I just purchased a 2017 450h yesterday for my wife (this will be our 3rd) and I have a 2013. The dealer told me to run regular gas in it.

With all of the incentives that are on right now, I found that a 350 comparably equipped to a 450h (Luxury, 12.3 Nav, etc) ended up at pretty close to the same cost.

Our dealer had quite a few on his lot so we could have gotten the same color/options in either model. Based on past experience with our other 450h's it was an easy decision.

 

Congrats on you new 450h. How is your 2013 holding up? I posted in the Hybrid Forum about wanting to know more about the CVT. Is yours CVT performing still like it is new? Just wondering about wear.

Hope you enjoy

 

I had a 2010 450h that I purchased in 2009 and traded that for the 2013 in December 2013. The CVTs in both have worked flawlessly. I think that if you do some research you will find that the CVT in the Toyota Motor Co. hybrid vehicles is not like the CVTs in other gas vehicles

 

my family owned 4 Lexus Hybird

2007 Lexus GS450h (my personal daily, 130k miles on the clock) average 25MPG, i love gunning the damn thing!!! had hybrid battery replace back in 2015 November under CPO warranty
2008 Lexus RX400h (my dad Hong Kong parking garage queen, always break down because not driving much, only 9000km on the clock and had inverter went bad) unknown MPG, it show something like 8L/100km something like that i can't understand, had water flood inside the car from either sunroof or AC clogged i don't remember, always hear story from my dad it always has issue, we still have it, might get rid of it, might get a NX or CHR
2010 Lexus RX450h (my mom previous DD, still have it to haul junk) 27MPG average 110k miles on the clock everything still original
2016 Lexus RX450h F sport (mom new DD, i forced her to get it because i love the F sport look) 26MPG average 13k miles in less than a year...

like everyone says, the hybrid AC blow ice cold, super smoooooth, decently powered, they are joy to drive for the power you get and the quietness and MPG, we don't buy them to save gas, we just kinda like it... so far knock on wood they all seems super reliable (only if you drive it at least once a week), i drove my friend GS350, RX350, IS250, CT200h, i always see myself back to my V6 hybrid, i just rather give them a ride instead of riding in their car

 

The hybrid version of the V6 engine runs a very high compression ratio because it's an Atkinson Cycle design i.e. the cylinders don't get a full charge on the intake stroke so the maximum cylinder pressure on ignition is low enough to not have knock. Why run at a high compression ratio? Because the higher you go the greater the theoretical fuel efficiency. And they figured that while maximum torque and horsepower were less than otherwise they had the electric motors to take up the slack in acceleration. Pretty clever.

 

I'll go ahead and throw in my two cents here... go for the hybrid. If you're considering it now and you don't get it, you'll regret it.

1. You'll save gas. Cost aside- less pollution is always a plus.
2. The drivetrain just feels smoother due to a lack of shifting gears, even when the internal combustion engine starts and stops.
3. The hybrid transaxle system (actually not a CVT) is mechanically simpler than about any other transmission out there. I'd expect it to outlive a regular automatic.
4. The hybrid system warranty is 8yr/100,000mi as opposed to the conventional powertrain warranty being 6yr/70,000mi.
5. Not sure about LA, but a lot of places around here (Dallas) have special spots for hybrid parking. So that's kinda cool I guess.
6. You get a cool blue outline in your Lexus logos. Even on the key fob!

It's tough to say whether or not you'll save money. As far as the octane thing goes... the engine is designed to use minimum 91. The 2016 Highlander Hybrid only required 87 with its 2GR-FXE, but when they went to the 2GR-FXS for 2017, they changed that requirement to 91 just like the RX450h. So I'm assuming there's a reason that the engineers at Toyota decided on that. Will it hurt to use 87? No, but to be frank, if we're able to drive cars that cost $60k- a few extra bucks each fill-up probably won't break the bank. That aside, if you plan to keep the car for awhile- even using 91/93- I still bet you'll save some cash in the long run.

 

can you afford it?

 

Just think of the cash you will save using regular rather than Premium. The engine was not designed to run on Premium.

 

I'm not sure why you think this, but it is a fact that Toyota does recommend >91 in the RX450h.

From 2017 RX 350/450h Pre-Delivery Service Manual:

 

I think this because it is common sense. "Recommended" is for EPA only.

I will bet you $100 that your dealer filled your tank with regular, not premium, at delivery. The premium placard is just for EPA purposes and not required for the 450. This is like a religion and you can use what you want. The gas company will love you❤️, I have used regular in both 450h and my LX 570 and you can not tell any difference. Everyone I ask at Lexus says regular will be just fine.

it is people like you that perpetuate old wives tale.

 

Considering you're the guy who thought the hybrid transaxle in the RX450h had belts... I'm sure you know what you're talking about.

 

It has nice Texan belts!

 

The Lexus store I work at has only one Fuel tank on ground and it is filled with Premium because most
models still require it. We therefore fill even the ES350/RX350 that call for Regular 87 with Premium.

The guests that take the time to fastidiously track MPG have reported that running Regular in the RX450h
that is designed for Premium get lower mileage that when they use the prescribed fuel.