Toyota Highlander Hybrid

falconone

I seriously doubt that they'd reimburse you if you never used the policy. Would Allstate give you your money back if you never made any claims on your auto insurance after you cancel with them?

Kirstie_H

I've heard of HondaCare offering this deal, so it is possible that Toyota does as well - read the fine print!

kirstie_h
Roving Host
Host, Future Vehicles & Smart Shopper discussions

falconone

Thanks for the information. This seems TOO good to be true. I wonder how Toyota/Honda would make money on the policy? Obviously if someone pays $1,800 for the coverage, the dealer gets a commission. If Toyota/Honda has to reimburse the policy holder due to no claims does that mean the dealership loses his commissions? Something doesn't sound right. Any dealers monitoring this board care to chime in?

gagrice

does that mean the dealership loses his commissions?

They do get to use your money for 7 years. Any little thing gets fixed under warranty and Poof your $1700 is history. Playing the averages. If I could have gotten a 7 year extension on the GMC I would have bought it. Probably will sell when gas gets cheap and truck prices soar.

landdriver

I remember reading about this refund policy on the regular HL boards, so I suspect its legit; just verify it says so in the contract and read the fine print so you understand the limitations! (I figure they make money off the interest and the fact that maybe not everybody remembers to apply for the reimbursement at the end of the 7 years.)

I also remember reading that some consider ~$1000 a fair price for extended warranty, but can't remember if this was for zero deductible and for a refundable policy. You need to weigh the peace of mind it offers you over the cost of the policy; Toyota's are generally very reliable vehicles. Also you can buy the Toyota policy from dealerships other than the one you purchased your HH from, so shop around for price.

Considering certain components of Hybrids are warranted for 8 to 10 years under the factory warranty, this extended warranty doesn't seem like a good deal to me, but then again I'm not very knowledgeable on extended warranties.

You should still avoid rustproofing, etc. like the plague; you can get all that stuff for half or less of the $800 the dealer wants to charge!

Welcome to the HH boards!!!

kdhspyder

Ask if it's the dealership that is offering to reimburse you at the end of 7 yrs or if it's TFS? It's probably a reinsurance item either at TFS or at the local dealership.

You can do a simple Present Value calculation yourself to see what $1800 is worth 7 yrs from now...deflated for inflation.

Somebody with a knowledge of statistics has done some homework and made a presentation that this is worthwhile to the consumer and a way to make money at the same time.

650vac

I don't know about rustproofing but I was offered interior and paint protection for $800. I've never had a leather interior and had big problems with Chrysler paint. SInce I will hold onto HH for at least 10 years I figured what the heck. I got it for $400. I feel deep down that this was a waste. I would be cautious on the rustproofing. Some treatments make the problem worse and may void your warranty.
For the Toyota Extended Warranty, shop around. Search on the internet for discount warranties. I'm getting one for $985. The dealer initially denied there ws a Toyota extended warranty and tried to sell me an offbrand version. He wouldn't go below $1,200 on the Toyota extended warranty.
I'd give you the website for the discounted warranty but I'd probably get the post yanked.

darmock

trstno1md

I recall posting earlier on this site for my HH extended warranty. I paid $985 for Toyota Platinum Extra Care 7yrs/100K miles/zero deductible. I shopped on the internet and found a dealer In Greenfield, Mass. I bought my HH in Cleveland OH. I called Toyota to check if this could be true when local dealers were quoting $1800+. I had the MAss dealer fax me the contract and then I ran it by Toyota and it checked out. The docs are now in my possession and I am satisfied. There are termination provisions that seem to say you can get a 'pro rata refund' of the "Agreement Purchase Price from Agreement Application Date, or elasped mileage from the Agreement Application mileage (whichever is less ), minus a $25 processing fee or 10% of the Agreement Purchase Price"

Bottom line, in my contract there are cancellation and termination provisions that state you can get some money back...

Shop around and good luck.

Still loving mine at 5500 miles and 28.4 lifetime mpg. AWD Ltd.

falconone

Just think of that $400 as the price of admission to have your car. Pure profit to the dealer sorry to say.

upstateny5

I received my Scan Gauge on Sat. and made a couple of mistakes on setup (I thought I was supposed to do something with the fuel fillup screen and didn't realized it was so simple as saying DONE.).

I would appreciate it if someone would confirm the following:
Fuel Type = Hybrid
Engine = 3.3L
Fuel Fillup = DONE when fill up
Tank Size = I entered 17 instead of 17.2 just to be on the safe side

Am I missing anything else for setup purposes?

trstno1md

Thanks for the replies about the extended warranty. I have found another Edmunds forum that addresses extended warranties, and I apologize if I hijacked this thread. Still, your replies were helpful, and I've already identified websites that should let me cut the cost of the extended warranty quite a bit, if I still decide to get it.

gazguzler

Until I discover the cure for cancer, please consider this my greatest contribution to society:

The HH has a total fuel capacity of . . .
19.6 gallons from dry to dripping out the spout.
The pump shut off a little over 17, then another 2.5 was squeezed in.

That means it would be possible to get 600 miles on a tank. I got close but no C-gar.

upstateny5

The true capacity may well be 19+ gallons but my dealer warned me not to go over the shut off point with fuel fillups. Apparently Prius owners were getting Check Engine errors for over filling and they suspected that the same could happen with HH.

ulev

Scuze Me...
The Hybrid tank is 17.2 gals.
Standard NON-HYBRID tank is 19..wish it were true on the HH.

As mentioned in a far earlier post ,if you got more than 17.2 gals then it must have 'dripping down your leg'...

The MOST miles I have ever gotten was a little over 400 miles @ 15 gals....
IF you get 28 MPG...then you have a total of 450+ per tankful.

600 miles ! per tankful ? I wish...BTW my mileage has actually GONE DOWN from a HI? of 26 mpg to a recent 24 mpg.

As is true for the cure for cancer, it ain't quite there yet...but lets keep trying.

gazguzler

I can't speak for you car (and pray to god you'll stop speaking for everyone else's). But I wonder if you can even speak for your car in this regard. Have you ever filled up from the point when the engine won't start because there's no gasoline? And have you filled till you can see the gasoline in the spout? That's the only way to be sure what the total capacity of a tank is . . . not the manual. That would be like accepting EPA as the mileage for your vehicle and never checking yourself.

So, you've only got an opinion. You've done nothing to test or prove. Anyone who does the same will see the same results 19.6 gallons. Do it.

I've got a fact because I ran mine dry and then filled all the way up to the spout. I know.

Again, like your last doubt, I'll wager you (and you'll run for the hills again). I've got yesterday's reciept for 18.6 and the gallon I got 2 minutes before (at a more expensive station), near where I ran out. I can scan and send ya (though you'll surely say it was another car . . . or another planet). That'll be for a bet of $50 (which means a free tank of gas!).

Or, for zero doubt, I'll video the next time I fill from dry . . . but again you're gonna have to make it worth my while. This time $200 if I can get over 19 gallons in my tank without spillage and if not I'll pay you $1000. Pretty good odds. So put up or do the other option . . . because this is getting tiring when you keep accusing everyone of lying with no proof, info or hints of your own to share.

Again, if you truly don't believe, make some money out of my lies and take one of the bets I've offered (now or in the past).

sunbyrne

Uhh, would it be possible to take this childish bickering out to the playground or something?

wwest

would you implicitly trust a fuel dispensing measuring system that yields more profit to the seller if its happens to be biased to the high side?

It hasn't happened very often but I have on occasion put more fuel in my tank than the base tank capacity. On a few of these occasions I even called someone at the state weights and measures unit to report the disparity.

gazguzler

Actually, 'taking it to the playground' sounds a bit childish.

Maybe you're new to this but it's not first time I've taken the time to make a post something important I've discovered about the HH, like good PnG mileage and, for some unknown reason, ulev habitually chimes in questioning the veracity of the statement . . . with nothing to offer to the contrary other than ulev's opinion (we've all got a the very same manual that says 17.2 gallons but none of us had tested it from empty to full).

Each time I ask him put his money where his mouth is. And that seems to keep it closed . . . for a while.

Sorry it upsets you but it tires me to have to deal with this naysayer when I'm at least trying to contribute to the knowledge of this forum.

gazguzler

3.3 gallons off?

No way.

The worst I've seen is in Yemen and Argentina and they were off 10%.

There's nothing mysterious or hard to understand about this. The tank has 17.5 to pump shut off and then another 3 to the spout. Do it yourself and you'll see.

The point is you can fit more in. The wisdom of that has been discussed. I won't regularly do it. But if I find cheap gas or need to go really far between stations (which we've had to do on our travels), I'll do it. Again, with PnG, you could get close to 600 miles like this.

It's good to know it's there . . . if needed.

typesix

Ovefilling gas tank may damage charcoal canister portion of emission controls and the canister is not cheap.

mmreid

We were driving back Monday morning from Gainesville to home and noticed that the gas prices were a LOT higher in Gainsville than in Tallahassee and we began wondering just how much gas was left in the tank if the needle hit the Empty point and whether we had enough gas to get home or had to stop and overpay. My husband remarked that when his BMW says E, it really is empty. My last car, on E, had a 3 gallon reserve. So when the HH hits the E point, do I have any reserve? I've never let it go below a quarter tank since I bought it.

I saw a Union 76 station here in town today, by the way, where regular gas was down to $2.39 and the ones by the Interstate exit (usually pricier) were all under $2.50.
Gainesville was 20 cents higher everywhere I checked on our way out of town Monday morning. As were most of the stations on I-75 and I-10.

A friend with a shop here in town got me a bumper sticker that is environmentally green and white and reads "hybrid cars, so many miles, so little gas". Very cool.

mmreid

blewdog

Winter has been creeping up on us here in San Francisco and I have just started using the heated seats in my new HH Limited. I have been incredibly dissapointed with the amount of heat that the seats put out. They are much weaker than the heated seats in any other vehicle that I have ridden in. This concerns me as I am in a ski cabin and will be in some extremely cold weather this winter. The heated seats seem to cycle every ten minutes or so and heat up to warm for about a minute and then go cold for another ten minutes. Is this cycling normal and are the seats known to only get "warm" not toasty? Does anyone know if the seats are always putting out the same heat or are is the amount of heat connected to a thermostat?

cdptrap

So when the HH hits the E point, do I have any reserve?

Please test this to confirm. We tested this once on our HH and when the warning light came on, we drove another 3 miles to a gas station to fill up. The tank took in 14.863 gallons at the time. That left 2.33 gallons as reserve according to the spec of 17.2 gallons. Please, I do not want to participate in the 17-vs-19 gallon debate .

Again, you need to verify this number for your HH.

mmreid

I wonder if something is wrong with your heated seats because I tried mine the other day for the first time and they went on and stayed on and I finally had to turn them off as the day got warmer. My last car had a high/low switch so if you turned them on "high" they would automatically cut off after 15 minutes but not on low. These just seem to turn on and keep cranking. . .I was quite pleased. I didn't seem to notice any cycling on and off. Just toasty buns. I have an HH Limited as well. We are just experiencing cold weather in the early morning so this may not be a fair test.

mmreid

wwest

unusual or out of line for a hydrid to have conservative, low, seat heating.

Why did you buy a hydrid....??

hhva

Mine seem to work fine, identical to my '02 Highlander and Outback.

I ski a lot in WV where 0 temps are not unusual. Am anxious to see how these Hh's do w/o a garage. Keep us posted as the season unfolds. BTW, Snowshoe Wv got 10" on Oct. 27th. We gpt 311 in one season about 7 or 8 years ago. Resort average is 180".

kdhspyder

If you look at Toyotas manuals I believe it says that there is about a 2-3 gal reserve. I'm on my 7th in the family, 4Camry's, and unfortunately like to push the 'E' limit. I can drive about 90 miles with the warning light on. I do it too often

gazguzler

When I ran out of gas, I was suprised how far the needle was from E. Not that it's ever exact, as the needle moves, and damn hard to gauge from three feet away.

I'll fill again the minute I get the warning light, so I know how many gallons were left. But I've been operating on the idea that there are only two left when it shows.

cdptrap

f you look at Toyotas manuals I believe it says that there is about a 2-3 gal reserve.

Yes, we looked but experience taught us to verify . Our old Ford and Sienna have very unreliable fuel gauges. First half tank would yield about 165 to 175 miles and then suddenly the second half tank yield only 125 to 145 miles. That is a wide swing of 30 to 40 miles.

So far, the HH gauge seems quite consistent and even.

We are done "playing" with our HH mileage so my wife fills up now when it hits a bit below half tank. We live in earthquake country so it pays to be ever ready.

cdptrap

I'll fill again the minute I get the warning light, so I know how many gallons were left.

Please do let us know, another independent data point is better than just 1.

mmreid

I'm not someone who likes to let the gas tank fall below a quarter tank and that is based on the manual and other things I've heard that say not to let your tank get that low. It only happened two or three times in prior vehicle and not yet in the HH. I seem to have read that you don't really want to let your car get to the "running on fumes" place - something about it not being particularly good for the engine.

Am I wrong about it not being good for the vehicle to let it get really low on gas? And the other factor is in hurricane country we try and keep all our cars fairly full between June and November in case of power outages. My sister in south Florida (Wilma was a factor) said she's waited in six hour lines for gas for her little Corolla.
So I'm someone more than willing to fill my HH when I've got half a tank of gas if the weather people are even hinting something is brewing in the Gulf.

An interesting side note is there is talk here in Florida of requiring gas stations by law (like hospitals) to have generators so that in the event of a hurricane power outage they can still function. I think it's a pretty good idea.

mmreid

ulev

For the record..
I erred in posting the previous post accidently.
(was editing in preview..)

I do not prefer to 'flame' others as they sometimes do.
I attempted to edit out the more descriptive passages but was unable to EDIT...???

My apologies to the board for this overly explicit post.

Ulev

PF_Flyer

Got that post down for you to keep things from escalating.

You only have a 30 minutes to edit or delete a post after you post it, so that's why you found yourself unable to edit.

Appreciate the apology for the board.

gazguzler

I just heard a funny (and very related) one on CARTALK this morning. A woman called to say her husband was insistent to only put in two gallons at a time at empty and never fill up.

She wanted Click and Clack to tell her husband that he was wrong . . . but he was right!

Apparently this is an effective way to save gas. People are tearing out rear seats to save weight but a full tank of gas can weigh as much as a seat.

Interesting, no?

qqqq

Has anyone had any success in determining the method to engage the autolock feature to automatically lock the doors in the HH? Or if you have had it done in a dealer did they show you how it was done?

Very frustrated that I have to go in for a service to get such a simple safety feature implemented.

larsb

quote gazguzler-"Apparently this is an effective way to save gas"-end quote

Not really. That is super wasteful. Depending on the size of his tank, he is making 10-15 times more trips to the gas station. Unless he has a pump at his house, he's wasting a lot of gas making all those extra trips to the gas station, which I bet are completely elminating his weight advantage.

gazguzler

I don't think it's practical but it is interesting . . . and I'll never do it.

Though clearly you could negate the effect your talking about if you commute by a gas station that's on a redlight, for example.

Some people do short runs or don't use their car much, so this may be once a week for some.

katzjamr

Congrats on your HH, my rx 400h of course shares the same HSD as yours and as you know they are great hybrid vehicles. My point is to be sure you understand not to run out of gas in these vehicles. If you try to drive on electric only with a gas engine that cannot start you can damage the hybrid battery. For that reason there is protection built into the system that allows you to start the car only three times when it is out of gas. After that the system will shut down and must be towed to the dealer for repair. Also gas in the fuel tank lubricates and cools the fuel pump that is located inside. Continuous low tank operation will shorten the life of the fuel pump in any vehicle. In the HH and 400h you typically have three gallons left when the low fuel light comes on. Enjoy your hybrid.

cdptrap

Has anyone noticed a jump in MPG after the initial 5000 mile oil change?

We did the 5K service a couple of weeks back with only a qtr tank left. After service, my wife filled up and noticed the MPG had jumped to 29 MPG after only 22 miles in "normal" (for her) driving. It normally would be around 22 MPG. After 165 miles, intermediate MPG is at 30.9 MPG where it used to be around 27 MPG. This has never happened under normal driving condition. It only happened once when we did our once-only "hypermile" trial.

We have to verify when it's due for a fill-up.

Has anyone seen this spike?

greatglass

Dear CDP -- we are on the verge of buying the Highlander Hybrid Limited 2wheel drive .... after driving a Prius (usually 48-49 mpg) for 3 yrs. The reviews of mileage I've read just now are all disappointing ... so I'm really interested in this mileage you're apparently getting! Also, my husband is addicted to the mpg readout on the Prius but we didn't see one on the HH that we drove today?

thanks -- hope this better mileage is a reality for you (and us!) -- rr

rodney12

To get the Prius-style energy and consumption monitors you have to spring for the Navigation system. I really like those screens as well which is why I waited for a HiHy with NAV. There is a smaller display over the steering wheel but I have read posts complaining that it lacks a MPG monitor.

I am currently getting 28mpg. I would have gotten a Prius if my right knee didn't want to be where the Prius shift lever is (bummer). I still thoroughly enjoy stealth mode, regen, etc. I am satisfied for the moment that I am driving the most fuel efficient car in the world (that I fit in!).

The HiHy is a great ride. I would absolutely buy it again without hesitation. Good luck!

gazguzler

This weekend, I got 32mpg from Baltimore to St. Michaels, which should be around 100miles.

One thing we don't give credit for on the HH vs. Prius debate is per passenger mpg. If you had 6 or 7 people, you'd need two Priui (what's the plural?). Then you're talking about 24mpg for the group. No matter who's driving, the HH'll get significantly more mpg than that.

kdhspyder

Since you already have a Prius you are very familiar with the techniques to improve FE. I wouldnt be too concerned about the reports since you know what the real situation is on the Prius at 47-50 mpg combined..

It's just a different equation you need to consider; for example, gal used per 1000 mi driven. The Highlanders will definitely use much more than a Prius/Camry 4c

Prius vs 4c Camry 'combined' ratings
Prius ( yours 48 mpg ) is 20.8 gal/1000 mi driven
Camry ( mine 28 mpg )... is 35.7 gal / 1000 mi driven
The Prius saves abt 15 gal / 1000 mi driven

HH vs ICE Highlander 'combined' ratings
HH ( reported 27 mpg ) is 37.0 gal/1000 mi driven
Highlander ( mine 20 mpg ) is 50 gal/1000 mi driven
The HH saves 13 gal for every 1000 mi driven.

Not bad. Use your known techniques and try to get to 28-29 and the savings are the same.

pcrit

I'm wondering if you've ever re-set your avg MPG readout. It sounds like they re-set the Avg MPG readout (just hold down the button for a few seconds for the LTD model). That would explain why you are getting a higher MPG reading now after the engine is more "broken in". You need to manually re-set the gauge at each fill-up or whenever you want to start a new calculation (on our non-hybrid LTD HL the gauge re-sets automatically at eachfill up).

I have < 800 miles our our HH, AWD, and I'm getting 27-28mpg in town, while my wife gets 24-25 (different driving styles).

Sylvia

Question for the owners here... how comfortable are the seats? A friend is considering a hybrid and is interested in the Highlander. However, she is very concerned about the comfort of the seats on long drives.

Any comment on this?

cdptrap

Hi GreatGlass

The HH Limited offers an option of the NAV screen. The Prius-like energy display uses that NAV screen.

A few posters alreayd responded with good mileage analysis and comparison. My personal take is if your really want MPG numbers in the high 40's, the HH is not for you. If you want a 5 (to 7 in a pinch) passenger SUV with V8 torque and power that gets 28-30 MPG, HH is the only one out on the market (and its Lexus twin) right now.

We need to lug 5 children and 2 adults (incl. driver) around on weekdays and considered a new Sienna. In the end, the HH is a the best choice because of added safety, better gas mileage and performance.

Hope this helps your research.

cdptrap

Pcrit,

Good point, I checked and she did reset everything. The Trip A and NAV/Energy screen read-out were all reset. I checked tire pressure too and it is still at 37-psi.

The shop changed oil, reset the "Maintenance Req'd" display, rotated tires. The manager insisted that his crew did nothing more. We did use Mobil-1 oil but he doubts that will make any differencein MPG.

After carrying several heavy loads of metal and wood construction material this weekend to and from a farm, the intermediate MPG has dropped from 30.9 to 28.4, still extremely impressive given we did not further change our modified P&G approach.

We will just enjoy this ride/spike in MPG and stop wondering.

kdhspyder

I sell them but I also own an ICE Highlander. Ever since they came out the one comment I've heard most often is how comfortable the whole vehicle is on long trips... VA to Dallas nonstop for example.

The seats are more upright as in most SUV's but the quiet ride is also important since road noise is a debilitating presence on long trips.

On any vehicle I own the first thing I do is switch to Michelins for the quality of the ride. Bad tires can cancel out a great quiet ride.

cdptrap

We took several long trips in this car, 100-milers to 800-milers round-trip.
We have the 8-way adjustable driver seat and I am a stocky 6-footer measuring 24-inches from spine to the front of my knee caps when seated. You will need this measurement to judge if the seat will provide enough thigh support.

The driver seat is very comfortable for me on long drives. It has very good lateral support, good adjustment. Front passenger is a no brainer, very comfy as well. Second bench is also quite comfy of the few times I had to sit back there. The second bench has very nice support and headroom and good legroom.

We have never had adults in the 3-rd bench on long trips, cannot say anything there.

miz2

What,if any, is the benefit of 4WD compared to the 2WD version of HH (especially if you are not in the snow belt). I assume the reason for not recommending using the HH for off road driving is the low clearance and continuously variable transmission.
Thanks