Well, I did my 1st fill today and learned 3 things.

1) The dealer did not fill my tank. The gauge reads well above where I got it when I picked it up with a "full" tank. Geez folks, it can't cost you that much more to fill it all the way.

2) The nozzle is on the drivers side not the passenger.

3) The low fuel light comes on with about 2 gallons left.

I did add my tank to the database, so it's showing very low. I know it's WAY better then that.

-Dave

 

Yeah, that's a little bit on the low side, even for the RX400h. It should be getting about the same FE as the HiHy, at around 25 mpg. There's also a little bit of breaking in period that you should expect, both from the vehicle and from you adjusting your driving style to better accomodate the electric power assist... The jack rabbit starts are terrible for your FE.

I also notice that the Energy Monitor reports a FE per tank (I reset it after each tank) that is typically about 5% higher than the manual calculation. It's pretty consistent. I think I've only had 1 tank out of the 17 or so that I've reported where the EM reported a FE lower than the manual calculation, and even then I believe it was only about ~1% lower.

Good luck with the next tank!

 

Hi

we sat at around 23mpg for a while , but we got the hang of it. If you can get 24-29 mpg then you are doing great!!!!

cheers

 

Hi Gang,

My first post. (Whooppee!) We've had our RX400h for two months (as of today) and I have monitored every drop of gas since our first fill-up fairly carefully. I have reset the Nav system MPG computer at each fill, and have calculated the MPG "manually" by dividing the number of miles since the previous fill by the number of gallons. Here are some of my observations

1) The mileage for our first three tanks averaged 28.4 (manual calculation) and 31.3 MPG (NAV computer). We drove very carefully during the initial break-in (1000 miles), never faster than 55 MPH, varying the speed between 40 and 55 on lightly travelled country roads between Denver, Boulder and Fort Collins, not using the cruise, AC generally off.

After 4365 miles and 13 tanks of 91 octane, mostly with AC on and on the highway:

2) Nav system MPG per tank ranged from 25.5 to 32.1 and averaged 28.2.

3) Manually calculated MPG ranged from 22.5 to 30.4 and averaged 29.1. Note that I have only calculated these averages eight times when I have completely filled the tank. I have had four Toyota products--three 4Runners and now the RX, and every one of the vehicles could be topped off after the first click. I generally try and top the tanks off, but can't always. The last 4Runner (154,000+ miles, original clutch, brakes and going strong) would accept another 3.4 gallons after the first click. I have topped all the 4Runners off when possible and never experienced any problems with the fuel injection or charcoal-filled evaporative cannister. The RX accepts about 2.6 gallons after the first click... Please don't try this at home kids, as I have read on other forums that this may cause damage--though I have not personally experienced any problems. I have searched the 621-page owner's manual and found not a word mentioned about topping off...

4) The total number of gallons that I have filled the RX with is 149.8 as of 4365 total miles, or 29.1 MPG!

5) I have not noticed a signifcant change in mileage as the engine has broken in, but we have not been driving a consistent route with the RX to evaluate this. Mostly road trips on the highway with minimal commuting.

6) We have always (well mostly...) driven with a light foot on the pedal. We have used the extraordinary acceleration (55 to super legal speeds in a few seconds) when passing other cars on two-lane mountain roads a few times though!

7) The mountain-climbing capability of the RX is awesome. We easily managed 65 to 70 MPH from Vail (elevation 8,500 ft) to Vail Pass (elevation 10,700 ft). The batteries did fine and were recharged by the time we started the next climb to Eisenhower Tunnel in less than 15 miles.

Obviously I'm very pleased with the RX mileage--a significant improvement over the 20 MPG we were getting in the 4Runner, from a vehicle that is significantly faster, safer, quieter, more comfortable and environmentally conscious to boot... By the way, I'm a geologist, so have required the use of an SUV for my fieldwork. At least now I don't have to feel so guilty about what I'm driving.

Thanks to Jason and all the posters on this website for your encouragement to take the hybrid plunge... Sorry for the long post...

Cheers, Ira

 

Congratulations! Those are really impressive FE numbers. It's encouraging to know that those numbers can be achieved in a HiHy for folks willing to drive within those constraints.

 

Thanks for the kind words, Han, but I wouldn't characterize our driving experience with the RX as "constrained." We always break our new cars in by driving less than 55 MPH for the first 1000 miles.

Since the break-in period, we have driven the RX pretty much as we have driven our previous non-hybrid cars. Our typical driving habits: we avoid jack-rabbit starts, try to anticipate stops, drive the speed limit or a few MPH faster, (even on the interstate when the speed limit is 75 MPH), and try to combine trips when we run errands.

We have not tried to use the "pulse and glide method," as discussed by you and others on other GreenHybrid forums. We do accelerate up to the speed limit, or a little past, and then back off on the gas and let the RX coast as much as possible. At typical Denver city street speed limits (35 MPH), as long as we're not going up hill or accelerating, we can generally drive on battery alone without the ICE once we're up to speed. Colorado interstates are not level, but we do try and coast where possible to minimize when the ICE kicks in. The RX will run on battery power alone when coasting down hill (the CVT in "D" or "B" mode) at speeds up to 75+ MPH.

Oh, yes, there is one more thing that we do... We let the "Force" be with us!
Sorry, Han, but hope you're not offended by that comment! We're big "Star Wars" fans, and my wife has often commented on how the quiet drive of the RX reminds her of a spaceship!

Cheers,

Obi-Wan (aka Ira)

 

Indeed, you are powerful with the Force. Your skills in hypermiling are most impressive... most impressive.

I had the best name in the world when I grew up as a kid... Star Wars was my life... Too bad that whining kid in Episodes II & III ruined it. Now everytime I look at Vader I see that pathetic annoying brat. Good to hear there are still some old Jedi out there...

-Han-

 

Oh, sorry... I didn't mean to imply that you felt that you were driving "constrained". It's great that your driving style and the traffic environment/conditions around you are commensurate with maximizing the FE benefits of your RX400h. I did not mean to take away from that whatsoever.

The "constrained" was meant to characterize your driving experience relative to my driving style and the traffic environment/conditions around me. For various reasons, I find it very difficult to sustain speeds on the freeway below 65 mph for any prolonged period of time, unless there's a lot of traffic congestion. 70 mph is usually a realistic minimum for me. Even on the expressways, it is difficult not to drive at speeds between 45-55 mph without annoying everyone around me... And, again that's just a by-product of where I happen to live.

 

Just did 2nd fill up 24.9 MPG, for this tank [377 miles / 15.15 gallons] so it's getting better. It has been over 90 for the last 4 or 5 days so the AC has been on almost all the time, so that most likely pulled the mileage dow a bit.

-Dave