Topic: The pearly whity Hybrid.

[BWII]

That thing has a good looking profile!  And a face that won't make you go    They seem to hold on to a high value too...jeez.  $20g for a 2008 RX350!!   
Hope it gives plenty of trouble free kms.

[johngenx]

Toyota SUVs of all types are not amazing used values by any means, but it sure is a case of “you get what you pay for.”

Great find, the RX-h was very expensive and didn’t sell in large numbers so finding someone parting with one isn’t that easy around here.

I seem to foggily recall a recall on a component of the hybrid system but I can’t imagine finding a car that hasn’t been done since it was many years ago now.

[tortoise]

Apparently there was a recall on the inverters for certain HH's and RX-h's.

[rrocket]

Yes inverter recall.  Its was flagged around 2013 but vehicles that had an issue was before 50K. Some owner claim some battery issues, not the hybrid battery but the regular small 12V(ironically).  Some early model with the 3.5l had other issues but mainly on the highlander(2012 ish). Again those issues are very rare. I went through the lexus forum and very hard to find complaints.

What's your fuel mileage like?

[dirtyjeffer]

Yes inverter recall.  Its was flagged around 2013 but vehicles that had an issue was before 50K. Some owner claim some battery issues, not the hybrid battery but the regular small 12V(ironically).  Some early model with the 3.5l had other issues but mainly on the highlander(2012 ish). Again those issues are very rare. I went through the lexus forum and very hard to find complaints.

What's your fuel mileage like?

. Well I use the remote start quite a bit let it warm up 10minute on a 30 minutes commute lol. its 10L even.  When i refill ill reset the trip meter.

the car will likely warm up the same amount after 1 minute of driving vs 10 minutes of idling...plus, that idling is hard on the engine...surely you have heated seats, etc to keep warm for that 1-2 minutes while the engine warms up and starts pumping heat.

[PJungnitsch]

Its been a week or so, time for a little update.

Despite having the same powertrain, the Lexus is very different from the highlander.  Lexus feels more like a small/medium size car or wagon. Turning radius is better, overall size is smaller and fairly responsive.  This RX is actually very quick (feels like it).  Looks like the powertrain is gear more towards power rather than  economy. Can still get good fuel economy.

That's what we found from our test drives, even the last gen of RX feels smaller than it is, while the Highlander feels like a bit of a bus.

Even compared with the latest gen Rav4 hybrid vs the latest RX the wife felt more comfortable in the RX. Better visibility, tighter turn radius, and smaller overall feel. We'll likely go used RX if our job situation ever settles down

[dkaz]

Don't turn this into a political thread, don't turn this into a political thread...

[johngenx]

It surprised me how different the RX and the Highlander feel for two vehicles with the same drivelines.

[bridgecity]

We recently had an issue with the MDX and the battery.  Battery seemed to drain when not using after a few days.  I initially thought the worst, trying to chase down an electrical drain.  However what we discovered was happening was that if the vehicle was locked in the garage, it was constantly communicating with the key fob which we hang near the garage entry door.  This would eventually drain the battery. 

Solution was to either not lock the vehicle when in the garage or keep the fobs further away from the garage.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

We recently had an issue with the MDX and the battery.  Battery seemed to drain when not using after a few days.  I initially thought the worst, trying to chase down an electrical drain.  However what we discovered was happening was that if the vehicle was locked in the garage, it was constantly communicating with the key fob which we hang near the garage entry door.  This would eventually drain the battery. 

Solution was to either not lock the vehicle when in the garage or keep the fobs further away from the garage.

Huh.  That is an interesting issue.  How on earth did you come to that conclusion?

[PJungnitsch]

May want to see if a deep cycle battery will fit in there, we used to do that on older vehicles that had parasitic drain issues that were not easily fixable

[bridgecity]

We recently had an issue with the MDX and the battery.  Battery seemed to drain when not using after a few days.  I initially thought the worst, trying to chase down an electrical drain.  However what we discovered was happening was that if the vehicle was locked in the garage, it was constantly communicating with the key fob which we hang near the garage entry door.  This would eventually drain the battery. 

Solution was to either not lock the vehicle when in the garage or keep the fobs further away from the garage.

Huh.  That is an interesting issue.  How on earth did you come to that conclusion?

Went out to the garage one night and saw that the "welcome" or "approach" lighting was on the MDX.  Doors were locked on it.  Unlocked the doors and locked again, put fob back on key hanger, and watched in the garage as the lights came on again.  Doesn't happen with the doors unlocked, which makes sense.  We normally don't lock them anyway when its in the garage.

I had changed the battery previous to this as a precautionary measure.  Was a bit of a waste of money, but not the end of the world.

[dirtyjeffer]

Replace with a new battery. Issue went away and CEL gone. The old one was about 5yrs so due.

do you do lots of short trips?

i've never had to replace a battery in a 5 year old car.

[rrocket]

Replace with a new battery. Issue went away and CEL gone. The old one was about 5yrs so due.

do you do lots of short trips?

i've never had to replace a battery in a 5 year old car.

The car is 14 years old but i think it's the start stop feature that drains the battery. From my personal experience battery goes depending on the type of vehicle.  I replaced quite a bit in my life but i alway buy old cars.

IIRC, the start stop runs off the hybrid battery after the car is initially started first. ie during trips, it's the hybrid pack running the starter.

[dirtyjeffer]

Replace with a new battery. Issue went away and CEL gone. The old one was about 5yrs so due.

do you do lots of short trips?

i've never had to replace a battery in a 5 year old car.

The car is 14 years old but i think it's the start stop feature that drains the battery. From my personal experience battery goes depending on the type of vehicle.  I replaced quite a bit in my life but i alway buy old cars.

IIRC, the start stop runs off the hybrid battery after the car is initially started first. ie during trips, it's the hybrid pack running the starter.

Yeah i think its when the engine shuts off some of the inside electronic runs off the conventional battery and if it cant hold a charge things craps out.

5 years still seems odd, but if you do a lot of short trips it makes sense...short trips can kill batteries and alternators prematurely, especially in tech laden vehicles.

[Great_Big_Abyss]

I've had batteries die after 5 years.  The Altima's battery died and had to be replaced when it was 5 years old.  Some are good, some aren't. 

[Scaerio]

C30’s had the same battery for 7 and a half years.

[2JDM]

C30’s had the same battery for 7 and a half years.

8.5 years here for my 128i! Just changed it in December. I regularly charged it though for the last 1-2 years which helped its life expectancy.

[dirtyjeffer]

the only car i've ever had to change a battery in was my previous Taurus...it was 10 years old when it died...of course, now that i say that, i'll likely lose my Rio5 battery now.