Hues10

I did it. Well tonight I will have done it. Trading in a 2004 Saturn Vue V6 with 176k miles on it, for a silver, sorry, liquid platinum GS 450H. Doesn't have the Luxury package, but the sticker back in 2013 was approx. $65k, so it has the navigation, ML audio, BSM, and parking assist options. Oh yeah, the 18" wheels. I have driven it for like 10 minutes at the dealer. I don't know whether I liked it, or I just wanted something different and unique, as in unicorn out there. I am excited to learn about it and will be reading the forums, and of course asking questions. So be patient folks. First time Lexus owner.

Tom450

Congrats I have the same car. Does have grey interior? Love mine

Hues10

Mine has a black interior. Live in Florida, so we will see how hot it may get. Countdown is T minus two hours. Can't wait to drive it home. Stare at it. Curse myself cause I didn't notice this mark, scuff, etc. Stare at it some more. Go drink wine and watch Lexus videos on how the heck to operate this technical marvel. I have a 2011 Acura RDX, so giving up the 2004 Saturn for a Sedan, does not hurt me. Yes, I have two cars for some reason. I like collecting things it seems.

JDR76

Congrats! Hope it all goes according to plan. Post pictures when you get it!

Tom450

Where in florida do you live. I’m in Melbourne. I have only seen one other in 5 years.

ChronoR

Congrats! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!

Hues10

Wow. First I live in Orlando, FL, so not so far away from Melbourne. Seriously though, you have seen one in five years. That is amazing. Why did this car not sell? Drove it to Walmart this morning. Had a couple stare while leaving the lot, and I do not think it was because of my good looks. And when I returned home, the neighbor commented about how quiet it was. Had to explain the hybrid electric motor thing. Of course she asked if I had to plug it in. This is going to be fun folks. Have not quite found the most comfortable seating position. Why are there three presets anyway? No one is driving this besides me! I watch the electric motor monitor thing way too much. I put it in sport+ for a bit. At 50, the tach is at 1000 or so. That is nuts low. Ok, could write a book of my early impressions, but will spare you all. Need to wash it. Not really, but I want too. This is like a kid in a candy shop. Stay tuned....

Hues10

So I have owned the car for 72 hours now. I look for reasons to run errands it seems. Did my 17 mile round trip commute in Orlando traffic. I didn’t mind getting stopped at redlights for 3 to 5 minutes at a time. Gave me a chance to play. Was using Evo mode since it was stop and go. You have to push the throttle to make it go that is for sure. Seeing how 522 of these were sold in 2013, and 183 in 2014, I don’t think I will be seeing many. Truly is a unicorn vehicle. One question, what do you all show on the split screens. I don’t need navigation to commute locally. I ended up with the car looking power meter on the left and audio on the right. Also, how high do you have to crank the ML system to hear it. I was at 20 and it was barely above low volume. That’s all for now. So many more questions to come.

Hues10

Well I just had an interesting commute to work. Long story short, I have been playing with the Brake Hold feature since I am in a lot of stop-go traffic. Basically, I have turned it on, though I find myself still holding the brake out of force of habit. Anyway, I was at this light which seemed like forever (thank you Orlando lights), and like a perfect storm, the light turns green, I am about 12 cars back so I know I will be going soon, and all of a sudden I get this warning signal and error message on the dash about the Brake Hold. Well as I am reading it, it is time for me to go, so I step on the gas, and I do not move. Like the car will not go. I have people honking now behind behind me and such, I am frantically looking for the Brake hold and Parking brake location. Oh there it is. How do I turn it on or off. I keep hitting the gas to no avail. Finally, I disengage the Parking brake, and of course zoom forward only to miss the green light but now being the first person in line to wait. So now everyone behind me gets to wait another long light cycle as well. Glad I have tinted windows and the rear shade up. Also, I did not reengage the Brake Hold feature the rest of the commute. Who knew the Brake Hold had some sort of limit to it. You people need to warn me of such things I really thought the car had broken down. Fun fun with a new toy I guess.

ChronoR

Hmm, I never used my brake hold function since the GS450h has electric motors with instant torque. It barely shifts backwards at all with a quick foot. I'm used to left-foot braking anyway =)

bclexus

I don't use the brake hold feature, and nor do I use the cruise control. Those two things I find make me feel less in control...

Im2bz2p345

Congrats on the new purchase and thanks for the follow-up about your ownership experience thus far.

Please share a few photos of your new ride when you get it all cleaned up. Would love to see it!

All the best,

~ Im2bz2p345

Tom450

HaHa, same thing happened to me when I first got mine. I turned it on when waiting for a draw bridge to close and couldn’t turn it off. Cars behind me honking. I finally turned the car off and restarted it. Never used that feature again. Usually I have my ML at 32, music (SiriusXM) on the right and map on left. Another thing I noticed was the high beams seemed to have a “curtain” like effect restricting how far they reached. A thread described this and how to fix this by raising the headlights. I also find I get the best gas mileage by using cruise control. My average mpg over 5 years is 31.4. I use normal mode and S mode when more aggressive driving is wanted. S+ seldom since we just do not have mountain roads in florida.

Hues10

Thanks for the info on ML radio volume. My other car (Acura RDX) if I had the volume past 15, it is loud. I think that only goes to 25, so I was afraid to turn the Lexus up to much past 20. I guess this is my first luxury vehicle as I feel spoiled when I sit down and put the seat belt on, and the seat starts adjusting and steering wheel starts coming towards me. Oh,and I had read about the nighttime approaching light thing on the mirrors. I tested it the other night. Like it is the Kit car from Knightrider waiting just for me to fire her up. I do have another question about the hybrid battery. Does it ever get fully charged? I can get it to 6 bars out of 8, but that is it it seems. Haven’t taken it on the highway yet, so maybe that is the answer. Thanks all. Washing and pictures this weekend since the weather is still nice in Florida. Love bugs are not though. Especially East coast��

Im2bz2p345

If you search this subforum (the 4GS hybrid specific one), you'll find a wealth of knowledge and post likely what you're asking about has already been discussed (if not once, several times). If your question isn't specific to the hybrid platform/technology, search the main 4GS subforum and you'll see LOTS of discussion topics.

I searched for the terms "bars" in this hybrid subform and here are the relevant topics that pertain to your question:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...ever-full.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...d-battery.html
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...ll-charge.html

From my understand the best way to get to max bars (or at least 7/8 bars) is to make sure the battery is at around 6 bars, then find a long downward hill and turn off your A/C, and put the car in Eco mode. Don't brake hard often and you'll see your bars gradually climb.

~ Im2bz2p345