tus

Just because I remembered to check this morning, after filling up last night and driving the 1.3 miles from the gas station to my house, the mpg since last fill up was at 13.1. Of course after my ~40 mile drive to work this morning it was up to 26.5, which is kind of low but there wasn't any traffic and I was able to cruise at a steady 80 most of the way.

One thing you will notice about a hybrid is the mileage will vary greatly depending on traffic conditions. Driving the same route to and from work I think I've seen it go from 22-31, all depending on what the conditions are.

ukrkoz

^^^^
This why it is pointless to look at "tank average" or "since refill" mpg. They are subject to 10% variable and are useless. The ONLY way to have real mpg understanding is to locate long term mpg result and NEVER reset it. It changes quickly first two or so weeks, then stabilizes, as it averages your refills, tanks, road and traffic and weather conditions in the final number. I think, they actually won't let you see it in your cars.. Wife's 2011 RX350 does NOT have long term mpg. I had it in my HiHy though. It then slowly changes, as ambient temp goes down and goes up or, during real heavy traffic stalls or during long term city driving.
As observation, any ambient below 55 degrees and any speeds above 55 mph will LOWER your mpg. The faster and the colder=lower mpg. Same will happen in heavy or prolonged city stop and go traffic.

Sandi_k

Dude, the battery is warranteed for 8 years. So even if I bought it, and it was faulty, there would not be a "potential $5k replacement OOP."

And no, my commute is not mostly short trips. As I've noted before, I drive 100 miles RT to work 4 days a week. Thus my desire for a car that gets closer to 30 mpg than 20.

Thanks for weighing in.

Sandi_k

I WAS NOT looking at Tank Average. I was looking at mpg since the car rolled off the line in 2012. There are two different screens, clearly noted. Thus my concern - the 19.2 reading is lifetime mpg.

Sandi_k

Thanks, I think I am planning to pass. I finally got a call back from the sales guy today, but I missed the call. His VMail said that there "were results" from the additional inspection, so I will give him a call just to satisfy my curiosity...

tus

I believe the screen you are looking at is reset when you hit the update on one of the mileage screens (or at least it is on my '13 450h.) Would be easy enough for you to check if you decided to take a look at the thing again.

I do not believe there is a lifetime mileage screen for the thing.

riredale

I have found it very easy to get 17 MPG in my RX Hybrid. Here's the formula: multiple short trips around town, colder weather, make sure engine cools down between trips. But if engine is warmed up, expect high-20s for both city and highway driving.

gadiehl

I think you made the right decision. I bought an only slightly used 2013 RX450h but, unlike you, was not smart enough to check the existing mpg displays. After 3 years, I get, at best 24 or 25 mpg, usually more like 21 to 23. I don't think I have a lead foot but I'm not obsessed with coasting or taking 20 sec to accelerate to 60 mph. I do live on a hill so every drive ends with going back up. I took it back to the dealer who said I wasn't driving it properly, cleared both mpg readings, and then claimed the mileage wasn't as bad as I thought. Bottom line, I feel greatly misled by the 28/30 advertised mpg. I'll never buy another Toyota hybrid product, I might try one from Honda/Acura.

Droid13

If your hill is long or high, or both, hybrids of any sort aren't going to help you. Hybrids excel at efficiency at lower power levels, that's why they typically do so much better in the city and not so much on the highway. Climbing hills doesn't fit this category. For that, your top concern should be weight. It takes a huge amount of energy to lift a very heavy object like an RX up a hill, and unless conditions are perfect hard to recuperate that energy going back down, especially if the engine is now cold and wants to run. Lighter cars will do better with hills, hybrid or not.

tdott

My guess, is the hybrid battery on a test drive is going to be completely dead, so the engine will be running to charge it, this does take some power away from normal driving and could feel "sluggish" to some as it is noticeable. Also consider cars on dealer lots are probably being idled alot, and when someone does get in especially a lot attendant, they aren't getting in with a light foot. I would say an extended test drive would be needed to get any sort of gauge. But as always it definitely is possible something is wrong, so getting any used car inspected is always recommended.

Drove down to Key West a little while ago, very relaxing drive with beautiful scenery.
AC on the entire way, 91F FL heat.
Mostly 45-55 mph speed limits with some stop and go traffic in certain parts so a pretty good sweet spot mpg wise.

MellonC00

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...rx450h-65.html check out my post number 963 on this thread.

Elevation changes make a huge difference. I've done some comparison driving with Acura MD-X Hybrid as well. They all suffer Mpg loss when you have huge elevation changes. The only engine that doesn't really have an impact is (based on my experience) are very large displacement engines like V8's with very good low end torque and diesel engines.

tempestv8

I have been tracking my vehicle for the last 7,500 kms since I purchased it (used). I installed a handy app on my Android phone called Fuelly, and input all my fillups. I used various fuels like E10 blends, or the highest octane fuel I can find and when that's not available I have used mid grade octane. The vehicle is driven exclusively in town, so all suburbs and the occasional stop start peak hour commute. With very little highway driving, the Fuelly app says that I'm averaging 29.9 MPG (that's UK gallons, which is slightly more than US gallons). Which is 9.4 litres per 100 kms for those using metric.

Can't complain at all, as my brother-in-law's RX350 gets around 16 litres per 100 kms for similar driving conditions, doing mainly school runs.

MellonC00

so, this would translate to 24.9 mpg in the US? Correct? And, then, your BIL's mpg is 14.7 US MPG, right?

tempestv8

Yes, those numbers look right.