LEXUS RX400H 2008 Owner's Manual

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Scrapping of your Lexus
The SRS airbag and seat belt pretensioner devices in your Lexus contain explosive
chemicals. If the vehicle is scrapped with the airbags and seat belt pretensioners left
as they are, this may cause an accident such as fire. Be sure to have the systems of
the SRS airbag and seat belt pretensioner removed and disposed of by a qualified
service shop or by your Lexus dealer before you scrap your vehicle.
Perchlorate Material
Special handling may apply, See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate.
Your vehicle has components that may contain perchlorate. These components may
include airbag, seat belt pretensioners, and wireless remote control batteries.

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CAUTION
■General precautions while driving
Driving under the influence: Never drive your vehicle when under the influence of
alcohol or drugs that have impaired your ability to operate your vehicle. Alcohol
and certain drugs delay reaction time, impair judgment and reduce coordination,
which could lead to an accident that will hurt or kill you, your occupants or others.
Defensive driving: Always drive defensively. Anticipate mistakes that other drivers
or pedestrians might make and be ready to avoid accidents.
Driver distraction: Always give your full attention to driving. Anything that distracts
the driver, such as adjusting controls, talking on a cellular phone or reading can
result in a collision with resulting death or serious injury to you, your occupants or
others.
■General precaution regarding children’s safety
Never leave children unattended in the vehicle, and never allow children to have or
use the key.
Children may be able to start the vehicle or shift the vehicle into neutral. There is
also a danger that children may injure themselves by playing with the cigarette
lighter, the windows, the moon roof, or other features of the vehicle. In addition, heat
build-up or extremely cold temperatures inside the vehicle can be fatal to children.
■Dispose of the hybrid battery (traction battery)
If your vehicle is disposed of without the hybrid battery having been removed, there
is a danger of serious electric shock if high voltage parts, cables and their connec-
tors are touched. In the event of that your vehicle must be disposed of, the hybrid
battery must be disposed of your Lexus dealer or a qualified service shop. If the
hybrid battery is not disposed of properly, they may cause electric shock that can
result in death or serious injury.

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Symbols used throughout this manual
Cautions & Notices
Symbols used in illustrations
CAUTION
This is a warning against anything which may cause injury to people if the warning is
ignored. You are informed about what you must or must not do in order to reduce the
risk of injury to yourself and others.
NOTICE
This is a warning against anything which may cause damage to the vehicle or its
equipment if the warning is ignored. You are informed about what you must or must
not do in order to avoid or reduce the risk of damage to your Lexus and its equipment.
Safety symbol
The symbol of a circle with a slash through it means “Do not”,
“Do not do this”, or “Do not let this happen.”Arrows indicating operationsIndicates the action (pushing, turning, etc.)
used to operate switches and other
devices.
Indicates the outcome of an operation (e.g.
a lid opens).

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Before driving1
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1-1. Hybrid system .................. 24Hybrid system ............................ 24
1-2. Key information ............... 34 Keys ............................................... 34
1-3. Opening, closing and locking the doors ........... 36
Wireless remote control ......... 36
Side doors.................................... 39
Back door .................................... 44
1-4. Adjustable components (seats, mirrors,
steering wheel) .............. 49
Front seats ................................... 49
Rear seats .................................... 52
Driving position memory ........ 55
Head restraints .......................... 57
Seat belts .................................... 58
Steering wheel (manually adjustable type) ...................... 65
Steering wheel (power-adjustable type) ....... 66
Anti-glare inside rear view mirror ......................................... 67
Outside rear view mirrors ...... 68
Roof luggage carrier................ 70 1-5. Opening and closing the
windows and
moon roof ........................ 72
Power windows .......................... 72
Moon roof ................................... 75
1-6. Refueling .......................... 78 Opening the fuel tank cap ..... 78
1-7. Theft deterrent system ... 83 Hybrid vehicle immobilizer system ........................................ 83
Alarm............................................ 85
Theft prevention labels (U.S.A.)...................................... 88
1-8. Safety information........... 89 Correct driving posture ......... 89
SRS airbags ................................. 91
Front passenger occupant classification system............ 103
Child restraint systems ......... 108
Installing child restraints........ 112

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1-1. Hybrid system
Hybrid system
Your vehicle is a hybrid vehicle. It has characteristics different from con-
ventional vehicles. Be sure you are closely familiar with the characteristics
of your vehicle, and operate with care.
The hybrid system combines a gasoline engine and an electric motor (trac-
tion motor) according to driving conditions, improving fuel efficiency and
reducing exhaust emissions.
Gasoline engine
Front electric motor (traction motor)
Rear electric motor (traction motor)*
*: With AWD models only
■ When stopped/during take-off
The gasoline engine stops when the vehicle is stopped. During take-
off, the electric motor (traction motor) drives the vehicle. At slow
speeds or when traveling down a gentle slope, the engine is stopped
and the motor is used.

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1-1. Hybrid system
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Before driving
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■Regenerative braking
The motor generator converts kinetic energy to electric energy when:
●The accelerator pedal is released.
●The brake pedal is depressed with the shift lever in D.
■Conditions in which the gasoline engine may not stop
The gasoline engine starts and stops automatically. However, it may not stop auto-
matically in the following conditions:
●During gasoline engine warm-up
●During hybrid battery (traction battery) charging
●During low or high hybrid battery (traction battery) temperature
■Charging the battery
●As the gasoline engine charges the hybrid battery (traction battery), the battery
does not need to be charged from an outside source. However, if the vehicle is
left parked for a long time the hybrid battery will slowly discharge. For this rea-
son, be sure to drive the vehicle at least once every several months for at least
30 minutes or 10 miles (16 km). If the hybrid battery becomes fully discharged
and you are unable to jump-start the vehicle with the battery, contact your
Lexus dealer.
●If the shift lever is in N, the hybrid battery (traction battery) will not be charged.
When driving in heavy traffic, operate the vehicle with the shift lever in D to
avoid discharging the battery.
■During normal driving
The gasoline engine is predominantly used. The electric motor
(traction motor) charges the hybrid battery as necessary.
■ When accelerating sharply
The power of the hybrid battery (traction battery) is added via elec-
tric motor (traction motor) to that of the gasoline engine.
■ When braking (regenerative brake)
The electric motor (traction motor) charges the hybrid battery
(traction battery).

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1-1. Hybrid system
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■After the 12-volt battery has discharged or has been changed or removed
The gasoline engine may not stop even if the vehicle is running on the hybrid battery
(traction battery). If this continues for a few days, contact your Lexus dealer.
■Sounds and vibrations specific to a hybrid vehicle
There may be no engine sounds or vibration even though the vehicle is able to
move. Always put the shift lever in P when parked.
The following sounds or vibrations may occur when the hybrid system is operating,
and are not a malfunction.
●Motor sounds may be heard from the engine compartment.
●Sounds may be heard from the hybrid battery (traction battery) behind the rear
seat when the hybrid system starts or stops.
●Sounds may be heard from the transmission when the hybrid system starts or
stops, or while the vehicle is idling.
●Engine sounds may be heard when accelerating sharply.
●Sounds may be heard from the regenerative brake when you press the brake
pedal.
●Vibration may be felt when the gasoline engine starts or stops.
●You may hear cooling fan sounds coming from the air intake vents under the
rear seat.
■Maintenance, repair, recycling, and disposal
Contact your Lexus dealer regarding maintenance, repair, recycling and disposal.
Do not dispose of the vehicle yourself.

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1-1. Hybrid system
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Before driving
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High voltage components*: With AWD models only
Take care when handling the hybrid system, as it contains a high voltage
system (about 650V at maximum) as well as parts that become
extremely hot when the hybrid system is operating. Obey the caution
labels attached to the vehicle. Air conditioning compressor
High voltage cables (orange
color)
Power control unit
Hybrid battery (traction bat-
tery)
Service plug
DC/DC converter
Rear electric motor (traction
motor)*
Front electric motor (traction
motor)
Caution label

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1-1. Hybrid system
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Hybrid battery air vent
There is an air intake vent under
the rear seats to cooling the hybrid
battery (traction battery). If the
vent becomes blocked, the hybrid
battery may overheat, leading to a
reduction in hybrid battery output.
Emergency shut off system
The emergency shut off system blocks off the high voltage current and
stops the fuel pump to minimize the r isk of electrocution and fuel leakage
when a certain level of impact is detected by the impact sensor. If the
emergency shut off system activates, your vehicle will not restart. To
restart the hybrid system, contact your Lexus dealer.
Energy monitor/consumption screen
You can view the status of your hybr id system on the multi-information
display ( →P. 143) and the navigation system screen. The following
images are examples only, and may vary slightly from actual conditions.
■ Energy monitor
● How to display on the navigation system screen:
Press INFO.
Touch on the Information screen.
If the Consumption screen is displayed, touch .
● How to display on the multi-information display:
Push the button several times to select the energy moni-
tor display.
STEP1
STEP2
STEP1