I’m not sure if this has already been discussed, but I’m curious—do you change the driving modes at all? I usually just leave mine on ECO and haven’t tried the other modes. If you do switch modes, do you adjust them based on your driving conditions? Have you noticed a real difference?

 

I keep mine in normal mode.

I occasionally would put it in Sport on one road in town for fun, but otherwise I leave it alone in normal.
The difference for me was minimal.

 

I just get in and drive. I think it defaults to normal.

 

I tend to use my "custom" setting where I leave the throttle response in normal but sport for the suspension. Only on the highway, where its mostly straight will I put the suspension in normal.

 

Sport mode holds the shifts longer and may help minimize the gear hunting for some people. Question for you is do you feel the steering wheel becomes firmer in Sport mode? Because technically it should but mine does not. For my other Toyotas it does cause the steering wheel becomes firmer for better steering response during sharper turns.

 

yes, I find the steering to be heavier and the throttle response better, but my RX is not a sport car.
When I was working there was a road on the way home that was very windy and fun to drive (safely). The difference was nice but not spectacular.
Now that I am retired it is trips to the golf course, grocery store and church.....each at about 35 mph on flat boring roads.

My RX in normal does very little gear hunting. I test drove an Acura TLX years ago with a ZF 9 speed that was absolutely horrible. That car was the definition of gear hunting.
I would seriously consider a manual transmission vehicle if they actually made these anymore. I drive so little now (about 7000 miles/year vs 30,000) that I just want something comfortable that does not break down.

 

I switched the driving mode to Normal yesterday, but the green ECO light still comes on while driving. Is this normal? In the long term, is it better for the car if ECO mode is turned off?

 

Doesn't do much on my RX450H. "Eco" Claims to dial back the AC usage apparently according to the owners manual

 

Interesting.. My steering wheel doesnt become firm at all. Check for codes and there are none. However, the throttle is much responsive.

 

Normal is good. Eco feels like you have to press too far down on the pedal to get it to move.

Sport is when I want all the voltage out of my hybrid pack for more torque/performance if I want to jump off the line. I believe it primarily just unleashes all the volts instead of limiting the voltage in other modes to save electricity.

 

I toggle often between Normal & Customize modes with a press of the Drive Mode Select Dial. The latter mode is configured to something like Sport+ mode, and yes, there's a definite difference. I do try to leave it in Normal to save gas.