2021 LEXUS RX450h towing

1794-1. Before driving
4
Driving
Gross trailer weight
Tongue weight
Trailer hitch assemblies have different
weight capacities. Lexus recommends
the use of Lexus hitch/bracket for your
vehicle. For details, contact your Lexus
dealer.
 If you wish to install a trailer hitch,
contact your Lexus dealer.
 Use only a hitch that conforms to
the gross trailer weight requirement
of your vehicle.
 Follow the directions supplied by the
hitch manufacturer.
 Lubricate the hitch ball with a light
coating of grease.
 Remove the hitch ball whenever you
are not towing a trailer. Remove the
trailer hitch if you do not need it.
After removing the hitch, seal any
mounting hole in the vehicle body to
prevent entry of any substances into
the vehicle. Use the correct trailer ball for your
application.
Trailer ball load rating
Matches or exceeds the gross trailer
weight rating of the trailer.
Ball diameter
Matches the size of the trailer coupler.
Most couplers are stamped with the
required trailer ball size.
Hitch
A
B
WARNING
■Hitches
Trailer hitch assemblies have different
weight capacities established by the hitch
manufacturer. Even though the vehicle
may be physically capable of towing a
higher weight, the operator must deter-
mine the maximum weight rating of the
particular hitch assembly and never
exceed the maximum weight rating
specified for the trailer-hitch. Exceeding
the maximum weight rating set by the
trailer-hitch manufacturer can cause an
accident resulting in death or serious
personal injuries.
Selecting trailer ball
Trailer classTypical trailer ball size
IV2 5/16 in.
II and III2 in.
I1 7/8 in.
A
B

1804-1. Before driving
Shank length
Protrudes beyond the bottom of the lock
washer and nut by at least 2 threads.
Shank diameter
Matches the ball mount hole diameter size.
Weight carrying ball position:
44.96 in. (1142 mm)
Hitch receiver pin hole position:
35.94 in. (913 mm)
Use the wire harness stored in the rear
end under body.
■Auto current cut-off function
In case of over current, the auto cut-off
function stops the power flowing to the
trailer lights to prevent damage to the vehi- cle’s electrical system.
This function is activ
ated when the rated
current of any of the following trailer light
circuit components is exceeded:
●Tail lights: maximum 7.8 A
●Stop/turn signal light (right): maximum
4.5 A
●Stop/turn signal light (left): maximum 4.5
A
■When the auto current cut function is
activated
If a trailer light does not come on due to the
activation of the auto current cut function,
the light system will need to be reset.
Follow the reset procedure shown below.
●If a tail light does not come on, turn off the
headlight switch.
●If the right-side stop/turn signal light does
not come on, put the turn signal in the off
position or remove foot from the brake
pedal.
●If the left-side stop/t urn signal light does
not come on, put the turn signal in the off
position or remove foot from the brake
pedal.
If the emergency flashers do not operate,
press the emergency flasher switch to turn
them off.
After the light system is reset, operate the
light switches again to see if the lights oper-
ate normally.
If the lights do not operate normally, have
the vehicle inspected by your Lexus dealer.
Your vehicle will handle differently
when towing a trailer. Help to avoid an
accident, death or se rious injury, keep
the following in mind when towing:
 Speed limits for towing a trailer vary
by state or province. Do not exceed
the posted towing speed limit.
 Lexus recommends that the vehi-
Positions for towing hitch
receiver and hitch ball
Connecting trailer lights
C
D
A
B
Trailer towing tips

1814-1. Before driving
4
Driving
cle-trailer speed limit is 65 mph
(104 km/h) on a flat, straight, dry
road. Do not exceed this limit, the
posted towing speed limit or the
speed limit for your trailer as set
forth in your trailer owner’s manual,
whichever is lowest. Instability of the
towing vehicle-trailer combination
(trailer sway) increases as speed
increases. Exceeding speed limits
may cause loss of control.
 Before starting out, check the trailer
lights, tires and the vehicle-trailer
connections. Recheck after driving
a short distance.
 Practice turning, stopping and
reversing with the trailer attached in
an area away from traffic until you
become accustomed to the feel of
the vehicle-trailer combination.
 Reversing with a tr ailer attached is
difficult and requires practice. Grip
the bottom of the steering wheel
and move your hand to the left to
move the trailer to the left. Move
your hand to the right to move the
trailer to right. (This is generally
opposite to reversing without a
trailer attached.) Avoid sharp or
prolonged turning. Have someone
guide you when reversing to reduce
the risk of an accident.
 As stopping distance is increased
when towing a trailer, vehicle-to
vehicle distance should be
increased. For each 10 mph (16
km/h) of speed, allow at least one
vehicle and trailer length.
 Avoid sudden braking as you may skid, resulting in the trailer jackknif-
ing and a loss of vehicle control. This
is especially true on wet or slippery
surfaces.
 Avoid jerky starts or sudden accel-
eration.
 Avoid jerky steering and sharp
turns, and slow down before making
turn.
 Note that when making a turn, the
trailer wheels will be closer than the
vehicle wheels to the inside of the
turn. Compensate by making a
wider than normal turning radius.
 Slow down before making a turn, in
cross winds, on wet or slippery sur-
faces, etc. Increasing vehicle speed
can destabilize the trailer.
 Take care when passing other vehi-
cles. Passing requires considerable
distance. After pass ing a vehicle, do
not forget the length of your trailer,
and be sure you have plenty of room
before changing lanes.
 To maintain engine braking effi-
ciency and charging system perfor-
mance when using engine braking,
do not put the transmission in D.
( P.191)
 Instability happens more frequently
when descending steep or long
downhill grades. Before descend-
ing, slow down and downshift. Do
not make sudden downshifts while
descending steep or long downhill
grades.
 Avoid holding the brake pedal down
too long or applying the brakes too

1834-1. Before driving
4
Driving
Dinghy towing
Your vehicle is not designed to be
dinghy towed (with 4 wheels on the
ground) behind a motor home.
NOTICE
■To avoid serious damage to your vehi-
cle
Do not tow your vehicle with the four
wheels on the ground.
■To prevent causing serious damage to
the hybrid transmission and Hybrid
AWD system
Never tow this vehicle with any of the
wheels on the ground. This may cause
serious damage to the hybrid transmis-
sion and AWD system.

2214-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
WARNING
■Limitations of the pre-collision system
●The driver is solely responsible for safe
driving. Always drive safely, taking
care to observe your surroundings.
Do not use the pre-collision system
instead of normal braking operations
under any circumstances. This system
will not prevent collisions or lessen col-
lision damage or injury in every situa-
tion. Do not overly rely on this system.
Failure to do so may lead to an acci-
dent, resulting in death or serious
injury.
●Although this system is designed to
help avoid a collision or help reduce
the impact of the collision, its effective-
ness may change according to various
conditions, therefore the system may
not always be able to achieve the same
level of performance.
Read the following conditions care-
fully. Do not overly rely on this system
and always drive carefully.
• Conditions under which the system may operate even if there is no possi-
bility of a collision:
P.224
• Conditions under which the system may not operate properly:
P.225
●Do not attempt to test the operation of
the pre-collision system yourself.
Depending on the objects used for
testing (dummies, cardboard objects
imitating detectable objects, etc.), the
system may not operate properly, pos-
sibly leading to an accident.
■Pre-collision braking
●When the pre-collision braking func-
tion is operating, a large amount of
braking force will be applied.
●If the vehicle is stopped by the opera-
tion of the pre-collision braking func-
tion, the pre-collision braking function
operation will be canceled after
approximately 2 seco nds. Depress the
brake pedal as necessary.
●The pre-collision braking function may
not operate if certain operations are
performed by the driver. If the acceler-
ator pedal is being depressed strongly
or the steering wheel is being turned,
the system may determine that the
driver is taking evasive action and pos-
sibly prevent the pre-collision braking
function from operating.
●In some situations, while the pre-colli-
sion braking function is operating,
operation of the function may be can-
celed if the accelerator pedal is
depressed strongly or the steering
wheel is turned and the system deter-
mines that the driver is taking evasive
action.
●If the brake pedal is being depressed,
the system may determine that the
driver is taking evasive action and pos-
sibly delay the operat ion timing of the
pre-collision braking function.
■When to disable the pre-collision sys-
tem
In the following situations, disable the
system, as it may not operate properly,
possibly leading to an accident resulting
in death or serious injury:
●When the vehicle is being towed
●When your vehicle is towing another
vehicle
●When transporting the vehicle via
truck, boat, train or similar means of
transportation
●When the vehicle is raised on a lift with
the hybrid system on and the tires are
allowed to rotate freely
●When inspecting the vehicle using a
drum tester such as a chassis dyna-
mometer or speedometer tester, or
when using an on vehicle wheel bal-
ancer
●When a strong impact is applied to the
front bumper or front grille, due to an
accident or other reasons

2284-5. Using the driving support systems
WARNING
●When your vehicle is towing a trailer
(vehicles with towing package) or
during emergency towing.
■Preventing LTA system malfunctions
and operations performed by mistake
●Do not modify the headlights or place
stickers, etc. on the surface of the
lights.
●Do not modify the suspension etc. If
the suspension etc. needs to be
replaced, contact your Lexus dealer.
●Do not install or place anything on the
hood or grille. Also, do not install a
grille guard (bull bars, kangaroo bar,
etc.).
●If your windshield needs repairs, con-
tact your Lexus dealer.
■Conditions in which functions may
not operate properly
In the following situations, the functions
may not operate properly and the vehicle
may depart from its lane. Drive safely by
always paying careful attention to your
surroundings and operate the steering
wheel to correct the path of the vehicle
without relying solely on the functions.
●When the follow-up cruising display is
displayed (
P.232) and the preced-
ing vehicle changes lanes. (Your vehi-
cle may follow the preceding vehicle
and also change lanes.)
●When the follow-up cruising display is
displayed (
P.232) and the preced-
ing vehicle is swaying. (Your vehicle
may sway accordingly and depart from
the lane.)
●When the follow-up cruising display is
displayed (P.232) and the preced-
ing vehicle departs from its lane. (Your
vehicle may follow the preceding vehi-
cle and depart from the lane.)
●When the follow-up cruising display is
displayed (
P.232) and the preced-
ing vehicle is being driven extremely
close to the left/right lane line. (Your
vehicle may follow the preceding vehi-
cle and depart from the lane.)
●Vehicle is being driven around a sharp
curve.
●Objects or patterns that could be mis-
taken for white (yellow) lines are pres-
ent on the side of the road (guardrails,
reflective poles, etc.).
●Vehicle is driven where the road
diverges, merges, etc.

2404-5. Using the driving support systems
This mode employs a radar to detect the presence of vehicles up to approximately
WARNING
■Situations unsuitable for dynamic
radar cruise control with full-speed
range
Do not use dynamic radar cruise control
with full-speed range in any of the follow-
ing situations. Doing so may result in
inappropriate speed control and could
cause an accident re sulting in death or
serious injury.
●Roads where there are pedestrians,
cyclists, etc.
●In heavy traffic
●On roads with sharp bends
●On winding roads
●On slippery roads, such as those cov-
ered with rain, ice or snow
●On steep downhills , or where there
are sudden changes between sharp up
and down gradients
Vehicle speed may exceed the set
speed when driving down a steep hill.
●At entrances to freeways and highways
●When weather conditions are bad
enough that they may prevent the sen-
sors from detectin g correctly (fog,
snow, sandstorm, heavy rain, etc.)
●When there is rain, snow, etc. on the
front surface of the radar or front cam-
era
●In traffic conditions that require fre-
quent repeated acceleration and
deceleration
●When your vehicle is towing a trailer
or during emergency towing
●When an approach warning buzzer is
heard often
Driving in vehicle-to-vehicle distance control mode

2574-5. Using the driving support systems
4
Driving
■The system can be operated when
●The power switch is in ON mode.
●Intuitive parking assist function is on.
●The vehicle speed is less than about 6
mph (10 km/h).
●A shift lever other than P.
■Setting the buzzer volume
The buzzer volume can be adjusted on the
multi-information display. ( P.253)
■If “Parking Assist Unavailable” is dis-
played on the multi-information display
●Water may be continuously flowing over
the sensor surface, such as in a heavy
rain. When the system determines that it
is normal, the system will return to nor-
mal.
●Initialization may not have been per-
formed after a battery terminal was dis-
connected and reconnected. Initialize the
system. ( P.257) If this message contin-
ues to be displayed even after initializa-
tion, have the vehicle inspected by your
Lexus dealer.
■If “Parking Assist Unavailable Clean
Parking Assist Sensor” is displayed on
the multi-information display
A sensor may be covered with ice, snow,
dirt, etc. Remove the ice, snow, dirt, etc.,
from the sensor to return the system to nor-
mal.
Also, due to ice forming on a sensor at low
temperatures, a warn ing message may be
displayed or the sensor may not be able to
detect an object. Once the ice melts, the
system will return to normal.
■If a 12-volt battery terminal has been
disconnected and reconnected
The system needs to be initialized. To initial-
ize the system, drive the vehicle straight
ahead for 5 seconds or more at a speed of
approximately 22 mph (35 km/h) or more.
■Sensor detection information
●The following situations may occur
during use.
• The sensor's detection areas are limited to the areas around the vehicle front and
rear bumpers.
• Depending on the shape of the object and other factors, the detection distance
may shorten, or detection may be impos-
WARNING
●Towing eyelets are installed.
●A backlit licence pl ate is installed.
■When using intuitive parking assist
In the following situations, the system
may not function correctly due to a sen-
sor malfunction, etc. Have the vehicle
checked by your Lexus dealer.
●The intuitive parking assist operation
display flashes or shows continuously,
and a buzzer sounds when no objects
are detected.
●If the area around a sensor collides
with something, or is subjected to
strong impact.
●If the bumper or grille collides with
something.
●If the display flashes or is displayed
continuously and a buzzer does not
sound, except when the mute function
has been turned on.
●If a display error occurs, first check the
sensor.
If the error occurs even when there is
no ice, snow or mud on the sensor, it is
likely that the sensor is malfunctioning.
■Notes when washing the vehicle
Do not apply intensive bursts of water or
steam to the sensor area.
Doing so may result in the sensor mal-
functioning.
●When using a high pressure washer to
wash the vehicle, do not spray the sen-
sors directly, as doing so may cause a
sensor to malfunction.
●When using steam to clean the vehicle,
do not direct steam too close to the
sensors as doing so may cause a sen-
sor to malfunction.