Toyota/Lexus Hybrid Owners: Tell Me About Your Experiences

I have had a number of new cars over the years... and a few used I bought from family members...

NONE have had their oil changed before 5,000 miles... and none have had any engine failures because of this... I did have one engine problem when I had an oil leak I did not see and it broke a piston ring... I ran that car 3 more years before I fixed it...

All cars have made it close to 100K miles or more... except for one of my favorites I did not drive much... totaled it at 45K miles...

It is a myth that you have to change the oil... if you believe in it then do it... it does not cost that much to make you feel better...
 
Toyota uses special uses special break in oil/additives and it’s meant to be changed at 5K miles according to the owners manual.
That's not in my user/maintenance guide. Maybe in older years this was the case.

I've heard this "break-in" oil change is important for vehicles with hybrid engine setups. I'll be sure to do it if I buy a new hybrid, and if I buy used I'll check the service records to see if it was done by the original owner.
You may not see it many official records. My DH asked about doing a break in oil change, they said they'll only do it if he pays for it. Since my DH is frugal, he did the break-in change and the 5k oil changes himself. Then we had the Toyota dealership do the 10k change.

What is included in the free 2 year maintenance is an oil change every 10k miles. (The manual does have special operating conditions section, if you drive dirt/dusty roads the manual then says to change every 5k miles, otherwise 10k for everyone else.)
 
A point of curiosity --

Does the New Car Dealer make better profit on their CPO sales ??

Lexus was very eager to get their hands on our 2 year old gas-powered NX during this recent service visit. Our car still has under 9K miles and is garage kept. The new cars in his showroom were all $50 - $60K, plus the Dealer Prep charges. I looked online at his CPO inventory before we went in for service and he was getting close to that on his 2 year old cars.

When they get a new car from Lexus USA they pay X amount of dollars, with the final Sales Price being their profit.
When they get a late model trade-in and put it on the CPO lot, is that a big profit margin for them ?? They've sold the same car "twice" as I see it.
 
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Midpack said:
An extra first oil change is cheap insurance if you really want to, but unnecessary if the carmaker doesn’t recommend it. YMMV
If someone is planning on keeping a car for the next 10 to 15 years, I would recommend an oil change at a thousand miles. As you say, it's cheap insurance and in the grand scheme of things it's only one extra oil change over the life of the vehicle.
That’s why I said what I did. But it’s interesting to me to think an anonymous internet source with no background on the subject recommends 50 year old advice and somehow knows more than automakers who’ve made millions of cars over many decades. I am sure they would still recommend an early first oil change if they thought it was at all necessary, to reduce their warranty liabilities. But knock yourself out, no harm - unless removing the original oil additives early causes other issues?
 
Yes, I heard many owners complain about this, however, I've never actually heard this artificial sound the vehicles create to warn pedestrians that the car is actually running.
Unless a driver makes a habit of driving long distances backwards, the speaker noise is not an issue for most of us.
 
I have had a number of new cars over the years... and a few used I bought from family members...

NONE have had their oil changed before 5,000 miles... and none have had any engine failures because of this... I did have one engine problem when I had an oil leak I did not see and it broke a piston ring... I ran that car 3 more years before I fixed it...

All cars have made it close to 100K miles or more... except for one of my favorites I did not drive much... totaled it at 45K miles...

It is a myth that you have to change the oil... if you believe in it then do it... it does not cost that much to make you feel better...
I used to think this way.. until I started watching engine tear down videos. There's a clear difference between a well maintained engine and a not so well maintained engine. A well maintained engine, with regular oil changes, can still look brand new after 100K miles, whereas one with prolonged oil changes can be full of tarnish and thick gunky oil deposits. Lots of tiny oil passages throughout an engine and it doesn't take much for a blocked passage to cause excessive wear on internal components.

However having said that, I would probably bet that any modern engine can get to 100K without any outward signs of failure, regardless of oil change interval. If your goal is to sell it off once you hit 100K then probably going until 10K or slightly more between oil changes won't make a difference. But, if you plan to drive it forever, I would seriously consider something like 5K-7K mile intervals, or at least once a year if you don't drive much.
 
I used to think this way.. until I started watching engine tear down videos. There's a clear difference between a well maintained engine and a not so well maintained engine. A well maintained engine, with regular oil changes, can still look brand new after 100K miles, whereas one with prolonged oil changes can be full of tarnish and thick gunky oil deposits. Lots of tiny oil passages throughout an engine and it doesn't take much for a blocked passage to cause excessive wear on internal components.

However having said that, I would probably bet that any modern engine can get to 100K without any outward signs of failure, regardless of oil change interval. If your goal is to sell it off once you hit 100K then probably going until 10K or slightly more between oil changes won't make a difference. But, if you plan to drive it forever, I would seriously consider something like 5K-7K mile intervals, or at least once a year if you don't drive much.
And my post says nothing about not doing regular oil changes... I do...

I only noted that the early change is not needed... see if they have a video on an engine who had their oil changed at 1K vs 5K and the rest at the same interval... I would bet there is zero difference...

Modern cars do not need a break in oil change... if someone thinks they do then go for it... but IMO it is a waste of money...
 
I don't think this has been discussed. The Highlander hybrid option is $6k over the base model. It gets 35mpg while the base Highlander gets 25mpg. At $3 per gallon, wouldn't you have to drive 175k miles to get to break-even?

I helped my Mom buy a Highlander. I didn't see where it made any financial sense to go mild hybrid. Her case was easier decision as she only drives 5k miles/yr and likely that will be declining.
 
I don't think this has been discussed. The Highlander hybrid option is $6k over the base model. It gets 35mpg while the base Highlander gets 25mpg. At $3 per gallon, wouldn't you have to drive 175k miles to get to break-even?

Yes.

But you are comparing apples and oranges.

It's true the base model Highlander LE is almost $6,000 less than the Highlander XLE hybrid. But you can't get a Highlander hybrid in the LE trim. You have to get the XLE trim to have the ability to buy a hybrid.

The difference between an XLE and an XLE hybrid is $3,350. If gas is $3.00 a gallon one would need to drive about 100K miles to break even.

If gas was $4.00 a gallon it would take about 73K miles driven for the XLE hybrid to break even to the XLE gas engine.

Since your mom only drives 5K miles per year you made the right choice.
 
Yes.

But you are comparing apples and oranges.

It's true the base model Highlander LE is almost $6,000 less than the Highlander XLE hybrid. But you can't get a Highlander hybrid in the LE trim. You have to get the XLE trim to have the ability to buy a hybrid.

The difference between an XLE and an XLE hybrid is $3,350. If gas is $3.00 a gallon one would need to drive about 100K miles to break even.

If gas was $4.00 a gallon it would take about 73K miles driven for the XLE hybrid to break even to the XLE gas engine.

Since your mom only drives 5K miles per year you made the right choice.
It's apples and oranges if you want the extra features. Some people derive no value from them, likely folks who prioritize mpg in their choice of vehicles.

I have a 6.2L V8 and a 4.4L Twin-Power Turbo. Long live the ICE!
 
I don't think this has been discussed. The Highlander hybrid option is $6k over the base model. It gets 35mpg while the base Highlander gets 25mpg. At $3 per gallon, wouldn't you have to drive 175k miles to get to break-even?

I helped my Mom buy a Highlander. I didn't see where it made any financial sense to go mild hybrid. Her case was easier decision as she only drives 5k miles/yr and likely that will be declining.
Apples and oranges as others have noted. Saving on gas isn’t the only reason some choose hybrids…
 
The difference between an XLE and an XLE hybrid is $3,350. If gas is $3.00 a gallon one would need to drive about 100K miles to break even.
The difference seems to decrease as you go to the higher trim levels, with the Platinum it's only about $1750. I had looked at the 24 Highlander's when I was making a purchase but really wanted the HUD and it was only offered on the Grand Hybrid Max that only got 26mpg so I passed. When I purchased my previous 2019 Avalon Limited hybrid the price difference was about $1500 and the difference in MPG was 43 vs 25, really a no brainer.
 
Have the 2020 Toyota RAV4 Hybrid Limited. Have been getting around 38 MPG. The only issue I have had was the front brakes were making a grinding sound. Both front brake pads were cracked. This after only 50 miles driven. Warranty covered the replacements. Do not like the stop/start option where the engine shuts off.
 
Our first Prius was a 2009 model. It lasted 14 years and 210K miles. Electrical issues caused us to replace it. It took us 14 months to get a new Prius factory ordered in 2022. Mostly we got 45-46 mpg winter and summer. Was down to 39 mpg when it started having problems. Even after 14 years, we never replaced the main battery.

Our new 2023 Prius got 55 mpg until this winter. I haven't calculated the mpg recently, but it's probably in the high 40s at worst. The ICE starts up in the cold weather to warm up the car, but it switches over to hybrid after a few minutes.

Our first Prius did not have the speaker that makes the spaceship sound when running on the battery, which is a bit of a danger to pedestrians. It ran silent. I'm glad they added that sound. I hate honking a horn at the neighbors who walk our development in the middle of the street. Mostly, I resent folks walking in the middle of the street when there are sidewalks.

We also bought a plug-in hybrid van this year-Chrysler Pacifica with every bell and whistle-love the heated/vented seats and heated steering wheel! We haul music equipment in it and I like to use for local travel. The gas engine doesn't kick in until after 30 miles, except in cold weather. During warmer weather, we got ~80 mpg because we got infinity mpg on short trips. We purchased a ChargePoint 240V charger and had it installed in the garage. Having the 240V charger was a game changer. I wish our Prius was plug-in too, but it was hard to get plug-in Priuses in PA.

If you do a lot of local trips, look at plug-ins. It's a joy to only get gas every month or two.
 
Less CO2? What are the other specific benefits of mild hybrid other than mpg?
A hybrid vehicle is better for the climate and for human health than a gas guzzler. In the US it reduces dependence on foreign oil.
 
Less CO2? What are the other specific benefits of mild hybrid other than mpg?

Spitballing here but better acceleration, less wear on brakes, less wear on engine, quieter when sitting in drive-through line, combination of available accessories or styling package, ability to use special road lanes?
 
A hybrid vehicle is better for the climate and for human health than a gas guzzler. In the US it reduces dependence on foreign oil.

I would add that in 5 years or so, assuming gas costs more than today (seems reasonable), the hybrid will have a higher resale value than the same vehicle in ICE format.
 
Less CO2? What are the other specific benefits of mild hybrid other than mpg?

There is no alternator or engine driven AC compressor on a hybrid. The hybrid uses engine braking to regenerate the battery so the brakes are used less than an ICE vehicle and will last longer than an ICE vehicle.

Also, the hybrid uses electric power from a stop to build up speed then gradually switches to the gas engine as needed. Thus, the burden of the stop, accelerate, slowdown, stop cycle an ICE engine endures (esp. in city driving) is greatly lessened, meaning there ought to be less wear on the gas engine portion of the vehicle. The hybrid engine uses a CVT or eCVT transmission which are simpler than the transmission in an ICE vehicle.
 
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Some hybrids have more horsepower, torque, and towing ability.
They don't offer any significant gain in efficiency, but there are indeed some "power" hybrids, e.g. most hybrid pickups. F1 cars have been hybrids since 2014 - clearly prioritizing power.
 
They don't offer any significant gain in efficiency, but there are indeed some "power" hybrids, e.g. most hybrid pickups. F1 cars have been hybrids since 2014 - clearly prioritizing power.
I have been looking at the new 2025 4Runner hybrid. I believe it has more power and better MPG over the old V6 that were in 4Runners. I have not looked at trucks. I'm sure you are more knowledgeable on this than I am.
 
I have been looking at the new 2025 4Runner hybrid. I believe it has more power and better MPG over the old V6 that were in 4Runners. I have not looked at trucks. I'm sure you are more knowledgeable on this than I am.
That's a power hybrid, which is just what some people want/need. Considerably more HP and torque, and a couple mpg better than pure ICE. Of course you can't have max power and max efficiency, but there's a place for power hybrids too.
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Interesting that this i-Force Max engine produces 326 HP while the same engine (called the Hybrid Max) in the Toyota Crown sedan produces 340 HP and when placed in the Lexus RX500h it makes 366 HP.
 
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