High Petrol Consumption In Rx 300 Vehicles

[skip]

I have recently acquired a 2002 Lexus RX 300.While the car is a joy to drive, the petrol consumption for mainly suburban driving is dreadful.

I am considering installing a tank and management facility for LPG fuel at a cost of £950.The vehicle can be driven by petrol or LPG as a fuel substitute.

Does anyone have experience of this, and are their any unforseen snags?

Many thanks.

SKIP

[Lavo]

I have recently acquired a 2002 Lexus RX 300.While the car is a joy to drive, the petrol consumption for mainly suburban driving is dreadful.

I am considering installing a tank and management facility for LPG fuel at a cost of £950.The vehicle can be driven by petrol or LPG as a fuel substitute.

Does anyone have experience of this, and are their any unforseen snags?

Many thanks.

SKIP

Hi, i am also looking to convert my 2004 RX300, could you let me know how you get on and also what and where was you quoted £950 for the conversion the sites i have been looking at have quoted around £1800. Thanks Ian

[alan-partridge]

I have recently acquired a 2002 Lexus RX 300.While the car is a joy to drive, the petrol consumption for mainly suburban driving is dreadful.

I am considering installing a tank and management facility for LPG fuel at a cost of £950.The vehicle can be driven by petrol or LPG as a fuel substitute.

Does anyone have experience of this, and are their any unforseen snags?

Many thanks.

SKIP

Hi, i am also looking to convert my 2004 RX300, could you let me know how you get on and also what and where was you quoted £950 for the conversion the sites i have been looking at have quoted around £1800. Thanks Ian

I have a post with pictures in the servicing tips section showing how I converted my 2004 RX 300

[Grandpa Al]

hi skip, i'm really interested in how you get on with your lpg conversion as i share your views on suburban fuel economy, and am considering a conversion on my 2005 rx 300 le.

[zoomzoomvince]

I had my 2003 RX300 SE-L converted to LPG in October. I do mainly urban driving and I am getting a steady 18MPG on LPG. On Petrol I was getting about 21MPG. I currently pay about 64.9p per litre. The conversion (prinz based with a 71 litre tank) was done by autotech and it cost be about £2,100 which includes the valve lubrication system. The conversion took about 4 days.

[Foxy3373]

I had my supercharged range rover converted at profess auto gas in wales - highly recommended, extremely professional installation - even dealer commented on professionaly machined LPG injector rails. All fitted in 14 hours included configuration and ecru mappings! Even gave me a kit in case of issues and we needed to tweak the system remotely - no problems so far - about 7000 miles driven without complaint!!! Paying 68.9p / litre and vehicle averaging 20 mpg on LPG at half the cost of petrol. After such a success am going to convert rx!!! If you have any questions fire away as I spent 12 months researching LPG and suppliers!!!!!

James

[DJDON]

My 1976 LS400 well used & a little rough looking with 140000 miles on the clock Returns around 24 mpg However my RX300 2003 in immaculate condition throughout. Drives superb 60,000 gentle miles on the clock only returns around 17mpg in town driving.

I avoid traffic jams so its not sitting in traffic all day. on a 1oo mile run on a motorway it reached 19.7 mpg. This seems very low to me as the vehicle is driven gently.

Could anybody please advise me on what the fuel consumption should be on a 8 year old RX300. & Any tips on how to improve consumption would be very welcome.

There is nothing kept in the car like a heavy tool box etc.

[Laura_Lexus]

My 2003 RX300 with 60,000mls on the clock will return 28-31mpg on the motorway / A road, this is driving between 50-70 m.p.h. measured over a distance of 240 miles with 4 rest breaks in between.

In town the car is often used for short hops to the supermarket and shops these approx. 2-4 miles. Starting from very cold during this winter the car has still managed between 20-24 mpg.

The readings are taken from the cars computer with a full tank of petrol.

[DJDON]

My 2003 RX300 with 60,000mls on the clock will return 28-31mpg on the motorway / A road, this is driving between 50-70 m.p.h. measured over a distance of 240 miles with 4 rest breaks in between.

In town the car is often used for short hops to the supermarket and shops these approx. 2-4 miles. Starting from very cold during this winter the car has still managed between 20-24 mpg.

The readings are taken from the cars computer with a full tank of petrol.

Thank you Laura_Lexus your reply was most helpful.

[VO2 Mac]

I have recently acquired a 2002 Lexus RX 300.While the car is a joy to drive, the petrol consumption for mainly suburban driving is dreadful.

I am considering installing a tank and management facility for LPG fuel at a cost of £950.The vehicle can be driven by petrol or LPG as a fuel substitute.

Does anyone have experience of this, and are their any unforseen snags?

Many thanks.

SKIP

Hi Skip, if you're still looking to convert to LPG - I just had my trusty 2000 Harrier converted for £1400 all in ( incl flaslube). PIckup and drop off + courtesy car for the 4 days. Corby based company. Drives perfectly - highly recommend the change. Top end power / speed slightly capped, but no real issue.

Rgds

Macca



[andy1610]

Hi folks. I'm new to the forum. Recently bought a 2006 RX 350 SEL with 36k on the clock. It's being converted to LPG as I write. The garage here in London quoted me £1700 inc. flash lube system, filler to be fitted under rear bumper and will take only 1 day. For the two weeks I've had the car, economy in town has been anywhere between 15-20 mpg and the trip from sunny Manchester where I bought it - 30 mpg driven around 70-85 mph on the M/way. Fantastic car otherwise!

[Grandpa Al]

I have recently acquired a 2002 Lexus RX 300.While the car is a joy to drive, the petrol consumption for mainly suburban driving is dreadful.

I am considering installing a tank and management facility for LPG fuel at a cost of £950.The vehicle can be driven by petrol or LPG as a fuel substitute.

Does anyone have experience of this, and are their any unforseen snags?

Many thanks.

SKIP

Hi Skip, Grasped the nettle and had my RX300 LE converted to LPG. Have to say that I did a lot of research and that anyone who says it can be done in a day is a cowboy! The garage that did mine also had another RX300 booked in which had already been "converted" but after inspection proved to be an accident waiting to happen. I understand he's a satisfied customer now. Check that the installer is LPG Approved. My tank holds 65 litres and I haven't had any problems with consumption or performance. Happy to give further details if required. Regards, Grandpa Al

[mako]

my rx300 is 2003 model it has got a brc system fitted with flashlube no rinning probs atall i filled up tank with 53 litres thats all it would take

and got just over 200 miles some of these were towing my 26 ft caravan the only other thing that i need to solve is the fact that the petrol gauge goes down even though im on gas

this is normal im told but it leaves you worried that you may run out of petrol i believe you can get whats called an emulator fitted to stop this i would like peoples thoughts on this

have a look its a question anybody getting lpg conversion should be asking

http://autogas-lpg.co.uk/31--emulators

[Cymro]

I have recently acquired a 2002 Lexus RX 300.While the car is a joy to drive, the petrol consumption for mainly suburban driving is dreadful.

I am considering installing a tank and management facility for LPG fuel at a cost of £950.The vehicle can be driven by petrol or LPG as a fuel substitute.

Does anyone have experience of this, and are their any unforseen snags?

Many thanks.

SKIP

Just a thought: you don't say what mpg you're getting. I'd expect suburban use to give around 22mpg. However, if you are getting well below that (e.g. 18 or 19) then before rushing to convert it I'd get one thing checked. You say that you're new to the car, and so I guess you don't know whether the mpg which you're getting is normal or not. I've had ours from new, and over 80K it gives just under 24. Recently, however, it dropped to 19. My wife normally drives it. I took it out, and noticed a drag - not as much as when overdrive is disengaged, but a definite drag. It turned out that a brake calliper had seized, and hence the drag. Now sorted.