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Gotta go-Katrina is 15 hrs away for us.New Orleans-Charlie
the front motor's 168hp (which doesn't make sense to me) plus if you add all the power sources together it's over 400hp, so maybe it's not this simple. But, as you say, the real riddle is depleting the battery. You'd need more batteries
I also checked my tire pressure on Saturday after reading everyone's comments. All tires were at 20 psi and I raised them to 38 psi. The max tire pressure said 44 psi.
Still have not been able to get a sustained engine and battery use during acceleration or while I was under 40 mph. Any suggestions from the group would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.
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That's true for me. I'm more concerned about using less gas, rather than saving money on gas.
Well said!!! Same for our family.
When I asked about gas mileage I was told that I would get at least 30 mpg; I have driven the car for about 300 miles and I'm only getting 21.
My advice to anyone thinking about this car: talk to the service people at the dealership, not the salespeople and ask what problems have been unique to this car, and how many mechanics have become familiar with the Highlander hybrid specifically. Thoroughly check out the weak audio system and determine if you can sacrifice a sound system and survive the confusing screen symbols. I have read the instruction book, but the screen is still complicated. Other than appreciating the environmental responsibility of this car, I truly don't see any reason to buy the hybrid instead of the regular Highlander.
Sorry to hear of your battery problem. Is it the 12V that drained? or is it the traction battery?
As for mileage, please giving it some time and try driving tricks discussed in this forum. The car needs to break in first and after that the terrain where you drive (hills, mountains, flat), how you drive (fast, slow, aggressive), how often you use electric and its tire pressure all play a role in final MPG numbers.
The key now is just car breaking in (2000 miles or so) and learning some driving tricks to maximize MPG. Toyota sales is really foolish by not educating new owners. This car, unlike the Prius, is not going to return great MPG unless its drivers change driving style.
Give it some time to break in, try some of the tricks and you may be pleasantly surprised by what it can do. We are getting 28 MPG now after 1600+ miles.
We took the first trip over a distance last Saturday (now up to about 1200 miles), 2 passengers, 3 greyhounds (2 rescued, 1 a rescued foster getting used to people before being adopted) and some professional video gear - stowed to give the dogs maximum space - for a 160+ mile round trip over the NJ turnpike and other roads. The dogs did well - they never settled down even when riding in our old Windstar with both read seats removed - and seemed to enjoy the space and view from the back with the seats folded. Only trouble is because of the dogs we ended up buying a ramp so they can get in and our without having to be lifted, which gave us something else we had to fit in - it rode behind the front seats.
Ride continues to be comfortable and well controlled, HH fwd remains a pleasure to drive for both me - the video producer/van driver - and my wife - the Corolla lover who still one day hopes the HH will be paid for and she'll be able to get another Corolla, then hopefully a hybrid too. Not that she finds anything wrong with the HH - just her driving it is an accomplishment considering she hated to drive my minivans - but she's still not totally confortable with a bigger vehicle.
The HH isn't for everyone, we considered that we could have purchased another van, kept the Corolla and the payments would have been about the same as the HH alone. But combining her long satisfaction with Toyota's reliability, relatively expensive repairs over the years on my Fords, the fact that the HH meeting our needs for space that made a Prius not adequate, and the fuel savings which = less fuel dependence compared to anything else that would meet our needs, and the HH was the right choice. There are less expensive choices, but this is certainly a most responsible choice. And it's a great vehicle to drive and ride in, too. -John
I am assuming that it was the 12 volt battery that died. I have found that it is very easy to leave a door ajar or have an interior light on because one of my children played with the switch. This is a bit of a fault(because the lights don't shut off after say 2 hours) and made worse because the small 12 volt battery will run down overnight.
Your mileage will get better. Check your tire pressure and work to maximize your mpg. Google pulse and glide to find out how to eek as many miles as you can per gallon. I didn't see any big improvements in mileage until I got past 1500. It will get better and with a little work it will get great. Short trips and going fast on the highway are killers for mileage.
I was very disappointed with the JBL sound system at first. I think the speakers just needed a bit of burn-in. See the post a few above on that subject.
I agree that the interactive screen can be confusing but it will be more intuitive the more you use it. Hang in there because the HH is a pretty impressive piece of technology. It will get to 60 faster than a Cayenne or the supercharged Land Rover and still get twice the mileage around town and cost way less.
BTW: my vanity plates are ECO SUV, thanks to another posting on this site.
Finally, are there other discussion boards like this one? No offense, but I could use as much info as I can get.
Thanks
After 3K miles, the worst MPG ("manually" calculated @ fiilups) for us has been 22. And I have really drained the traction batteries during some stints of "spirited" driving.
Also, I enjoy the thought that I can get to 60 mph faster than almost all other mid sized SUVs except a Porsche.
I dreamed up the 650 VOLT last June, but eventually settled on CHARGED. The 650 VOLT does not leave any doubt as to whether it's a hybrid, though. I spoke with a Toyota exec a few months ago and he too agreed that more could have been done to "announce" the hybrid versions. ie special colors unique to hybrid, better badging, etc.
Enjoy!
A Prisus owner in Roanoke, VA has '52 MPG' for a vanity plate. I first saw the '650 VOLT' in this forum and reserved it with VA DMV after I checked availabilty.
The computer controls the system so that the battery doesn't become too depleted; such a deep discharge cycle would probably cause premature battery failure. Of course, you would be messing up the emissions system as well. And how would you determine when you put the "kill" switch back on? Do you really want to be maniuplating a switch if you needed emergency ICE power?
Of course, business is all about the profit motive, so who can blame them. But...
The Prius gets worse MPG in the winter, I don't see whay the HH would be different.
The HH is about 4- mpg better than the average midsized on the hy(about 28 mpg pure hy)-vs 21-26 mpg from the best-Honda,Toyota High) -,and about 8 mpg better city(say 19-23 mpg in heavy city-VS 12-15).The breakeven is under 100,000 miles now at $3.50/gal.
My Pilot gave 24.1 mpg-best ever-over 965 miles from DFW-Flagstaff AZ.The HH would have beaten it by at least 4 mpg,and it will beat it here in Flagstaff by 8 mpg.We started from just outside-3 miles west near airport-New Orleans-Sunday.I missed the mpg on 1st 500 miles,but in that stop and go the HH would have shined-
Maybe Toyota will be able to ramp up production of the HH-Gas prices will be high all winter-heating oil demand-and proiduction oif gasoline,diesel,natural gas will be waaay down in the Gulf for a while.Once the Camry Hybrid,Nissans midsized car etc- come out,the demand for other hybrids-Prius-might decrease a bit.Well,we will see.Thanks.Charlie
Dealers who have HH and other hybrids should take this window of opportunity and try and unload their inventory. gas prices are already easing back and I suspect within a month gas will go down to "pre-katrina" levels. the media will move onto somehting else and all the "pain at the pump" will be a distant memory as people start looking into buying the next generation tahoes and escalades.
also, i've been following a few HH auctions on ebay. one just went this weekend for $1500 off msrp. there have been a few other no reserve auctions where the starting bid was $2k off where there were NO bids. ebay isn't the pulse of hybid sales, but I think its an indicator. i think we're seeing a temporary spike in hybrid interest, but as gas prices come down, so will the interest.
First, the oil companies know that all they have to do is come "close enough" to get off the news, and there's no way they'd forego the extra profit of charging just a bit more.
Second, and somewhat less cynically, there has been real damage to our total refining capacity as well as offshore crude production and it will take time to make that up, either via repair of damaged facilities or construction of new ones. Neither of those will happen in the next month and possibly much longer. Katrina has created some real long-term issues.
So while it's probably the case that current prices will go down sometime not too far down the road, I think expecting them to go down to pre-Katrina levels is highly unlikely for the foreseeable future.
The only real downside is the 12-15 mpg in heavy summer city driving.We live in the New Orleans metro area,so our city driving is heavy city-probably 10 stops per mile(I have counted).
The 2006 Pilot has side side curtain airbags now,so safety wise the HH has no advantage.The 2003-2005 had only side airbags.
The HH should beat the Pilot by 2-6 mpg hy-it has less frontal area.,and the cvt type trans might give it an efficiency advantage.The weights are about the same-4400 lbs.The 2006 also is available as FWD(18-24),before they were all AWD-17-22 MPG.
If you need the extra room,and the city mpg penalty isn't too big a drawback,it is a very good vehicle.Charlie
You give up a good 7 mpg city with the Pilot-maybe 3-4 hy vs the HH.You do get a fair amount more interior room.Luck.Charlie
Hong.
Make sure you take it on an interstate and see if the noise annoys you.It really isn't bad-you can talk and listen to the radio just fine-but it is there.It does sorta drop away on long trips-you just don't notice it anymore.I have seen claims that the road noise is-will be corrected on the 2005-2006.I would bet dollars to donuts that the HH has very low levels of road tire noise.Consumer Reports always mentions the road noise on all the Honda's-Odyssey,Pilot-and usually compliments Toyota-Camry-Sienna on lower levels of perceived levels of road noise.
Make sure you check this on the test drive.I don't know why Honda has this minor imperfection(relative to Toyota..
If you don't need the room-pay the extra ~$5000 and go HH.A crude guess is 18 vs 24 mpg-so you will save ~333 gallons and $1000($3/gal) every 24,000 miles-Breakeven($3/gal) will be 120,000 miles before tax break etc.With the tax credit more like 70,000 miles.
You actually have an "easy" choice.The cost of owning will be all but identical at $3/gal $5000 initial price difference.Buy the one that is best for your purposes.
PS Never put stuff in a roof basket if you are a mpg nut.Our roofbasket-Yakima Loadwarrier-filled to a 18" height-cost 6 mpg hy-16 vs 22.4 mpg.The drag of the "stuff" must have been greater than 1(The Pilot probably has a .34 drag coe.).
I have run on.They are both very,very good.Check that noise on the 2006.Luck.Charlie
Carson Toyota in southern CA also offers the same at $2K off and they seem to have landed a large selection. They may be willing to ship one off the lot to your location for a fee.
We are finally getting 27.98 and 28.1 mpg the last 2 tanks after 3000 miles. Gas was $3.19/gal in our area and we saved about $12 per tank when compared against our relatively thirsty '99 Sienna.
Good "hunting".