Coolpop

The geniuses at the dealership destroyed my hybrid battery when my tint and XM were being installed, so they had to replace it.

Now the car seems a little bit "off." Maybe it's me, maybe I didn't notice a few things before...but...the following issues have arisen:

1. The battery level seems to jump all over the place but seems low to me. It will be at the lower purple levels (one or two bars) then jump to the higher blue levels (five or six bars) within five minutes of driving, but never gets higher than that. For my tastes, it spends too much time at the lower levels. I figured with a new battery, it would be fully charged.

2. The car used to just jump in the Power/Hybrid mode. Now, there is like a one second hesitation before it goes.

3. The mpg on the screen is now down a good 4-5 mpg. Around town, it used to read 25.8 mpg...now it's 21.4. The last time I took a trip down 95 to Miami, it showed 32 mpg. This last weekend, it showed 27.1.

What experiences have you guys had with these things? I'd kinda like to know before I bring it back in for them to check.

Thanks,

CP

Stormforge

i can answer #1 - yes it's normal for the power bar to go down all the way to 1 or 2 purple bars, then up to near full blue bars. a little bit of spirited driving and the purple bars will show; you'll get that too if you are crawling along in bumper to bumper traffic. that's all because you are using more of the hybrid battery.

and yup, very easy to get back up to the blue bars but never full which is green bars. personally, i've got full green bars maybe 4-5 times since i got my car, but the green bars disappear very quickly and i'm back down to blue bars.

so i don't think there's anything wrong with your power bars, it seems right to me.

not sure about #2 & #3, maybe someone can chime in and advise? but it doesn't hurt to call your dealer and have them check it out.

LexFather

Sorry to hear that issue with the dealership...hybrid battery levels can change pretty quickly depending on how you drive it and the road grades etc. On electric only it depletes pretty quickly.

Coolpop

I have an apptmt to bring it in tomorrow a.m. (Thursday 4/29) just so they can check everything over. They've been good about the whole thing, have repeatedly apologized for draining the battery, and want to make it right, so no big deal.

One thing they can't seem to fix is my car pulling to the right. They aligned it and said it's within specs, so that tells me it may be a tire problem. Gonna get them to check that too.

Coolpop

Just FYI to everybody here - yesterday I was playing around with my driving style, seeing if I could get the battery level into the green bars. I did it fairly easily with a "pulse" type of driving, but even when it hit the full green bars, it was back down to purple within 5 mins of regular driving. Is this normal for a hybrid? I've searched all over the internet and can't find the answers.

Stormforge

yes, it's normal to lose the green bars and going down to purple (happens to me too). but if you notice, you will be back up to blue bars fairly quickly too. it's just the way our hybrids work. no biggie.

Coolpop

I do notice that it goes to blue very quickly and usually stays there most of the time, with 5 or 6 blue bars. Thanks Storm.

Modeler

It depends on what you call "regular" driving. I am almost never in the purple zone. But if I'm zooming in and out of traffic for full five minutes, constantly stomping on the accelerator, yeah, I'd be in the purple zone.

Coolpop

I find that it hits the purple zone in either rush hour traffic or if I'm driving less than 20 mph for a few mins. That's about it.

Stormforge

well that makes sense, because you will be on batteries only. i'm down to purple bars in rush hour bumper to bumper crawling traffic as well. in those days, i wish i was on a bicycle instead!

LexFather

coolpop this is the 2nd gen battery system and its more tuned for power so battery drainage can happen fast.

I've RARELY seen my battery full, I actually saw it again yesterday and tried to take a pic again but it lost the bar so fast I didn't have a chance

Coolpop

Cool thanks guys. Just making sure all is good. My good friend may be the GM at the dealership I bought this car from but the service dept. there is full of morons. Like Gerry Rafferty sings - "clowns to the left of me, jokers to the right, here I am, stuck in the middle..." - is exactly how I feel when I'm forced to go there.

Now if I can just find this damn oil filter...

LexFather

lol!!

I change my own oil You have to take out a panel on the underbody in the front/center (I think like 8 clips) and right there is the cover for the oil filter. Remember with this model there is no canister, just the actual filter is changed. Costs $6 at the dealer. I use synthetics (Mobil 1/Castrol/Royal Purple) and use Castrol non syn once and no issue and MPG hasn't changed.

I got pics somewhere...

Coolpop

OK that's what I figured. I've been doing my own oil changes for years in vehicles where the filter is completely accessible, so I have no ramps or anything. Oh well, maybe some friends do or I'll buy some. I certainly will not bring it to this dealer or any Jiffy Lube / Havoline rip-off places.

I don't trust this dealership's service dept at all, not one bit. They seem nice enough but ever since I've bought this car, I've had to bring it back here and there for some warranty stuff or for some things they've owed me, and I'm telling you, half the stuff they say has been done has actually not been taken care of. Even Bobbyt had issues just last week after this same dealership gypped him on a new battery and then actually wrote up a work order where they said they replaced his wiper blades and charged him for it when they had not even touched them.

After they ran my battery down, they said they had to order a special battery from Lexus and it took like a week to get there. Yet, when I drove it home, the clock was correct, the windows and sunroof were working properly and my garage door was still programmed into the homelink and working properly. If the battery is replaced, wouldn't that kill all those features and I'd have to start all over and reprogram everything? Hell I don't know.

Last week they replaced a leaking tire bc they said the nail was in the sidewall. Cost me $313 with tax and labor. I didn't see it for myself. Now I really wonder...

Stormforge

always go with a reputable dealer that you can trust, even if it is out of the way for you. dealing with incompetent/untrustworthy dealers that are convenient location wise will give you more trouble than its worth. you don't owe your GM friend your business, nor are you obligated to bring your car to his dealership for service. do what is right for you, not the other way around!