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Long term owners
by pf_flyer HOST
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Aug 21, 2007 (3:59 am)
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If you are a long-term hybrid owner, our Senior Editor, John O'Dell, would love to hear from you! A short email with your maintenance experiences and concerns would be great. Please send to John at jodell edmunds.com by close of business Wednesday, August 22, 2007. Be sure and include your Forums username.
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- #68 of 86
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Re: Long term owners [pf_flyer]
by idele
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Aug 26, 2007 (9:10 am)
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Replying to: pf_flyer (Aug 21, 2007 3:59 am)
This forum is so quiet I check it infrequently and I'm late in answering. I have 8700+ miles on my GS450h and my life of car average fuel mileage stands at 28.2 mpg. Given the excellent performance of this car, I'm enormously pleased. I trade every two years and getting another GS450h next year is a strong possibility.
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- #69 of 86
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Wind Noise
by tricky73
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Sep 07, 2007 (5:16 am)
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I have been driving my 450h for about 4 months and have approximately 1500 miles to date. My only complaint, other than a battery problem reported earlier (may be my fault) is wind noise on the passenger side starting at about 30mph. Has anybody else experienced this, and was the dealer able to fix it?
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- #70 of 86
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Re: lifetime mpg [idele]
by idele
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Sep 10, 2007 (6:16 pm)
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Replying to: idele (Jul 07, 2007 2:25 am)
I have just slightly above 9000 miles on my GS450h. I have reached a new high on my lifetime average mpg. It is now 28.3. The tank average mileage is running above that so it could creep up again. A remarkable vehicle!
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- #71 of 86
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Green Car Advisor
by pf_flyer HOST
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Sep 14, 2007 (1:07 pm)
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Be sure to check out Senior Editor John O'Dell's newest addition to our lineup, the Green Car Advisor for news and commentary on environmental automotive trends and technologies.
Looking forward to all your comments!
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- #72 of 86
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Re: lifetime mpg [idele]
by tricky73
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Sep 20, 2007 (2:54 pm)
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Replying to: idele (Sep 10, 2007 6:16 pm)
Do you use regular or premium fuel?
The manual sez premium will give better mileage (performance?) but I don't believe it. I have used regular since it was new but don't get anything close to your numbers. Most of my trips are stop-and-go which gives 21-22. For the occasional freeway trip 28-29 seems tops.
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- #73 of 86
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Re: lifetime mpg [tricky73]
by idele
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Sep 20, 2007 (5:09 pm)
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Replying to: tricky73 (Sep 20, 2007 2:54 pm)
I always use premium. I will say after breakin (about 4000 miles) mileage improved. The highway mileage is always better. I just did a 180 mile roundtrip today averaging 30.05 mpg. In the city how you accelerate and how you use coasting makes a difference. I use premium because gasoline is a blend of hydrocarbons each of which have different power capabilities. The higher the octane rating the better the blend. Refining oil produces these hydrocarbons and refiners use the best ones in their top grade. Regular being the lowest grades gets the leftovers.
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- #74 of 86
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Re: lifetime mpg [idele]
by tricky73
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Sep 21, 2007 (11:59 am)
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Replying to: idele (Sep 20, 2007 5:09 pm)
Thanks, that helps. Will change to premium, give it a try, and see if there is a difference. I have owned many new cars in the past and have not noticed any improvement in MPG after "breakin"...does the electrical componentry in the drive system of a hybrid make that much difference?
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- #75 of 86
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Re: lifetime mpg [tricky73]
by idele
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Sep 22, 2007 (5:38 am)
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Replying to: tricky73 (Sep 21, 2007 11:59 am)
Ambient temperature make a difference. Cold weather reduces mileage. Dealer service always seems to improve mileage. I have an excellent dealer and relations with them are as good as can be; friendly and respectful. The service person I deal with is a GS450h enthusiast which helps a lot. The supremacy of the Toyota/Lexus hybrid system is undoubtedly due to their electronic control system. That's where MB, BMW, GM find it hard to compete. The GS450h has electric steering, which, as a recent article points out, is being adopted by many other car companies. The steering took getting used to but I now regard it as superior. The steering is more precise. Since it's drive by wire you lose the road feel and I had to adjust. But one major advantage is that only one hand is needed for full control, a huge advantage when I'm taking a sharp corner at 40+ mph and leaning. The runflat tires are noisier but the adhesion in cornering is spectacular. There's a lot more than fuel efficiency to the GS450h.
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- #76 of 86
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lifetime mpg update
by idele
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Sep 23, 2007 (9:36 am)
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With 9500+ miles on my GS450h, my lifetime mpg has reached 28.4 mpg.
I was looking at the run flat tires thread and, since run flat tires are standard on the GS450h, let me add this note. I did pick up a nail a couple of months ago. I could drive, albeit carefully, until I could get to the dealer the next day. The dealer said it was in an unrepairable place. So a new tire was purchased. The plus is that one can continue driving; the minus is the difficulty of repair and the cost of replacements.
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