By accessing this website, you acknowledge that Edmunds and its third party business partners may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect information about you and your interactions with the website as described in our
Privacy Statement, and you agree that your use of the website is subject to our
Visitor Agreement.
Comments
That said, I would buy it again in a heartbeat. I test drove several SUVs before buying the HH and refused to get any of them as I couldn't deal with the low mileage. My favorite of them all was the Acura MDX which I think gets 16-18 city and needs premium gasoline. I feel my HH Limited handles as nicely and as comfortably as the Acura SUV,it's green and I'm averaging mileage - with my short stop and go errand driving - around mid 20's. And we have been averaging 26 to 28 on the highway at speeds between 70 and 80.
The MDX(a 2005) and the HH(2006) were basically the same price ($40,000)and the only real difference that jumped out at me was when you put the MDX in reverse, the NAV screen shows you what is behind you - a clever addition.
Off topic: I'm a woman and sometimes the initials you guys use are confusing. Can we define some of them for us non-mechanical (I've never changed the oil or a tire in my life) female types? I know, it's pathetic but I really would like to know what we are talking about and to learn and I'm stuck when I don't know what the initials are! Like VDIM or SLUV or whatever they are - I can't check back when I'm posting a message. . .
Thanks. I'm learning a lot from this forum and you all help me appreciate my vehicle constantly.
mmreid in sunny Florida
This is a Toyota designed drive-by-wire system that is, for now, only available on the hybrids. Drive-by-wire simply means that steering, braking and throttle sends electronic sugnals to computers that perform the actual steering, braking and throttling. While there is mechanical linkage for back-up, it will take much greater effort. This drive-by-wire technology allows the HH to anticipate dangerous situation and react *before* anything bad happens unlike normal Traction Control or other Stability systems that activate only when the car is starting to get in trouble. The HH will vary engine power, decide which tire to brake and how much steering to allow in order to stay out of trouble.
I looked around for something like this while researching the HH last year and the only one that came close to the VDIM was a system by Mercedes in one of their $60K sedan. It is possible other luxury car companies may start offering something like this.
VDIM cannot replace what is between our ears of course
SULEV - Super Ultra Low Emission Vehicle
A term created by the California Air Quality Board. The following link goes to a CA gov site and its FAQ page answers what all the emission designations are.
http://www.driveclean.ca.gov/en/gv/home/index.asp
When we first looked at the RX400h and HH, rumor said they would get the AT-PZEV rating. When they finally came out, they only got the SULEV rating, so it was quite disappointing to us. But, it is still better than ULEV by around 200-lbs of pollution per 120,000 miles.
Hope this helps.
1. Steering control making it tough for me to make a sharp turn when accelrating hard. My other Traction/Stability car does not do that. This happened when I tried to change lane quickly on freeways.
2. It comes on before the car gets in trouble. My other traction/stability car waits until the car is actually losing traction or leaning before it activates. The VDIM came on a couple of times on snowy mountain roads this past Winter. We heard the beep-beep-beep before we sensed anything was amiss and the car behaved solidly around a snowy curve. About 0.5 mile beyond, 2 cars were off the road on the side with a CHP cruiser helping them. We still do not know if anything really happened because we felt or sensed nothing from the car. Either the VDIM worked or it misfired
One can argue whether the system is intrusive. Drivers who want control would prefer to turn it off while drivers like me do not mind big brother helping me.
http://www.lexus-europe.com/technology_explorer/vehicle_dynamics_integrated_mana- gement_VDIM.asp?model=All
http://toyota.jp/toyopet/sp/harrierhybrid/ths.html
http://www.auto123.com/en/info/news/roadtest,view,Lexus.spy?artid=36923&pg=6
The above links are for Lexus however we all know that the HiHy is really a Lexus RX400h with a Highlander skin.
Last but not least: http://www.edmunds.com/ownership/safety/articles/106273/article.html
This one is specific to the HiHy.
Hope this helps you understand VDIM better. A great system in snow and ice based on my experience last winter. Even now in the spring time, it gives me better safety protection when it comes to the soft gravel shoulders of the highway.
Thanks!
I was driving on a 4 lance divided road going about 60 mph. I was surprised that the HH's front end seems to be loose (I hesitate to say "loose" but not sure how to characterize it.) The front end seemed to move very slightly from one side to another as road conditions change. For example, moving from one lane to another and crossing over the "crown" in the road. It was very easy to counter the movement of the front end with an opposite slight movement of the steering wheel. In a normal car/suv I would feel the same shift in road conditions but only as a slight pull on the steering wheel from one side to the other. I mentioned this to the sales person. He told me that he noticed it as well but thought it was a charisteristic of the HH. Following some of this discussion on the VDIM, I'm wondering if the VDIM is sensing the changing road conditions and starts moving the front end slightly??
I'm not satisfied with my terminology above but wondered if everyone else feels a good solid steering wheel pressure change when road conditions change (if even slight changes) or does the front end seem to make slight movements without the accompanied instantanious steering wheel pressure feel??
I have an 05 HL V6 Limited non Hybrid, and my brother, an 06 HH Limited. I notice no difference in the road feel or lane change between the 2 vehicles.
So it is entirely possible that the "on-center" "gain" (quick, reactive current flow, torque) of the EPS is significantly reduced versus a normal (tons of "assist" torque) hydraulic power stearing system.
So, yes, there are lots of reasons your HH will feel "loose" vs normal hydraulically powered stearing.
We have not experienced this. Our steering feels centered and does not easily change direction. There is a situation where a road banks rather steeply to one side then the car seems to want to point downslope and we have to compensate by turning the steering in opposite direction.
On dirt roads, I sometimes run over larger loose rocks with our HH, about 4 to 6 inch in diameter and the steering still feels rather solid. No change of direction.
In one of our old Chevy trucks that has no power steering, the same rock would "rock" the steering one way or the other as the tire bounces over the rock. The steering of this truck reacts to every bumps and dips on a road requiring constant attention and adjustments.
Not sure if this addresses your concern.
Like jbollt said, the tire pressure could have been not so proper.
Thanks
Also, on the Edmunds site, a SET administration fee of $750 and a SET destination charge of $45 is listed. Is that the same or different than the freight charge? Might these fees account for the difference in invoice pricing?
TIA for your help!!
http://www.popularmechanics.com/automotive/new_cars_trucks/1829251.html
After it was towed to the Toyota dealer, they found that the computer that attaches the gas pedal to the engine had failed. They replaced that computer, and now it runs fine.
Has anyone else had this problem with the Highlander Hybrid?
Thanks
Nothing yet with our HH, knock on wood.
Did the HH die on you on the road? If it did, what did you do to get it off the roadway? Sounds like a nasty problem if it were to happen while the car is in motion.
Thanks in advance for info.
Converting a Gas car to run on E85 incurs about $200
extra cost from the automaker's point of view. However,
it cannot be done on a aftermarket basis - atleast not
so cheaply and offcourse warranties will be voided.
Thanks.
Miller said the hybrid Toyota Camry, which will come out this summer, could be the vehicle that finally shows whether hybrids will join the mainstream. The gas-powered version of the Camry is a perennial U.S. best seller.
"The Camry is the sweetheart of the midsize car segment," Miller said. "If it can break through, hybrids may be more widely adopted."
Full article: ">link title
E85 is normally defined as 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. E85 is itself a fuel used as is by many flex-fuel vehicles. While it seems possible for refineries to use E85 for oxygenation, it probably will not make sense. I am guessing that it is more likely for refineries to just add certain % of pure Ethanol into their gasoline for oxygenation purpose.
This is just fine and now actually mandated by the
federal Govt.
Every car in US have to be designed to withstand upto
10% Ethanol mix in the gas that makes the gas burn
cleaner. E85 has 85% Ethanol and just 15% gas. Toyota cars cannot handle it so far.
http://www.drivingethanol.org/aspx/what_is_ethanol/production_process.aspx
It is renewable and does not increase the net
CO2 in the atmosphere if produced properly.
In fact in Brazil, the Ethanol industry uses
sugarcane and these factories are entirely run on Ethanol.
i.e. the energy required to process sugarcane
to Ethanol also comes from burning the Ethanol
produced in the same factory.
About 70% cars in Brazil are now completely flex
fuel i.e. 100% Ethanol to 100% gas or any combination
of the two. Ethanol is cheaper than gas in Brazil
now. They will be self sufficient in energy by
the end of this year. They used to import more than
60% of their gas. It is really a shame that the
federal Govt. of the US still does not have a plan
regarding energy self-sufficiency.
This will slash our dependence on foreign oil almost instantly.
This current mad rush to Ethanol is *not* addressing the consumption side of the problem, just the supply side. If anything, it encourages consumption, and that will continue to create more problems.
I think new Ethanol technologies will exist in 10 years to deal with its entire production cycle from pesticide, herbicide to harvest, transport, refining and emission. Today, Ethanol is really not yet a clean fuel.
How do you "cook" grains down to extract their base sugars without out-gassing the CO2...???
probably written by someone who was paid by the oil
industry. That study from Cornell has been debunked
numerous times. Read this:
http://www.ethanol.org/documents/NetEnergyBalanceissuebrief_000.pdf
The Ethanol factories in Brazil do the following:
1. Genrate own electricity from generators that run on
Ethanol
2. Burn the bio-mass residue of the sugarcane as fuel
for boilers for the cooking.
3. Process that residue to fertilizers that produce
future sugarcane.
4. Use tractors and transport that run on Ethanol.
After all this they come out ahead in the net energy produced. They will export $1.3 billion worth of Ethanol this year. Their energy import bill has reduced to 0.
The C02 that is emitted in the ethanol factories is part of
the carbon cycle and will be absorbed by future sugarcane
plants thus keeping the net CO2 in the atmosphere constant.
Brazil seems to be closing the whole cycle, very impressive.
There is another issue with Ethanol that the Feds have to address. 10% Ethanol in gasoline increases the RVP and in turn increases amounts of pollutants (NOx, VOC's, Ozone causing material and cancer causing contaminants) into the air. In CA, this is less likely to be a problem because we will be receiving low RVP gasoline to compensate for the 10% Ethanol. This then makes everything comes out "equal" with insiginificant amount of release.
Problem is what happens to areas and states that do not get such gasoline? You will be breathing more such junk into your lungs. With few states paying attention to emission, it is a nationwide problem.
We can all be driving HiHy that runs on 10% Ethanol but we will be poisoning our air while becoming energy-independent.
The following is a CA State report consisting of several volumes. It is probably as independent as it gets because it is funded by the state. A really good read on the many benefits and concerns.
http://www-erd.llnl.gov/ethanol/etohdoc/
The second row does not fold flat, it has slight upangle.
We have not folded the first row (Driver row) down.
We did sleep in the car once on a camping trip last year. First night was tough with the second row angling up. Second night, we piled our Thermarest onto the floor covering the trunk and 3-rd row to raise the level making it almost flush with the second row. That worked really well. You have to play with it a bit adding extra clothing here and there to keep things flat.
There is not much room for gear once you turn it into bedding space. Lucky we had only 2 backpacks so we jammed them in the front seats and put stuff on the dash. The whole car looked stuffed with junk from the outside.
Has anyone found a fitted seat cover for the second row seats? That my dog's place on car trips and a quilt really doesn't work well. I bought one for my last car from Plow and Hearth but had to return it as it simply didn't fit at all. Anyone found one for our HH's? I get tired of cleaning muddy paw prints off the leather.
mmreid
Jim
mmreid
Thanks!
Thanks!
Would the HH be good for me? I am very impressed with what I've read so far. It is more costly to buy than anything I have ever had in the past, that is what is making me nervous. But shelling out $500-600 a month for gas is pretty frightening also. I also love the navigation system. My in-laws have a Lexus and the NAV is awesome. Is it the same one?
Thanks for your advice!
I would say to think of the HH as a Toyota class "Luxury" V8-like cleaner emission SUV that gets V6 mileage, not as a gas-sipping SUV. I would also suggest asking yourself the following questions because in the end, only you will know if this is a car for your family.
From a family need standpoint, does the HH have creature comfort and safety features you will need and enjoy, does it have the room for your children today and 10 years down the road as they grow and whether there is room enough to lug all your family gear over the years. We have had to adjust to not having a giant trunk for tossing in all sorts of gear. Now, everything is packed neatly with military precision to eek out extra trunk room.
From a car standpoint, conside if you really need the extra horsepower or can you get by with less. May be a V6 or even an I4 for your daily use that gets the same real-world average driving mileage (25-26) as the HH? or may be better than the HH? Use "real-world" mileage by taking 80% of any posted EPA numbers to make comparisons. Will you be happy if you get only 24-mpg? 26 mpg? Or do you want nothing less than 30-mpg?
If you are down to the HH against another non-hybrid car, then ask if the SULEV emission rating, the drive-by-wire system (VDIM), the potential (not guarantee) to get 30-MPG is worth the extra cost and win your heart? or will the non-hybrid car do as well?
Of course, bring your family to see one and have them hop in and out and bring a bag of gear that gives a good gauge of trunk room you will need. We did this for our children and their approval also sold us on the HH. We took them to see the Sienna van, the Escape Hybrid, Prius, Outback and HH.
We must drive on dirt trails almost every other day, we must drive in the mountains (in rain and snow) frequently but we also truck children around town everyday and we also get stuck in heavy traffic often on local freeways. We take our children camping and backpacking a lot so access to trailheads requires a car with decent clearance. We are willing to trade real 4x4 for a chance at good gas mileage. So I searched for 6 months looking for a car that can meet all the safety, emission, gas-mileage and performance requirements. It came down to Outback vs HH and we picked the HH for its more advanced hi-tec features that met most of our needs.
So far, no regrets. Good luck in your search!
Stop and GO city driving.
Yes, the batteries will provide extra engine BOOST on the highway but in FLAT florida that will almost always result in later use of the ICE to recharge those batteries. The batteries MIGHT be recharged via simulation of engine compression braking but that is not a relaible source on highway driving. You would often be better served having the vehicle just coast, regenerative braking disabled.
You will do much better FE wise with a small I4 engine (Acura RDX or Maxda C-7) and supercharging or turbocharging to get that BOOST only when needed.