I am doing some research as I prepare to purchase my first hybrid vehicle. Hybrid technology interests me more for the features of regenerative braking and quiet start up and roll out than gas mileage alone. Sometimes I need to move my car out of the garage and shut it down again, it would be great in my cold climate if I did not need to start the engine. Does anyone know if the RX450h has a standard starter motor or does it use the eCVT motor to start the engine. I know the engine starts and stops automatically and was curious if there still is an external starter. Can I tell the system to use electric only if possible? Also heard that the A/C runs on electric. Does this mean the car can begin cooling without starting the engine?

 

No starter.
No switch to run on electric only.
AC Compressor will run via electric but it has to be “Ready” ON mode.

 

If you can start the car and move it out of the garage inside of 5 seconds, you won't start the ICE. On mine, it takes about 5 seconds before the ICE kicks in.

 

Someone told me that for reverse on the 450h only the electric motors are used so I was hoping backing out of the garage would be electric only. Possibly the ICE starts to produce current for the MG to reverse the car.

 

I think that many hours of testing made the engineers decide that the ICE should be fired up shortly after going into "Ready" state.

The starter motor is an integral part of the ICE, directly behind and in-line with the ICE flywheel. It is driven by 600v from the traction battery under the rear seats, so spinning the ICE up takes just a fraction of a second. The A/C and the power steering are electric and completely independent of the ICE. This last characteristic makes the Toyota hybrids different from the other manufacturers who offer "start-stop," where the ICE is shut down at traffic lights. Startup with those is much more obvious and A/C refrigerant stops circulating with the ICE off, so those systems fire things back up from time to time to cool down the A/C output.

 

This design is closer to he way I think a hybrid should work. Utilize the electric motors as much as possible by using the ICE and MG1 to generate current. In addition to the rear lithium battery pack, I believe there is a standard 12v lead acid battery in the rear of the car used to power up the system. Is this still the case? I have seen posts from earlier Lexus hybrid owners who reported this battery going dead.

 

There is still a 12V battery in the rear. It solely operates the 12V accessories when the vehicle is NOT in ready mode (either when "off" which involves things like the keyless entry system, alarm, lights, etc, or entertainment system when in "accessory" mode). As soon as the vehicle is in Ready mode, the 12V battery is supplemented by a 12V charging system from the hybrid system (even if the engine is not running at the time). The 12V battery, other than being an AGM style which is better suited for use inside a vehicle, is rather ordinary and can have a life more or less typical of 12V battery in conventional vehicle. Some people say 5 yrs is typical but it depends, I'm still running the original OEM 12V battery that's over 10 years old at this point. If the 12V goes dead, the vehicle can't start without a boost, but it only needs enough juice to power up the hybrid electronics. There are booster points under the hood if you can't get at the 12V battery in the trunk.

Regarding your original question, Yes, you can move in and out of a garage on electric power only, I do it all the time. BUT!!! This depends a lot of temperature. If the ambient temp is really cold the system will start the engine soon, sometimes immediately. If warm, the system will not start the engine immediately, but ALWAYS will within about 5 seconds. So you have to get in/out of garage and shut down within 5 seconds to avoid a start (and provided your driveway is level). When you put your foot on the gas pedal to move in and out of the garage, again depending on temp, if its cold out that might trigger an immediate engine start, if its warm out it will let you apply a bit more pressure without triggering an engine start. Short version, in summer its easy, in winter its hard to do.

FYI, the hybrid battery is a NiMH battery not lithium.