DRGibbons

Just passed 1000 miles on my new RX500h. I have let the mileage indicator continue to record the overall average mileage since I picked it up with 6 miles on the ticker.

I'm running at 28.2 mpg Premium fuel with a good mixture of in town and highway miles. I'm a satisfied owner!

Carbuff2

I'll report on our '23 500h MPG periodically, since I keep those records for all our vehicles anyway.

How are you folks 'measuring' the fuel usage? We reset our trip odometer every fill-up and write down the car's displayed MPG and CALCULATE MPG by dividing miles traveled by gallons, but I also go into VEHICLE>Trip Information and reset the history, too. That has resulted in a wide variation in MPG readings so far, across three fill-ups.


One thing I noticed was that the dash fuel gauge drops 1/8 tank at a time. In three fill-ups, I conservatively fueled the RX at 1/4 tank displayed. The large drop in the indicated amount was startling. I'm sure I'll get used to what is normal (as I have done with most of our cars over the years).


Comment on fuel reserve: On modern cars with in-tank fuel pumps, I thought it is wise to fill the tank before it gets too low, as the fuel serves to cool the pump. That could be the reason that Lexus' DTE estimates are conservative.

Old300

I was the original owner of a 2016 RX450h F-Sport. I loved that car, but no longer own it, but I expect to be in the market in perhaps the next year for either a 5th gen RX350h or RX500h. I assume Lexus recommends premium fuel for both. Does anyone have any real-world experience with the MPG for the RX500h? Is it really no better than 27/28/27, or can you do better by driving conservatively? Here in the Pacific Northwest (Portland), the dealer inventory seems to be heavy with RX500h and light on RX350h.
Thanks for any experience you can share.

Urlik

There is an entire thread for that: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/hyb...x500h-mpg.html

Threads merged so my comment is no longer needed.

aeubank

People don't normally get the RX-500 and count mpg. There are other benefits to owning this trim level.
First, you get better mileage than all of the other non-hybrid models. You also get more of a driving experience in driving with a hybrid and a conventional transmission (along with the hybrid boost motors).

Lots of differences between all different models, but the performance of the RX-500 puts a smile on my face.
All of this talk about one engine needing premium and the other recommending premium seems moot since most people will at least put mid-grade in their cars at a minimum.

If I wanted mpg I would drive my 2006 Mercedes e320 cdi and it's 40mpg using diesel and running 80+ mph all the time.

Carbuff2

Here are the results of our 5th tank of fuel since delivery:

This tank, we had experimented running in ECO. That resulted in an increase of 2.2 MPG over the previous NORMAL tank. (31.1 MPG indicated, 29.0 MPG when hand-calculated)


Additionally, we were trying to determine the accuracy of the gauge and the amount of fuel remaining when the REFUEL notification was triggered.

We didn't refill until the last indicator bar fully disappeared from the dash gauge. Still, we only went 389 miles and it only took 13.4 out of the capacity of 17+ gallons.
At the time of refill and the gas gauge 'disappearing', our DTE said -6 miles.

Carbuff2

6th fill-up observations:

The LOW FUEL indicator came on with DTE at 23 miles.
One segment indicated on the gas gauge.

Only took 11.7 gallons to fill!

Lots of HOT-WEATHER A/C usage this tank, so MPG indicator was 28.6 even in ECO Mode. Calculated was 29.2 MPG.

aeubank

Great stuff!! So, with the RX-500 if you drive reasonably it seems people will get around what the EPA estimates to be 27-28 mpg. Less if you're driving using the skinny pedal harder and sport mode.
Overall, awesome car and you get the F-Sport package along with it..

Carbuff2

I must confess: I don't slow down for curves. I can feel the torque-vectoring working.

Because of less brake usage, I typically get better-than-average life out of all our cars' brake pads.

GloriousGlory

Hello everyone,

I do not consider myself to be a heavy footed driver by any means, but I am experiencing some awful mpg on my RX 500h that I received last week. I came from a 2013 Prius and averaged around 35-40 mpg in Texas. I drove a Prius for 8 years and wanted to switch to a larger vehicle that was more sporty and fun to drive. So far I am seriously loving everything about this car other than the fuel efficiency. I didn't expect to get 27/28 as advertised, but on some short trips I am getting between 10-18mpg. I've tried Normal, Sport, and Eco mode just to test. The car has 130 miles and I've already filled the tank once. On my second fill up, one of the eight notches has already disappeared and my odometer is only reading 31 miles.

Does anyone have any idea on what could possibly be going on? Any advice?

Urlik

Well you did buy a performance hybrid and not an efficient hybrid. You didn't say how many miles but it can take 10,000 miles for engines to completely break in and achieve better mileage. They also tend to continue to improve some over the first 50K miles.

GloriousGlory

I understand that, but the majority of the users here are reporting around 25 mpg and mine is no where close. I would be perfectly happy somewhere between 20-25! Last fill up was using 93 octane.

Urlik

There is also possibility that your tank didn't get completely filled and that's why you only got 31 miles on the first display bar. Others have commented on issues that may keep them from completely filling the tank.

GloriousGlory

Couple of short trips to the grocery store. 9mpg and 13.5. is this normal? Normal mode and barely pressing on the gas pedal after some acceleration

GloriousGlory

If my trips are this short, is it safe to assume my mpg will continue to be this poor in the future? This is the first time I've had a new vehicle, I usually buy used that are 25-30k miles in. Not sure if there is some kind of break-in period, but the last prius I had would still do 30mpg or higher on these very short trips.

Is there anything to help mitigate this? Again, I'm not looking for the most incredible MPG, but 9 and 13.5 is just awful isn't it?