djrees

I do that for all things I purchase. And like you said, many times I find I know more about that product then the sales person. The sales person I am working with right now seems very knowledgeable and responds to my emails quickly. After we complete the deal will come back and tell the forum how great this guy is. (hopefully)

NickL

Have you driven the 450H+ until the low fuel warning light comes on? And how much fuel does it take to fill up?
The 500H seem to have a 17Gal of fuel but light comes on at 12gal.
The 450H+ has 14.5gal. I Just want to know what kind of range I’ll be looking at before I need the pump. I understand some of use may never see the pump as the EV range is enough for day to day commute.

WellsB

Once, I drove our RX450h+ 9 miles past the refuel indicator, and it took 10.286 gallons, but that was with an attendant pumping and he stopped at the first click. The next tank was with 20 miles of range left, and I pumped 10.3 gallons on high flow before the pump stopped. I then pumped it to 11.587 gallons on low flow, and it overflowed.

I've also driven until the refuel indicator has lit. I then drove it 138 miles further, until the engine died from fuel starvation. The tank took 14.3 gallons on high-flow, and went up to 14.526 gallons on mid-flow. I don't use the low-flow setting anymore because I've overflowed the tank twice doing that. My current estimate is that the reserve is 3.5-4 gallons from the refuel indicator.

I plan to generally fill up before the refuel indicator, but will have no qualms driving up to 50 miles further after the refuel indicator.

NickL

What happened when the engine died from fuel starvation?
Can you reserve the EV mode for such event? Can you select to use the 450H+ on gas first or does the EV mode needs to be depleted first before it uses gas?
Im very interested in 450H+ and these kind of questions can only be answered by actual owner. Not YouTube reviewers who have the vehicle for a couple days to do a video and they all rushed to be the first to publish.

WellsB

You can select HV only, which will hold the charge as high as 80%. Anything above that will be used in HV mode until it drops below 80%. One can also enter charge mode where the engine charges the battery up to around 80%, then charge mode will automatically shut off. I use this mode if I've depleted the battery and have no other way of charging for a while, such as on road-trips, to keep the battery above 40%. I also use this mode if I have a long highway run before hitting heavy stop and go and no way to charge from an EVSE, again, such as on road-trips.

I use EV mode in lower-speed traffic where it is more efficient, and switch to HV mode above 55 mph. I switch back and forth as conditions change.

I charged ours, from an EVSE, to 30 miles EV range and, by keeping it in HV mode, was able to reserve it for when the fuel tank ran out. I do not know if it would let you drive further, after running out of gas, in EV mode if there was no EV range left. My assumption is that it would not.

As the tank ran dry, the engine started running rough, but set no codes. It did that for a few minutes, then the following warning displays came up.

"System Malfunction / Visit your Dealer"
"Drive-Start Control Malfunction / Visit Your Dealer"
"Hybrid System Malfunction / Visit your Dealer"
There was another warning that I was unable to record, but it said Reduced Power Available, or something to that effect.

A P0087 "Fuel Rail / System Pressure Too Low" code was set.

The EV range indicator changed to a series of dashes. The vehicle drove fine in EV mode though.

After filling up, I reset the code and the warning displays went away. The engine started up and ran fine as I drove the 3 miles home.

More here;
RX450h+ Fuel Economy - ClubLexus - Lexus Forum Discussion

WellsB

A plug-in hybrid is the wrong vehicle for someone who can make a pure EV work. It does require that some fuel be used.

From page 80 of the owner's manual;

Dhill

Thanks for posting this info. Web searches say gas goes bad in about 3 months, which never seemed right to me. I have read that the 450h+ and PHEVs in general have pressurized gas tanks to avoid oxidizing the gas. I am just under 3 months on the original tank of gas and have been trying to drive more in HV mode to empty some of the gas. Currently at 5/8 of a tank. Will be able to burn more at my normal rate to get it under 1/2 tank and add more gas then. Adding a half tank should get me over 5 gallons added.

WellsB

My experience with fuel-injected motorcycles with sealed tanks is that E10 gasoline will last a year with no issues. All modern automotive tanks are very-well sealed.

I would not be surprised if gas went bad much quicker in unsealed tanks, especially in small quantities.

Carbuff2

"Bad Gas" in less than a year is a myth.

BUT

Like brakes in a hybrid or BEV, it is always good to USE THEM occasionally. The ethanol can be corrosive is allowed to sit without flow.

SEFL

I currently drive a '21 RX 450h F-Sport with the V6. I would like to upgrade to a plug-in but am somewhat concerned about the noise level of the 4 cyl engine. The TX550+ is still a long way out and there are no 450h+ in the area that I can test drive... Can some of the new owners comment on how loud is this engine both on the highway and in town (in hybrid mode)? Thanks

WellsB

The engine is very quiet under most circumstances, much quieter than the V6 in our 2013 RX350 was. Often, when it fires up, the only indication is the switch from EV to HV in the instrument panel.

Around town, you should be using the EV capability though, which is even quieter. Around town is where EV really shines.

The engine never really gets noisier than the V6 did, but there are certain times, which are rare, where it has an unpleasant sound, almost tractor-like, like lugging a manual transmission vehicle. It's never loud, just not pleasant. If you give it a lot of throttle, the sound is OK as the engine revs up higher.

Any time I get annoyed by the sound, I think of the fuel economy, which is about 60% better than the V6 was. Also, I find the 450h+ to be able to take off from a stop much quicker than the V6 did, and to be more responsive when one suddenly needs a lot more power. I never did like the lack of torque from the V6.

JSAM

So funny that you asked this question as I literally did this experiment the other day. I wanted to live dangerously and pretty much depleted my fuel tank - mileage indicator on HV was 0, but I had mileage on EV. Got to the gas station and filled up 11 gallons. Thought tank would be bigger but makes sense to not carry too much fuel around

JSAM

Like others have said, engine is generally quiet both on city streets and the freeway, esp if the battery is charged and assisting. Do hear some strain if u punch the gas when doing a somewhat aggressive overtaking on the freeway. Also hear the engine complaining when I'm going up steep hills. It's annoying but just have to be a little patient and ease off the gas pedal.

Would've preferred a v6 or turbo v4, but would need to give up on efficiency and it's not an option for the + anyway

WellsB

Thank you. This adds further confirmation to my estimate of a 3.5 gallon reserve for the RX450h+

chanpai

New to EV. Been driving my 2003 RX300 for 2 decades before coming to Canada. Now looking into RX450h+ for fuel saving and further cabin quietness.

Is it safe to use the Level 1 charging cable (suppose for 120V) that comes with the RX450h+ on a 240V outlet?

I have a 240V nema14-50R outlet already in my garage. Do you need an adapter since I assume the supplied Level 1 cable is using a nema5-15P plug?