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ALL vehicles, at speed, (faster=louder) with a significant closed "volume" behind any open windows will exhibit this trait.
Some vehicles, the Chrysler T&C and the X5 for instance have driver controled rear air exit "wings, vents" which alleviate this problem.
In my 68 and 75 Ford stations wagons I could lower the rear tailgate window to eliminate the effect.
What you are experiencing in your T/L vehicle is likely much more pronounced than in other vehicles of this type, especially US or European, since T/L's HVAC supplier, NipponDenso, requires that exit airflow be kept TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM in order for the system they supply to be fully and completely functional.
Minimum exit airflow (keep the refrigerator door closed) substantially increases the efficiency and effectiveness of the A/C cooling and heating. For heating alone, no "grand" efficiencies are really needed here except with small liter highly efficient engines with little or no "waste heat". According to Denso a very desireable side effect is less noise due to substantially lower blower speeds. Of course what they do not bother to tell you is that LOW BLOWER SPEEDS are absolutely required, integral, to proper operation of their A/C operation overall, but most especially with regarding adequate atmospheric dehumidification capabilities.
Denso supplied systems use the A/C's dehumidification capabilities, EXCLUSIVELY, to keep the cabin atmosphere's relative humidity far removed from the dewpoint of potentially very cold window and windshield interior surfaces.
If you live in the southern states and incur musty, horrid, mold and mildew smells coming form your A/C outlet vents, or in the northern states and incur spontaneous windshield or window fogging in cooler weather, this is primarily the result of the uniqueness ("sealed" cabin, extremely complex and dense A/C evaporator, "SPONGE") of Denso's automotive HVAC design.
I replaced the component speakers in the Highlander with Focal Polyglass 165V's. What a difference!! I now can hear the highs. The supplied tweeter in the Highlander barely makes a sound- try covering it with your hand when listening to music-there is no difference in the sound! Anyway, to remove the door panels, remove two screws- one is at the base of the door handle/latch, while the other is inside the armrest. You have to remove the handle in the armrest to get at it (gently pry it out with flathead screwdriver). Next, remove the doorlock/powerwindow panel, again by gently prying it up and unhook the wiring harness. Next, pry off the clip at the base of the power mirror. The next part is the trickiest- the cup that is beneath the door handle/latch needs to be removed. Insert a small flathead screwdriver into the area where the door latch meets the cup. You will have to play with it to get the cup to pop out. Do this for both the top and the bottom of the latch (Took me awhile to figure this one out!). Finally, pop the panel off, starting at the bottom (its now attached by just internal door clips). I have performed this many times due to numerous modifications- I feel like a pro (I wish!!!). Word of advice- cover all holes in the door to separate the front of the speaker from its back- this improves sound quality significantly. I used aluminum foil tape and removed the plastic sheet covering the very large openings in the door. Make it as air-tight as possible (DO NOT COVERUP THE DRAINAGE HOLES HOWEVER).
I had to make adapters for my speakers using 3/4" MDF wood (I actually cut out 2 circles and glued them together to make the adapters. Simply removing the original speakers and putting in the new ones results in the speakers being too far away from the speaker grill. This method allows you to use just about any speaker you want. I will be installing an amp this weekend- I will post an update.
Hope this helps!!
Thanks for the info. Is your HL a Limited ? Is there a diff in speakers from Lmtd to std ?
Are you keeping your head-unit or replacing.
John
Or, if you have the ability, turn the bass and mid-range all the way down and the volume all the way up, then listen for the tweeter's sound output.
It's a good thing we know you are kidding because personal attacks are seriously frowned upon here! :-)
tidester
Host
SUVs
Here in Central Minnesota we just got a pretty good dumping of snow along with ice, cold and wind. I drove home from Minneapolis last night at the height of the storm. There was ice, packed snow and some drifts on the freeway. Most 18 wheelers were off the road and I later heard the plows had been pulled. The Hughlander performed amazingly well. It never hesitated or wavered and always felt secure. Most folks were doing 40 mph and struggling. I did 50 and even 60 without any problems. I was passed by one rig (semi) but otherwise I passed everything else. This vehicle is amazing in bad conditions. Today, I took it out onto some unplowed parking lots and roads. Drifts 12" to 18", continuous. The Highlander went right through (AWD and ground clearance make a big difference). The functionality and real world ability of this vehicle to get through deep snow and bad road conditons is superior, IMO.
Do you know that in many cases your mind will fill in the "blanks" for what your ear doesn't actually hear?
Run an audio spectrum analysis on a good classical music selection, or a Boston Pops presentation. Your will discover that the actual musical content for which you need especially good tweeters is almost non-existant.
The real challenge for audio system "presentation" engineers is at the low end and in the mid-range.
I am not saying that the high end content isn't important in the aggregate, it certainly is, but those tweeters in the HL that you repalced were likely more than adequate for the task.
The major shortcoming of most automotive audio presentation systems is almost always the speakers. Beancounters and engineers get together and discover they have something in common, eliminating the weight, and cost, of speakers with exceptionally good (heavy) magnets.
Notice that doesn't fit the desciption of tweeters, so most manuafcturers supply tweeters that are more than adequate for the job.
I wasn't trying to be an [non-permissible content removed], but I was trying to be factual, and maybe I overdid it a bit, sorry.
What make and type of tires are on your Highlander?
My tires are the Bridgestone Duelers. No problems so far! Hope you get some snow soon!
The maps are highly detailed and include GPS grids and Forest Service trail numbers.
www.benchmarkmaps.com is the webpage for the mapmaker.
So far they have CA, OR, WA, AZ, NV, and UT, perhaps others. Mapbook is in same large format as Rand McNalley Road Atlas, but these maps are far superior. Recent review info follows:...the Washington Road & Recreation Atlas...is a very attractive publication, featuring award-winning cartography. The 9-page "Introduction" includes a transcontinental map of US Highways, a detailed regional map of the Northwest, followed by a overall map of Washington. Next comes a series of 10 "Recreational Maps"...this set features information on parks, campgrounds and outdoor recreation activities. The so-called Landscape Maps form the main body of the atlas. This series of 40 maps drawn at a scale of about 4 miles to the inch, featuring precise, shaded relief and spot elevations. The relief seems to come alive, giving the user an accurate feel for the lay of the land. Map margins include detailed longitude and latitude coordinates for GPS calculations...also differentiate seven types of road classifications, ranging from limited access, to unpaved, and 4WD roads. Every city, town, village, hamlet and place name is shown - most with their spot elevations. ~ AAA Washington T.S. NewsLine. January 4, 2000
Happy trails.
Hope this help, Larry
I want to replace it with a PIONEER (double din) cd/radio unit, my main concern right now is the connectors in the back,is there a retrofit kit in the market that I can buy? if one was needed during the install?
I will appreciate all comments on this subject...
I was able to live with the old unit for a year,not more... but if I'm going to keep the HL for a decade I might as well replace the cheap radio that I got from TOYOTA.
happy HL/ing
(My experience was with Camry's = 97-99 same body, 2000-01 changed front and back a little), '02 all new. Thanks!
The V6 is great. 18-19 mpg in mixed driving (I was only getting 22mpg in the RAV!) means I'm a happy camper. I have not noticed the clicking yet, knock on wood!
The seats are among the most comfortable toyota offers (I also owned a 99 camry, and my parents have had numerous toyotas as well). The two hour trip to Green Bay left me wanting more (I was sore when I did it in the camry).
Cargo room is great! Much better than the RAV4, something that my growing family required!
I've had one opportunity to test the HL in snow. The AWD worked great, and the SNOW button is handy! I did notice that the HL did have a tendency to slide a bit more than my RaV4 did, but that is more of a function of the tires than the vehicle as the HL tires are definitely more all-season than the ones on my RAV. Even so, the HL handled the snow with ease!
The standard radio is ok. It is not as bad as I was expecting from the post here, and it is FAR better than the one in the RAV4. But, it could be better. Although the "hidden" middle tone control (press and hold the tone button until it beeps, then cycle through to the new option) does work in the 02 HL, and improves the sound noticeably. Now if I could only figure out a way to make it permanent so that I don't have to keep doing it every time I forget to turn off the radio before I turn off the HL!
In all, I would highly recommend it to anyone considering one!
V6-FWD, TO, Conv.Pkg., UZ-V5 Alarm/Keyless, etc., Rear Spoiler, Side air-bags, privacy glass, roof-rack. I'll add hitch-insert after-market.
PS: Tired of MN. dealers shoving AWD units down my throat because that's what they get in MN....land of snow you betcha! Shooting for $300-500 over invoice and should get it....in 4 months, no big deal.
Early on I was wrestling about getting the 4 banger (very adequate and $1600 less) vs. getting the V6 (more power, etc.). Does anyone whose had a v6 HL for a length of time have problems using 87 Octane? I know they state you can use regular unleaded, but has anyone experienced poor(er) performance while using it vs. 90 and above?
I saw someone post over on the Camry thread about v6's need for premium in that vehicle to run efficiently. If you must use 90+ Octane, that just adds more price to this vehicle vs. the 4 banger. I'm all ears now before moving forward.... PS: How has the mpg been affected by using either on the v6?
Lastly: If ordering from Japan; is there a possibility you can get the 6cd upgrade unit vs. the std unit that comes with the lower model?
Someone stated over on the Camry thread that THEY ordered the upgrade on that vehicle from the factory and were able to get it....
Thanks a bunch!
To answer your question "Does anyone whose had a v6 HL for a length of time have problems using 87 Octane?" - I have had no problems using 87 in my 2001 FWD V-6. I have had it since June and have a bit over 13,500 miles on it. As for the miles per gallon difference between lower and higher octane, I cannot help you there...perhaps someone else can? By the way, in mixed highway/street driving I average about 20 - 21 MPG, although I do more highway than street driving.
Finally, you didn't ask this, but I initially was interested in a 4 instead of a V-6; of course I can't speak about a 4, but I am very happy with my V-6.
Also for those who have a problem with chips on the front bumper,hood and fenders 3M supplies
a product call Protection Plus Film which is applied by a professional (Scratch & Dent) around Mass. This film is a stick on which prevents stone chips. I got a price of $270.00 For the bumper and $240.00 for the hood,fenders and mirrors.
I also drove the 4 cyl but my vacation plans involve trips over/through the mountains and for the 2 mpg difference I figured it wasn't worth the savings to worry about not having enough steam to get up the passes.
My 90 Camry 4cyl would occasionally ping when I would be running the air during the summer so I wasn't sure I wouldn't be looking at the higher octane for either the 4 or the 6. I've been pleasantly surprised. I don't see other SUVs filling up with 87 octane.
happy HLing! ;-)
What I wanted to know from the Highlander owners is do the daytime running lights run on the low beam bulb, high beam bulb, or another bulb. My Explorer has a separate low beam lens and a smaller high beam lens just to the inside of the low beam. I believe the Highlander has the same setup. I would like to install the DRL feature on my Explorer and would like to get some info on the setup and operation of this feature. I chose this Highlander forum because the lens assembly on the Highlander seems similar to the Explorer. The Highlanders I've seen with DRLs run on the inside smaller lens. Is this the High beam?
Thanks.
My guess of the reason for this setup is that the HL borrowed the headlights from the Lexus RX300. The RX300 has HID for its lowbeam. Therefore the DRL uses the highbeam, but with reduced power.
Any idea what parts are involved for the DRLs on the HL. I purchased a kit from Ford that incuded a small module with wires and instructions. It's suppose to be wired to harness wires under the steering wheel. Kind of complicated and I don't want to risk in messing with the electrical. I thought that DRL only require a relay or something. The owners manual states that the relay and fuse junctin box under the hood has a relay position for the DRLs.
Does the HL use the 9006 bulb for the low and 9005 bulb for the high beam?
This arrangement appears to be cuasing premature failures of the HB bulbs due to their operation at less than 6 volts as opposed to the normal 12 volt operation.
Some one suggested that the halogen "regeneration cycle" does not "start" util the halogen gas is above a certain temperature and at less than 6 volts it never does.
So over a fairly short term, 12k miles and about one year in my case, you end up with HB bulbs that are interanlly coated with "soot" and the glass encapsulation melting.
I replaced my HB bulbs and opened the entire DRL circuit simply by unplugging the DRL current limiting resister mounted directly under the battery.
My suggestion:
Wire a "DRL" relay that turns on the fog lamps and the parking lamps. Fog lamps generally have a very low beam cutoff, normally have a yellow or amber filter, and are normally of low enough output that their use as front DRLs would not be offensive to on-coming traffic.
My canadian origin 911 came with DRLs (dedicated bulb)that also turn on the parking lamps. Seems like a good idea to me.
So I plan to re-wire my RX as I have described.
Every local sales [non-permissible content removed] in the Twin Cities I've talked to has stated that the stickers are pretty close to actual results on MPG. Would they lie? Ha-ha-ha! Again, it's the old driving habits and weather, blah-blah-blah disclaimer stuff.
I'm going with a FWD vs. AWD which is suppose to pick up 1-2 MPG over the AWD...who knows until I can calc that myself I guess.
So, in response to your statement "not sure where you guys are getting the 20+ mpg." and other comments in your posting -
- the 20 - 21 mile per gallon highway/street mixed driving miles per gallon I posted for my '01 V-6 FWD HL in posting # 5079 was as a result of actually taking my last one full month's worth of my Chevron gasoline receipts of which I write down my vehicle mileage on when I purchase gas, adding the total mileage for the month billing period and dividing by the number of gallons purchased. The average MPG for me for the last month was 20 - 21 and that is the same as previous months, on average.
In fact, now that you have questioned that, I happen to have both last month's and the previous month's receipts: my average for the last month was actually 20.21 mpg; previous month to that was 20.485 mpg. I have another months worth still in the file from Aug - Sept billing period: 20.53 mpg average. I found a note in my file with my average during the first month I had my HL (June): 20.51 mpg.
I have a few strangler receipts in my file from past months, too...of those, the lowest gpm on a single tankful was 17.98 gpm and the highest was 24.35 gpm, although I think I may have gotten a little less than that from a tankful (rarely, as I recall) in the past and I recall getting more than 24.35 on a straight Interstate 5 trip...don't have the receipts from that trip, though.
Bottom line: as I noted in my earlier posting, 20 - 21 gpm average for mixed driving. I think I will start keeping each months receipts for a longer period of time from now on to document future mileage, too, in case this subject comes up again.
Tested both vehicles with 92 vs 87, no discernable difference. I run with the lower grade.
Any advice would be appreciated,
Mark
Driving habits and traffic conditions have a lot to do with mileage. I don't have to be first off the mark at every red light. I don't push the gas all the way to the floor to accelerate on onramps, etc. If I need power to pass quickly, then it gets a good punch. It feels great compared to the 4 cyl Camry. I'm also usually by myself (being single) and only have a load of 'stuff' in the back after I've been shopping. I could really feel the difference in the Camry when passengers were along. My daily commute is not what I would call heavy stop-and-go except in the line at the toll plaza and I often don't take the interstate home but use surface streets so my driving is probably a 50/50 mix of highway and city. I may drop below 20 mpg when the air has to run this summer but so far I'm delighted with my mileage.
Also, is it worth removing color-keyed mudguards to put fender flares?
Has anyone put any other accessory on HL to make it look cooler? Like grille guard?
As far as my experience with the car (SUV), I got a 4cyl FWD. I always thought I can't live without a V6 on any car, but when I test drove the 4cyl model, kinda got impressed with it. And to be true, didn't consider V6 model because I wanted to save a few bucks. So can't compare or recommend the 4cyl over a V6.
The 4cyl drives good with sufficient low RPM power (that's what impressed me). From a stop to go, this engine has enough torque. However, as observed by others, accelerating from 50mph to 60mph when passing may sometimes need effort.
I said "sometimes" because here is what I've observed (in my relatively shorter period of driving the HL - 2 weeks). If you're driving at 60, and you suddenly decide to pass another vehicle. You step on the gas pedal and the car does respond favorably. But, if you are entering a highway, hence gradually accelerating from 30 to 50, and in that period of gradual acceleration you decide you wanna rush to 70 mph to pass, the car hesitates. In my understanding, this has more to do with the gear choice made by the automatic transmission than the power of the engine itself.
Another reason why I find the 4cyl sufficient is that I've FWD model, which is lighter than a 4x4.
I remember at this point, I notice a ticking sound coming from the hood after turning the vehicle off after a drive. I wonder if it's like a metallic thing that expanded because of heating and is now shrinking because of cooling. Has anyone else noticed this sound? Note that this is different from the ticking sound that others have mentioned in some posts. That one, I guess, if for V6 engines, and it comes from within the passenger compartment.
I'll post more once I cross the 1000 miles break-in period. Btw, I can't stop myself driving at 70mph on this new car, though toyota recommends not crossing over 55mps for first 1000 miles. Any ideas if this is really bad for longer term?