Lexus RZ chronicals-by my wife

[cyure]

Lexus RZ450e road trip!

A few days ago I decided an overnight road trip in the Lexus RZ 450e was overdue and I also thought surprising @JAlynn with it would be fun! Since I’ve continued to only use trickle charging at home since my vehicle’s longest roundtrip to date hasn’t exceeded 150 miles and I have a short commute to work, I felt the need to get in some practice trying out both a Tesla Supercharger and a Chargepoint charger since charging stops will be required on this trip.

The first test was a Tesla Supercharger. No adapter was required and the integration to the Lexus App took care of payment via the Lexus Wallet . Since this was meant to be practice, I only connected to the charger for 8 minutes and increased the charge level from 68% to 80%. I then went to a Chargepoint station, connecting for the same time period but only increased the charge by 1%. This station required an adapter. This exercise helped me feel a little more confident with pulling into a charging station if nothing else.

While the RZ has a navigation system, Apple Maps is recommended by Lexus for navigation as it integrates with the battery level of the vehicle. I admit that I do have some range anxiety due to holiday traffic and record temperatures in the northeast driving down the range due to using the A/C.

I mapped out our route and it recommended a Tesla Supercharging station about 3-½ hours into the trip which also conveniently worked for a quick dinner. We started the trip with a charge of 99% and Apple Maps advised that we would end at 26%. When we reached the charging stop, our remaining charge was better than expected at 31%.Overall miles per Kwh were 3.6 for the first leg of the trip. After failing at connecting to the first charger, another spot opened up and we were able to connect after repositioning the charger a couple of times as it didn’t seem to have a good fit but finally found the sweet spot. The vehicle’s charge went from 31% to 92% in about 25 minutes which was just enough time to order and eat subs.


We finished up the remaining 60 miles taking the charge from 92% to 66%. After a night in Kingston, NY, we’ll finish up the trip early tomorrow in Hudson, NY.

My only real regret of the trip thus far is not having the courage to go to a Supercharger location further into the route with better food options which would have only used another 16% of the battery and left us with approximately 15% remaining before charging. Did I mention I have range anxiety? LOL

We also learned that our hotel that said it has a charger-does not. Fortunately we have plenty of charge but would have been nice to top off a bit more, especially if it had been free.

Apple Maps seems to work well, but does anyone else have apps they would recommend? And will they integrate in any way with vehicles battery range?

So exciting to hear about your first big trip! I’m so glad it went so well.

 

[Logan]

Lexus RZ450e road trip!

A few days ago I decided an overnight road trip in the Lexus RZ 450e was overdue and I also thought surprising @JAlynn with it would be fun! Since I’ve continued to only use trickle charging at home since my vehicle’s longest roundtrip to date hasn’t exceeded 150 miles and I have a short commute to work, I felt the need to get in some practice trying out both a Tesla Supercharger and a Chargepoint charger since charging stops will be required on this trip.

The first test was a Tesla Supercharger. No adapter was required and the integration to the Lexus App took care of payment via the Lexus Wallet . Since this was meant to be practice, I only connected to the charger for 8 minutes and increased the charge level from 68% to 80%. I then went to a Chargepoint station, connecting for the same time period but only increased the charge by 1%. This station required an adapter. This exercise helped me feel a little more confident with pulling into a charging station if nothing else.

While the RZ has a navigation system, Apple Maps is recommended by Lexus for navigation as it integrates with the battery level of the vehicle. I admit that I do have some range anxiety due to holiday traffic and record temperatures in the northeast driving down the range due to using the A/C.

I mapped out our route and it recommended a Tesla Supercharging station about 3-½ hours into the trip which also conveniently worked for a quick dinner. We started the trip with a charge of 99% and Apple Maps advised that we would end at 26%. When we reached the charging stop, our remaining charge was better than expected at 31%.Overall miles per Kwh were 3.6 for the first leg of the trip. After failing at connecting to the first charger, another spot opened up and we were able to connect after repositioning the charger a couple of times as it didn’t seem to have a good fit but finally found the sweet spot. The vehicle’s charge went from 31% to 92% in about 25 minutes which was just enough time to order and eat subs.


We finished up the remaining 60 miles taking the charge from 92% to 66%. After a night in Kingston, NY, we’ll finish up the trip early tomorrow in Hudson, NY.

My only real regret of the trip thus far is not having the courage to go to a Supercharger location further into the route with better food options which would have only used another 16% of the battery and left us with approximately 15% remaining before charging. Did I mention I have range anxiety? LOL

We also learned that our hotel that said it has a charger-does not. Fortunately we have plenty of charge but would have been nice to top off a bit more, especially if it had been free.

Apple Maps seems to work well, but does anyone else have apps they would recommend? And will they integrate in any way with vehicles battery range?

Excellent!

Having just a few weeks ago done my first ever charging away from home, I can totally relate with many of these feelings.

I think it’s a great idea for anyone who is doing a road trip to do a test charge at a fast charger (preferably the network(s) you’ll be using), just to make sure everything works correctly.

How many miles was the trip? How many miles of EPA range does the vehicle have? Curious what you got vs what you “expected”.

3.6 miles per kWh is excellent for a road trip. Was it highway driving, or more mixed?

Apple Maps is what I usually use for navigation. However on our vehicle we can’t get the battery information right in the maps. So I either have to use the built in navigation system from the car, or find charging stations separately/on my own. And on my road trip one direction I used ABRP manually from each stop (pre-planning my next stop), and in the other direction I used the built in navigation system.

ABRP can do what you are wanting, but requires a Bluetooth OBD2 scanner, and a subscription to ABRP. I didn’t want to futz with that. If I were you I’d just keep using the Apple Maps. But that might just be a “me” thing .

Safe travels back!

 

[J Alynn]

So exciting to hear about your first big trip! I’m so glad it went so well.

Thanks. She’s still loving the EV for sure

 

[Scout_Lookout]

Lexus RZ450e road trip!

A few days ago I decided an overnight road trip in the Lexus RZ 450e was overdue and I also thought surprising @JAlynn with it would be fun! Since I’ve continued to only use trickle charging at home since my vehicle’s longest roundtrip to date hasn’t exceeded 150 miles and I have a short commute to work, I felt the need to get in some practice trying out both a Tesla Supercharger and a Chargepoint charger since charging stops will be required on this trip.

The first test was a Tesla Supercharger. No adapter was required and the integration to the Lexus App took care of payment via the Lexus Wallet . Since this was meant to be practice, I only connected to the charger for 8 minutes and increased the charge level from 68% to 80%. I then went to a Chargepoint station, connecting for the same time period but only increased the charge by 1%. This station required an adapter. This exercise helped me feel a little more confident with pulling into a charging station if nothing else.

While the RZ has a navigation system, Apple Maps is recommended by Lexus for navigation as it integrates with the battery level of the vehicle. I admit that I do have some range anxiety due to holiday traffic and record temperatures in the northeast driving down the range due to using the A/C.

I mapped out our route and it recommended a Tesla Supercharging station about 3-½ hours into the trip which also conveniently worked for a quick dinner. We started the trip with a charge of 99% and Apple Maps advised that we would end at 26%. When we reached the charging stop, our remaining charge was better than expected at 31%.Overall miles per Kwh were 3.6 for the first leg of the trip. After failing at connecting to the first charger, another spot opened up and we were able to connect after repositioning the charger a couple of times as it didn’t seem to have a good fit but finally found the sweet spot. The vehicle’s charge went from 31% to 92% in about 25 minutes which was just enough time to order and eat subs.


We finished up the remaining 60 miles taking the charge from 92% to 66%. After a night in Kingston, NY, we’ll finish up the trip early tomorrow in Hudson, NY.

My only real regret of the trip thus far is not having the courage to go to a Supercharger location further into the route with better food options which would have only used another 16% of the battery and left us with approximately 15% remaining before charging. Did I mention I have range anxiety? LOL

We also learned that our hotel that said it has a charger-does not. Fortunately we have plenty of charge but would have been nice to top off a bit more, especially if it had been free.

Apple Maps seems to work well, but does anyone else have apps they would recommend? And will they integrate in any way with vehicles battery range?

Great job on successfully navigating the EV road trip! Charge anxiety will become less and less the more you road trip. Don't stress, 15% is plenty! Now if you're sitting at 15% and the arrival is 1% maybe dont risk it for the biscuit then lol!

 

[J Alynn]

I’m adding an observation as we are on our return trip charging session. The Lexus plug port is right behind the front wheel on passenger side. We had to basically curb out today on an angle in a wider end space to just (and I mean JUST) reach the port. In fact the doors cover is sitting on the charger cord which over time may create an issue. So has me thinking-the scouts on rear will drivers will be more than clear BUT @Jamie@ScoutMotors have you guys tested backing a scout traveler into a Tesla charger with the spare tire carrier? I suspect the tire is gonna need swung open to back in which concerns me. Most of my charging will be at home so not truly worried and kinda thing EREV might be my new direction in which case on a long trip I could just gas and go. I’ll be CERY curious if tire carrier will clear the charger base-hope SM is thinking about this