28+ and going up fast. I can't wait until we can get summer blend gas which will add another 2 MPG. Last summer we were getting 32+ around town and my wife has a heavy foot.

I took my 2013 to Florida in January and February of both 2014 and 2015. I used 93 octane from the day I purchased the vehicle until I came back from Florida in 2014. I then started using 89 octane. I have seen no difference in mileage. Data for my Florida trips:

2014 -- 4729 miles driven using 179.378 gallons = 26.26 mpg
2015 -- 5152 miles driven using 193.985 gallons = 26.56 mpg

I really felt that I got better mileage with higher octane fuel in my 2010 but now I am starting to doubt myself now that I have a lot of data with my 2013 that shows no difference.

After posting this I forgot to include that in 2014 I had the roof crossbars installed but had them removed shortly after my return. Thus the 2015 numbers are without the crossbars.

Just turned 600 miles on the 2015 RX450h. Stargaze over black. Mpg is now up,to,27.8 in city driving only. Temp. Is still cold-- 34-35 degrees and winter blend fuel is still the norm. I' m confident I will,hit 30 -- city only-- when it warms up in the North East. Love the auto and everything about it. Glad I got the 2015 and not waited for that ugly duckling 2016'model. But anyway--- happy camper for that great mpg.

Summer gas/Warm temperatures
 

Got up to 72 last week and first week of Summer blend. Filled up and was getting 36+ until overnight temperatures dropped again and MPG dropped to 31+. Use 93 octane from Sams Club or Costco.

OK, how do you do it? I am averaging 28+ mpg and I can hit 30 mpg occasionally, but 36? Never. I now live in coastal California but I grew up in Chicago. I've always figured I could get better fuel economy if I still lived back there, because unlike where we live, it's flat as a pancake. I assume you don't have to deal with a lot of elevation changes where you live in Illinois. (Of course, I wouldn't move back just for better MPG.)

We don't drive ours much, in fact it is 5 months old and only has 2,300 miles on it. But we are averaging 28.5 according to the computer. Mostly short hops into town and occasional trips to the big city........Reno.....lol.

Great mpg
 

36 is fantastic. Is that combo of city and highway. I have not driven any length of time highway yet. Only city. But I am holding steady near 28 mpg. The only car that got about 36 mpg was a 2007 Camry Hybrid. But -- that was a 4 banger hybrid with 140 hp. Not almost 300 like the 450h.

Well, at least you didn't gamble on your car choice.:woot:

We'll have had our 2010 450h for 1 week tomorrow. 2008 350 was getting about 20 on my commute, 450h is giving me 29 for this first week. Even though in Texas, we are in hill country so I have some pretty good ups and downs to contend with. We may be pushing it a little this last week too just to see what she can do. Econ mode turned off on purpose. Not sure which gas they fueled me up with before we picked up the car but we'll be watching the mileage to see how it does as we settle in with how we drive her.

If you're getting 29 with ups and downs, you're doing very well. That's a big improvement over your 350's mpg. The dealer probably filled your tank with premium gas, which is what the owner's manual calls for. I have filled up with premium consistently, even though a number owners on this forum have said that they haven't seen better gas mileage with premium vs. regular. I don't think the premium gas recommendation is for mileage; it's for long-term fuel-injector maintenance, I believe. Anyway, I figure it's silly to spend $41,000 on a car and then nickel-and-dime it on gasoline if the manufacturer calls for premium gas. The 450h's fuel-sipping ways make it easier to "swallow."

Hybrids get their best mileage in stop & go traffic. I live in the second largest city in Illinois, Naperville, just to the west of the largest city, Chicago. It is constant stop & go traffic. And when we drive into Chicago on I-88, we get our best mileage. They say that if everyone in the USA who commutes to a major city drove a hybrid, we would cut our countries gas consumption by 30%.

As for hilliness, the best trip mileage I got was driving back roads through the northern mountain chain of Pennsylvania. I was getting 30 MPG in the mountains and only 28 MPG through Ohio and Indiana.

My wife and I love the RX450h. It was great in our snowy winter driving. The AWD of the electric rear motor responds much faster than the mechanical AWD of the RX350. You hardly know you are driving I deep snow.

I still love driving my 2004 Mazda RX-8. It corners like it is on rails. But the high performance tires on it are not good below 32 degrees so I put it away for the winter and put it back on insurance in April. The only car I have driven that can corner like it is the Tesla S. All the RX-8s came in ahead of the Porsches at Road America the last time I was up there. The Porsches couldn't go through the turns without the tail end loosing traction. My friend's Porsche spun out and crashed 1 1/2 laps into the race.

The RX450h is our year round car.