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Wow nice pics.
Your white ES looks a lot like mine, but it will never be in that unique setting.
Bet you didnt see many other high end cars on those roads : )
You'd be surprised... I saw an ES250 in the same highland town, an LX570 with gold trim (!) and a steady fleet of Range Rovers. Also plenty of Land Cruisers in top trim and cheaper Prados. Some of the roads here have brand new tarmac, like Stelvio Pass but with very few cars and mindblowing scenery even in a rainstorm. Landslides and yaks crossing the road make driving a bit lively, although the altitude was the biggest problem I had to deal with - headaches, nausea, also almost fainting after descending one pass.
No way I'm gonna park next to a yak. Those big horns can do a lot of damage to a pearl coat
I noticed something really weird - occasionally I get a soft buzzing sound from the steering wheel but only above 10,000 feet. No warning lights or error messages pop up when the happens. I'm wondering if it has something to do with the airbag equalizing pressure.
Trip total 1500 km, mileage 5.9 l/100 km or 40 mpg calculated by the onboard computer. Amazing numbers given the constant elevation change - I even saw 90 mpg on a descent on battery power alone from 10000 feet to sea level. As for the driving and the scenery, it's a bit funny that the most populous country on earth still has plenty of spaces with no one around, where it's just me, the river and towering mountains.
Chrome- More amazing pictures. Even more amazing is your FE, considering all the elevation changes. BTW, thanks for the picture of the yaks. I particularly like the yak looking right at you. Perhaps admiring your Lex?
Old thread but I'm adding to it after some recent high altitude driving. The ES handled wet dirt roads near 15,000 feet like a champ although ground clearance was always an issue.
If only Toyota made an ES hybrid wagon with tall suspension like a Volvo V60 Cross Country... One can dream. Average fuel consumption over 700 km, climbing up to 15k feet a few times and back down to sea level: 40 mpg.
Yeah, another crazy driver in an ES250 😋 A bunch of Land Cruiser drivers at the top looked surprised that we made it up in one piece.
Starfire Pearl looks amazing under bright sun, especially under retina-searing mountain light with plenty of UV. Atomic Silver would look even better but I'd hate getting even a tiny scratch on it.
I noticed this after coming back from the trip: the oil level on the dipstick dropped to about 2/3 full. I had a recent oil change a month ago where it was filled up to the full mark.
Anyone else seen oil consumption during hard driving? I don't recall ever seeing the oil level drop like this. I know it's still within the normal mark but the ES hybrid engine isn't known for eating oil.
I noticed this after coming back from the trip: the oil level on the dipstick dropped to about 2/3 full. I had a recent oil change a month ago where it was filled up to the full mark.
Anyone else seen oil consumption during hard driving? I don't recall ever seeing the oil level drop like this. I know it's still within the normal mark but the ES hybrid engine isn't known for eating oil.
I change the oil on my car myself. I drive about 13k miles a year and currently I have 76k miles on the odometer. I change my oil every
7k-8k miles. When I change the oil, I do notice some drop of the oil level on the dip stick, still within the normal range. And believe it or not this is still considered normal, so the engine does consume some oil. It becomes a problem if you have excessive oil consumption, and by that I mean significant drop after say 1k-2k miles, then you have worn piston rings. And as you said if you drive the car hard and at higher RPMs the oil consumption is worse.
