wcntan80

Hi everyone,
It is a great feeling to be driving the 450h again. Long story short, I bought a 2011 RX450h in the same year but sold it 6 months later because of the black color, then went to a different brand. But I have always had a white 2008 RX400h and it has about 54000 miles now. Wife drives it most of the time.

Some of you might remember that I was the one that posted a thread about some funky blue lights in the dash area. From my research, those lights were the indication of EV being used. Anyway, drove home a 2013 RX450h yesterday and went for 30% tint on front windows. Here are some pics...

BertL

Nice looking ride. Welcome back to the Gen 3 family!

Cruiter

Wilson, yea I remember that post. At the time thought it was kind of strange. But welcome back to the fold .

DunWkg

Too bad we never got the VIN off of your 1st 450h, it may have been the "oldest" 450h on record with those outside-the-dash blinking blue lights. A pre-historical find.

Thanks for clearing up the mystery

Hope you enjoy your new ride.

go3Ds

Congratulations, and welcome back. Lots of nice changes between the 2011 and 2013 450h besides the spindle grill, updated steering wheel and the LED DRL's. Sure you are having fun inspecting even the minor changes. Nice overall look by having the front windows tinted.

wcntan80

Thanks everyone, Lexus RX450h is really an awesome vehicle especially I have just switched from another luxury car. Mileage and quietness just make me smile. Took a roughly 150 mile drive yesterday and average mpg was 29.7 with some stop and go traffic and as much as 75 mph. Gas mileage wise is definitely better than the 400h.

Not quite remember how the 2011, but I have noticed that this one has some blueish purplish light by Odo area when vehicle is in "Eco" area. When I step on the gas the car goes to "power" and the blueish light disappear. I think it's a pretty cool feature. Something similar to the funky blue lights from the 2011, except that was EV indication.

The best new feature to me is the power folding outside mirrors. They can be automatically fold in and out as you lock and unlock the car or manually fold and unfold by pressing a button. I don't like to ask for much but a glowing Lexus logo emblem in the front grill and rear hatch will be real nice to show the hybrid power!

Thanks.

go3Ds

Be sure to select "Sport Mode" from the steering wheel menu to check out the orange glow on the speedometer area. One of the many new features our 2013 450h's have. I also love the folding mirrors, as you do. Now included as part of the premium package which is nice. Did you get the BSM?

wcntan80

Thanks for pointing out the orange glow, I like that! And yes, there is BSM on my 450h.

What ever happen to AFS (adaptive frontlighting system)? Do you see that on your 450h? Not sure if the earlier model had it but I have it on the 400h.

Parking Asist on the front and back is pretty useful especially in NY metro area. I don't think it was an option at all on the 2011.

BertL

AFS was discontinued with the 2013s for an unknown (and disappointing to some) reason.

kitlz

Welcome back to the RXh family, wctan80. Like BertL said, AFS is unfortunately no longer offered. But you have BSM, folding mirrors and the LED daytime running lights now. All pretty cool features to have. Enjoy your 450h!

wcntan80

Thanks again everyone, I certainly enjoy this RX so much, not to mention the 12 speakers premium sound system with great dynamic range. The system sounds so good when I play a disc or files from a USB source, the only 2 ways I like to play music in an automobile. Personally to my ears they sound much better than the B&O system with 14 speakers that I just got rid of, just an opinion.

Anyways, let me go for a spin...

wcntan80

O.K., I will take back for what I have said about the sound system. Don't get me wrong, it sounds good. But it sounds good only when you are at the front seats. Besides that, the sound level does not adjust itself according to surrounding noise. The Bang & Olufson in the car I had did this so accurately and sounds good no matter where you sit.

I don't mind not having the sunglasses holder, the headlight washer system, the automatic frontlighting system, but sound quality? I gotta have it!

Am I the only one who is concern with the sound system quality and the levelizer? Does the Mark Levinson have that feature? For some reason I have never seen the Mark Levinson system in an RX in NY area.

Thanks.

BertL

OP, lots of discussion in previous threads on sound system quality -- may want to check those out with a couple of searches -- lots of hits. Also, the discussion and people's impression of the sound quality depends not only on their own expectation, but physically upon which sound system you have in your RX. There are three versions and rear sound will be worse if you don't have the better versions. See THIS POST of mine from a couple months ago for a summary of those differences. There is a link there to another post of mine with more specifics. (HINT: There is no subwoofer in the entry version, and only 2 additional speakers in the rear if you have mid 12-speaker setup. ML provides the full 15-speaker compliment.)

ASL (Automatic Sound Levelizer) is there with my 2013 Mark Levinson; perhaps it is on yours. Try locating the place to turn it on/off e.g. on the FM Tab, lower right SOUND button, then make sure Automatic Sound Levelizer is ON. Also, be aware that many of the settings like Treble/Bass/etc are established for each source -- so e.g. if you want more treble on FM and CDs, you have to change it in two places.

wcntan80

Hi Bert, thanks for pointing out the ASL. After all this time of adjusting the sound, I have never noticed the ASL button being there. Since you also own a Benz, do you find that the sound systems in German automobiles do a better job on sound levelizing? Can't speak for Mark Levinson since I have never owned one.

I remember the Harmon Kardon in my 98 and 2005 BMW, Bose in a 2002 Benz, and the recent B&O in Audi. Even the slightest noise will lift up the volume by bit.

BertL

NP. Glad you found something new out about your ride. I'm always happy when I do from folks here myself.

Interesting as my SLK has their optional top-of-the-line Harmon-Kardon system (all 500 watts and 10 speakers worth in that little 2-seater cockpit -- wow), but the sound leveling is done based on actual MPH fed to the system from the car computer, not ambient noise as is done with our Lexus. ...it's a different approach to the problem using car speed vs an internal microphone Lexus uses to automatically adjust sound levels.

I've had my SLK for less than a month, so still forming opinions on the sound system compared to my Mark Levinson. IMO, I would say though my previous SC430 and RX400h did a much better job with ASL than my RX450h does. I have to tweak the volume up and down manually most of the time when I get on and off the freeway for example with my RX450h, but didn't do that as much with my former Lexi. ...and so far, I don't seem to be doing it as much in the MBZ (with its top up of course), but it's probably not fair for me to jump,to that conclusion quite yet.