2009 Highlander Hybrid Extremely poor MPG
Hi everyone,
I just bought (ten days ago) a 2009 Highlander Hybrid Limited, hoping to take advantage of the very good MPG advertised by Toyota.
The vehicle has 70,000 miles and in pretty good condition.
The problem is that I have a terrible 13-14 MPG. I did some research and I can not find what is wrong. I do everything by the book. No abrupt acceleration or braking. No AC. I drive only in city.
The batteries levels are good according to what I can see on screen.
I am a little worried because even for a regular gas engine Highlander 13 MPG is pretty bad !
Anyone had that kind of problems ? Any idea ? Is this covered by the 30 days warranty on a pre-owned (not certified) vehicle ?
Thanks for your help !
I just bought (ten days ago) a 2009 Highlander Hybrid Limited, hoping to take advantage of the very good MPG advertised by Toyota.
The vehicle has 70,000 miles and in pretty good condition.
The problem is that I have a terrible 13-14 MPG. I did some research and I can not find what is wrong. I do everything by the book. No abrupt acceleration or braking. No AC. I drive only in city.
The batteries levels are good according to what I can see on screen.
I am a little worried because even for a regular gas engine Highlander 13 MPG is pretty bad !
Anyone had that kind of problems ? Any idea ? Is this covered by the 30 days warranty on a pre-owned (not certified) vehicle ?
Thanks for your help !
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I'd certainly have the vehicle checked out by whoever is backing up that warranty. Maybe you have a bad sensor (coolant temperature sensor?) or faulty fuel injectors. Something might turn up on a computer scan.
Just 10 days of driving in the city. Are you judging mileage by the readout, or have you calculated it manually?
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Thank you for your post.
Yes. I have been driving the car for 12 days only now. True. But when I realized that my current MPG was 14 according to the on-screen info, I checked the previous fill-ups, also available on the small display. The 5 previous fill-ups are all between 13 and 16 MPG. I also did the math. I filled up the car when I left the dealership. I drove 160 miles and did a fill-up: 13 gallons. That results in a gas mileage of +/- 12, which is even worse than what appears on screen.
Also, I can't wait too many fill-ups because according to the NY lemon law, I am covered for a period of 30 days.
I just wanted to know what could be wrong before going back to the dealership.