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Thanks for the explanation. I did not personally test drive a 350, only a 350h. When I mentioned to the sale guy I felt the 350h lack "punch" he suggested to try a 350 turbo but I did not because I have no intention to buy a 350 with its poor fuel economy.
With my posts in this thread, my intention has not been to be critical or either the NX350 or the NX350h. Instead, it has been to dispel the incorrect thought that the NX350 will have a significant "power" advantage over the NX350h.
While it is true that, with an extended full throttle acceleration from 0-60, the NX350 will have an advantage of a few tenths of a second over the NX350h, in more common and more practical acceleration settings, the NX350h will have the advantage. Such situations will include acceleration from, say, 0-20 mph or from 30-40 mph or from 50-60 mph.
I'm going through the same dilemma and I'm leaning towards the 350. I feel like it will only be a matter of time till we see the high voltage cable corrosion issue pop up on the hybrids up here in NYC. Toyota's response to the RAV4 issues is not encouraging.
Do you know how much it costs to replace the cable out-of-packet?
Thanks everyone! Great feedback so far. My dealer lists a few of each (350,350H) "in stock." I need to call and see if they are really in stock or if they are all pre-sold. I guess availability and wait time of each may make my decision easier.
I go with the 350 because of availability (and some discounts. I think the hybrid system can be more efficient in delivering power (mpg and torque). Someone mentioned the decibel difference between the 350h and the 350 assuming same optioned and road. If that is true of the case, I think the 350h is favored. Lexus seemed to convince many people that more components doesn't always mean less reliability.
Doesn’t the 350h have the black wheel wells? I don’t like that, I prefer the body color wheel arches instead of black that fades from the sun and looks bad in a few yrs.
Doesn’t the 350h have the black wheel wells? I don’t like that, I prefer the body color wheel arches instead of black that fades from the sun and looks bad in a few yrs.
Do you know how much it costs to replace the cable out-of-packet?
From the reports that I've read about the cable failure on the RAV4, the cost to replace the cable can be as high as $5000 but most of the those who have reported an issue are in Canada, and the $5000 is in Canadian dollars. However, there is also some indication that Toyota is either paying for part and possibly all of that cost. It is difficult to know the details because it is likely that, when Toyota is paying for all or part of the repairs, they are requiring owners to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
There is also lots of misinformation being spread about the cable failures. On one of the Toyota forums, there is a thread that is now has over 2000 posts. https://www.rav4world.com/threads/hi...roblem.318314/
While that seems like a lot of information, only a small handful of those posts have come from people who have actually had the cable failure, and there has been virtually no new information posted in several months. Instead, most of the posts are from the same people who have not had the problem, and they are just repeating the same information over and over again speculating about what the root cause of the problem is and what modifications they can make themselves preemptively to prevent the problem.
Thus, I'm confident in guessing that the actual number of cable failures has been much smaller than what we might be led to believe it has been. And I think it has also been the case that, for those who have had the cable failure, Toyota is working quietly behind the scenes to reduce or cover completely the cost of the repair.
It should also be noted that the design of the cable in the RAV4 Hybrid and NXh is identical to the design of the cable in a number of other Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles. And, while there have been some cable failures throughout the various Toyota and Lexus models that use that cable, the numbers of failures have been relatively small.
As the owner of a RAV4 Hybrid, my biggest concern would be that, because of supply chain issues, there seems to be a significant wait for those who do need the replacement cable to get those parts.
I'm also confident in guessing that the situation with the NX350h will be very similar to what has been the case with the RAV4 Hybrid.
From the reports that I've read about the cable failure on the RAV4, the cost to replace the cable can be as high as $5000 but most of the those who have reported an issue are in Canada, and the $5000 is in Canadian dollars. However, there is also some indication that Toyota is either paying for part and possibly all of that cost. It is difficult to know the details because it is likely that, when Toyota is paying for all or part of the repairs, they are requiring owners to sign a non-disclosure agreement.
There is also lots of misinformation being spread about the cable failures. On one of the Toyota forums, there is a thread that is now has over 2000 posts. https://www.rav4world.com/threads/hi...roblem.318314/
While that seems like a lot of information, only a small handful of those posts have come from people who have actually had the cable failure, and there has been virtually no new information posted in several months. Instead, most of the posts are from the same people who have not had the problem, and they are just repeating the same information over and over again speculating about what the root cause of the problem is and what modifications they can make themselves preemptively to prevent the problem.
Thus, I'm confident in guessing that the actual number of cable failures has been much smaller than what we might be led to believe it has been. And I think it has also been the case that, for those who have had the cable failure, Toyota is working quietly behind the scenes to reduce or cover completely the cost of the repair.
It should also be noted that the design of the cable in the RAV4 Hybrid and NXh is identical to the design of the cable in a number of other Toyota and Lexus hybrid vehicles. And, while there have been some cable failures throughout the various Toyota and Lexus models that use that cable, the numbers of failures have been relatively small.
As the owner of a RAV4 Hybrid, my biggest concern would be that, because of supply chain issues, there seems to be a significant wait for those who do need the replacement cable to get those parts.
I'm also confident in guessing that the situation with the NX350h will be very similar to what has been the case with the RAV4 Hybrid.
Toyota has added a cover to the cable in the past few years to help prevent direct splashing of chemicals and salt onto the cable. I believe I took photos of it and posted in some topic - posting it again here. It's not a solution that won't cause issues with the cable, but definitely reduce or prolong the issue so that by the time there is an issue with the cable, it would have been many years down the road. One advise is to wash the car more frequently in the winter so that it would remove the salt and chemicals so that it won't just eat up the cable.
Toyota has added a cover to the cable in the past few years to help prevent direct splashing of chemicals and salt onto the cable. I believe I took photos of it and posted in some topic - posting it again here. It's not a solution that won't cause issues with the cable, but definitely reduce or prolong the issue so that by the time there is an issue with the cable, it would have been many years down the road. One advise is to wash the car more frequently in the winter so that it would remove the salt and chemicals so that it won't just eat up the cable.
Actually, the black plastic cover has been on the RAV4 Hybrids for some time. I have it on my RAV4 hybrid, which was built during the summer of 2020, and, on the Toyota forum thread that I linked to above, owners of 2019 and 2020 RAV4 Hybrids have posted pictures of the same black cover on their cars. So, it may well have been on all Generation 5 RAV4 Hybrids, but, even if it wasn't, it would have been added shortly after the first Generation 5 RAV4 Hybrids were built, and the cars that have had the cable failure have, in fact, had that black cover. Part of the confusion about that cover was created because the Toyota Guy, who frequently posts misinformation or confused information on YouTube, posted misinformation on one of his videos claiming that the cover was more recently added to fix the cable failure issue, and that is simply not correct.
What Toyota did do was to modify the orange cover that covers the cable itself. The modification that they made was just to remove 1/2 of that orange cover to allow for moisture or debris to more easily drain from the area around the cable. It is unclear whether that modification solves the problem. Some who have the modified 1/2 cover have posted claiming that their cable is still corroding and that, if anything, all the modification does is to modestly slow down the amount of corrosion.
This problem is what bothers me about all the hybrids and fully electric cars that are being made . Way to many people that live by salt water, drive through it during moon tides and storms on a regular basis just like it’s freshwater from your garden hose .
And all the pictures posted don’t look good . So how is a Toyota Prius wired up to the battery and the motors ?
. . . My family have owned an RX450h which ran for 12 years before we traded it in and the battery was still good. My current CT is 8 years old and things are still great....
What sort of advancements/improvements have you noticed in newer hybrids vs 10+ year-old ones?
What sort of advancements/improvements have you noticed in newer hybrids vs 10+ year-old ones?
The transition from electric and gas engine is a lot more seamless. Efficiency and capable of driving at high speed with EV mode is possible. Definitely improvements in different generations.
12-08-22, 08:38 AM
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