We own a 2008 RX 400h. Does battery icon on dash indicate battery level? If so, ours appears 1/4 down. Wondering what the current 2017 hybrid battery costs are for the 2008 model?

 

Are you talking about the stack above the radio that shows the battery? Mine goes up and down as we drive the car. Yours should too. Have no idea on the cost of a replacement battery.

 

If you're referring to the traction battery on the Energy Monitor (photo is from an AWD model with 2 electric motors -- your may only have 1 electric motor)



its level will go up and down as indicated above. A low level doesn't mean that you need to replace it. It takes a bit more analysis to determine if the traction battery needs replacement.

Page 24 of your manual explains the hybrid system. If you don't have a copy of your manual you can get an electronic copy on the Lexus Drivers site.

 

I've been wondering about the battery in mine; I've never seen the top two bars of the battery indicator filled up. I've wondered if there is maybe a bad module in the battery pack. What is normal for that?

 

I've never seen the top bar on my display and rarely see the one bar under that, but I have seen it. I think my vehicle is normal and runs great so I don't worry about it.

 

Drive to Florida through the mountains; and during long downhill descents, you'll likely see it topped off so frequently that you might be inclined to be concerned that it's overcharging.

 

My son was driving it a couple days ago and said he saw the second bar light up; lasted for about 20 seconds. Mine must be normal too.

 

i ,too, have never hit the top rung but have hit the 2nd highest level a few times. i've noticed this only happens after some spirited driving: not really any hills or valleys but just some good ol' fun driving! i once went downhill( fairly steep grade) with my level at top 2nd and at the bottom of the hill i still was on 2nd level--it hadn't budged! has anyone else experienced this?

 

I have a 2010 RX450h, which probably operates in a manner pretty closely to yours.

The battery indicator does not show "full" or "empty." As I understand it the top level represents about an 80% charge and the bottom level shows about 40%. This is because extensive testing showed staying within these charge levels to be best for long-term battery life.

The battery on a hybrid is not meant turn it into an "electric" car. It is meant to do several other things:
(1) effortlessly start the engine, since there may be hundreds of engine starts during a typical trip and the idea is to make it as quick as possible and transparent to the driver;
(2) allow for some of the kinetic energy otherwise converted to heat to be temporarily stored and used to assist acceleration;
(3) assist in powering the vehicle under those conditions where the engine would be operating in a very inefficient mode, such as when producing a high manifold vacuum, or at a traffic light.

So from what I've read the current number of bars means very little. This is not an electric car that starts with a full charge and gradually uses it up.

The computer controlling all this is smart enough that when I am doing a long descent and the battery is "full" (i.e. 80%) then the excess energy is used to spin up the engine as a dead weight, or more accurately as a very big vacuum pump, without turning it on. You can hear this happening--the engine is obviously spinning but it sounds different somehow.

 

wow riredale!! you and i have vastly different expectations form our hybrids.i don't know whose outlook is in the majority but you've got me thinking i'm looking at this hybrid issue all wrong.i look forward to the times i can 'go electric' only but maybe i'm doing more harm than good.

 

Cars these days perhaps are like the elephant in that story where one person feels the trunk and says it's like a tree while someone else says something else, and so on.

I think as one loads a much larger capacity battery pack into a car that it becomes much more of an electric car with a secondary range booster engine. The RX though has an itty-bitty battery and the "electric mode" is, in my view, a marketing gimmick. Nonetheless they've done their homework if you look at it from the viewpoint of squeezing as much efficiency out of a gallon of gasoline as possible. This car weighs almost 5,000 pounds and yet I routinely get in the high-20's for mileage. Remarkable.

 

Our battery indicator behaves exactly like everyone here. One time when we were driving through mountains and going downhill for long stretches, I got full bars and green. (Yes my wife and I were kinda excited) Sometimes it's one bar less than full, but still green. I even got it to all bars green going to the airport one time, but that was a fairly flat drive, 60 miles round trip. I drive like an old man. I've even used the "B" gear going on very long downhills, but didn't see it really change the battery level.

98% of the time, we're in the "blue" zone.

I did have to replace my 12 volt battery a few months ago, though. Our RX400h sometimes sits for a couple/few weeks at a time (wife and I work at home), so I installed a charging adapter to the battery so I can just hook up my battery tender to it if it's not been driven for a few weeks.