2015 LEXUS RX450h Owners Manual

25Event data recorder This vehicle is equipped with an event data recorder (EDR). The main purpose of an
EDR is to record, in certain crash or near crash-like situations, such as an air bag
deployment or hitting a road obstacle, data that will assist in understanding how a
vehicle’s systems performed. The EDR is desi gned to record data related to vehicle
dynamics and safety systems for a short peri od of time, typically 30 seconds or less.
The EDR in this vehicle is designed to record such data as:
• How various systems in your vehicle were operating;
• Whether or not the driver and passenge r safety belts were buckled/fastened;
• How far (if at all) the driver was depressing the accelerator and/or brake pedal;
and,
• How fast the vehicle was traveling.
These data can help provide a better understanding of the circumstances in which
crashes and injuries occur.
NOTE: EDR data are recorded by your vehi cle only if a non-trivial crash situation
occurs; no data are recorded by the EDR under normal driving conditions and no
personal data (e.g., name, gender, age, and crash location) are recorded. However,
other parties, such as law enforcement, could combine the EDR data with the type
of personally identifying data routinel y acquired during a crash investigation.
To read data recorded by an EDR, special equipment is required, and access to the
vehicle or the EDR is needed. In addition to the vehicle manufacturer, other parties,
such as law enforcement, that have the special equipment, can read the information
if they have access to the vehicle or the EDR.
● Disclosure of the EDR data
Lexus will not disclose the data recorded in an EDR to a third party except when:
• An agreement from the vehicle's owner (or the lessee for a leased vehicle) is
obtained
• In response to an official request by the police, a court of law or a government
agency
• For use by Lexus in a law suit
However, if necessary, Lexus may:
• Use the data for research on vehicle safety performance
• Disclose the data to a third party for re search purposes without disclosing infor-
mation about the specific vehicle or vehicle owner

26 Scrapping of your Lexus The SRS airbag and seat belt pretensioner devices in your Lexus contain explosive
chemicals. If the vehicle is scrapped with the airbags and seat belt pretensioners left
as they are, this may cause an accident such as fire. Be sure to have the systems of
the SRS airbag and seat belt pretensioner removed and disposed of by a qualified
service shop or by your Lexus deal er before you scrap your vehicle.
Perchlorate Material Special handling may apply, See www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate.
Your vehicle has components that may contain perchlorate. These components may
include airbag, seat belt pretensioners, and wireless remote control batteries.
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, im pair judgment and re duce coordination,
which could lead to an accident that co uld result in death or serious injury.
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 at tention to driving. Anything that distracts
the driver, such as adjusting controls, ta lking 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 vehi cle, 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 th emselves by playing with 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.

27CAUTION■
Hybrid battery (traction battery)
Never resell, hand over or modify the hybrid battery. To prevent accidents, hybrid
batteries that have been removed from a disposed vehicle are collected through
Lexus dealers. Do not dispose of the battery yourself.
Unless the battery is properly collected, th e following may occur, resulting in death
or serious injury: ●
The hybrid battery may be illegally di sposed of or dumped, and someone may
touch a high voltage part, resulting in an electric shock.●
The hybrid battery is intended to be used exclusively with your hybrid vehicle. If
the hybrid battery is used outside of your vehicle or modified in any way, acci-
dents such as electric shock, heat ge neration, smoke generation, an explosion
and electrolyte leakage may occur.
When reselling or handing over your vehi cle, the possibility of an accident is
extremely high because the person receivin g the vehicle may not be aware of these
dangers.■
Disposal 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 that your ve hicle must be disposed of, the hybrid bat-
tery must be disposed of by your Lexus dealer or a qualified service shop. If the
hybrid battery is not disposed of properly, it may cause electric shock that can result
in death or serious injury.

28Symbols used throughout this manual Cautions & Notices
Symbols used in illustrations CAUTION
This is a warning against something which, if ignored, may cause injury to people. You
are informed about what you must or must no t do in order to reduce the risk of injury
to yourself and others.
NOTICE
This is a warning against something which, if ignored, may cause damage to the vehi-
cle or its equipment. You are informed about what you must or must not do in order to
avoid or reduce the risk of damage to your Lexus and its equipment.
Safety symbol
The symbol of a circle with a slash through it means “Do not”,
“Do not do this”, or “Do not let this happen”.
Arrows indicating operations
Indicates the action (pushing, turning, etc.)
used to operate switches and other
devices.
Indicates the outcome of an operation (e.g.
a lid opens).

Before driving
1
291-1. Hybrid system
Hybrid system ........................... 30
Hybrid system precautions .... 34
Energy monitor/
consumption screen .............. 39
Hybrid vehicle driving tips...... 49
1-2. Key information
Keys ................................................ 51
1-3. Opening, closing and
locking the doors
Smart access system with
push-button start .................... 56
Wireless remote control ......... 69
Side doors.................................... 72
Back door .................................... 75
1-4. Adjustable components
(seats, mirrors,
steering wheel)
Front seats ................................... 86
Rear seats ................................... 89
Driving position memory ........ 93
Head restraints .......................... 97
Seat belts ..................................... 99
Steering wheel ......................... 105 Anti-glare inside rear view
mirror....................................... 107
Outside rear view
mirrors..................................... 109
1-5. Opening and closing the
windows and moon roof
Power windows ......................... 112
Moon roof .................................. 115
1-6. Refueling
Opening the fuel tank
cap ............................................. 119
1-7. Theft deterrent system
Immobilizer system ................ 124
Alarm.......................................... 126
Theft prevention labels ......... 129
1-8. Safety information
Correct driving posture ....... 130
SRS airbags .............................. 132
Front passenger occupant
classification system............ 145
Child restraint systems ......... 150
Installing child restraints....... 154

301-1. Hybrid system
Hybrid system Your vehicle is a hybrid vehicle. It has characteristics different from con-
ventional vehicles. Be sure you are clos ely familiar with the characteristics
of your vehicle, and operate with care.
The hybrid system combines the use of a gasoline engine and an electric
motor (traction motor) according to driving conditions, improving fuel effi-
ciency and reducing exhaust emissions.
Gasoline engine
Rear electric motor (Traction motor)*
Front electric motor (Traction motor)
*: AWD models only

311-1. Hybrid system
1
Before driving
Vehicle Proximity Notification System
When the gasoline engine is off wh ile driving, a sound is produced to
warn pedestrians, people riding bicy cles or other people and vehicles in
the surrounding area that the vehicle is approa ching. The pitch of the
sound adjusts according to vehicle speed. When vehicle speed is approx-
imately 12 mph (20 km/h) or mo re, the warning system turns off.■ When stopped/during start-off
The gasoline engine stops when the vehicle is stopped. During start-
off, the electric motor (traction mo tor) drives the vehicle. At slow
speeds or when traveling down a ge ntle slope, the engine is stopped
and the motor is used.
■ During normal driving
The gasoline engine is predomina ntly used. The electric motor
(traction motor) charges the hybrid battery as necessary.
■ When accelerating sharply
The power of the hybrid battery (tract ion battery) is added to that of
the gasoline engine via the electric motor (traction motor).
■ When braking (regenerative braking)
The electric motor (traction moto r) charges the hybrid battery
(traction battery).

321-1. Hybrid system
■
Regenerative braking
In the following situations, kinetic energy is converted to electric energy and decel-
eration force can be obtained in conjunction with the recharging of the hybrid bat-
tery (traction battery). ●
The accelerator pedal is released. ●
The brake pedal is depressed with the shift lever in D or S.■
Conditions in which the gasoline engine may not stop
The gasoline engine starts and stops automatically. However, it may not stop auto-
matically in the following conditions: ●
During gasoline engine warm-up●
During hybrid battery (traction battery) charging●
When the temperature of the hybrid batt ery (traction battery) is high or low●
When the heater is switched on■
Charging the hybrid battery (traction battery) ●
As the gasoline engine charges the hybrid battery (traction battery), the battery
does not need to be charged from an outside source. However, if the vehicle is
left parked for a long time the hybrid ba ttery will slowly discharge. For this rea-
son, be sure to drive the vehicle at least once every few months for at least 30
minutes. If the hybrid battery becomes fully discharged and you are unable to
jump-start the vehicle with the 12-volt battery, contact your Lexus dealer. ●
If the shift lever is in N, the hybrid battery (traction battery) will not be charged.
Always put the shift lever in P when the vehicle is stopped. When driving in
heavy traffic, operate the vehicle with the shift lever in D or S to avoid discharg-
ing the battery.■
After the 12-volt battery has discharged or has been changed or removed
The gasoline engine may not st op even if the vehicle is running on the hybrid battery
(traction battery). If this continues for a few days, contact your Lexus dealer.