2008 LEXUS RX400H shock

RX400h_U
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CAUTION
■General precautions while driving
Driving under the influence: Never drive your vehicle when under the influence of
alcohol or drugs that have impaired your ability to operate your vehicle. Alcohol
and certain drugs delay reaction time, impair judgment and reduce coordination,
which could lead to an accident that will hurt or kill you, your occupants or others.
Defensive driving: Always drive defensively. Anticipate mistakes that other drivers
or pedestrians might make and be ready to avoid accidents.
Driver distraction: Always give your full attention to driving. Anything that distracts
the driver, such as adjusting controls, talking on a cellular phone or reading can
result in a collision with resulting death or serious injury to you, your occupants or
others.
■General precaution regarding children’s safety
Never leave children unattended in the vehicle, and never allow children to have or
use the key.
Children may be able to start the vehicle or shift the vehicle into neutral. There is
also a danger that children may injure themselves by playing with the cigarette
lighter, the windows, the moon roof, or other features of the vehicle. In addition, heat
build-up or extremely cold temperatures inside the vehicle can be fatal to children.
■Dispose of the hybrid battery (traction battery)
If your vehicle is disposed of without the hybrid battery having been removed, there
is a danger of serious electric shock if high voltage parts, cables and their connec-
tors are touched. In the event of that your vehicle must be disposed of, the hybrid
battery must be disposed of your Lexus dealer or a qualified service shop. If the
hybrid battery is not disposed of properly, they may cause electric shock that can
result in death or serious injury.

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1-1. Hybrid system
1
Before driving
RX400h_U
■If a warning light comes on or a warning message is displayed, or the 12-volt bat-
tery is disconnected
The hybrid system may not start. In that case, try to start the system again. If the
READY light does not come on, contact your Lexus dealer.
■Emergency shut off system
The emergency shut off system blocks off the high voltage current and stops the
fuel pump to minimize the risk of the electric leakage and the fuel leakage when a
certain level of impact is detected by the impact sensor. If the system activates, your
vehicle will not restart. To restart the hybrid system, contact a Lexus dealer.
CAUTION
■High voltage precautions
The vehicle has high voltage DC and AC systems as well as a system. DC and AC
high voltage is very dangerous and can cause severe burns and electric shock that
may result in death or serious injury.
●Never touch, disassemble, remove or replace the high voltage parts, cables and
their connectors.
●The hybrid system will become hot after starting as the system uses high voltage.
Be careful of both the high voltage and the high temperature, and always obey
the caution labels attached to the vehicle.
●Never try to open the service plug access hole located in the luggage compart-
ment. The service plug is used only when the vehicle is serviced and is subject to
high voltage.

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1-1. Hybrid system
RX400h_U
CAUTION
■Road accident cautions
Observe the following precautions to reduce the risk of injury.
●Pull your vehicle off the road, put the shift lever in P, apply the parking brake, turn
the hybrid system off and remove the key.
●Do not touch the high voltage parts, cables and connectors.
●If electric wires are exposed inside or outside your vehicle, an electric shock may
occur. Never touch exposed electric wires.
●If a fluid leak occurs, do not touch it as it may be strong alkaline electrolyte from
the hybrid battery (traction battery). If it comes into contact with your skin or
eyes, wash it off immediately with a large amount of water or if possible, boric
acid solution. Seek immediate medical attention.
●If a fire occurs in the hybrid vehicle, leave the vehicle as soon as possible. Never
use a fire extinguisher that is not meant for electric fires. Using even a small
amount of water may be dangerous.
●If your vehicle needs to be towed, do so with the front wheels (for 2WD models)
or four wheels (for AWD models) raised. If the wheels with the electric motor
(traction motor) are on the ground when towing, the motor may continue to gen-
erate electricity. This may cause an electricity leakage leading to a fire.(
→P. 3 7 8 )
■Nickel-metal hydride battery
Your vehicle contains a sealed nickel-metal hydride battery. If disposed of improp-
erly, it is hazardous to the environment and there is a risk of severe burns and elec-
trical shock that may result in death or serious injury.
■If the system activates
●Carefully check to see if there are exposed high voltage parts or cables. Never
touch the parts or cables. (
→P. 2 7 )
●Carefully inspect the ground under the vehicle. If you find that liquid has leaked
onto the ground, the fuel system may have been damaged. Leave the vehicle as
soon as possible.

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1-2. Key information
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Before driving
RX400h_U
■When required to leave a key to the vehicle with a parking attendant
Lock the glove box as circumstances demand. (→ P. 2 6 5 )
Carry the master key for your own use and leave the valet key only with the atten-
dant.
■Key number plate
Keep the plate in a safe place such as your wallet, not in the vehicle. In the event that
a key is lost, a new key can be made at your Lexus dealer using the key number
plate. ( →P. 4 2 0 )
NOTICE
■To prevent key damage
●Do not subject the keys to strong shocks, expose them to high temperatures by
placing them in direct sunlight, or get them wet.
●Do not expose the keys to electromagnetic materials or attach any material that
blocks electromagnetic waves to the key surface.

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2-4. Using other driving systems
RX400h_U
CAUTION
■When the laser radar sensor may not be correctly detecting the vehicle ahead
Apply the brakes as necessary when any of the following types of vehicles are in
front of you.
As the sensor may not be able to correctly detect these types of vehicles, the prox-
imity alarm (→P. 164) will not be activated, and an accident may result.
●Vehicles that cut in suddenly
●Vehicles traveling at low speeds
●Vehicles that are not moving
●Vehicles with small rear ends (trailers with no load on board etc.)
●Motorcycles traveling in the same lane
■Conditions under which the vehicle-to-vehicle distance control may not function
correctly
Apply the brakes as necessary in the following conditions as the laser radar sensor
may not be able to correctly detect vehicles ahead, and an accident may result.
●When water or snow thrown up by the surrounding vehicles hinders the function-
ing of the sensor
●When your vehicle is pointing upwards (caused by a heavy load in the luggage
compartment, etc.)
●When the road curves or when the lanes are narrow
●When steering wheel operation or your position in the lane is unstable
■To ensure the laser radar sensor functions correctly
Do not do the following to the sensor as doing so may cause the sensor not to func-
tion correctly and could result in an accident.
●Stick or attach anything to them
●Leave them dirty
●Disassemble, subject them to strong shocks
●Modify or paint them
●Replace them with non-genuine parts

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3-3. Using the rear audio system
RX400h_U
CAUTION
■While driving
Do not use headphones.
Doing so may cause an accident, resulting in death or serious injury.
■When the rear seat entertainment system is not used
Keep the display closed.
In the event of an accident or sudden braking, the opened display may hit an occu-
pant's body, resulting in injury.
■To prevent accidents and electric shock
Do not disassemble or modify the remote control.
■When the remote control is not used
Stow the remote control.
Injuries may result in the event of an accident or sudden braking.

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4-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
RX400h_U
CAUTION
The engine compartment contains many mechanisms and fluids that may move sud-
denly, become hot, or become electrically energized. To avoid death or serious injury:
■When working on the engine compartment
●Keep hands, clothing, and tools away from the moving fan and engine drive belt.
●Be careful not to touch the engine, inverter, radiator, exhaust manifold, etc. right
after driving as they may be hot. Oil and other fluids may also be hot.
●Do not leave anything that may burn easily, such as paper or rags, in the engine
compartment.
●Do not smoke, cause sparks or expose an open flame to fuel or the battery. Fuel
and battery fumes are flammable.
●Be extremely cautious when working on the battery. It contains poisonous and
corrosive sulfuric acid.
●Never touch, disassemble, remove or replace the high voltage parts, cables and
their connectors. It can cause severe burns or electric shock that may result in
death or serious injury.
●When the hybrid system is operating with the READY light on, the engine may
suddenly start in some cases. When you inspect the engine compartment, be
sure to turn off the hybrid system.
■When working near the electric cooling fan or radiator grille
Be sure the engine switch is off.
With the engine switch on, the electric cooling fan may automatically start to run if
the air conditioning is on and/or the coolant temperature is high. (→P. 3 2 5 )
■Safety glasses
Wear safety glasses to prevent flying or falling material, fluid spray, etc. from getting
in the eyes.
NOTICE
■If you remove the air cleaner:
Driving with the air filter removed may cause excessive engine wear due to dirt in
the air. Also a backfire could cause a fire in the engine compartment.

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4-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
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Maintenance and care
RX400h_U
CAUTION
■Replacing light bulbs
●Turn off the headlights. Do not attempt to replace the bulb immediately after turn-
ing off the headlights.
The bulbs become very hot and may cause burns.
●Do not touch the glass portion of the light bulb with bare hands. Hold the bulb by
the plastic or metal portion.
If the bulb is scratched or dropped it may blow out or crack.
●Fully install light bulbs and any parts used to secure them.
Failing to do so may result in heat damage, fire, or water entering the headlight
unit. This may damage the headlights or cause condensation to build up on the
lens.
●Do not attempt to take apart or repair the low beam discharge headlight bulbs,
connectors, power supply circuits, or related components.
Doing so could result in electric shock and serious injury or death.
■Discharge headlights
●Contact your Lexus dealer before replacing discharge headlights (including light
bulbs).
●Do not touch the high-intensity discharge headlight’s high voltage socket when
the headlights are turned on.
An extremely high voltage of 20000 V will be discharged and could result in
serious injury or death by electric shock.
■To prevent damage or fire
Make sure bulbs are fully seated and locked.