New Toyota Highlander Hybrid Owners - Give Us Your Report

otis1

I agree with everything you say about "HSD aptitude" (for lack of a better term) and how hybrid owners can use these techniques to improve their mileage.

BUT the average mainstream consumers interested in hybrids don't know about these techniques and if they were to go drive these cars, they'd get something similar to CR. And in all fairness, I think if someone were to drive an ICE highlander with these techniques (light acceleration, anticipate stops, watch speed) and had an instant MPG guage, I think conventional cars would also see an increase in MPG- although not the same magnitude as a hybrid.

Getting back to CR- I think it's their job to be as "consistent" as possible when testing ANY car. I think they'd be opening a can of worms if for each car, they "played" to that car's strengths. maybe a reasonable comprimise would be to list the MPG as 22, but have a footnote stating higher numbers can be acheived using blah blah techniques. Maybe as teh hybrid segment emerges out of a niche market, these testing procedures can be modified to reflect the higher percentage of hybrids on the road.

discussion1

I agree with your take.

Most people have unrealistic expectation of the HH and set themselves up for disappointment. CR should have added a little blurb about how to increase mileage, that would have done the public a great service. Not sure why they did not bother.

I think mmreid should send CR an e-mail to at least ask them to add that blurb or at least discuss it.

The part of the CR report I find strange, as another post had mentioned earlier, is this foolish focus on ROI. No one ever analyzes the ROI factors in a $40,000 HUMMER, BMW or $60,000 Mercedes, Lexus or Toyota LandCruiser. Everyone just assumes it is "normal" to pay a premium for a "luxury" car.

When it comes to paying a premium for a cleaner car, with a new technology that burns less gas with similar or better performance, suddenly the focus is on whether one can recoup the premium. Suddenly, there is a ton of argument as to why such new technology is unnecessary. I completely fail to see this logic.

I like to ask CR or the anti-gas-electric hybrid crowd what is the ROI on that $40K HUMMER sitting in a suburban driveway that sees at most 1 off-road trip per year if at all? What of that giant Toyota 4x4 Landcruiser or Lexus GX470 sitting on more driveways doing nothing but shuttle children around town? What is their ROI computation? Where is the gas comsumption, emission and price premium analysis?

Most 2007 models, including many of Toyota's models (RAV4, CAMRY, Lexus), now offer ICE engines at 270-hp and up! Where is the "green" in any of these manufacturers? Yet no one says anything.

Strange......

bob2006

Hi mmreid,

Do you happen to remember what level warranty you picked up? How many years/mileage?

Tks
bob

mmreid

I would have to go check my paperwork but I think it was 7 years extended warranty for $890 and the only thing better which was included in the sale was the manufacturer's warranty on the hybrid system which was 8 years or 100,000 miles. . .the guy sellig us the warranty said he was giving us the "employee" price. I was skeptical about that but when I bought my prior car in 2001 the extended warranty was offered to me at about $1600. So my husband and I looked at each other for about 30 seconds and said "sounds like a good deal". I'm not sorry for a nanosecond that I bought it.

Since I work at home I knew that I'd never hit the mileage on the extended warranty so I've quite forgotten it. I tend to only put 6 or 7,000 miles per year on a vehicle. I'll have to go out in daylight tomorrow and find the papers in the glove compartment to figure out the warranty mileage. I do remember the 7 years part. Hubby thinks it was 70,000 or 80,000 miles for extended warranty but I'll go see if I can find it in the light of day.

Still haven't heard a peep from Consumer Reports.

mmreid

kullenberg

I've had our HH for about 2 weeks, and have no complaints about mountain driving. I live in the mtns of western NC, and it has plenty of power for the grades, and going downhill is free! I'm showing an average of 24.5 MPG. The weakest point is the OEM tires; I switched out to Nokian WR's, before delivery, and while they are a little noisier, they feel much more secure, and they are winter rated.

suvhunter1

Thank you for the info. It is so hard to wade through all of the hype from the facts sometimes, especially with so many different vehicles out there that are yet the same when they use the same body frames, etc., but are just manufactured by a different company branding.

doug28

New to this forum.

Have been following other near future models (different makers) but was impelled to make decision sooner than later.

After much research settled on Corolla for MPG figuring later we would upgrade current family vehicle for SPACE.

Sunday April 21 test drove Corolla. Loved it.
Saw HH. Test drove HH. Bought HH! (never considered or researched HH hope I don't repent in leisure)

Did the math & two vehicles (besides 2 we already own) did not make $ense. So bought one that is good for family of 5 & great on mileage.

Dealer filled tank, 0 down still haven't put $ into it.

Very surprised at the little change in insurance cost vs. our beautiful/reliable 1996 Grand Caravan. $3.00 per month higher for HH.

jdkahler

You did kind of what we did when we bought our HH last July, except we traded in a well-worn Ford Windstar and a real low mileage Corolla, I drove the van, my wife the Corolla (she always had Tercels or Corollas and pretty much refused to drive the vans I had) - this was a move to one car compromise. We love the HH, she jumps in and drives it and has never complained about it being too big or difficult to drive, the only difficulty was coordinating schedules now that we only have one car. It's the best vehicle I've ever driven, now at 7,000+ miles, absolutely no problems, MPG back toward 26 after a cold winter in Philadelphia (down to 23-24) with much of the use short hop including a 5 minute commute. Enjoy! - John

luckylee

I purchased a HH last week, promptly drove it over 1000 miles on Interstate 5 (west coast mainline running north/south) and averaged 27.5 with AC running, cruising at 65-70 mph, loaded with cargo. Around town, it depends on terrain. I live in a hilly city, so get about 28-30 mpg.
I bought the HH based on: AWD (hilly city. I need AWD in the winter to get home), towing capacity (we have a 15' fiberglass boat), and the hybrid powerplant.

I love the quiet, smooth ride; the incredible electronics; the fit and finish. Our other car is a Subaru Forester (22/27mpg) which is still a great car, but seems like it's from another era compared to the HH.

lenster1

Hello All

I have been following this thread for sometime now and finally decided to make a purchase.
I think due to the negative publicity by CR and some other reviews it has helped in being able to get good pricing on this vehicle.
The dealer I went to had many of these in stock and wanted to move them. My inspection sticker was from Feb. so I think he had the vehicle for around three months.
I purchased a Highlander Hybrid with package 1 and an
MSRP of 37082 for 32307!
If you subtract the 2600 credit I bought it for 29,707 which seemed like a great deal to me so I bought it on May 18.
A co-worker bought a regular highlander limited for around 30k at the same dealer.
I really like the vehicle in the past I've had a Subaru Legacy and prior to that I had a Ford Explorer.

We also have a Camry so I new what to expect from this one. I am getting around 23.3 -24.7 miles MPG. Vehicle only has 800 miles on it. I have not had any long trips to check mileage and my work commute is only 10 -12 miles with many hills so the vehicle is warming up part of my commute. I am looking forward to better mileage though.

Thanks to everyone who posts on this site it has helped a lot.

brwndoggy

where is your dealer?

lenster1

Sloane Toyota of Devon

redeft

I got mine on Monday evening(7/31). Only glitch found was the key for factory installed wheel locks(some come with them and some don't)didn't fit. Salesman took care of the problem within 20 minutes and we were happily on our way, with a coupon for a free oil change. All in all a great deal. Worked with fleet manager and got invoice for the base AWD with the AF package. We didn't opt for the extended warranty and weren't offered any other BS. We also got $7800 for our '99 4-Runner(a little low but better than I expected). I wrote a check for just over $25K, I kept looking over my shoulder expecting to get picked up for auto theft. So far we love it, will post mpg after several tanks.

gowhitten

Basically the HH is pretty good. I am getting 26 to 28 mpg if I take it easy. I have V8 Explorers for many years (they were good to me - never broke down) and since my goal was to get double the gas mileage - and I did that with the first tank of gas! Now we will need to see if the HH will last 100K!

What is with all these wimps saying all the HH needs is a 4 cylinder engine? With all the stupid BMW 330i drivers around here (Seattle area) it is nice to have a vehicle that can keep up with them and thwart their insane lane changing. It cruises nicely well above the speed limits and is pretty quiet.

The NAV system is OK - not as good as my daughter's Honda - and the JBL sound system is OK if you replace the JBL speakers (try the Focals). Some moron engineer made the cover over the drinkholders open backwards - should open left to right instead of vica versa - and the fold down armrests are pretty wimpy.

There is a major flaw with the rear liftgate - it develops creases on either side of the chrome plate across the back. I asked the service manager at the dealership about it and he said he had never heard anyone else mention it, but I do not believe him since I have seen the same thing on 4 other HHs - including 2 from the same dealer. I guess I will have to go directly to Toyota on this issue and see what they will (or won't) do for me.

cruisenatl

We just recently bought a 2006 Highlander Hybrid from Cobb County Toyota here in Atlanta, and my wife LOVES it. (She used to own a Mazda 626) She's a Real Estate Agent, so needed the extra space of a SUV to transport clients around - So when we started looking, I made a decision to go Hybrid instead of regular SUV. (Gas economy and Environmental decisions were my two reasons for this choice.)

After looking at the options, we settled on the HH, and haven't had a single day's regret. (We looked at the Vue Greenline, but I'm afraid the 4cyl wouldn't have enough power to move a SUV -- I own a 2003 V6 Vue, and could never have used the 4cyl.)

First impressions: VERY peppy, good handling, and excellent comfort! I love the fact that it's so silent when driving at speed, with little to no road noise. We also love the fact that it starts off with just the Electric Motor to begin with - It was a liottle disconcerting, but my wife has gotten used to it.)

Fuel Economy: We're averaging between 26-30 MPG in 80% city driving, and very happy with that. After reading on several forums that MPG is around 25, we were a little disheartened to see the amazing difference between the EPA estimates. However, after we have learned to adjust our driving habits (Pulse and Glide specifically), we are really getting the hang of higher MPG and have made it into a game to see which one of us gets better MPG when we're driving the HH.

Handling in Atlanta traffic: Excellent. We haven't had any problems at all with acceleration, handling, or anything. (Atlanta drivers can be VERY aggressive, and having a car with good handling is a must to avoid fender benders)

We're currently just a smidge over 1000 miles (after 3 weeks of ownership) and wouldn't trade this car for anything. Very happy with our purchase. :shades:

Cheers!
Jay

landdriver

"Some moron engineer made the cover over the drinkholders open backwards - should open left to right instead of vica versa"

Didn't bother to redesign it for the U.S. market where the steering wheel is on the left, unlike the Japanese HL where the steering wheel is on the right.

gowhitten

Actually I knew that, but for over $40K, you would think they could redo things for their biggest market (I guess we should be glad the brake and gas pedals are in the right position). Maybe they will change that when the Highlander production switches to the US in a couple years. :-)

pdigi1

I thought the same about the cupholder at first, but actually prefer it the way it is. It is easier to grab the middle of the cup with my wrist in proper position for drinking if I grab the cup from the opposite side. If the lid opened the other way, it would be in the way for shorter cups (tall Starbucks, e.g.).

kinkykitten

2006 HiHy Base (4x2) with Package 1 (moonroof) & floor mats Bought August 26 for $28,600 (rounded)

We think we got the deal of the century as it was nearly $7k off MSRP of $35000, coupled with the $2600 tax credit, that's $9500 off the listed price! They had 2 on the lot (silver & gold), we got the gold.

Love: the quietness, the nimbleness, the horsepower, smooth riding, guilt-free driving & idling, all of the cupholders (too scared to eat/drink in the car yet!), averaging 27 - 28 MPG

Hate: nothing so far...

Wished: the Limited was on sale also because I really wanted leather seats & the NAv system, wished it had the automatic trunk open/close like the Lexus 330

We test drove the Honda CRV, Element & the RAV 4 with the assumption that we'd either get the 2007 CRV or a 2006 RAV4. There was absolutely no comparison to the HiHy with the Hondas. The HiHy drives like butter. I'm certainly not a performance driver (more like a grandma drive) so I can't really comment on the engine performance other than my confidence in passing vehicles on the freeway has accelerated.

We have recommended this vehicle to everyone who is cost & environmentally concious but still wants the flexibility of owning a SUV

stevedebi

"We have recommended this vehicle to everyone who is cost & environmentally concious but still wants the flexibility of owning a SUV"

The 2007 CR-V 2 wheel drive EX will probably get better highway MPG at 75-80 MPH. I sometimes got over 30 MPG with my 2003, and they now have a 5 speed transmission. BTW, esitmated pricing with Nav, Leather, and back up camera is around 28K. However, the Honda is not indended to drive like the Toyota - different engineering concepts entirely.

So the "green quotient" would also depend upon how much city driving one does...

fritzer

So far it has been a great vehicle. With three tanks of gas, I'm approaching 30 MPG in Sacramento, CA. Drive to work is 1/3 rural, 1/3 urban and 1/3 Freeway; 15 miles each way. Traded in a 5 yr. old Chev. Trailblazer that used to get 17.5 MPG on same route. Absolutely no complaints with the Highlander - first non American built vehicle I have owned (ever) in 35 years. Accelerate moderately and anticipate stops and try to drive on electric power when practical to maximize MPG. I keep Goodyear Integra tires at 35 PSI. Attempting to beat previous gas mileage is an interesting challenge and I'm learning - keep kW power in hash marks (zebra) as much as possible to maximize mileage. One note: First 3 to 5 miles after start-up, MPH is in low to mid 20s then it improves to the low 30s after gas motor (ICE) warms up.

johnle

Does any body have an AVERAGE MPG on Speedometer multi-information display on Highlander Hybrid 2WD? My new Highlander Hybrid does not have AVERAGE MPG.

Please let me know so I can go back to the dealer to have them fix it.

Thanks,

John

terry92270

I don't remember the answer, but it was recently posted here...they said if you check your owners book, it explains how to navigate the display.

shilohlady

My understanding is that the earilier models of the base (non-limited) HH did NOT have the Average MPG display but that changed mid-way through the 2006 model year.

taylor35

Took delivery of this car two weeks ago (last day of full tax credit) and so far a great experience. MPG in for in town driving is 28-31 if you are easy on the pedal -- the accel is great, but we are always playing the game of trying to maximize mileage, so we don't use the full pep that car has.... Nav system takes some getting used to, but I think it is a great option for this car since it is well integrated into the power usage, ect on the car. Coming off a Yukon Denali XL it is quite a size adjustment, but the car has nice rear seat room and adequate rear storage with the third seat down. My 10 year old daughter likes the rear seat (believe it or not) because it is sort of her private area -- that won't last as she grows up I am sure!

I drove the Lexus 400H and just couldn't see footing the extra $ for a little more luxury, a power gate and the Lexus name. Especially since we found a Limited HH with Nav.

We'll see what we say in a couple of months, but so far HH is a nice addition to the family.

bm2ng

If you have a rolling code garage door opener, don't follow the instructions in the Toyota manual. Follow the instructions with your Garage Door Opener. I spent hours following the instructions for programing in the Toyota manual to no avail. My husband got the manual for our opener and had it working in seconds.

terry92270

The instructions can be found here: HOMELINK.COM

82415

Another poll result for the Highlander Hybrid.

http://money.cnn.com/popups/2006/autos/reliable/8.html

jdkahler

Our report after 15 months and 15K miles would be the same as the one we gave when we purchased in July 2006 - what a great vehicle - and our experience backs up this reliability survey.

15,000 miles, coming up on oil change and check and absolutely _no_ problems or complaints. There's an old truism in autos that you never buy a new model during its first year, you'll be buying something without the bugs taken out. Some folks have had problems but sure seems like that's not the experience with most, at least in these forums. - John

martingg

I love this car...Toyota knows what it is doing...only issue is that I'm struggling to get to 25mpg...I'm in Texas and maybe the AC drags the mpg down....nevertheless I got 11(!!!) mpg on my Infiniti QX4 so I am so far ahead of the game...

kullenberg

Try using a synthetic oil in your next oil change (being aware that once you switch, you should stick with synthetic), also run you tire pres. at arouind 36 psi. Those 2 things have bumped my MPG to 25-26 .

jtroesch

We purchased our new HH Limited, fully loaded on 21 Nov 06. Since then it has quit running twice, once on the interstate at 70mph, and again in our residential area. The first time the service department stated it was a Fuse High Voltage that overloaded and blew. The second time they replaced the inverter, which is a computer motherboard and hardware that controls converting AC to DC and vice versus. The car had about 273 and 473 miles respectfully. We brought the car home from the dealership and have not, out of fear, drove it since. We are trying to work with Toyota and the dealer to replace ours with a non-hybrid Highlander. This was enough with new technology.

nsxwes

Our family went on vacation for a week and left our Highlander Hybrid in multi-level covered parking at the airport for 7 days. We returned last night close to midnight and the Highlander was completely dead. The remote door locks wouldn't even function. When I turned the key in the ignition, no dash lights, nothing. Fortunately we were able to call a friend to take us home and today I spend time reading the manual. I figured the first thing I would try is to run jumper cables. As soon as I hooked up the cables, the alarm sounded. Once I turned that off and turned on the ignition everything was fine. I can't believe that it can't sit for a week without the battery going dead. That is crazy. I did not leave a dome light on or anything like that. I will be taking it to the dealership next week to have it checked out. Has anyone else had a similar experience? I am quite sure that the battery was not dead. It was like the Highlander just went to sleep. Needless to say, this is concerning if it were to ever happen in a situation where help was not close.

Wes

nomorebenz

Something may have drained the 12 volt accessory battery in your car and not the 288 volt traction battery.
The Hybrid uses a small motorcycle type 12 volt battery to maintain low voltage operations such as the radio, alarm, computer etc. The 288 volt system turns over the gas engine, runs the A/C pump and the power steering. That is why all that would be needed is just a minor charge to start the car, provided that the 288 volt battery was not dead as well.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience. Many people, including myself, have left their Hybrid parked over vacation with no problems.

Off the top of my head, I would guess one of three things as the cause 1) The alarm was triggered 2) The Auto headlights stayed on. The drivers door must be opened with the car off in order to shut the lights off when in auto. I had, more than once, my passenger aka wife remove the key while I was getting stuff out of the back, only to return to the car to shut the lights off. 3) You could have a faulty connection on the 12 volt battery.

BTW you may have to replace the 12 volt "motorcycle" battery. Car batteries don't do so well after a complete discharge.

nsxwes

I had my HH at the dealership yesterday to see what they could find out about the problem. They checked the 12 volt battery and it tested perfect and said that the connections to the battery were good. They did not replace the 12 volt battery, which was a surprise. There were no fault codes to indicate any problem. I am certain that the auto headlights were not the culprit since I manually turned them off. I immediately checked to see if a dome light was left on when the HH came alive and it wasn't. The dealer could offer no explanation. Since this is an unresolved issue, I am now a bit concerned about it happening again particularly with my wife and daughter. My daughter was planning on taking it skiing this week, but now she is taking our Toyota Tacoma which (of course) started just fine after sitting in our driveway all week. I guess my next step is to contact Toyota directly to see if they have any cases on file that match mine and to see if there are any resolution to any of them. Does anyone have a phone number to call that will get me to the right people at Toyota?

cdptrap

Hi Wes,

How many miles do you have on the car? Just wondering if it is the newer models having these troubles or the earlier models. We also have had our HH stored for a week at a time without problems, so not sure what is happening.

Try the "Customer Experience" center line in the link below. It is unclear that they can assist you but at least they may be able to point you to other contacts.

http://www.toyota.com/about/contact/index.html

Please let us know how it turns out.

GOod luck!

nsxwes

Our Highlander is one of the first that was available. We took delivery on June 5, 2005. It currently has 22K miles. I returned to the dealership today to discuss my feeling that the 12 volt battery should be replaced under warranty. Since the rest of the system tested good, but the battery tested low, it seems like the right thing to do. They agreed and it was replaced on the spot. I am hopeful that it is really just a problem with the original 12 volt battery and this takes care of the problem. It is interesting to note that the mileage seemed to have suffered during the time that the HH was found dead and the battery replaced. I went from a typical average of 27/28 to 23/24 mpg. While it doesn't make any sense, this is what I observed. Any ideas why or is this just a coincidence?

katzjamr

yes it is a known situation that when the 12 volt battery is either disconnected during service, or dead the idle control may need to be reset. your dealer should do it no charge. if it is not reset the lower mileage you report is a result.

cdptrap

Hi Wes,

Katz is right, if the 12V is disconnected or "dies", the Idle Speed Control must be reset else the car will run the ICE more than normal.

This is beginning to sound like the 12V is indeed the culprit and not the rest of the system. Good news if it is proven so.

We have 24K miles on ours and I notice the 12V gauge is tending very light blue rather than a deep blue (when it was new). I think we will do a pre-emptive maintenance and have it replaced at the next service.

Have a safe New Year all!

Cal

nsxwes

Thank you and katzjamr very much for the information regarding resetting the idle speed control. The mpg is still in the 23/24 range and I bet that they did not do the reset.

Is resetting the idle speed control after a dead or disconnected battery something that is clearly indicated in the tech manual and something that a hybrid mechanic should know without a doubt or is something that can be easily missed?

I will be speaking to the Service Manager about this next week and I was wondering if he would immediately know what I was talking about or would his response be that I am misinformed?

cdptrap

Hi Wes,
Sure hope we are not all misinformed. You asked a very good question.

I did ask a local Toyota mechanic about this earlier this year (5000 mi service) when I first read about this "Idle Speed Control" issue on-line. He gave a fairly detailed explanation then and it made sense at the time. I will tell you only what I can remember. It has been 11 months now.

There is an "Idle Air Control System" in the HH. This system controls several valves that regulate air intake which in turn influences idle speed. The car comes with preset data for controlling the valves but it is capable of learning and adapting to actual use. It then keeps the new information in memory somewhere for subsequent use. The computer will keep adjusting this information as the car is being used. This "learned" data is lost whenever the 12V is disconnected or when it dies.

He said that there is really no switch that resets this system. Left alone, the engine computer will relearn all such information after sometime. During this relearning period, the car may get poorer gas mileage depending on engine conditions and driving habits.

He told me that as a courtesy to loyal customers, he will run a Toyota (not just HH) through its paces at various RPM to do a diagnostic. Then he takes it for a test drive at various speed. This is equivalent to a "reset". Even then, it will take actual usage conditions for the engine computer to relearn everything.

I do not know if this matches what other owners have been experiencing. Hopefully someone else can post what they have learnt. As our HH still has the original 12V, we have not had to do any "reset" of the ISC.

nsxwes

Thanks cdtrap, I think I will drive it for a couple of weeks and see if the system re learns my driving habits that resulted in what I consider to be very good mpg (27/28). I will let you know what happens. Thanks again for everyones help with this. Wes

katzjamr

thanks for your comprehensive reply nsxwes, the only thing i can add is i remember reading in another forum that the lexus tech will see a reading if the iac needs to be reset and can do that at the dealership. as to is it widely known by service reps, idont think so. when my sunroof motor was replaced under warranty in the 400h i asked the rep if the battery was going to be disconnected, he said usually yes, and i asked for the iac reset in that case, no one had ever brought it up to him before.

hh_newbie

Sorry for piling on...but I just found your thread and the timing is uncanny.

We too got a HH late '05 and have been suffering with a "dead battery" problem for the past couple months (not the traction battery, but the 12V battery that starts the car).

We've had it in and out of the dealer throughout December and I just took it back.

One "interesting" comment made to me by the dealer mechanic this morning is that it's a known issue that you cannot let the car sit for more than a day without starting it. For us, if we leave it off for more than a day or two the battery typical dies.

The dealer is contacting Toyota and I'm hoping they replace the battery and/or upsize it.

Good to hear others are not have the same issue...that they can leaves theirs off for days. The whole idea seemed silly to me.

nsxwes

As I understand it, it is not the 12 volt battery that actually starts the engine. The 12 volt battery sends a message to the traction battery to start the engine when appropriate. If the 12 volt battery is dead, the message cannot be sent. Realistically, the HH should be able to sit for 3 or 4 weeks minimum without the 12 volt battery going dead. Anything less than that would not seem acceptable to me. I am very hopeful that the new 12 volt battery that was installed in my HH will cure my problem. Wes

katzjamr

think about what that mechanic told you, toyota has made a vehicle that must be started at least every 24hrs. Please realise people say things without any basis in fact. It is not practical for many owners who travel or dont drive daily to worry about this and its not true. Your own manual asks that the car sit not longer than two weeks, and many of us have gone a month with no problem...this comment was made by a person who obviously cannot fix your problem and invented his own answer. I WOULD make him substantiate that statement and also never let him touch my car again.

cdptrap

it's a known issue that you cannot let the car sit for more than a day without starting it.
Whoever said this is not an owner and have no clue what he or she is talking about. Ask him to prove it.

Most of us owners will not tolerate such limitation and you can be sure the NHTSA would have received numerous complaints if this were true.

Our HH sat for a week while we were gone on a trip last Winter. The car was out under a tree exposed to rain, some snow and freezing temperature. I forgot to hook up the little solar trickle charger to the 12V but when we got home, it started without a problem. Are we the only special case? I think not.

As long as the 12V indicator shows blue, your 12V is fine. Like all cars, car batteries do die and when they do, we will get a new one and cruise on...

sam71

I had two similar problems after 10 day park with car mileage at 600 & 4000 miles. I am bringing it in tomorrow for second time and this time will go to Toyota if I get no good answer. I will ask the dealer to measure the leakage current and see if it will discharge the battery after 10 days (without a resart).

sam71

nsxwes

Just a quick note that my gas mileage is back to normal now which is an average of 27 to 28 mpg. Right after the 12 volt battery was replaced it was close to 20/21, a day or two later it was up to 22/23 and now after a week is back to normal. It appears that the engine computer has relearned properly
Wes

hh_newbie

As an update - I just got the HH back today and had a long talk with the service manager. He apologized for his mechanics comments and said it was total BS.

Just to be sure, he ran the comment past his Toyota contact who confirmed I shouldn't be having these issues. I didn't realize that the traction batteries actually started the engine...in fact I'm still suspicious. To start the HH when it died, I just put a battery charger on the 12V battery. It takes a good 5 minutes of charging before it starts the engine and there is a load on the charger when I try to start it. Perhaps there is a solenoid it's trying to engage??

In any case, I did have a radar detector installed in the car. I can neither confirm or deny the charger was left on the last time the car died (wife's car) so I just took it out all together. Other than that and a DVD player installed at time of purchase...it is pretty much stock. If it continues to die after sitting for a couple days I'll have to escalate the matter w/ Toyota.

For now I'm going to think happy thoughts and hope the problem was just with a radar detector being left on. (Ok, no one wreck my dream...I know a radar detector has minimal draw - but this will be my "happy place" until it dies again )