
3114-6. Driving tips
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
4
Driving
Regulations regarding the use of tire
chains vary depending on location and
type of road. Always check local regu-
lations before installing chains.
■Tire chain installation
Observe the following precautions when
installing and removing chains:
●Install and remove tire chains in a safe
location.
●Install tire chains on the rear tires. Do not
install tire chains on the front tires.
●Install tire chains on the rear tires as
tightly as possible. Retighten chains after
driving 1/4 1/2 mile (0.5 1.0 km).
●Install tire chains following the instruc-
tions provided with the tire chains.
To enable the windshield wipers to be
lifted when heavy snow or icy condi-
tions are expected, change the rest
position of the windshield wipers from
the retracted position below the hood
to the service position using the wiper
lever. ( P.195)
Regulations on the use of tire
chains
NOTICE
■Fitting tire chains
The tire pressure warning valves and
transmitters may not function correctly
when tire chains are fitted.
Windshield wipers

367
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
6
6
Maintenance and care
Maintenance and care
.6-1. Maintenance and careCleaning and protecting the vehi-cle exterior ................................ 368
Cleaning and protecting the vehi- cle interior .................................. 371
6-2. Maintenance Maintenance requirements........................................................ 375
General maintenance ............. 376
Emission inspection and mainte- nance (I/M) programs ......... 379
6-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance Do-it-yourself service precautions........................................................ 380
Hood............................................... 382
Positioning a floor jack............ 382
Engine compartment............... 384
12-volt battery............................. 390
Tires ................................................ 392
Replacing the tire ....................... 401
Tire inflation pressure .............. 405
Wheels........................................... 406
Air conditioning filter...............408
Electronic key battery ............. 409
Checking and replacing fuses .......................................................... 411
Light bulbs ..................................... 414

3786-2. Maintenance
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
Seats• Do the seat controls operate properly?
Steering wheel
• Does the steering wheel rotate
smoothly?
• Does the steering wheel have the cor-
rect amount of free
play?
•There should not be any strange sounds
coming from the
steering wheel.
Vehicle exterior
ItemsCheck points
Doors/trunk• Do the doors/trunk operate smoothly?
Engine hood
•Does the engine hood lock system
work properly?
Fluid leaks
•There should not be any signs of fluid
leakage after the
vehicle has been
parked.
ItemsCheck points
Tires
• Is the tire inflation pressure correct?
• The tires should not be damaged or
excessively worn.
• Have the tires been rotated according to
the maintenance
schedule?
•The wheel nuts should not be loose.
Windshield wip-
ers
• The wiper blades should not show any
signs of cracking,
splitting, wear, con-
tamination or defor-
mation.
• The wiper blades should clear the
windshield without
streaking or skip-
ping.
ItemsCheck points

3926-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
Terminals
Hold-down clamp
Check the 12-volt battery condition by
indicator color.
Blue: Good condition
Red: Charging is necessary.
Have the vehicle inspected by your
Lexus dealer.
Clear: Replacement is necessary.
Have the 12-volt battery checked
by your Lexus dealer. Check if the treadw
ear indicators are
showing on the tires. Also check the
tires for uneven wear, such as excessive
wear on one side of the tread.
New tread
Worn tread
Treadwear indicator
The location of treadwear indicators is
shown by a “TWI” or “ ” mark, etc.,
molded into the sidewall of each tire.
Replace the tires if the treadwear indica-
tors are showing on a tire.
Checking the 12-volt battery
condition
A
B
A
B
C
Tires
Replace or rotate tires in accor-
dance with maintenance schedules
and treadwear.
Checking tires
A
B
C

3936-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
6
Maintenance and care
■When to replace your vehicle’s tires
Tires should be replaced if:
●The treadwear indicators are showing on
a tire.
●You have tire damage such as cuts, splits,
cracks deep enough to expose the fabric,
and bulges indicating internal damage
●A tire goes flat repeatedly or cannot be
properly repaired due to the size or loca-
tion of a cut or other damage
If you are not sure, consult with your Lexus
dealer.
■Tire life
Any tire over 6 years old must be checked
by a qualified technician even if it has sel-
dom or never been used or damage is not
obvious.
■Maximum load of tire
Check that the maximum load of the
replacement tire is greater than 1/2 of the
Gross Axle Weight Ratings (GAWR) of
either the front axle or the rear axle, which-
ever is greater.
For the GAWR, see the Certification Label.
For the maximum load of the tire, see the
load limit at maximum cold tire inflation
pressure mentioned on the sidewall of the
tire. ( P.470)
■Tire types
●Summer tires
Summer tires are high-speed performance
tires best suited to highway driving under
dry conditions. Since summer tires do not
have the same traction performance as
snow tires, summer tires are inadequate for
driving on snow-covered or icy roads. For
driving on snow-covered roads or icy roads, the use of snow tires is recom-
mended. When installing snow tires, be
sure to replace all four tires.
●All season tires
All season tires are designed to provide
better traction in snow and to be adequate
for driving in most winter conditions as well
as for use year-round. All season tires,
however, do not have adequate traction
performance compared with snow tires in
heavy or loose snow. Also, all season tires
fall short in accelerati on and handling per-
formance compared with summer tires in
highway driving.
●Snow tires
For driving on snow-covered roads or icy
roads, we recommend using snow tires. If
you need snow tires, select tires of the
same size, construction and load capacity
as the originally instal led tires. Since your
vehicle has radial tires as original equip-
ment, make sure your snow tires also have
radial construction. Do not install studded
tires without first checking local regula-
tions for possible restrictions. Snow tires
should be installed on all wheels.
( P.309)
■If the tread on snow tires wears down
below 0.16 in. (4 mm)
The effectiveness of the tires as snow tires is
lost.
WARNING
■When inspecting or replacing tires
Observe the following precautions to
prevent accidents.
Failure to do so may cause damage to
parts of the drive train as well as danger-
ous handling characteristics, which may
lead to an accident resulting in death or
serious injury.

3946-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
Vehicles with front and rear tires of
the same size
Rotate the tires in the order shown.
To equalize tire wear and extend tire life,
Lexus recommends that tire rotation is car-
ried out at the same in terval as tire inspec-
tion.
Do not fail to initialize the tire pressure
warning system after tire rotation.
Vehicles with front and rear tires of
differing sizes
Tires cannot be rotated.
When run-flat tires are installed, the
vehicle can be driven for a maximum of
100 miles (160 km) at a speed below
50 mph (80 km/h) after any tire goes
flat. (However, the vehicle speed may
not increase to near 50 mph [80
km/h] depending on weather or driv-
ing conditions.)
A run-flat tire has a mark on
the side wall.
Make sure to replace the flat tire before the
vehicle has been driven for near 100 miles
(160 km). Also, do not use a repaired tire.
■Run-flat tires
●The run-flat tires are for only this vehicle.
Do not use the tires on other vehicles.
●Do not mix run-flat tires and normal tires.
●If non-genuine Lexus wheels are used, it
may be impossible to sufficiently demon-
strate the performance of run-flat tires.
Your vehicle is equipped with a tire
pressure warning system that uses tire
pressure warning valves and transmit-
ters to detect low ti re inflation pressure
WARNING
●Do not mix tires of different makes,
models or tread patterns.
Also, do not mix tires of remarkably
different treadwear.
●Do not use tire sizes other than those
recommended by Lexus.
●Do not mix differently constructed
tires (radial, bias-belted or bias-ply
tires).
●Do not mix summer, all season and
snow tires.
●Do not use tires that have been used
on another vehicle.
Do not use tires if you do not know
how they were used previously.
NOTICE
■Driving on rough roads
Take particular care when driving on
roads with loose surfaces or potholes.
These conditions may cause losses in tire
inflation pressure, reducing the cushion-
ing ability of the tires. In addition, driving
on rough roads may cause damage to
the tires themselves, as well as the vehi-
cle’s wheels and body.
Tire rotation
Run-flat tires
Tire pressure warning system

3976-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
6
Maintenance and care
For vehicles sold in Canada
When replacing the tires or wheels, the
tire pressure warning valve and trans-
mitters must be installed to the wheels
which will be installed to the vehicle.
When new tire pressure warning
valves and transmitte rs are installed,
new ID codes must be registered in the
tire pressure warning computer and
the tire pressure warning system must
be initialized. ( P.399)
■Replacing tires and wheels
If the ID codes of the tire pressure warning
valve and transmitters are not registered,
the tire pressure warning system will not
work properly. In this case, after driving for
about 20 minutes, the tire pressure warning light will blink for approximately 1 minute
and then illuminate to indicate a system
malfunction.
Installing tire pressure warning
valves and transmitters
NOTICE
■Repairing or replac
ing tires, wheels,
tire pressure warning valves, trans-
mitters and tire valve caps
●When removing or fitting the wheels,
tires or the tire pressure warning
valves and transmitters, contact your
Lexus dealer as the tire pressure warn-
ing valves and transmitters may be
damaged if not handled correctly.
●Make sure to install the tire valve caps.
If the tire valve caps are not installed,
water may enter the valves of the tire
pressure warning valve and transmit-
ters and the valves may become stuck.
●When replacing tire valve caps, do not
use tire valve caps other than those
specified. The cap may become stuck.

3986-3. Do-it-yourself maintenance
LS500h_OM_(U)_1809
■The tire pressure warning system
must be initialized in the following
circumstances:
When the tire inflation pressure is
changed such as when changing
traveling speed or load weight.
When the tire inflation pressure is
changed such as when the tire size
is changed.
When rotating the tires.
After performing the transmitter ID
code registration procedure.
( P.399)
When the tire pressure warning system
is initialized, the cu rrent tire inflation
pressure is set as the benchmark pres-
sure.
■How to initialize the tire pressure
warning system
1 Park the vehicle in a safe place, turn
the power switch off and wait 20
minutes or more.
The initialization procedure cannot be
started while the vehicle is moving.
2Adjust the tire inflation pressure to
the specified cold tire inflation pres-
sure level.
Make sure to adjust th e tire pressure to the
specified cold tire infl ation pressure level.
The tire pressure warning system will oper-
ate based on this pressure level.
3 Start the hybrid system.
4 Press or of the meter con-
trol switch to select . 5
Press or to select “Vehicle
Settings” and then press .
6 Press or to select “TPWS”
and then press .
7 Press or to select “Set
Pressure”. Then press and hold
until the tire pressure warning light
blinks 3 times.
Then a message will be displayed on the
multi-information display.
“---” will be displayed on the multi-informa-
tion display for the inflation pressure of
each tire while initialization is being per-
formed.
8Drive straight (with occasional left
and right turns) at approximately
25 mph (40 km/h) or more for
approximately 10 to 30 minutes.
Initialization is comple te when the position
of each tire is determ ined and the inflation
pressure of each tire is displayed on the
multi-information display.
Initialization may take longer than normal
to complete if the vehicle speed cannot be
maintained at approx imately 25 mph (40
km/h) or more. If initialization cannot be
completed after driving for 1 hour or more,
park the vehicle in a safe place, turn the
power switch off and wait 20 minutes or
more before performing the driving proce-
dure again. ( P.399)
Initializing the tire pressure
warning system