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What I'm saying is I wish I could've bought an American car, too.
Not that I'm entirely happy with the HH. I've criticized it and Toyota for making a hybrid into a gasguzzler.
Your 100% right about the 30%. I'd only read the one sentance and not seen it was refereing to the US market, as you say. It seems to be less than half of that. My bad.
The Sienna, despite best effort, returns at best 19 MPG in city driving. On the freeways, it can get close to 22 MPG. Mixed, it returns 21 MPG at best.
Our HH right off the bat gets 24 MPG in mixed driving the first 435 miles. It is now up to 26+ MPG after 800+ miles. From what I have read here, it can get better.
My wife loves the car but I was at first very apprehensive because it is so darn expensive. After driving it for a while now, it is a really good car and is growing on me.
The seats are really supportive laterally and in the lumbar region. Ride is silky smooth on paved roads. Engine accelerates effortlessly though we are older folks so speed is not of interest. We were able to fit 4 large adults (5-11 to 6-1) comfortably and 2 kids for a ride to the beach recently.
Overall, a very nice car. if Toyota quality holds up, it may yet worth every penny we sank in.
Good luck in your search.
I've had my HH for exactly one week and I love it.
I bought the HH Ltd. with Nav and running boards, it's black with the ash gray leather interior. I got it for slightly below MSRP and I was able to get the dealership to throw in at no charge, the hood (bug/stone) deflector and sunroof air deflector. It was nice to look down at the odometer and only see 4 miles staring back at me.
My co-workers were very impressed with the fit, finish and and technology, as am I.
Yesterday, I even had a guy at a red light ask me, "Hybrid huh, how you like it ?"
Truthfully, I didn't buy it for its supposed great gas mileage alone, I also needed a bigger vehicle...traded in my 2002 Rav 4...which itself was an awesome car.
My only problem with this vehicle is that I find myself looking at the nav/display screen more than the road. I hope this lessens in time other wise I might find myself and my car in someones back seat...lol.
I will post some mileage results as time goes on.
Everyone here talks about what they're getting but it'd be more useful on a bar chart.
The 4wd's getting better mileage than the 2wd so far, which is wierd (wierder still because it also accelerates slightly faster, too). How can this be?
The 2wd(just 7) are all very early(3 are 1st tanks,so the dealer might not have filled then) in the life of the vehicles.The 4wd-just 8-have more"older cars" ,so the owners might have learned a thing or 2.Further,the 2wd owners are probably in the hotter areas of the country-AC use-might be important.4wd tends to be a big deal in cooler areas-less AC use.Charlie PS The Escape #'s-fairly decent-probably give an indication of what a 4 cyl HH would have done(not quite as good as the 2wd Escape H-it is a lot lighter-500+lbs),but an idea anyway.
Shoot, my cousin, and his wife actually BUILD the Ford Escape Hybrid. My uncle, their father, is an electrician in the same plant.
And I'm buying the HH, because Detroit failed to make an environmentally friendly SUV that is bigger than a rollerskate.
Maybe Toyota's becoming more 'American' every day and Ford's finally getting it.
:-)
As far as greenhybrid, I have one of the 1 tank 4WDs (Pro Hybrid), and I'm patiently waiting to get to my next fillup. It takes awhile when you only have a 25 mile comute round trip.
The car gets up to 45 MPH very quickly and then easily maintains 45 MPH for long distance at significantly higher MPG reading. we have experience electric-only mode for up to 1.5 mile until the battery gets too low. We have abandoned the slow-rolling-start-from-stop approach because it relies on the ICE for longer distance and MPG figures seem to suffer.
For the past 400+ miles we have used this brisk-up-and-maintain technique and current almost end-of-current tank MPG is close to 26.5 MPG. Either the car is breaking in or our technique is having an effect. We are looking forward to a consistent 30 MPG or better at least for driving in our area.
We've got a 2006 Highlander Hybrid Limited with about 1700 miles on it. Overall, we're very happy with it. MPG may not be quite as high as I'd hoped, but I'm a bit of a leadfoot and I really like the power. My only real complaint is the throbbing high decibel noise that happens when you open just the rear windows at highway speeds, but I understand this is a problem for all the Highlanders.
Anyway... my wife was driving this weekend, parked for a while in the city and when she tried to drive home, the steering was really rough and the P/S (power steering) light was lit. From driving it, it seems like the power steering is totally disabled -- the wheel is very hard to turn. I had the 1000-mile service last weekend and they checked all the fluid levels, so I thought perhaps they left the P/S fluid cap off. But the service manager told me it must be an electronic problem, not fluid level and suggested we bring it into the dealer ASAP.
I'm a little bummed to have such a serious problem on a month-old car. Has anyone else had this experience on the HH or the regular Highlander?
Thanks,
-Chris
The Honda Accord Hybrid -29.5 mpg -isn't bad either-if you were looking for a mid sized car you could do a lot worse-I wish it was a station wagon..Charlie
Did not see that post until your reminder post here, thanks, just did it and it works now. Touch of button and it does its thing nicely.
THanks for the help.
Can you please let us know how your dealer resolved the steering problem?
We now have 2200 miles on ours and so far so good, knock on wood....
Any results from the dealer on your steering failure?
Second question: has anyone figured out the tax credit thing? The reason I'm asking is my husband is a bona fide tax attorney (second law degree in taxation on top of regular law degree) and he is quite willing to throw in his two cents as to what he thinks is going to be the tax credit. From the very little I've researched (and this was not the motive for buying the vehicle) we think it is $2,000 off of the tax you actually owe Uncle Sam and depending on your tax bracket, it shelters "x" amount of income - more than the credit itself. I saw a series of old posts about the tax credit but I can't tell if anybody has actually figured this one out. Once we do (you apparently need a special tax form for your 2005 taxes) I'm definitely willing to throw in his very educated opinion about what one can and cannot do . . .and share it with everyone here. Unless someone already knows for sure. I saw some references in old posts about needing a lawyer - well, I've got a very, very good one.
So as we approach tax time we are quite willing to share anything he finds out about the whole tax thing. I'm learning a lot from all of you and I'd like to say thank you by sharing what we find out as well.
mmreid
If you buy one in 2006, you'll get a credit, but nobody seems to know exactly how much that will be--put your husband on to figuring that one out!
Has this been discussed before? I'm intrigued because I fit the profile of someone who puts very little mileage on a car - daily as well as annually. The only change in buying the HH is we will probably take it for road trips (instead of husband's car) as it's so comfortable and has the GPS system and heated seats for winter travel.
Tax benefits of buying a hybrid: I will ask husband to research the whole tax thing for hybrids next year and share it with this Forum. Right now he's intrigued with the tax benefits next year of buying energy efficient appliances and asked me to wait to replace aging dishwasher until January. He says it is the same as buying the Hybrid - you take the actual amount off of your taxes due.
Here is the link to the plug-in article:
http://www.tallahassee.com/mld/tallahassee/news/nation/12378456.htm
mmreid
There might be something I'm missing here,but I think that is currently what is holding us up.Thanks.Charlie
On June 27, 2005, the IRS certified the 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid as a clean burning vehicle, which entitles the original purchaser of one (assuming a 2005 purchase), to a deduction (not a tax credit) of $2,000. The deduction reduces taxable income and a taxpayer does not have to itemize deductions to claim the deduction.
I just sent him Charlie's request to research about buying next year.
mmreid
The biggest problem I had was the definition of "inertia weight class" since this is what the current EPA city MPG rating is compared to (at least I think it is). you can see my feeble attempt to figure it out (post 74 if the link above doesn't work). also starting on post #59, there's a link to the bill (law?) with the pertinent section starting somewhere around p 1400. so far one other group has stated the 2006 tax credit for the HH is $2600.
I believe the base models do not have the screen even as an option. I had a long chat with our dealer when researching this car. At first, I did not want the Ltd model either, it is expensive, I thought lowly of the NAV, figured I had no use for the fancy energy flow display and thought the moonroof useless. Unfortunately, I lost my debate against my lovely wife .
The NAV came in handy a few times on our long trips when we were in a strange city and had no local maps. It even picked up all but 1 country lanes we drove on. The energy display turned out useful because I would asking same questions others are asking about when does charging occurs and so on. With the display, we can see when the car is doing what. As for the moonroof, it is great at venting hot inside air even in hot desert heat.
I am not saying the Ltd is better, just that things I pegged as useless expensive bells and whistles at first have shown themselves to have real practical uses, it is a nice surprise.
Thanks.
Oldjayhawk.
Under the Working Families Tax Relief Act of 2004, the deduction amount is limited to $2,000 for cars first put into use in 2004 and 2005. the deduction will be limited to $500 for vehicles placed in service in 2006, and no deduction will be allowed after that year.
Certain Toyota and Honda models qualify for the deduction:
Toyota Prius — Model Years 2001 through 2005
Honda Insight — Model Years 2000 through 2005
Honda Civic Hybrid — Model Years 2003 and 2005
Honda Accord Hybrid — Model Year 2005
Ford Escape Hybrid — Model Year 2005
Pic of speedometer area
It is loaded (company car).
4-6 week wait since the little mrs. has to be so specific.
The clean fuel efficient deduction is based on manufacturer certifications to the IRS. Toyota provided the certifications to the IRS on the new Highlander Hybrid, which qualified it for the maximum deduction of $2,000 for 2005, and $500 for 2006. No deduction after 2006.
Same as the post above. I will certify that spouse is definitely qualified to read through all that legalize and tax language. He revels in it. . .
mmreid
PS He "revels' in tax law-makes my eyes roll back in my head!!Thanks.Charlie
And yeah, he really likes all that tax stuff. Heck, I can't complain - it paid for the HH!
Ah - while I was doing this I got an e-mail back from him saying he thinks you are all referring to the new energy tax bill (which seems to mostly benefit the big energy and oil companies) and something about vehicles weighing over 8,000 lbs. but says he promises to research this more and get back to all of us on this topic. He did say it is not going to change anything for anyone who bought a car in 2005.
mmreid
When I went to close it, I wasn't sure it was closed tightly, as holding the button in the "close" position allowed the sunroof to tilt up after it had completed the sliding closed cycle.
So my question is, how do I know when it is properly closed ??
Thanks.
If you buy one in 2006, you'll get a credit, but nobody seems to know exactly how much that will be--put your husband on to figuring that one out!
I've been trying to sort through this as well, and my accountant can't find an answer. I do know the clean fuel deduction is just that --- a $2,000 deduction but no one seems to know what the "credit" will amount to --- it's only a week since the President signed the bill with the tax incentive for hybrids.
Any clarification(s) would be greatly appreciated. Bart :shades: :confuse:
An earlier poster suggested looking in the manual under "Moon roof". Read until the end of the instruction set where it says to "Normalize" the moonroof. This will normalize your roof and make it close correctly.
Another poster earlier said that when the moon roof is not closed correctly, road noise will come through the roof.
Ours must have been normalized by the dealer because it works from day 1.
Good luck
When it goes to close, it will stop for a split second before it goes into Tile mode. You need to take you finger away from the button right at that moment before it goes into Tile mode and the sunroof is close properly.
After normalization, operation is 1 touch only, no need to hold the button more than 1 touch.
1 touch to slide open,
1 touch to slide close,
1 touch to tilt open and
1 touch to tilt close.
This sunroof technology seems to be a step back from what I had in my Rav 4.
However, I will try to "normalize" the sunroof and see how it goes.
Thanks again.
So I'm planning to bring it into one of the NYC dealers for service but I filled out an online appt request on the Queensboro Toyota site yesterday and have yet to receive a reply.
BTW, does anyone have any GOOD experiences with New York City area Toyota dealers as far as service is concerned? Specifically Toyota of Manhattan or Queensboro Toyota?
Thanks,
-Chris
I guess this ends the debate about when we'll earn money back. It's never because of depreciation and insurance. The video shows the beloved HH.
I bought the car because it seemed to be (a) wave of the future - the hybrid technology (b) better mileage than my Acura and no need for super premium gas (c) better visibility in a taller vehicle and (d) environmental considerations We didn't even find out about the tax deduction until we had already decided to purchase it.
I definitely approached the purchase of this vehicle totally differently than I've ever done before. I personally did not even consider the Lexus hybrid since there is no Lexus dealer in town and I want a local dealer in case I need one. Other Lexus owners here have to literally get their cars towed to Jacksonville, FL if someone major goes wrong.
If I'd been taller, I'd probably be driving a Prius right now. But I'm very happy with my HH and I'm not worrying about how much money I'll get for it at some time in the future. Heck - I've only had the car about 8 weeks - it's like I'm still on my honeymoon and it's no time to be thinking about getting a divorce. . .
mmreid