whats your mpg on RX450h?
Rookie
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 92
Likes: 1
From: Ny
My wife drove her Prius to work, 12 miles each way in local traffic. Top speed of 45 mpg with multiple red lights. She averaged 51 mpg over the 3 years driving that commute.
Then her office moved to only 3 miles from home. The MPG dropped to 36 MPG driving the 3 mile, one way, commute. Toyota/Lexus hybrids take a while to warm up before being able to maximize MPG.
Just today I was watching the Bar Graph on our 450h. At steady 45 MPH graph was showing only about 20-22 MPH. After about 3 miles it jumped instantly to 35-40 MPG. it looked like the traction battery charge came up to full and engine and cat came up to operating temp.
Then her office moved to only 3 miles from home. The MPG dropped to 36 MPG driving the 3 mile, one way, commute. Toyota/Lexus hybrids take a while to warm up before being able to maximize MPG.
Just today I was watching the Bar Graph on our 450h. At steady 45 MPH graph was showing only about 20-22 MPH. After about 3 miles it jumped instantly to 35-40 MPG. it looked like the traction battery charge came up to full and engine and cat came up to operating temp.
10th Gear
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 14
Likes: 2
From: TX
I drive a V6 Highlander right now, my commute is 40 highway miles per day round-trip. Getting 22-23 mpg. This is in Houston so winter is really just fall and it's summer 8 months of the year. I also have a CT200h that gets 48-50 mpg on the same drive.
Thinking of replacing the Highlander with the 450h. I know the 2016 mpg is rated at 31/30/30 but wondering how accurate would that be for me in real life?
Thinking of replacing the Highlander with the 450h. I know the 2016 mpg is rated at 31/30/30 but wondering how accurate would that be for me in real life?
Last edited by soupcxan; Oct 12, 2015 at 04:16 AM.
10th Gear
Joined: Sep 2015
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: NY
I just bought a 2013 RX450h, with 15k miles. So far, I'm very disappointed to be getting only around 24 mpg. I've read much of this thread for ideas. I don't know who did the last oil change but I'll make sure the right oil is used next time. The tires are worn to about 5mm of tread but I can't see that affecting things much. Any other ideas as to what could be causing the low mileage ? Selling dealer (it wasn't a Lexus dealer) may have filled it with 89 octane gas. How much might that affect things ?
Thanks. BTW, I'm a newbie to this forum so sorry if I missed some protocol
Thanks. BTW, I'm a newbie to this forum so sorry if I missed some protocol
Rookie
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 92
Likes: 1
From: Ny
I drive a V6 Highlander right now, my commute is 40 highway miles per day round-trip. Getting 22-23 mpg. This is in Houston so winter is really just fall and it's summer 8 months of the year. I also have a CT200h that gets 50 mpg on the same drive.
Thinking of replacing the Highlander with the 450h. I know the 2016 mpg is rated at 31/30/30 but wondering how accurate would that be for me in real life?
Thinking of replacing the Highlander with the 450h. I know the 2016 mpg is rated at 31/30/30 but wondering how accurate would that be for me in real life?
Your mpg.
Moderator
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,263
Likes: 15
From: Florida
I drive a V6 Highlander right now, my commute is 40 highway miles per day round-trip. Getting 22-23 mpg. This is in Houston so winter is really just fall and it's summer 8 months of the year. I also have a CT200h that gets 50 mpg on the same drive.
Thinking of replacing the Highlander with the 450h. I know the 2016 mpg is rated at 31/30/30 but wondering how accurate would that be for me in real life?
Thinking of replacing the Highlander with the 450h. I know the 2016 mpg is rated at 31/30/30 but wondering how accurate would that be for me in real life?
With our CT our worst tank was 38 MPG and best tank was 42 MPG.
With our RX450h our first three tanks so far averaged 27.6 MPG. Current tank is showing 29.9 MPG on dash computer with only 40 miles to empty. I expect average to be near 28 MPG when I fill up tomorrow.
Here is a link to 50 RX450h logs. http://www.fuelly.com/car/lexus/rx450h
Last edited by FLYCT; Oct 5, 2015 at 07:44 PM.
10th Gear
Joined: Jan 2012
Posts: 14
Likes: 2
From: TX
Interesting stats. Seems kind of risky, I would be disappointed if I ended up getting 26-27 mpg, would rather have just bought the gas model. Needs to be 29-30 for me to justify the premium to myself, but no way to know in advance, of course.
Moderator
Joined: May 2012
Posts: 1,263
Likes: 15
From: Florida
RX350 seems to average around 21 MPG
RX450h seems to average around 27 MPG
Using these numbers the "h" has a 28% MPG advantage.
Where the RX450h beats the pants off the RX350 for fuel efficiency is in city or rural driving where it benefits from regenerative braking.
ClubLexus Stories
Celebrating Lexus & Toyota from Around the Globe
Top 10 Most Confusing Things Lexus Has Ever Done!
Joe Kucinski
2026 Lexus ES Review: Lexus Re-Embraces Founding Principles
Michael S. Palmer
10 Lexus Bargains That are Cheaper Than a New Toyota RAV4
Joe Kucinski
8 Weirdest Things Lexus Has Ever Built
Verdad Gallardo
10 Lexus Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
8 Tips for Improving Your Hybrid or Plug-in Hybrid's Efficiency!
Michael S. Palmer
10 Best Lexus Models No One Remembers
Joe Kucinski
TRD Off-Road Premium: Best 2026 4Runner, Except This One Thing
Michael S. Palmer
Top 10 Lexus & Toyotas to Drive Before You Die!
Joe Kucinski
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Feb 2015
Posts: 33
Likes: 0
From: Sunny Glossop
My mpg (UK) figure over the last few months. Calculated by fuel used. Latest one is top.
29.18
27.71
35.32 (longer than usual journey)
27.41
25.56
26.06
25.72
32.73 (longer than usual journey)
29.92
25.43
24.91
23.00
Bottom is colder weather so mpg has increased as it has been warmer - and with longer runs.
I reckon that 35.32 is the closest I'll get to the Lexus official mpg of 44. Not too often though!
29.18
27.71
35.32 (longer than usual journey)
27.41
25.56
26.06
25.72
32.73 (longer than usual journey)
29.92
25.43
24.91
23.00
Bottom is colder weather so mpg has increased as it has been warmer - and with longer runs.
I reckon that 35.32 is the closest I'll get to the Lexus official mpg of 44. Not too often though!
Driver
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 75
Likes: 6
From: Illinois
28.3 is about right for a break in MPG. That is what my 2015 RX450h was getting when new. At 15,000 miles I am averaging 29.7 year round average with summer average being 32.5. Winter average will be lower but the trick to keeping it from being to much lower is to be belted in and ready to drive when you start the engine. Don't sit still while the engine is running any more than required by traffic lights. While the engine is warming up you might as well be adding miles to take advantage of that fuel you are burning.
Rookie
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 92
Likes: 1
From: Ny
If you go to Fuelly.com and browse RX350 and RX450h you will see calculated MPG reported by multiple drivers.
RX350 seems to average around 21 MPG
RX450h seems to average around 27 MPG
Using these numbers the "h" has a 28% MPG advantage.
Where the RX450h beats the pants off the RX350 for fuel efficiency is in city or rural driving where it benefits from regenerative braking.
RX350 seems to average around 21 MPG
RX450h seems to average around 27 MPG
Using these numbers the "h" has a 28% MPG advantage.
Where the RX450h beats the pants off the RX350 for fuel efficiency is in city or rural driving where it benefits from regenerative braking.
Driver
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 75
Likes: 6
From: Illinois
Your RX350 mileage numbers are more what I hear from owners here in Naperville and there are a lot of RX350s here. The RX350 and RX450h are about the same weight as my F150 4x4 and 12.5 is exactly what I get on it in the winter and 15 in town during warmer weather in town and 19 on the highway. Putting my 29.7 mpg aside on my RX450h, there are other advantages. When I took my car in for its 15,000 mile checkup, they measured my break wear at 5% back and 10% front. The service manager I was dealing with said that this was common for the RX450h whereas the RX350 would be three times that wear and need a brake job at around 50,000 miles verses 150,000 for the hybrid. This is because the hybrid has regenerative breaking so the break pads do very little of the breaking if driven properly. The other advantage of the hybrid AWD is that the rear while drive is electric instead of mechanical. The electric AWD is much quicker to respond since there is less momentum to overcome. Best wet, snow and ice response available. Tesla boasts about their AWD response times and the RX450h is just as fast at responding to bad road conditions.
Rookie
Joined: Aug 2013
Posts: 92
Likes: 1
From: Ny
Your RX350 mileage numbers are more what I hear from owners here in Naperville and there are a lot of RX350s here. The RX350 and RX450h are about the same weight as my F150 4x4 and 12.5 is exactly what I get on it in the winter and 15 in town during warmer weather in town and 19 on the highway. Putting my 29.7 mpg aside on my RX450h, there are other advantages. When I took my car in for its 15,000 mile checkup, they measured my break wear at 5% back and 10% front. The service manager I was dealing with said that this was common for the RX450h whereas the RX350 would be three times that wear and need a brake job at around 50,000 miles verses 150,000 for the hybrid. This is because the hybrid has regenerative breaking so the break pads do very little of the breaking if driven properly. The other advantage of the hybrid AWD is that the rear while drive is electric instead of mechanical. The electric AWD is much quicker to respond since there is less momentum to overcome. Best wet, snow and ice response available. Tesla boasts about their AWD response times and the RX450h is just as fast at responding to bad road conditions.
I have had 2 Prius's, a Camry Hybrid,a Kia hybrid and now the RX hybrid. The RX being new. The other cars never once had any brake care or replacement needed. In fact very little brake dust to clean off the wheels. No discoloration. Being in Buffalo the temp.'s now have dropped into early morning temp's of 30-40 degrees. MPG has dropped down because of only very short drives. Under 5 miles per. And no highway right now. 25-26 now the norm but that picks up as soon as engine warms and the drives are longer. Then MPG goes right back into the 29-30 range or better. I have no complaints. One other benefit. Fewer oil changes and less wear on engine.
Driver School Candidate
Joined: Jan 2015
Posts: 13
Likes: 0
From: WV
MPGs Are My Principal Concern
We've had our 2015 RX450h since last October. Consistently, the average MPGs are around 24. They've checked out the batteries, tires, and injection fuel system--While it might be that I sometimes tend to drive fast, the MPGs are no where close to being what the sticker indicated--regardless of the season or weather or short/long distances. I do wonder if Lexus has mislead owner/drivers!
Pole Position
Joined: Jun 2010
Posts: 3,172
Likes: 1,716
From: NC
My wife had a 2010 RX350 which we got right at the EPA figures of 18 city and 24 highway. Two months ago, we bought a 2015 used RX450h. The whole time we have had it we have got 29.5 mpgs. This has been a normal mix of city/highway driving. On highway trips we will get 32 mpg's. This is driving in normal mode. We love the RX.