You're welcome. The only time I ever killed the battery through error, was in accidently using ACC mode once when doing the initial configuration of setting. I meant to be in Ready mode, but forgot to press the brake. 20 minutes later, the battery was dead.

That was with wheel and front seat heaters on auto as well as HVAC on auto, which was probably around 50 amps draw. That is probably the configuration most people would have it on as well.

The basic lesson is to never use ACC mode...

You can adjust the seat temperature even further from the three settings by going to Lexus settings vehicle customization and climate. There is two setting for front driver seat and passenger seat to either increase or decrease the temperature.

Thanks for your comments. I have been using those touch tabs at the bottom of the infotainment screen for adjusting heated seat settings; I didn't know there are further settings within the vehicle customization and climate screen. I will give it a try later when I go out.

Oh, just found out that I can even do the adjustments from the Lexus App remotely :-)

Stop/Start was never federally mandated. I actually like the feature, though I wish we could turn it off or on and have it be retentive.

You are 100% correct. Auto stop/start was never federally mandated, and I believe I never said it was :-). Indeed, this is what my web search says:

"Auto start-stop is not federally mandated.
While it became standard in many vehicles, its presence was driven by incentives rather than a legal requirement:

• Environmental Credits: The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) previously offered "off-cycle credits" to automakers that included the feature. These credits helped manufacturers meet strict federal fuel economy and greenhouse gas emission standards.
• Recent Changes: In February 2026, the EPA finalized a rule that eliminated these credits. Without these regulatory incentives, many industry experts expect automakers to stop including the feature as a standard, non-permanent setting.
• Manufacturer Choice: Automakers have always had the choice to include the technology; they did so primarily to lower their fleet-wide emission averages on paper.

Since it was never a direct mandate, you can still find aftermarket start-stop eliminators to permanently disable it, though most cars only allow you to turn it off for the duration of a single drive."

My point above is whether, in light of EPA's recent ruling, we can demand the dealer to permanent disable this supposedly gas-savings feature, without any concern about warranty voiding issues. Your thought?

Also, based on another web search, more than 65% of cars made in the past few years have this feature, and most people do not want it.

I see no reason why Lexus would put any effort into removing a feature from existing vehicles.

Considering that stop/start improves fuel economy and many people still care about fuel economy, i doubt they will stop using it in the future.

As you mentioned, you can buy a disable device. I would assume that those who passionately hate the feature would have bought the device.

From an economics point of view, your answer is definitely the correct one for Lexus. But from what I have learned, this feature results in minimal gas savings, while doing significant harm to the starter motor (maybe I should add the word "potential" before "harm" to be more diplomatic). Cynically speaking, this benefits Lexus and/or any auto mechanic :-)

The fuel savings depends on how much time you spend stopped while the engine is running. SAE estimates 7-26% or a 1.5 to 5.5 mpg hit for a vehicle that gets 22 like the RX350.

As for starter life, my understanding is that vehicles with this system have starters that are designed for a 5-10x greater cycle usage than those without.

I appreciate your views and clarifications! But the web frequently seems to come up with pros and cons, which we should take into consideration and engage in further research. Peace!

Engineering Explained tested the benefits of start/stop, which in Europe was instituted to reduce EMISSIONS, not MPG.

The Cliffs Notes version of the video: Having the engine off for more than 7 seconds will save some gasoline. Some traffic light controlled intersections in our neighborhood make cross traffic wait over TWO MINUTES.

Stop/Start entails controls to maintain hydraulic pressures in automatic trans missions, and increased robustness of starters.

Thanks for the additional info!

probably a nicer feature if you have to drive crowded roads every day in stop and go traffic...