Good morning to all, I had a quick question, just got a Brand new 2017 ES 350 Lexus. Every time a fill up, the range mileage only goes to 259 miles to empty. I was under the impression that I would be getting at least 400 miles to empty. Any info on this fellas? Thanks.

 

Not sure how it figures how much to empty, but my '17 (made in June) has never showed 400 miles. I can't remember the exact number, but is like 359 or so.

I imagine it estimates based on your driving habits.

 

The gas tank on your car has a capacity of 17.2 gallons. I have a 2013 350 and when last measured, I was getting 22 MPG. 17.2 X 22 = 378.4.
The next time you fill up see how many gallons go in. I'm not sure how the Lexus computer arrives at your figure but, for me, as long as the tank is full no worries...

 

Ok fellas thanks for the response. I have filled up at lease 4-5 times already but it never goes over 260 miles to empty. To be honest I drive only city miles mostly to and from work. Only been on the highway a few times. Will take it to Orlando in November so I guess I will see more. It only has about 1,500 miles on it so far. Picked it up July 5.

 

Well GOOD LUCK with your new car and welcome to CL. Let us know how you make out.

 

Switch your dash display and see what average mileage your car thinks it's getting. Your 259 range works out to a bit over 15mgp. If all you are doing is stop/go city driving it could be calculating properly. You need a batch of those cruising highway miles. Mine spends a lot of time on the highway and always shows 350+ range at fill-up.

 

What the "miles until empty" reading shows will vary depending on the type of driving you do and the fuel economy that you are actually getting. If your mpg is high, the reading will be higher, but, if your mpg is low, the reading will be lower.

When the car is first put into service or if the battery is disconnected, it will take some time before you start getting accurate readings. Until then, the reading after refueling defaults to a level that is somewhat conservative.

My reading after a refuel is typically over 450 miles, but I do very little stop-and-go driving, and my typical fuel economy is over 30 mpg. If I were to disconnect the battery and re-set the computer, I would expect that, for some period of time, the reading would be lower until a history was built up in the computer.

Also note that the "miles until empty" reading does not take into account how far you can drive with the reserve capacity in the tank. I believe that the gas gauge hits E when there is still about 2 1/2 gallons left in reserve. That means that you could, depending on your fuel economy, still be able to drive somewhere from 40 to 75 miles or so after the gauge reads E.

 

If it really a concern, disconnect the negative battery cable, press the start button for about 15 seconds and then reconnect the battery cable. This should reset the miles to empty. But if you are only doing city stop and go driving, it will quickly drop back down to where it is. I assume you are properly calculating your MPG to see if it is fairly accurate. (usually 40 to 60 miles further than the computer shows.