ECO mode LEXUS RX450h 2015 User Guide

1271-7. Theft deterrent system
1
Before driving ■
System maintenance
The vehicle has a maintenance-free type alarm system.■
Items to check before locking the vehicle
To prevent unexpected triggering of the alarm and vehicle theft, make sure of the
following: ●
Nobody is in the vehicle.●
The windows and moon roof are closed before the alarm is set.●
No valuables or other personal items are left in the vehicle.■ Deactivating or stopping the alarm
Do one of the following to deactivate or stop the alarms:
● Unlock the doors.
● Turn the “POWER” switch to ACCESSORY or ON mode, or
start the hybrid system. (The alarm will be deactivated or stopped
after a few seconds.)

1672-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving ■
When starting off on an uphill
The hill-start assist control is available. (  P. 2 76 )■
Driving in the rain ●
Drive carefully when it is raining, becaus e visibility will be reduced, the windows
may become fogged-up, and the road will be slippery.●
Drive carefully when it starts to rain, be cause the road surface will be especially
slippery.●
Refrain from high speeds when driving on an expressway in the rain, because
there may be a layer of water between th e tires and the road surface, preventing
the steering and brakes from operating properly.■
Engine speed while driving
In the following conditions, the engine speed may become high while driving. This is
due to automatic up-shifting control or down-shifting implementation to meet driv-
ing conditions. It does not indicate sudden acceleration.●
The vehicle is judged to be driving uphill or downhill●
When the accelerator pedal is released●
When the brake pedal is depresse d while sport mode is selected■
Breaking in your new Lexus
To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recom-
mended: ●
For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.●
For the first 500 miles (800 km):
Do not tow a trailer.●
For the first 1000 miles (1600 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.
• Do not drive continuously in low gears.
• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.

1822-1. Driving procedures
NOTICE■
To prevent 12-volt battery discharge ●
Do not leave the “POWER” switch in ACCESSORY or ON mode for long peri-
ods of time without the hybrid system on.●
If the indicator on the “POWER” switch is illuminated, the “POWER” switch is not
off. When exiting the vehicle, always check that the “POWER” switch is off.●
Do not stop the hybrid system when the shif t lever is in a position other than P. If
the hybrid system is stopped in anothe r shift lever position, the “POWER” switch
will not be turned off but instead be tu rned to ACCESSORY mode. If the vehicle
is left in ACCESSORY mode, 12-volt battery discharge may occur.■
When starting the hybrid system ●
Do not depress the accelerator pedal unnecessarily.●
If the hybrid system becomes difficult to start, have your vehicle checked by your
Lexus dealer immediately.■
Symptoms indicating a malfunction with the “POWER” switch
If the “POWER” switch seems to be operating somewhat differently than usual,
such as the switch sticking slightly, there may be a malfunction. Contact your Lexus
dealer immediately.

1832-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving EV drive mode
■
Switching to EV drive mode when the gasoline engine is cold
If the hybrid system is started while the gasoline engine is cold, the gasoline engine
will start automatically after a short period of time in order to warm up. In this case,
you will become unable to switch to EV drive mode.
After the hybrid system has started and the “READY” indicator has illuminated,
press the EV drive mode switch before the gasoline engine starts to switch to EV
drive mode.In EV drive mode, the electric motor (traction motor), powered by the
hybrid battery (traction battery) , is used to drive the vehicle.
This mode allows you to drive in residential areas early in the morning and
late at night, or in indoor parking lo ts etc. without concern for noises and
exhaust gas emissions.
However, when the Vehicle Proximity Notification System is active, the
vehicle may produce sound.
Turns EV drive mode on/off When EV drive mode is turned
on, the EV drive mode indicator
will come on. Pressing the
switch when in EV drive mode
will return the vehicle to normal
driving (using the gasoline
engine and electric motor [trac-
tion motor]).

1842-1. Driving procedures
■
Situations in which EV driv e mode cannot be turned on
It may not be possible to turn EV drive mode on in the following situations. If it can-
not be turned on, a buzzer will sound and a message will be shown on the multi-
information display. ●
The temperature of the hybrid system is high.
The vehicle has been left in the sun, driv en on a hill, driven at high speeds, etc.●
The temperature of the hybrid system is low.
The vehicle has been left in extremely low temperatures for a long period of
time etc.●
The gasoline engine is warming up.●
The hybrid battery (traction battery) is low.●
Vehicle speed is about 25 mph (40 km/h) or more.●
The accelerator pedal is depressed firmly or the vehicle is on a hill etc.●
The windshield defogger is in use.■
Automatic cancelation of EV drive mode
When driving in EV drive mode, the gasoline engine may automatically restart in
the following situations. When EV drive mo de is canceled, a buzzer will sound and
the EV drive mode indicator will flash and go off. ●
The hybrid battery (traction battery) becomes low.●
Vehicle speed becomes more than about 25 mph (40 km/h).
If engine coolant temperature is low, EV drive mode may be canceled when
vehicle speed is below 25 mph (40 km/h).●
The accelerator pedal is depressed firmly or the vehicle is on a hill etc.
When it is possible to inform the driver of automatic cancelation in advance, a prior
notice screen will appear on the multi-information display.■
Possible driving distance when driving in EV drive mode
In EV drive mode, it is possible to drive up about 1 /2 mile (1 km) if driving at a speed
of about 25 mph (40 km/h) or less.
(The distance that is possible depends on the hybrid battery [traction battery] level
and driving conditions.)
■
Fuel economy
RX450h is designed to achieve the best po ssible fuel economy during normal driv-
ing (using the gasoline engine and electric motor [traction motor]). Driving in EV
drive mode more than necessary may lower fuel economy.

1862-1. Driving procedures
Hybrid transmission Select a shift position appropriate for the driving conditions.
■ Shifting the shift lever
While the “POWER” switch is in ON mode, depress the brake
pedal and move the shift lever. When shifting the shift lever between P and D, make sure that the
vehicle is completely stopped.
■ Shift position purpose
* 1
: Shifting to the D position allows the sy stem to select a gear suitable for the
driving conditions. Setting the shift le ver to the D position is recommended
for normal driving.
* 2
: Selecting shift ranges using S mode controls engine braking forces. Shift position Function
P Parking the vehicle/starting the hybrid system
R Reversing
N Neutral
D Normal driving
* 1
S S mode driving
* 2
(  P. 1 9 0 )

1872-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving ■ Selecting Eco drive mode
When the vehicle is driven in Eco drive mode, vehicle driving force
and operation of the air condit ioning system (heating/cooling) is
controlled to improve fuel efficiency.
Press the menu switch. The multi-information display
will change modes to electronic
features control mode.
Press the “  ” or “  ” switch
until “ECO MODE” appears.
Press the “ENTER” switch to
change to “ON”.
The “ECO MODE” indicator
will be displayed. Each pressing of the switch
turns Eco drive mode on and off.
Press the menu switch to
change to the normal display.STEP 1
STEP 2

1902-1. Driving procedures
Changing shift ranges in S mode
When the shift lever is in the S position, the shift lever can be operated as
follows:
Upshifting
Downshifting
The initial shift range in S mode is set automatically to “5” or “4” accord-
ing to vehicle speed.
■ Shift ranges and their functions
● You can choose from 6 levels of engine braking force.
● A lower shift range will provide gr eater engine braking force than a
higher shift range, and the engi ne speed will also increase.■
Operation of the air conditioning system in Eco drive mode
Eco drive mode controls the heating/cooling operations and fan speed of the air
conditioning system to enhance fuel efficiency. (  P. 342, 350) To improve air con-
ditioning performance, adjust the fa n speed or turn off Eco drive mode. ■
Automatic return to normal driving mode
If snow mode or sport mode is selected , the driving mode will automatically return
to normal mode when the hybrid system is turned off.
■
S mode
●
When the shift range is “5” or lower, holding the shift lever toward “+” sets the
shift range to “6”.
●
To prevent the engine from over-revving, upshifting may automatically occur.

1972
When driving 2-2. Instrument cluster
Gauges and meters
Hybrid System Indicator Displays hybrid system power output and regenerative charging level
ECO lamp and SPORT lamp Changes colors according to driving mode
Speedometer Displays the vehicle speed
Fuel gauge Displays the quantity of fuel remaining in the tank
Multi-information display Presents the driver with a variety of driving-related data (  P. 2 0 6 )
Odometer and trip meter
Odometer: Displays the total distance the vehicle has been driven
Trip meter: Displays the distance the vehicle has been driven since the
meter was last reset. Trip meters “A” and “B” can be used to
record and display different distances independently.
Shift position and shift range display
Displays the selected shift position or selected shift range (  P. 1 8 6 )
Engine coolant temperature gauge
Displays the engine coolant temperature

1992-2. Instrument cluster
2
When driving ■
Hybrid System Indicator
●
By keeping the indicator within Eco area, more Eco-friendly driving can be
achieved.●
Charge area indicates regeneration* st atus. Regenerated energy will be used
to charge the hybrid battery (traction battery).
*: When used in this manual, “regeneration” refers to the conversion of energy cre-
ated by the movement of the ve hicle into electrical energy.■
ECO lamp and SPORT lamp ●
When sport mode is selected, the SPORT lamp (red) will illuminate.●
When all of the following conditions are satisfied and the Eco-friendly driving,
the ECO lamp (blue) will illuminate:
• When driving with the shift lever in D
• When either normal mode or Eco mode are selected, and EV drive mode
and snow mode are not in use
• The vehicle speed is approximately 80 mph (130 km/h) or below.
■
Customization
Settings (e.g. on/off operation of the ECO lamp) can be changed.
(Customizable features  P. 8 2 5 ) Po w e r a r e a
Shows that an Eco-friendly driving range is
being exceeded (during full power driving
etc.)
Eco area
Shows that the vehicle is being driven in an
Eco-friendly manner.
Hybrid Eco area
Shows that gasoline engine power is not
being used very often.
The gasoline engine will automatically
stop and restart under various conditions.
Charge area
Shows that energy is being recovered via
regenerative braking.