lsft

The Natural Resources of Canada has stated the 450h+ is electric + premium fuel.

https://fcr-ccc.nrcan-rncan.gc.ca/en...leReport/26577

midcow3

The hybrids all have a 14 to 1 compression ratio and the recommend premium, 91 octane, but the engine is very smart and will adjust to lower octane 89 and even regular 87. I am going to run 87 regular. There are tons and tons of discussions on running lower octane and bottom line is 87 will work fine with maybe a loss of 5 horsepower.Modern engines come equipped with computers that do a great job of adjusting ignition systems to play nice with regular gasoline, but only to a certain extent. When you use regular fuel in an engine designed to work best with premium, you can expect to notice compromises in both acceleration and fuel economy. The lower octane rating of regular also makes the vehicle more susceptible to pre-ignition. If you make the decision to use regular instead of premium for extended periods of time or under extreme driving conditions, you are setting yourself up for engine knock that could lead to more damage to spark plugs, valves, pistons, and other components. If a vehicle's knock sensor is picking up engine knock, it can adjust the spark timing to account for that even before you start to hear it. Still, that doesn't mean you should just forgo premium when a manufacturer calls for it.

So, you can sometimes get away with using regular in a pinch and not see much effect from it, but it's not a good idea to make this a routine. If you have any uncertainty on the matter, check your owner's manual; if it states that the vehicle requires premium, take it seriously. Trying to pinch pennies at the pump by opting for regular when your car really needs premium could come back to bite you when your car is in the shop for a condition your warranty may not cover. It is very hard to determine what octane of gas has been used and to say it may void warranty is pure fear mongering.

YMMV,
Midcow2

Enfusion

The manual recently given on the Canadian Lexus website gives all the gasoline requirements and recommendations.

I know it says that the 350h can use octane rating 87 without risk of damaging the engine. I did not check for the others, though I assume the same.

midcow3

The 2022 Toyota RAV4 Prime has the exact same engine as the 2022 NX 450h and it recommends: 87 ( Research Octane 91) or higher. 87 is regular gas.

DaveDude

I ran 87 on my RX for years and never noticed a performance hit. The 350h NX though doesn't have the same HP so it may be noticeable. I will start with 87 when my ordered 350h ever gets delivered. The usual sentiment is there is not much difference.

From the 350h manual:
Recommended to use premium unleaded gasoline with octane rating of 91 (Re- search OctaneNumber of 96) or higher for optimum engine performance. You may use unleaded gasoline with octane rating as low as 87 (Research Octane Number of 91). In this case, engine performance may be decreased.

midcow3

Why would Canadian gasoline requirements be different than USA ? Thanks for the post. I looked up the Canadian 2022 NX 350h manual; it appears the USA manual is not available yet ( some websites purport to have a 2022 NX manual, but it is really 2021 NX).

DaveDude

Shouldn't be any difference in US vs CAN models with respect to gasoline requirements. Generally vehicles destined for North America are built to the same standard. Some regional differences of course in options like all wheel drive being basically standard in Canada.

midcow3

From page 724 of the 2022 Lexus 350h official manual OM78472U.pdf


Lexus 2022 NX 350h - Fuel Information

midcow3

Another great discussion about the grade of gasoline which a recent discussion thread on premium gas chose to ignore.

Use regular and save money. Apply your saving to more frequent oil and filter changes.


YMMV,
MidCow3

Tinkertech

High compression low octane = destructive detonation = broken engine = $$$$.

Computers are fast ( Note; car manufactures use very slow computers ) but the pinging you don't hear are the ones that destroy the engine.

Wow, look at the pretty holes in the pistons, destroyed ring lands, melted spark plugs, fried valves and the list goes on............

But, but I saved a fortune running regular!