Allannde

I am new here on Club Lexus. My RX 450h is still in the factory. It will still be a couple of months before it comes.

My question has to do with the EV Mode. In another thread two people have told me that the the EV Mode on the RX450h does not work like my two Prius cars. These people tell me that the gasoline engine must first warm up before the EV mode will work. This means that I can't move the car out of the garage to wash it without warming up the engine.

Well I found the attachment in the 2014 RX450h owner's manual which seems to say otherwise. Those of you who have made a study of this subject on the RX450h, step up. What do you have to offer on the subject?

Droid13

Seems that statement has only been added in the latest models with the separate EV button. No mention of that with models that use the steering wheel menu controls for EV. Maybe they added that abillity so it's easier for drivers to pretend being Captain Kirk with the new spaceship sound added to EV mode.

Hope it works for you...

Allannde

Yes indeed. The attachment is from the 2010 RX450h owner's manual and the instructions and the way of operation are NOT the same. I appreciate your kind thought. It begins to look like it might work for me.

I have had that "spaceship sound" on my 2012 Prius Plug in Hybrid for two years and I can hardly hear it. I wonder if it really helps. I was in a shopping center parking lot this morning and when I passed two men talking, they did not look up (or move out of my way).

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

With Lexus hybrids, once you turn on the car, as long as the READY light appears you're ok to go. Now if you were to do so, unless you were just sitting there, the engine should immediately kick on to charge the battery once you start going forward or reverse. I've found the hybrid system needs to be warmed up in order to fully engage EV Mode. So if you were to press the EV Mode button (located next to the Traction Control button on '13+ models) you'll simply get an 'error' message/beep saying "EV Mode not available". My experiences anyway

Allannde

Thank you for your response. You do not say which of the Lexus hybrids is the source of your experience. It must be other than the 2008 IS 350 which is listed in your profile since that is not a hybrid. And it has been established that there is a difference in the control mechanism just between the 2010 RX 450h and the 2014 RX450h. So experience with one would not transfer with clarity to experience with the other and both are Lexus cars.

My first Toyota hybrid was a 2006 Prius which was EV switch ready but did not come with such a switch. There was much talk about the benefits and hazards of installing such a switch back then. While it remains possible that Lexus (which is built by Toyota) has a hybrid system which operates differently from a Prius, this does not seem logical. Electric propulsion systems do not require a warm gasoline engine or even a gasoline engine at all. This is especially clear in my present Prius which is Plug in hybrid with al all electric range of 11 miles per charge. Most trips with this car never involve the gasoline engine at all.

I certainly take note of your extremely large number of posts on CL. You must be one of the most familiar of those who post here. Your experience is respected accordingly.

kitlz

That's been my experience too. EV mode only wants to work when the engine is warmed up. I haven't tried to engage it after the ready light appears and before the gas engine turns on. According to the manual (posted above) I should be able to in 10 seconds. I'll have to try and report back.

It's pretty wild to go truly stealth mode in such a large vehicle with the only noise being the tires rolling on the pavement. My RXh doesn't sound like a spaceship at low speeds. That was added in 2012 I believe. Don't worry, chances are they'll hear my stereo, LOL!

vlad_a

My '13 has a separate EV button and will NOT go into EV mode unless the engine is warm. It does make the spaceship sounds.

jhs82

On my IS hybrid, i can engage EV-mode on startup, as long as i have enough battery, and i press the EV-button immediately after i've pressed the start-button.
If it's not possible, i get the "EV Mode not available" message.

websailor

I just went out to try this out on our 2014 RX450h. I got in, belted up, pressed the start button, waited till I saw the green "READY" on the dash, then pressed the EV button on the center console. "EV Mode Not Available" . This was easily within ten seconds.

Then I tried the same start routine, but pressed the mode button on the right side of the steering wheel. No EV mode ever shows there for me.

Sigh.....

I'm beginning to think the EV mode in the RX450h is like going to Las Vegas on the blackjack tables. Sometimes you win and sometimes you don't. Its all the luck of the draw. Yesterday when coming home, the car all warmed up, the battery all at the right temperature, out of 4 stop lights in the space of about 1/4 mile, it came on twice when I pressed the EV button, did not come on the other two times! As far as I'm concerned the conditions were exactly the same at each stop light.

Wwwwaaaahhhhhh! I don't understand!

Cruiter

I've got 65,000 miles now on my 2010 and never use the EV button. If I want, I can just keep it going on a level road at 40mph or slower for several miles on battery only. The button has a function IMO as a sales gadget only when you can accomplish the same task with just a light foot.

websailor

The EV button/mode only works up to 25mph, so any speeds above that are at the control of your foot on the pedal.

I do think it probably has a significant beneficial function when getting the car started from a dead stop. Unless I accelerate in an ultra slow fashion from a dead stop, the ICE always kicks on. When the EV mode is on, I can get the car up to 25 mph before it kicks off - and then I can use a gentle foot on the gas pedal to use more battery & less ICE up to 40 mph. (Unless someone is tailgating me by then).

There have been a few times I've been able to keep it in EV mode starting from one stop light, heading to the next one and watching it change from green to red, coasting up to it, then going again at the green in the EV mode. Nice!

jhs82

That's too late. Don't wait for the "ready" light. Press the EV-button immediately after you've pressed the start-button. If you wait for the ready light, the ECU has taken full control over the drivetrain, and you can't force EV-mode until the engine is warm.

The ready light will turn on right after you've pressed the EV-button when you force EV-mode.

Again, you need to have enough charge in the battery for this to work.

vlad_a

It doesn't work this way for 3RX450h <= MY2014.

jhs82

The RX don't have the EV-button before then either, right?
The EV-mode in the dashboard computer only controls the EV indicator. It has nothing to to with actually controlling the drivetrain.

vlad_a

No need to get upset over it. It is how it works.

The EV mode prevents the internal combustion engine from firing up. This mode is not allowed in RX450h prior to MY2015, unless the engine is warmed-up. It is as simple as that.
Other Toyota hybrids had this capability since the EV mode was introduced.