Hello All,

Just took delivery of our NX450h+ a little over 2 weeks ago. Before I posted this thread I did a thread search for "NX450h+" "remote" "climate" "control" "connect" so please don't shoot me if there is already a post addressing my issue. I also did a google search without success.

Onto the problem, we recently drove 50 miles and depleted our EV range and we were driving around in HV (hybrid vehicle mode). We went to have lunch and I wanted to remote start the car to run the climate control and cool down the car before returning to it. However the Lexus app would not let me start the vehicle. It told me that there was not enough battery to do so (I also had a full tank of gas). The NX still has a ICE engine that could easily run the AC (it let me drive), so I do not understand why Lexus does not allow me to run my climate control using the ICE engine (remotely). I have had a 4Runner and Lexus IS350 that allowed me to do that, they didn't have a big battery pack.

I called Lexus support for the app and they said it is like that by design, and they told me to go back to the dealership I bought it from and speak with the General Manager. I told her they are not interested in fixing this because I already bought the car. Also I knew more about the car than anyone on the sales team that I encountered. I am pretty sure the regular NON plug-in NX can remote start it's climate control, because that is basically what it becomes once my EV range goes to zero.

So why can't the TOP of the LINE plug-in NX450h+ plus do the same when it has zero EV range because essentially it is regular NX hybrid at that point. Has anyone else experienced this?

This basically means that if I am driving anywhere more than 37 miles away from home I cannot use the remote climate control to cool down or heat the car.

 

does this feature work if the ev battery is not depleted? Ie. is there any scenario where it DOES work?

 

Works fine IF I have EV range.

 

so this tells me nothing‘s wrong with the remote start or the app. It really does seem to be tied to this battery level topic. This doesn’t make a bit of sense to me but I’ve never had a hybrid vehicle and I really don’t fully know what the driving and ownership experience is. I would like to one day. My NX is a 350 F sport so I’m still living in the dark ages lol I hope you find resolution with this. It seems as if the opposite should be true with this situation where they should allow you to pre-start the car which would accomplish two things. first you would heat or cool the cabin before your arrival and secondly if the EV battery is depleted, it could begin charging. I don’t know what I don’t know about how these cars work because I’m still living in the dark ages lol I hope you find resolution with this. It seems as if the opposite should be true with this situation where they should allow you to pre-start the car which accomplishes multiple things first you would heat or cool the cabin before your arrival and secondly if the EV battery is depleted , it will begin some level of charging. Seems like a win-win to me but again I don’t fully know what I don’t know with these things. Good luck with everything I hope they get it sorted out.

 

Apparently it is like that by design, and it is functioning normally. I will call Lexus app support again and see if I get a different answer. This would seem like something an OTA update can fix.

It is a huge design flaw and it really limits the capabilities of this vehicle. I hope I find a resolution to this issue too. Thanks for your input.

 

if i am correct there isn’t a function on the 4runner to have the AC start with remote connect right cause i have a 4runner right now and i don’t have that option.

I believe the reason for this is because the AC is connected to the battery to have it to be able to start without having the ICE turn on. This allows it to be more “efficient “ on gas since ICE doesn’t get turned on. Take what I said with a grain a salt as I read this off some forum

 

OP is saying the car ENGINE won't start when EV battery is depleted. He's not trying to activate AC without ICE startup. He wants to start the ICE to allow AC to pre-cool the car which is completely reasonable.

Regarding the features, '22 NX telematics app allows not only for remote start, but to pre-set a desired AC temperature.

 

What trim 4Runner do you have? I had a 2020 Limited and I could remote start with the app or the key fob.

When you buy a Lexus you buy it for comfort efficiency is a nice bonus. I'll take comfort over efficiency any day.

 

The car wouldn’t start by itself without hitting the climate control option? Sorry my NX doesn’t come in until September so I am not sure how the app works. I am putting out base on research I’ve done.

If you cannot start the car with the climate control function I would assume it is because of what I said on an earlier post but if the car doesn’t even start without using the climate control then indeed this is quite a design flaw.


My 4runner does start on the app and key fob but I am talking about having the climate control turned on as well via app

 

[QUOTE=Xdivanxd;11330473]The car wouldn’t start by itself without hitting the climate control option? Sorry my NX doesn’t come in until September so I am not sure how the app works. I am putting out base on research I’ve done.

If you cannot start the car with the climate control function I would assume it is because of what I said on an earlier post but if the car doesn’t even start without using the climate control then indeed this is quite a design flaw.


I think I understand what you're asking - You can start the car from the app with or without the climate control option enabled. Starting from the keyfob will start the ICE but I'm not clear what the AC settings do - I'm guessing they stay on last-known settings when I was driving. I do have to qualify I have the 350 F-Sport, so the software and logic may be very different on the 'h' models which is what is in question here.

Bottom line in my opinion, the ICE should be start-able (is that a word?) regardless of EV battery charge level. If there are risks in starting the ICE with a fully-depleted EV battery, perhaps a 'are you sure you want to do this?' pop-up message in the app??? This whole thing just doesn't make sense to me - seems like a bug unless there's a solid engineering reason to restrict the feature. Even so, if there is a good reason, again, inform the owner with an error message "the car cannot be started due to EV battery depletion level below x%" or something. Seems like it would at least avoid confusion and frustration.

I'd love someone with an 'h' model to chime in and let us know if their experience is consistent with OP's issue. I think this will tell us volumes whether or not this is expected behavior or a problem with a single vehicle.

 

[QUOTE=Datanator;11330507]100% agree. When the car says it has ZERO EV range it actually still has about 30% battery left. That 30% is what is used to run the car like a hybrid. Update I called Lexus again and they escalated the issue to their technical team. Hopefully we will have a resolution to this.

Yes any hybrid NX owners please chime in. Can you guys start the car and run your climate control via the Lexus app?

 

A related series of questions to this thread:

1. Does the remote start via the Lexus App start the ICE when heat is called for and the exterior temperature is below -10°C? I haven't experienced subzero temperatures with my 450h yet, so can't say. This situation is similar to OPs, in that when the EV range is depleted and A/C is called for, then the ICE should activate under normal driving conditions.

2. A concern with the scheduled climate control start, which I presume is only available on the 450h, what if the vehicle is parked in an attached garage and the ICE starts? That could create a carbon monoxide poisoning hazard. Therefore, I assume the ICE cannot be activated by the app.

I will test Question 1 tomorrow with A/C on depleted EV range and report back.

 

Plug in hybrid sitting outside with depleted battery in -30. Started gas engine with remote start and interior climate set +28 climate every time for me last year. Should be no surprise. When it is not even that cold and hybrid battery is at 100% the gas engine will turn on. The ability of EV power to heat the car is up to about -7.

 

Hi !Carrousel3 Did you find out anything else about the problem of starting without Ev Range? I have the same problem with my LEXUS NX 450h from 2023. Thank you!

 

Hi ! Someoane found out anything else about the problem of starting without Ev Range? Thank you!