How Does The Rx400H Deal With Traffic Jams

[mikesands]

.... if I am stuck on a motorway in the middle of June for 3 hours will the airconditioning continue to run? Or conversely in the middle of winter will the car heating continue to work?

Thanks

Mike

[ISJason]

hello

yes, it will all work still, even in the most dire situations.

The car's computers will not allow the hybrid Battery to drain, it will always start the petrol engine which will then charge the hybrid Battery, so you'll

never run out of power, so no need to worry.

enjoy.

[ColinBarber]

The aircon on the 400h is electric so will run even when the engine is off. Once the Battery charge gets low the engine will automatically come on and charge up the Battery and then switch off again.

The heater, unfortunately, is more conventional on the 400h and requires the engine to be warm. In winter the engine will come on straight away and stay on longer. Once the water temp is hot the engine will shut off but it doesn't take long before it will come back on again. You will notice a drop on mpg in winter. Personally I turn off the heating system and just use the electric seat heater to warm me up until the engine is fully up to temp.

Your comment about the 450h engine coming on more than the 400h in another thread isn't my experience, a number of things will alter behaviour including air temp, engine temp and what the cabin temp. was set to at the time.