Lexus RZ chronicals-by my wife

[RodorW]

Yeah, you just understand your vehicle after a little while

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

And one huge difference is that arriving home with 0% charge is totally fine. Arriving home with an empty tank is totally not fine.

 

[J Alynn]

Range anxiety? What’s that?


Got home late one night with the Mustang. Didn’t want to make the one final stop that would have ensured I got home with 10% remaining. I did slow down for the last few miles before my gravel road so I was only going 57 in a 55.
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Stopping at a charge station while towing a uhaul up the mountain. Got to the charger with 6% state of charge, 15 miles remaining. Not a problem.
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I look forward to the day we are both experienced enough to have the confidence to do that.

 

[Scout_Lookout]

This is what it's all about.

At night:

In the morning:

Tbh I find it much less stressful to look at the mileage remaining than the % because I can judge how much 31 miles is much easier than 11%. I think if early adopters simply begin by practicing the same technique in their ICE vehicles and watch the mileage remaining rather than the gas gauge IMO it will make EV adoption that much easier.

In fact, recently I just came out of 4 week gas rental car and I noticed something interesting. It had a digital "horizontal blocks" gas gauge and at one point the gauge wasn't even reading but the mileage counter said I had something like 13 miles left so I drove a little further. I honestly think/know prior to EV adoption that had the gas gauge showed one block left I would've absolutely have stopped for gas.

Again, I think this is a simple easy test to anyone who is planning to switch to an EV to try and get use to "trusting the BMS" even though Kyle Conner says to never do that lol

 

[SpaceEVDriver]

I deliberately don't pay attention to the remaining range estimate. I can do the current efficiency math with % remaining to get an estimate of remaining range better than the vehicles. They're too conservative.

 

[robothero]

range anxiety is me filling up my

watch the mileage remaining rather than the gas gauge

One thing that I am absolutely positive EVs do better than gas cars. In the subaru I know what "10 miles" means when it says that much is left, and I can tell you its more than 10 miles.

 

[Scout_Lookout]

I deliberately don't pay attention to the remaining range estimate. I can do the current efficiency math with % remaining to get an estimate of remaining range better than the vehicles. They're too conservative.

Valid for current EV owners, but for new EV adopters who are undoubtedly going to heavily depend on the range readings of the BMS, I think it would be good practice to focus on mileage estimates instead of relying on the gas gauge.

 

[bwdavis7]

Congrats on the new Lexus RZ! I have had my Ioniq 5 for 2 months now and find that posts like this one are very helpful to those of us new to the EV family. Had it not been for this forum, I would not have even considered purchasing a BEV. I actually jumped from 25 year old ICE technology to current EV and I can honestly say that it has been a simple and pleasurable adjustment. For local daily trips, I can't imagine anyone having any more anxiety of driving an EV than they would just getting used to the controls, displays and differences in their previous daily driver.

For longer trips requiring charging stops, I know that is an adjustment but not necessarily what I would call range anxiety for me. I haven't traveled much over 300 miles (including one public charging) during one road trip, so I still don't quite "know my car" for those situations. It has been a while for me but I believe that being a young new driver of ICE vehicles years ago that we had mental adjustments that we don't even think about anymore. With time and experience with my new BEV, I expect it will be similar or even easier. Public charging isn't in our face like all the gas stations but that doesn't mean you don't have opportunities to get a charge if you need one. Being new to BEV, planning ahead essentially removes any anxiety and having a backup plan is even better.

Adjusting to regen braking was not that difficult for me and actually one to the nicest features to have coming from an automatic transmission. I think you could actually set the regen level to something that feels like your previous vehicle and leave it until you are familiar with the operation of the car. The default regen level on my Ioniq 5 made it simple for my wife to just get in and drive without any issue or anxiety. I found that I loved OPD and left it on that but after a few highway trips, I found that OPD was not my preferred mode. Regen paddles on the steering wheel to the rescue. Paddles for regen for off-road may be totally unnecessary (I don't know), but I have found that I use them on highway driving quite often.

I took my first trip with my new car into the mountains this weekend with wondering about handling and effect on range. I found that it was the easiest vehicle to operate on those winding and steep roads than any other vehicle (other than motorcycle) that I have ever experienced. Previously, I preferred driving a manual transmission over auto for mountain roads. This car with regen shift paddles made coasting, braking and accelerating SO MUCH better than anything I have driven. It was a round trip, so overall elevation gain was 0, but I was surprised that my average range went up. I am guessing that most of it was less wind resistance due to the lower average speed.

Thanks to all for sharing their experiences which essentially delivered me into world of EVs. This experience absolutely solidifies my decision to change my reservation from the Harvester to the Scout BEV for my lifestyle.

 

[J Alynn]

Congrats on the new Lexus RZ! I have had my Ioniq 5 for 2 months now and find that posts like this one are very helpful to those of us new to the EV family. Had it not been for this forum, I would not have even considered purchasing a BEV. I actually jumped from 25 year old ICE technology to current EV and I can honestly say that it has been a simple and pleasurable adjustment. For local daily trips, I can't imagine anyone having any more anxiety of driving an EV than they would just getting used to the controls, displays and differences in their previous daily driver.

For longer trips requiring charging stops, I know that is an adjustment but not necessarily what I would call range anxiety for me. I haven't traveled much over 300 miles (including one public charging) during one road trip, so I still don't quite "know my car" for those situations. It has been a while for me but I believe that being a young new driver of ICE vehicles years ago that we had mental adjustments that we don't even think about anymore. With time and experience with my new BEV, I expect it will be similar or even easier. Public charging isn't in our face like all the gas stations but that doesn't mean you don't have opportunities to get a charge if you need one. Being new to BEV, planning ahead essentially removes any anxiety and having a backup plan is even better.

Adjusting to regen braking was not that difficult for me and actually one to the nicest features to have coming from an automatic transmission. I think you could actually set the regen level to something that feels like your previous vehicle and leave it until you are familiar with the operation of the car. The default regen level on my Ioniq 5 made it simple for my wife to just get in and drive without any issue or anxiety. I found that I loved OPD and left it on that but after a few highway trips, I found that OPD was not my preferred mode. Regen paddles on the steering wheel to the rescue. Paddles for regen for off-road may be totally unnecessary (I don't know), but I have found that I use them on highway driving quite often.

I took my first trip with my new car into the mountains this weekend with wondering about handling and effect on range. I found that it was the easiest vehicle to operate on those winding and steep roads than any other vehicle (other than motorcycle) that I have ever experienced. Previously, I preferred driving a manual transmission over auto for mountain roads. This car with regen shift paddles made coasting, braking and accelerating SO MUCH better than anything I have driven. It was a round trip, so overall elevation gain was 0, but I was surprised that my average range went up. I am guessing that most of it was less wind resistance due to the lower average speed.

Thanks to all for sharing their experiences which essentially delivered me into world of EVs. This experience absolutely solidifies my decision to change my reservation from the Harvester to the Scout BEV for my lifestyle.

I appreciate you sharing as well. All the knowledge here was enough for me to be very comfortable encouraging my wife to she had been wanting a Lexus-as an accounting/banker person she doesn’t spend money on herself so I saw the Lexus deals and thought it was a win-win to get her into a Lexus (albeit she would have preferred a hybrid RX) but it was a fairly priced vehicle, was a Lexus and the driving experience makes her much happier than the pilot and even the Acura MDX prior to that. So keep sharing EV experiences so we can keep building trust for members thinking about it. It’s new, it’s scary and takes a little planning. Kind of like a Halloween costume but underneath it all-it’s pretty much something you know and expect and is easy to learn to live

 

[strider]

It’s gonna take me awhile to get that brave.

I'm guessing that you have a good idea of how long you can drive after the low fuel light comes on as well as how accurate the "miles remaining" display is in your Jeep? It's the same in an EV. In the beginning you will fill up constantly, and then push it further as you get comfortable.

Like @SpaceEVDriver said, the nice thing about an EV is that you can roll into your garage at 0. You can't do that in an ICE (although I do keep 15 gallons of stabilized fuel at home for the generator).

 

[J Alynn]

I'm guessing that you have a good idea of how long you can drive after the low fuel light comes on as well as how accurate the "miles remaining" display is in your Jeep? It's the same in an EV. In the beginning you will fill up constantly, and then push it further as you get comfortable.

Like @SpaceEVDriver said, the nice thing about an EV is that you can roll into your garage at 0. You can't do that in an ICE (although I do keep 15 gallons of stabilized fuel at home for the generator).

I’m going to try and make mental list to track our “comfort level” to see how long it takes until we are willing to push until we get down to 20%, then 10%, etc…. Like replaying rounds of limbo-how low can you go

 

[speedrye]

I’m going to try and make mental list to track our “comfort level” to see how long it takes until we are willing to push until we get down to 20%, then 10%, etc…. Like replaying rounds of limbo-how low can you go

Reminds me of cell phones. My wife starts freaking out when hers gets below 60% or so while I'm perfectly happy plugging along at 10% knowing I can get another 12 hours out of it if needed.

 

[Scout_Lookout]

Reminds me of cell phones. My wife starts freaking out when hers gets below 60% or so while I'm perfectly happy plugging along at 10% knowing I can get another 12 hours out of it if needed.

My wife does the exact same thing! That's how I've known for quite a while that EV adoption is not for her lol!

Simple rule my electronics live by. If it ain't red, it ain't dead.

 

[J Alynn]

Update number 2 from my wife:

One month update.......

After returning from a week-long trip at 2am and really hoping to drive to my own house, I discovered my key fob wouldn't open the doors to my RZ that had been parked in my parent's garage for the last week. I tried a quick battery switch in the fob, and it was still dead. I quickly figured out how to "break-in" using the valet key thinking that I could hold the fob to the start button to start the car. I was rewarded with an unfamiliar beep and absolutely no sign of life. Desperate for sleep, I stayed at my parent's house searching the internet for the cause before falling asleep. At a more reasonable hour, I called Lexus Roadside Assistance who sent someone from AAA about 90 minutes later.

The AAA driver's first question to me was where did I place the key fob while I was away? This pretty much corroborated my internet research which said that if the key fob is left too close to the vehicle, it can drain the 12V auxiliary battery. Guess 9 feet away on a table inside the house was too close! Research also found that having background refresh turned on in the Lexus app, can also contribute to this issue.

Fortunately, a quick charge by AAA to the battery had me on my way within a few minutes of their arrival, and I've had no other battery issues since. A call to the Lexus dealer also confirmed that key fob proximity is an issue. A Faraday box was also quickly ordered, and all key fobs will now be stored there to hopefully prevent this issue going forward.

Despite this small bump in the road and a lesson learned about key fob proximity, I'm still extremely happy with my EV purchase decision. Range continues to be better than I anticipated and exceeds the Lexus stated range. I don't miss the 10 to 15-minute wait in the Costco gas lines but still do check my "fuel" level out of habit when driving past Sheetz or Wawa. Hopefully, I can break that habit soon!

 

[J Alynn]

Update number 2 from my wife:

One month update.......

After returning from a week-long trip at 2am and really hoping to drive to my own house, I discovered my key fob wouldn't open the doors to my RZ that had been parked in my parent's garage for the last week. I tried a quick battery switch in the fob, and it was still dead. I quickly figured out how to "break-in" using the valet key thinking that I could hold the fob to the start button to start the car. I was rewarded with an unfamiliar beep and absolutely no sign of life. Desperate for sleep, I stayed at my parent's house searching the internet for the cause before falling asleep. At a more reasonable hour, I called Lexus Roadside Assistance who sent someone from AAA about 90 minutes later.

The AAA driver's first question to me was where did I place the key fob while I was away? This pretty much corroborated my internet research which said that if the key fob is left too close to the vehicle, it can drain the 12V auxiliary battery. Guess 9 feet away on a table inside the house was too close! Research also found that having background refresh turned on in the Lexus app, can also contribute to this issue.

Fortunately, a quick charge by AAA to the battery had me on my way within a few minutes of their arrival, and I've had no other battery issues since. A call to the Lexus dealer also confirmed that key fob proximity is an issue. A Faraday box was also quickly ordered, and all key fobs will now be stored there to hopefully prevent this issue going forward.

Despite this small bump in the road and a lesson learned about key fob proximity, I'm still extremely happy with my EV purchase decision. Range continues to be better than I anticipated and exceeds the Lexus stated range. I don't miss the 10 to 15-minute wait in the Costco gas lines but still do check my "fuel" level out of habit when driving past Sheetz or Wawa. Hopefully, I can break that habit soon!

For the last 6 years my wife has parked in our front garage bay which means she was 16 feet from where keys are inside house. Now she is in the rear bay so she is only 6’ so that was part of the learning experience. At home it’s generally on the charger and we don’t use a lot range so any battery fade would not have been noticeable. Hoping the new Faraday box will minimize if not eliminate that issue

 

[cyure]

Update number 2 from my wife:

One month update.......

After returning from a week-long trip at 2am and really hoping to drive to my own house, I discovered my key fob wouldn't open the doors to my RZ that had been parked in my parent's garage for the last week. I tried a quick battery switch in the fob, and it was still dead. I quickly figured out how to "break-in" using the valet key thinking that I could hold the fob to the start button to start the car. I was rewarded with an unfamiliar beep and absolutely no sign of life. Desperate for sleep, I stayed at my parent's house searching the internet for the cause before falling asleep. At a more reasonable hour, I called Lexus Roadside Assistance who sent someone from AAA about 90 minutes later.

The AAA driver's first question to me was where did I place the key fob while I was away? This pretty much corroborated my internet research which said that if the key fob is left too close to the vehicle, it can drain the 12V auxiliary battery. Guess 9 feet away on a table inside the house was too close! Research also found that having background refresh turned on in the Lexus app, can also contribute to this issue.

Fortunately, a quick charge by AAA to the battery had me on my way within a few minutes of their arrival, and I've had no other battery issues since. A call to the Lexus dealer also confirmed that key fob proximity is an issue. A Faraday box was also quickly ordered, and all key fobs will now be stored there to hopefully prevent this issue going forward.

Despite this small bump in the road and a lesson learned about key fob proximity, I'm still extremely happy with my EV purchase decision. Range continues to be better than I anticipated and exceeds the Lexus stated range. I don't miss the 10 to 15-minute wait in the Costco gas lines but still do check my "fuel" level out of habit when driving past Sheetz or Wawa. Hopefully, I can break that habit soon!

I love her updates. Tell her thank you so much.