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Comments
OK, so I had to "test" drive the wife's CR-V (for the umpteenth time). One of my concerns on the Highlander is the navigation features. I beleive the Highlander DOES NOT speak the name of the street (only says turn left or turn right). Well, on the 2008 CR-V, I can confirm the Honda navi DOES speak the name of the street. It will say "Take next right onto xxxx street", where xxxx = name of street.
I have written to Toyota to see if they plan on releasing an upgrade to the Toyota NAVI software to provide this feature. They replied "thanks for the concern"
Something inside me says I should wait until the 2009 Honda Pilot is released
I don't think that HL has the same trans as the Camry, does it?
It's true that the other window switches aren't lighted, but the passengers can afford to spend a bit more time and attention to find them.
The area where it's even more useful to have lighted switches is the steering wheel and here, they all light up!
--Here's to many miles and fewer gallons!
The Highlander doesn't have this, which one would expect for a luxury vehicle
My commute is 5 mi of local road (40mph, 3 lights) and 10 mi of highway (60-70mph) / minimal slowdowns. I have not driven it much other than to work and back (except towed a trailer ~15 mi on Saturday).
Only 600mi on the beast, so not broken in yet. This is a Limited 4x4 w/ all except Nav and DVD.
Coming from a stick, the shift points seem to be against fuel economy.
So.. I am not their target market, it seems. I think it would have been a fun vehicle to own... oh well.
PS: I seem to be having a hard time finding the HL door lock in the dark. I end up pressing the window lock instead. Maybe because I am used to the 99-03 Solara layout, with a small square button instead of a large rectangle for the winlock.
BTW HL is not a luxury vehicle, watch out for a new HL based Lexus next year.
I guess if you're focused solely on nav and having street names read to you (because reading them off the screen is so difficult), then by all means, go with the CR-V.
All I can say is, after 12 cars in my lifetime, 8 of them Toyotas, this Highlander (in the Cypress Green that I am insufferably proud over) is the ONLY automobile that has ever caused people to stop me in parking lots to ask about it.
OR MORE PERHAPS YOU SHOULD CONSIDER A MUCH SMALLER CHEAPER VEHICLE TO MEET YOUR NEEDS.
Yet it gets the same FE. Nice trick.
At 65 MPH on a slight up grade, there is no reason to drop to 3rd gear with the size of the powerbox under that hood.
Kinda wish there was an econo switch on the dash with different shift points.
So he was simply saying Car A which is cheaper has Y and Z features which the Highlander which is more expensive doesn't have.
I do wish it was as you describe.
Sport-shift mode is supposed to disable engine braking when cruise is engaged... can't say that I've noticed that yet.
There are certain speeds / loads the engine is more efficient.
If the gear doesn't down shift, you could end up using more fuel than at a higher rpm due to the engine load
I'm just curious as to how you know that the vehicle is shifting down to third gear? If you're going off of the tachometer, what you're likely seeing is the initial increase in RPM when the torque convertor lockup disengages. Then, a second increase in the RPM would indicate a shift down to fourth gear.
It's also worth noting that these relatively small displacement V6s still make their best/full power at fairly high RPMs so I'd still have a bit of faith that the design engineers knew somewhat about what they were doing when they set all these things up.
As for the disabling of engine braking when in S-mode with cruise control on, I don't know what you're expecting, but what Owner's Manual is referring to is the fact that cruise control only works in gears 4 and 5 in S-mode. What this means is that even if you downshift from 5 to 4 with cruise control engaged, the vehicle will still maintain it's set speed. Thus, engine braking is 'disabled' or effectively non-existant under these conditions. If you downshift to 3, the cruise control will be cancelled and you will experience engine braking. Besides, there is little engine braking effect from dropping out of overdrive (5) and into 4th anyway. The only way to truly disable engine braking is to leave the exhaust valves open during the compression cycle.
The Owner's Manuals are just not very clearly written with regards to this 'feature' and many other topics. As a matter of fact, I'd have to say that the Owner's Manual is my biggest disappointment with the vehicle so far!
My 200hp Toyota v6 (1MZ-FE) w/ a 5-speed maintains speed perfectly on the same hill at the same speed and still returns 28 MPG back and forth to work. Now that is a car (less weight) and a stick (vs. auto), but still.... why is 3rd gear needed?? The 130hp Corolla does the same thing as the HL, but that is a little high-revving 4cyl. Guess I would rather have 200hp at 2500 RPM than 270 at 5000..........
Re: engine braking, I understood it as the car is 'holding back from gravity' on a decent. Ie. not letting gravity accelerate the car much beyond the set point. Same as downshifting to 3rd or 4th to control speed while towing with a manual. Maybe I am wrong on this point.. as I said, I have not experienced it yet (need a highway trip with a long downhill).
1ZZ-FE 1.8 L (1794 cc) I4 (Corolla)
126 hp (97 kW) @ 6,000 rpm
125 ft·lbf of torque @ 4,200 rpm (169 N·m)
1MZ-FE 3.0L V6: (Camry / Solara)
200 net HP @ 5,200 rpm (149 kW),
214 ft·lbf (290 N·m) of torque @ 4,400 rpm (290 Nm)
3MZ-FE 3.3L V6: (Camry / Solara)
225 net HP @ 5,600 rpm (168 kW)
240 ft·lbf (325 N·m) of torque @ 3,600 rpm (325 Nm)
2GR-FE 3.5L V6: (Camry / Highlander)
270 net HP @ 6,200 rpm (200 kW)
248 ft·lbf (336 N·m) @ 4,700 rpm
The takeaway, power is going up but so are the RPMs at which max power is produced. Hence, when driving, it feels more like a high-revving 4 cyl. than a big 'meaty' V6. Suppose I prefer the latter.
Has anyone seen a set of curves on this engine yet?
-Andy
Eric
-Andy
Replacing a broken windshield on our '95 LS was going to be pretty costly until we told the repairman to discard and "stub-off" the coolant lines.
EH Cold Weather Package
Includes dual color-keyed heated folding outside rear view mirrors and windshield de-icer grid. That's what I got in Ohio.
Andy
Wow, this may be Toyota's reaction, FIX, for an earlier quite annoying, even HAZARDOUS, problem.
In the past the system air distribution control keeps the airflow routed toward the windshield in order to BAFFLE any incoming COLD airflow due to forward roadspeed. Once the coolant temperature reached 130F the blower would start up and the servomotors would simultaneously BEGIN moving the outlet airflow setting from the defrost/defog/demist position and into the footwell position.
The problem was that had you made use of the A/C the previous day the plenum area surrounding the cooling evaporator would be clogged, SATURATED, with water vapor. So about 4-5 miles down the road, BLAP, BAM, your windshield suddenly fogs over due to the brief time the airflow, HUMID airflow, remained in the windshield position.
Until I was able to figure out the causative factors and come up with a solution(***) I often had to pull over to the side of the road when this happened early on a COOL/COLD morning in my then new '92 LS400.
So my guess would be that the onset of blower speed is delayed intentionally in order to first give the servomotors time to move that potentially TOO humid airflow rotuting away from a potentially COLD windshield surface.
*** Windows down slightly all night, EVERY NIGHT, in the garage to let the condensate evaporate OUTSIDE.
It appears that Highlanders without the Tow Prep Package need this same Trailer Wire Harness.
I couldn't find anyone at two different dealerships that knew what the "Pre-Wire Harness" included in the Tow Prep Package was.
Can anyone shed any light on this. Thanks.
The Toyota is a wonderful car. Smooth, quick, powerful, quiet, and full of deluxe features. It does have a few very minor shortcoming in terms of convenience. On the plus side it has a driver's seat with incredible flexibility and comfort. Anyone can find a very comfortable driving position. It is simply wonderful. But there is a slight downside. It does not have memory seats and mirrors. Let you spouse, or anyone drive it and readjust the seat and you can spend quite a bit of time trying to figure out exactly where you had all the different controls. With so many ways to adjust the seat, this is actually more complex than one would guess. And yes, I agree with other posters, lighted mirror controls would be useful in this regard. As well as lights on some of the other controls as well. In addition, mirror controls that weren't hiding behind the steering column out of view would be helpful.
And what's up with the smart key. The owner's manual says to remove the key portion, lock the glove box, and give the fob portion to the parking attendant. A great idea, but once you remove the key portion, you have removed the portion of the fob that has the ring. If you give the parking attendant the remaining "fob" the attendant would have to put it into an envelope and write your name on it. There is no ring on the fob to hand the fob on a hook. How dumb is that? Other than overlooking this detail, this new keyless entry system is really great.
The owner's manual is poor. As someone who has always worked on cars, and tries to stay informed concerning the details of how they function, I am disappointed in the lack of technical details in the owners manual. There is no explanation of even the most simple items work. For example, how does one go about checking the level of the automatic transmission fluid? Where is the oil filter, and what is the easiest way to get to it?
As another example, I ran over a nail without knowing it. The low pressure indicator light came on (just as it should have). I had checked all the tires when I took delivery two weeks before. They were all at between 30 and 32 pounds. When the indicator light came on, the right rear tire had about 23 pounds. I pumped it up to 31, and the light went out. Next day the light came on, and there was about 20 pounds in the tire. I put on the spare. Then I pumped up the bad tire to 40 pounds (4 pounds under the max pressure) and replaced it in the spare well. The light went out, and came on again two days later. I took it to the dealer, they found the nail (I had missed it even though I looked). They told me the light came on because the spare was too high. I actually think the light came on because the spare lost air and become low. There is no way to really know because I don't know the parameters of the system. The owner's manual doesn't explain how the tire pressure warning system works. By reading the manual I have figured out that if your car has the full size spare, the spare is equipped with a transmitter. This is good. It means that if you get a warning light, you need to check all four road tires as well as the spare. Any of the five could be causing the light to come on. Cars with a compact spare do not have a transmitter in the donut. They have to check the pressure in it the old fashioned way.
I would like to purchase a shop manual. Just to understand how the systems all work. The paper manuals that are available would cost over $1,000. Why not make one summary manual available for the enthusiast do it yourselfer for $100 to even $150? Or why not put it all on CD for a reasonable price?
Congrats on the new Highlander!
Its to do with the Highlander navi speaking the name of the street during route guidance.
A recent online review said a couple of things about the navigation
1) the system had an error, and annouced "you have arrived at your destination" too early. I later found out that this is a feature designed into the navi, to give the driver time to prepare when arriving at a destination (look for parking etc)(.
2) they said the navi would speak the freeway numbers, but would only say "turn left" or "turn right". It wouldn't say "turn left on main street".
I am begining to question this.
My wife has just got a 2008 CR-V with navi. There are various levels for voice guidance. In NORMAL, it says "turn left" or "turn right". But if you select "MORE"\, the navi speaks the street names or TTS.
So I am begining to wonder if the highlander has a setup for voice guidance, where the TTS level can be set.
Anyone with a Highlander NAVI care to comment
thanks
Not having TTS on a $40k vechicle - DEAL BREAKER
My $600 Garmin has TTS. MY wifes $27K CRV has it. Why on earth would Toyota not have that feature?
-Andy
BTW, I have a base model with the cold weather package and no automatic climate control. But I assume that the heat controls are controlled via a computer and not really Manual.
-Andy
BTW. Can you explain how you set "defrost to high"? Are you talking about window defogger? That doesn't give you any additional heat. Are you sure that your A/C is not running (hint look at A/C light)?