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Comments
http://www.homelink.com/training/train.taf
Should be able to get detailed instructions there on how to do this for your TCH
Don't expect to drive through 15" of snow with any low-lying passenger car with a Cd of 0.27 ; It will soon ramp up onto a bed of compressed snow and stay there until spring !
I just love ABS, traction and stability control on the TCH. I drove my wife's Elantra on snow last weekend and found I was already forgetting to apply some of my winter driving skills.
Between my wife, and myself, we have had 4 cars in the last 3 yrs. You will understand the reason why I mention this once you read through..
We live in Wisconsin where there is decent snow, and part of our driveway has a 30-35 degree uphill incline to get into the garage. In snow/sleet parking in the garage becomes tricky..
First car was a bmw 325 xit (awd wagon) In that car, I could literally stop in the worst of this incline on ice, and the car will still drive smoothly into the garage with hardly any noticeable slipping/sliding. I traded that to get a 2005 FWD sienna.
With the sienna, when there is sleet on the driveway, there is just no way to get to the garage. it will slip, and slide etc, and after a lot of frustrated attempts over the last few years, now we have resorted to parking the car at the bottom of our driveway which is flat when the driveway is slippery.
I also had a 2001 camry, which in icy conditions, although with a fair bit of slipping, and sliding will make it to the garage. I traded that in for the TCH, and with the TCH, it acts more like the sienna, even a little worse.
For example, yesterday, after the fleeting rain, which caused 7 deaths in WI, i was able to get y sienna into the garage, but for the TCH refused to get in, and got parked outside.
That being said, I feel driving on flat slippery road is better in the TCH than in my older camry or sienna. There are some times last week where I have made sharp 90degree turns in ice at 5-10-15 mph, (to see what the car can do) . It is cool and reassuring to see that first the traction control gets activated as indicated by the sign on the dashboard, then a series of short beeps will come, which tells me that the car is taking control, and i felt the rear brakes being applied(?), and the car not really going into a tailspin.
I have tried this with all my cars, and in my sienna, and 2001 camry, it would result in almost a 180degree tailspin if I did it @ 15 mph. My old 325 awd wagon would of course, hardly take notice..( that was such a wonderful car to drive, though it gave only 18 mpg on average)
Hope my observations help someone.
I also did the same thing, and took me some time to find the oil filter.
The oil filter on the underside on the car, all the way to the front on the passenger side. it is very low, and is mounted vertically. Once you look fro it from the under side of the car(on a ramp), it is very easy to see it, and change it.
It is easiest to feel if you kneel down on by the side of your car, at the very front of the passenger side, and it is almost in the first square foot on the front passenger side, and you can feel it with your hands pretty easily. In fact, of all the cars I have had, this is the easiest to change the oil filter.
I have changed it once so far, and it took me 2 days of looking to find the oil filter. Next time I plan to change it without getting it on a ramp, now that I know where exactly it is .
I strongly doubt anyone builds a 30 degree driveway, let alone 45 degree. To give some perspective, in Vancouver we have a popular hiking trail, the Grouse Grind, which rises 1 km in 3. This is too steep for a car, and is less than a 20 degree slope. The pyramids in Mexico are steep enough that many climbers are afraid to walk down, because you cannot see the stairs looking down. This is a 45 degree slope.
- Mike Freeman -
Seriously though I have seen some in WV approaching 30 degrees.
I had BMW's when they were not free. Ate my lunch just for scheduled maintenance. However if you keep a premium brand longer than the free maintenance period you'll discover the difference.
On my TCH I took a tires for life option simply meaning I do my service with my dealer and they keep me in tires. I'm evaluating if it's worth the hassle. However I expected it to represent the MOST anyone should have to pay for service. They require an annual alignment (overkill) and tire rotation and balancing every 5000 miles (balancing is overkill as well).
Even with these costs my normal 5000 mile inspection (oil, rotation and balance) is under $50. My 15,000 mile inspection was around $150 (also included changing the in cabin filter, wiper blades, etc). Not really all that bad. MY only complaint is it's not as easy as pulling into a Jiffey Lube or similar setup. I have to schedule it and it takes an hour or so.
After I get my first set of replacement tire's I'll decide if it was worth the incremental costs and hassle. Either way, it's not a bad price and take out a few items that you probably don't really need and it's pretty cheap to maintain.
Oh, also comparing savings; I came from an Infiniti and traded a 3 year old Infiniti even for my new TCH. In insurance, payment, gasoline and tax credits (yes I got a state credit as well) I've estimated a savings of $8300 since 5/5/06 in my overall ownership of the TCH over the Infiniti.
I loved the Infiniti, but I was in the market for an economy car and this has got to be the best trade off for a comfortable economy car that I've ever seen. (I'm averagine 38.6 mpg over 20,000 miles_I didn't get that good in my BMW diesel 524td)
"#2938 Re: Don't do the TCH - stay with a sold BMW or Benz by satchselmerMar 24, 2007 (8:02 am)
I am a recent BMW convert to the Camry Hybrid and I strongly advise yo..."
I'd be interested to hear what the rest of the message said.
im thinking of getting a camry hybrid in ontario, canada
best price so far is $31900(msrp) plus taxes(14%) $36366, no frieght, destination charges, etc, ($about$1300 off)
please let me know what you paid and where?
thanks
dan
Thanks
That being said if one was to ever fail it's estimated to coat about the same as replacing a tranny at 160,000 or 200,000 miles.
Toyota's testing and several high-mileage drivers confirm that there is no deterioration of battery performance at 150,000 miles. At 250,000 miles? Who knows, few if any have been around that long....but realistically who cares.
Eg. if you live in a cold (sub-zero) climate and park outdoors, the battery will not last as long, regardless of mileage. Battery life is shorten by frequent freezing.
Mileage may be GOOD for the battery, since it can remain charged.
Say someone lives in sub-zero climate, parks outdoors, but drives only 10k miles annually. I doubt the hybrid battery will last 150k miles.
I don't believe you have any proof of that statement. Toyota has been selling hybrids for over 10 years. Many in sub-zero climates. To date, not one hybrid battery has been replaced (except when the vehicle was involved in an accident). Many vehicles have more than 150,000 miles on them (some have much less). Until we see one hybrid battery replaced (preferably a few) that statement can only remain an opinion. Please read the following (there are many other internet sites confirming the hybrid battery information).
www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynergyview/2006/fall/battery.html
In fairness to the original poster who made unsubstantiated remarks, your assertion is not correct either and the link you provided does not back it up.
I think the truth is that a few (very few) battery packs have been replaced in the past, but it is now a very rare event except in case of accident. (I can't prove this statement either).
Here are couple other links that may clarify why I stated that assertion;
http://www.hybridcars.com/faq.html
http://hybridcars.about.com/od/hybridcarfaq/f/batterycost.htm
Has anyone had a similar situation? I was really ready for the car to die. Could not figure out a way to get the ICE going... and I tried a few things.
Why??? If you were simply coasting around on E mode because you were under 40 and not accelerating much it was doing what it was supposed to do. Once it drops down to the last bars it will turn purple and the ICE will indeed kick on.
Love my current car but gas prices are killing me!
Thanks
Pmanza
Thanks again
Peggy
My old 43 year old eyes and the even older (61) eyes of my Mom have both had no problems at all seeing at night when driving my TCH.
As to what effect the "blue" tinting has, to me it has had none.
In my TCH it has been mostly related to the temp of the console - more minor squeaks in colder weather and virtually nothing at all in 75+ temps.
tom
Mine had to have an alignment but other than that only oil changes and scheduled inspections in 22,000 miles
Tough decision to make.
Peggy
That's what you get when you put two pieces of cheap plastic "tightly" together.
Peggy
Sort of like the older Mustang where you could get a stripped $20,000 model or a $40,000 Cobra. The $40,000 Cobra was still just a Mustang with a lot of goodies bolted on an upgraded suspension.
My Infiniti,with 20" tires and the sweetest exhaust sound imaginable was far from a quiet ride. Had I drove it like the TCH I may have thought it quieter
Ignoring the Infiniti issue, I'm more disapointed when I compare it to the 4Runner.
What I like most is the payment (well, it's actually paid off), the 38mpg, the $6350 in tax credits, and possibly the fact that I may be able to sell this in a year or two for what I have in it. That makes all the trivial issues mentioned above less agrivating.