Hi guys, new guy here. My family is looking to buy a 2026 Lexus RX350h premium with PVM camera. I have a few questions about this suv.

1. Is it normal to pay MSRP for the RX350h? Our local dealer says no discount for the hybrids. North Dallas.

2. I have read in this forum that a lot of RX owners have the 12v battery issue. My question is, if using a portable jump starter, is it better to jump the 12v batter in the cargo, or use the fuse box(which requires 4ft long cable)?

3. Will the kick sensor open the rear door if the key is inside the car?

Thank you

 

Welcome! Miss being in Texas myself.

1. Hybrids are a highly sought after item in the market regardless of brand. Rare to see any deals
2. 12v depends on contributing factors. I have had to jump my RX500h 3 times in 12-13 months. First time was the accessories drained the battery (should have turned off the vehicle), the other two times was recently in the same day due to me opening the trunk, folding down rear seats and then it wouldn't start. It was repeatable and it sucks that the drain is there, but it is driven daily and 99% of the time is a non issue. Context I was moving summer tires out of the car.
3. Yes, from what I recalled. Don't often do that since I don't leave keys in cars EVER.

 

Thank you for the reply.
When you mentioned that the accessories drained the battery, was your car in ACC mode with the engine off? Also, will using accessories drain the 12V battery if the car is idling with the engine on?

 

"2. I have read in this forum that a lot of RX owners have the 12v battery issue. My question is, if using a portable jump starter, is it better to jump the 12v batter in the cargo, or use the fuse box(which requires 4ft long cable)?"

Once the battery can't start the car, it means the battery is damaged. Neither a jumpstart nor a fuse box can fix the damage. We should make Lexus accept the consequences if we can gather enough complaints.

 

" ... It was repeatable and it sucks that the drain is there, but it is driven daily and 99% of the time is a non issue. Context I was moving summer tires out of the car."

Because of the drain issue, the battery wouldn't recharge back to 100%. The SoC decreases by a certain percentage each day, gradually until the car can't start. The local dealer uses 50 milliamps as the measure threshold when the vehicle is off, which is incorrect. Because SoC has about 4% daily consistent drop, along with the Stop-Start feature, they are really the culprits.

 

We knocked roughly $2K off our 350h Premium Plus in Feb 2024. Dealer's first salvo was no discounts on any hybrids. I called BS and they caved in a bit and that was on a an allocation for a car that was not yet built.. We're at roughly 15K miles now and not a single issue with the battery or anything else. Car is typically driven almost daily.

 

2024 RX 350h 20,000 miles never had a battery problem. I've had no issues. Love the car. Would buy it again in a nanosecond.

 

We bought a little over a week ago. We got $2K off a 26 350h Premium FYI. Can't help with the battery questions as it is still new with no issues.

 

it’s strictly a matter of being in ACC mode for a long time. Obviously, you can’t be in ACC mode with the engine running. With the car running, having the radio on, adjusting settings, etc. is not an issue.

It’s extremely unlikely that you’ll get any discount on a hybrid. They don’t need to offer incentives. The cars are sold before they’re even built and if you don’t want it, ten people are in line behind you.

The best you can do is, maybe, get them to discount their overpriced dealer add ons.

 

Disagree on the discounts. Look at the most recent post.

We bought a little over a week ago. We got $2K off a 26 350h Premium

 

That is not at all correct. Virtually everyone who has reported a non-start was able to jump start the car. That part is no different than a dead battery on any other car.

Granted, it should not so easily get into a no-start condition, but it should nearly always start with a jump.

To answer the OP’s question… you can jump start from either location. Doing it under the hood is much more convenient. Plus… you can’t open the rear lift gate if the battery is dead without crawling into the cargo area and pulling a remote lever.
Just be very familiar with how to open the car door with the manual key, and how to properly connect the leads of a jump box or cables from another car. Even if you call road side service, watch them like a hawk as some won’t know how to correctly connect the cables and can easily fry your ECU.

Don’t let this potential issue deter you from buying the RX. The battery thing more often occurs with people who do not drive very often. If your car is driven at least a few times a week, you should be okay. we’ve had our car (RX350h Premium Plus) for seven months with no battery issues at all. My wife drives about 35 miles, four days a week. About half of that at 70mph. If you only drive a couple miles a week to the grocery store, which would mostly be in EV mode, your 12v battery is not going to get charged.
Research has shown that hooking up a battery tender once a month with keep your battery in great shape and prevent sulfation (battery killer.)

 

That’s anecdotal. I didn’t say it was impossible. But, by far, most reports are that any discounts on hybrids are very unlikely other than at small, low volume stores.
believe me. I tried. No major dealer in Texas would come off of MSRP last winter when we were shopping.

 

Southern Ohio and Northern Kentucky and one in Eastern Indiana. 4 dealers were all 1800-2000 off (cash deals, no trade). That was also only emailing them via their website and not walking in. I do not know what low or high volume is. I know the dealership I bought from has 18 salespeople and the worst sales person sold 20 cars in the month (October) so that would be minimum 360 cars. Could be lying but not sure why she would lie about that.

 

Perhaps Texas is the exception.

 

Good to hear you guys don't have the 12v issue. $2k off is a great deal. Unfortunately my local Texas dealer likely won't do any discount.

I thought the 12v battery issue was more common on the 350h. Great to hear your 350h is running without problems.

"The cars are sold before they’re even built and if you don’t want it, ten people are in line behind you." Haha that's my impression after visit the local Lexus dealer a month ago. They only had two 350h on the lot, one of them is marked as sold. Right now they have 11 on the lot, 13 in transit, 6 sales pending.

Our use case is different than yours. This car won’t be used for commuting; we’ll only use it to pick up our child from preschool Monday–Friday, which is a 4-mile round trip. And some grocery runs/road trips on the weekend.
Thanks for the heads up.