Gs450 H Se L

[tonyricha]

Hi , I have just taken delivery of a 450h SE L, georgeous car 2 yrs old with only 25k on the clock, but the hybrid Battery indicators never show a full state of charge 7/8 maximum but from this point it only manages 2 junctions before the guage shows almost no charge left. Can this be right ? if so the Hybrid seems a lot of kit for a tiny gain. I know the car stood for about the last 6 months so I hope the Battery life will improve. Obviously still under Lexus warranty so if they need changing not my disaster!

Kept the 300 Sportcross for the wife, cant tell you how good it now feels !!

[aido]

Hi Tony, do you do any really long journeys in the car?

[tonyricha]

Hi Tony, do you do any really long journeys in the car?

Yes, each time this has happened I am at least 50 miles into my day, and have driven 100 miles on the motorway network so the batteries have done no work

[braindead]

Hi Tony, do you do any really long journeys in the car?

Yes, each time this has happened I am at least 50 miles into my day, and have driven 100 miles on the motorway network so the batteries have done no work

Having owned a Prius for near on 5 years and now a GS450h I've found that the car will deliberately run down the NIMH batteries and recharge them. I think this is done to optimise the life of the batteries.

Also, if you look in some of the Prius forums I seem to remember that folks state that the car keeps the batteries in a narrow band of charge and that the display in the car shows 100% charge at the top of that band and zero at the bottom rather than 100% being 100% of the Battery capacity in absolute terms.

Also, the hybrid components are covered for 5 years so no need to worry :-)

Malc

[tonyricha]

Hi Tony, do you do any really long journeys in the car?

Yes, each time this has happened I am at least 50 miles into my day, and have driven 100 miles on the motorway network so the batteries have done no work

Hi Malc, thanks for your reply, you clearly believe in this system and that is good to know, does your GS ever show 100% charge on either display? even after a long motorway run mine will not illuminate the top bar. I am under the impression the hybrid warranty is 60000 miles only which is only 1 year in my case, my car was purchased from Lexus Bracknell.

Thanks again Tony

[dave1]

Hi Malc, thanks for your reply, you clearly believe in this system and that is good to know, does your GS ever show 100% charge on either display? even after a long motorway run mine will not illuminate the top bar. I am under the impression the hybrid warranty is 60000 miles only which is only 1 year in my case, my car was purchased from Lexus Bracknell.

Thanks again Tony

Hybrid batteries are warrantied for 5 years. Not really sure about any mileage restrictions though. I would be getting the system checked out ASAP if I was in your position even if it was just for peace of mind.

Hope it's OK though.

[kns]

My car rarely shows a full charge i.e last two purple bars illuminated. In normal driving on Battery alone they can only power the car for about a mile I beleive.

The hybrid system is realy there to boost performance, with an improvment in fuel economy being a by product benefit.

From experience the best way to benefit from electric drive is to accelerate up to cruising speed, release the accelerator then re-apply very gently and you should be able to cruise for quite a distance (if a flat road) before the Battery runs down. In gentle mixed driving I average aboput 28 mpg with a best of low mid 30s and worst upper teens. All things considered I think pretty good given the size of car, and the performance available.

Regards

Keith

[braindead]

Hi Tony, do you do any really long journeys in the car?

Yes, each time this has happened I am at least 50 miles into my day, and have driven 100 miles on the motorway network so the batteries have done no work

Hi Malc, thanks for your reply, you clearly believe in this system and that is good to know, does your GS ever show 100% charge on either display? even after a long motorway run mine will not illuminate the top bar. I am under the impression the hybrid warranty is 60000 miles only which is only 1 year in my case, my car was purchased from Lexus Bracknell.

Thanks again Tony

I don't usually watch the state of charge display having owned a hybrid for over 5 years (Prius then GS). You are very unlikely to fill all the way up unless you use the hybrid system for braking.

Try this.

Find a long steep down hill with a low speed limit. Make sure your Battery is at least 2/3 full. Go down the hill using the gearbox in S mode and in a low enough gear to keep you within the speed limit using only hybrid system for braking. It will fill the Battery to the top in no time.

Malc

[knitware]

I wonder if anyone, anywhere has had a Hybrid Lexus Battery change?

If someone had a problem with their hybrid Battery I would guess that Lexus would 'quietly' change it. It wouldn't look good for Lexus selling this hybrid technology if a replacement part as integral as the Battery needed replacing every 5-6 years.

Does anyone here know of anyone replacing a hybrid Battery, or motor? And if you do know of a change, was the customer charged?

Just a thought provoking question...............maybe.... <_<

[Huddy]

This is not a problem. As a previous poster mentioned, the headroom is left to allow for regenerative braking. I imagine there would be no point using energy to charge the batteries to the limit, and then having nowhere to store the energy when you apply the brakes. They think of everything.