2015 LEXUS RX350 Owners Manual

1692-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving CAUTION■
When starting the engine
Always start the engine while sitting in th e driver’s seat. Do not depress the acceler-
ator pedal while starting the engine under any circumstances.
Doing so may cause an accident resu lting in death or serious injury.■
Caution while driving
If the vehicle begins to slide due to engine failure or other circumstances, do not
lock or open the doors until the vehicle reaches a safe and complete stop. Activa-
tion of the steering lock in this circumstance may lead to an accident, resulting in
death or serious injury.■
Stopping the engine in an emergency
If you want to stop the engine in an emergency while driving the vehicle, press and
hold the “ENGINE START STOP” switch for more than 2 seconds, or press it
briefly 3 times or more in succession. (  P. 8 0 4 )
However, do not touch the “ENGINE START STOP” switch while driving except in
an emergency. Turning the engine off while driving will not cause loss of steering or
braking control, but the power assist to these systems will be lost. This will make it
more difficult to steer and brake, so you should pull over and stop the vehicle as
soon as it is safe to do so.

1702-1. Driving procedures
NOTICE■
To prevent battery discharge ●
Do not leave the “ENGINE START STOP” switch in ACCESSORY or IGNI-
TION ON mode for long periods of time without the engine running.●
If the indicator on the “ENGINE START STOP” switch is illuminated, the
“ENGINE START STOP” switch is not off. When exiting the vehicle, always
check that the “ENGINE START STOP” switch is off.●
Do not stop the engine when the shift lever is in a position other than P. If the
engine is stopped in another shift lever position, the “ENGINE START STOP”
switch will not be turned off but instea d be turned to ACCESSORY mode. If the
vehicle is left in ACCESSORY mode, battery discharge may occur.■
When starting the engine ●
Do not race a cold engine.●
If the engine becomes difficult to start or stalls frequently, have your vehicle
checked by your Lexus dealer immediately.■
Symptoms indicating a malfunction with the “ENGINE START STOP” switch
If the “ENGINE START STOP” seems to be operating somewhat differently than
usual, such as the switch sticking slightly, there may be a malfunction. Contact your
Lexus dealer immediately.

1712-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving Automatic transmission (6-speed models) Select a shift position appropriate for the driving conditions.
■ Shifting the shift lever
While the “ENGINE START STOP” switch is in IGNITION
ON mode, depress the brake pedal and move the shift lever. When shifting the shift lever between P and D, make sure that the
vehicle is completely stopped.

1722-1. Driving procedures
■ Shift position purpose
* 1
: Shifting to the D position allows the sy stem to select a gear suitable for the
driving conditions. Setting the shift le ver to the D position is recommended
for normal driving.
* 2
: Selecting shift ranges using S mode re stricts the upper limit of the possible
gear ranges, controls engine brakin g forces, and prevents unnecessary
upshifting. Shift position Function
P Parking the vehicle/starting the engine
R Reversing
N Neutral
D Normal driving
* 1
S S mode driving
* 2
(  P. 1 74 )

1732-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving ■ Selecting snow mode
Use snow mode for accele rating and driving on slippery road sur-
faces such as snow.
Press the menu switch. The multi-information display
will change modes to electronic
features control mode.
Press the “  ” or “  ” switch
until “ECT SNOW” appears.
Press the “ENTER” switch to
change to “ON”.
The “ECT SNOW” indicator will
be displayed. Each pressing of the switch
turns snow mode on and off.
Press the menu switch to
change to the normal display.STEP 1
STEP 2

1742-1. Driving procedures
Changing shift ranges in S mode
To enter S mode, shift the shift lever to the S position. The shift range can
then be selected by operating the “- ” and “+” paddle shift switches (if
equipped) or the shift lever. Changing the shift range allows restriction of
the upper limit of the ge ars to be used, preventing unnecessary upshifting
and enabling the level of engine braking force to be selected.
Upshifting
Downshifting
The initial shift range in S mode is set automatically to “5” or “4” accord-
ing to vehicle speed. However, the init ial shift range may be set to “3” if
AI-SHIFT has operated while the shift lever was in the D position.
(  P. 1 76 )
■ Shift ranges and their functions
● Automatically selecting gears betw een 1 and 6 according to vehicle
speed and driving conditions. But the gear is limi ted according to
selected shift range.
● You can choose from 6 levels of engine braking force.
● A lower shift range will provide gr eater engine braking force than a
higher shift range, and the engi ne speed will also increase.

1752-1. Driving procedures
2
When driving Selecting shift ranges in the D position (vehicles with paddle shift switches)
To drive using temporary shift range sele ction, operate the “-” paddle shift
switch. The shift range can then be selected by operating the “-” and “+”
paddle shift switches. Changing the sh ift range allows restriction of the
upper limit of the gears to be used, preventing unnecessary upshifting
and enabling the level of engine braking force to be selected.
Upshifting
Downshifting
To return to normal D position
driving, the “+” paddle shift switch
must be held down for a period of
time.
■ Shift ranges and their functions
 P. 1 74

1762-1. Driving procedures
■
When the “-” paddle shift switch is operated in the D position (vehicles with pad-
dle shift switches)
When the “-” paddle shift switch is operat ed in the D position, a shift range will be
automatically selected. The highest gear of the first shift range will be one gear
lower than the gear in use during normal D position driving.■
Automatic deactivation of shift range selection in the D position (vehicles with
paddle shift switches)
Shift range selection in the D position will be deactivated in the following situations: ●
When the vehicle comes to a stop●
When range 6 is selected and the accelerator pedal is depressed●
If the accelerator pedal is depressed for more than a certain period of time■
Snow mode automatic deactivation
Snow mode is automatically deactivated if the “ENGINE START STOP” switch is
turned off after driving in snow mode. ■
S mode ●
When the shift range is “5” or lower, holding the shift lever toward “+” sets the
shift range to “6”.●
To prevent the engine from over-revving, upshifting may automatically occur.●
To protect the automatic transmission, a function is adopted that automatically
selects a higher shift range when the fluid temperature is high.■
AI-SHIFT
AI-SHIFT automatically selects the suitable gear according to driver performance
and driving conditions.
The AI-SHIFT automatically operates when th e shift lever is in the D position. (Shift-
ing the shift lever to the S position cancels the function.)