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Highlander Hybrid Electrical/Lighting Problems
I have a new 2007 Highlander Hybrid and I am not sure how to find the trailer wiring harness. I have looked everywhere. I have the AWD Limited with Towing Prep. Anybody have any ideas what I need to get my trailer lights working??
The store that installed my hitch could not find the wiring harness/connector and I did not want them to splice into the wiring.
The store that installed my hitch could not find the wiring harness/connector and I did not want them to splice into the wiring.
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Someone on here will know for certain, but you could always call your local dealer's service writer to verify that as well.
http://www.hihychat.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=244
Good luck.
Thanks again!
After having a hitch installed at a hitch store $200, I went to the dealer and they sold me a wiring harness for a Lexus 330 for $50. I was surprised when it connected correctly to the cars "trailer prep connector" located UNDER the storage compartment close to the left tail lights. I also had to add the missing 20 amp fuse for the trailer lights. The fuse box was located in the engine compartment
Can you please clarify loss of steering and brakes? You can still steer and brake, just that they require physical effort, true?
Thanks for warning us here.
To our hosts,
This important post by jtroesch ought to be in a whole new topic "board"??? It is catastrophic failure, not just a simple electrical failure. Elevating jtroesch's post will warn other HH owners.
Thanks.
I really hope it all works out for your family. Stay safe!
Cal
ps.
We happen to run solar power for our house so we are initimately aquainted with Inverters. The good news is they can be reliable day in and day out in very cold and very hot temperature. When well constructed, they may lose efficiency in high temperature but they won't die. On the downside, they do rely on modern electronics so if one part goes, the Inverter will shut down to cut off power and that is that.
If the error messages, "Check VSC" and "Shift to P..." are correct, not sure why that would be a battery problem. Then again, I am no mechanic, so this is all just a guess.
I have an OBD II reader that I use to read error codes from our cars. All cars made after 1995 (?) must have an OBD II compatible plug. The reader tells us about problems with the engines, transmission, emission, various valves, filters and so on. I have not tried it on our HH but that may be a good tool to get. It costs around $125 or so.
There is also a nationwide company called "AutoZone" that will do this for you free. If you have one of these stores in your area and it offers this free service, you can certainly bring the car in for them to pull out the actual error code. Just make sure they DO NOT reset the code, only scan the code for you. Then you can take it to the dealer armed with a bit more information. Just know that the dealer has a more expensive (~$5000) reader that can get more detail information (freeze frame) from the car. So it is very likely the dealer will have more details and the diagnosis may differ from what the original error code may indicate.
Other than the idea above, not sure what else to do. Our HH has 24,000 miles now and still runs well and smooth.
Hope yours turn out OK.
We were able to have the dealer replace our HH with a non-hybrid Highlander. I refused to take any chances with the car, even after repair. Losing power on the interstate is very scary. I am sure they will resell the HH as a almost new used car. But my wife is more important to me then a financial loss on a car. The technology may be great but our experience gives me a great distrust of hybrids. Each person must decide for themselves what is the right thing to do. I would encourage you to report the experience to Toyota Customer Experience (the toll free number is in your owners manual) and the to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration(their number and website are also in the owners manual). For future arbitration if required make complete notes of the repairs and who you talked to about the failure(s).
Beprice and jtroesch's case reminds me of what happened to the Prius in '04 and '05. About 12? (last I checked in 6/05) owners reported their Prius simply cut off all power while driving. All were able to roll to a stop on the side of the road. Some would start again and some would not. There were reports of "flashing" gauges as well and dealers being puzzled by what was happening. NHTSA looked into this as well. Toyota at the time issued a recall blaming the on-board software. Have not heard of similar complaints since. I wonder if this bug has surfaced in some of the HH.
We will just continue driving in the slow lane just in case. Since getting this car, we have been driving around 60-65 in the slow lane most of the time. Just a more relaxing way to drive and we get good mileage too. After learning of your experience, it now appears to be safer too in case that software or hardware bug bites on a freeway.
Enjoy your spanking new Highlander and have a safe New year all!
Cal
On the second occasion, the technician I spoke to thought the 12 volt battery had run down and simply regenerated itself enough to start, but this last time, the car was good enough to die in the inspection line at the gas station (key in ignition, but not on). The guys there attached a volt-meter and the battery was fully charged. Again, the car started after about an hour.
The car has now been at the dealer's for 2 days, but I'm not too confident, since they say that can't really help me until they can replicate the error. At this point, with winter here and my toddler son almost always in the back seat, I am getting afraid to drive the car outside the neighborhood. Anyone have a similar problem? Any suggestions?
Please help to understand it. Does it need minor/major adjustment or repair?
Thanks.
I think if you recheck the owner's manual you will see that "pinging and other noises" after you turn off the system are normal as the computers perform various checks and functions.
Remember, the hybrid drive system is different than what you have been used to, including different noises.
MY question: why is there no sensor on this battery, if it can kill my vehicle anywhere it wants to die or drop below the voltage that the system needs. i was lucky in that i was 15 miles from a dealer, but there are many places i travel that are remote and this now scares me. also since the cells went bad, im assuming jumping would do nothing for this battery and again your stuck where it dies. There was no warning in any way that this battery was going bad. tech says one should start checking this battery at 2 1/2 to 3 years of service. for such a great vehicle im surprised if this is true.
can you give me any more information of this.
chris
and that is why i paid the big bucks for the extended warrenty platinum policy with no deductable, because with new technology you just dont know what will happen...
chris
p.s. I still love this vehicle very very much and would buy again right now:>
good luck
chris
p.s. service should know this right:>...hybrids seem to be so new, i only found one tech at my dealer who knew what he was talking about.
the new 12volt battery that toyota service installed is now a 84month battery(7year), all i can now figure is that in 2005(2006model) they didnt make a 12v battery that lasted longer than 3 years...
oh well, car is now running great again.
chris
These loads on the battery, when the vehicle is off and not charging the battery, will cause the battery voltage to drop. If a lead acid battery voltage remains in a discharged state for a long period of time, sulfates build on the lead plates SHORTENING THE LIFE AND REDUCING THE CAPACITY OF THE BATTERY. The life of a lead acid battery is directly related to the charge maintained on the battery.
If the majority of trips are short (say < 10 minutes), this does not allow enough time for the 12V battery to recover to a fully charged state (~ 12.6 volts). The ability to recharge the battery (when the vehicle is running) is further hindered if additional loads such as heated seats, rear defrost, etc are being used.
I have noticed this problem on my 06 HH 12V battery. I have found the voltage as low as 12.1 V (~ 35% charged). Last night is was 12.3 V (~ 60% charged) so I put a battery charger on it to top the voltage back up around 12.6V as a preventative maintenance strategey to prevent sulfates on the lead plates and to maximize the battery life.
My other vehicle is a 03 GMC Sonoma which has a significantly large capacity 12V battery. It can easily maintain a 12.5 to 12.6V charge when not in use for extended periods of time. My pervious vehicle was a 97 GrandAM, and the orginal ACDelco battery was still good after 9 years - likely due to a good charging system and large capacity battery....
I would be curious if the people who have had premature battery failures:
- normally make short trips less than 10 minutes
- ever drained the 12V battery down (i.e. left a cabin light on over night) and possible required a booster.
If you normally make short trips, I would recommend using a battery charger periodically to ensure the battery voltage is always topped up to ensure maximum battery life (if you are anal like me). Or maybe Toyota should install a large capacity 12V battery.
GVUR
here is my latest posting on all forum sites i am on:
latest update from chris:
I wrote toyota corporate about my concerns with it taking 4 days to find the battery was my problem and that the battery is the achilies heal of this vehicle.. surprisingly i was assigned a case number and a corporate manager called me......twice.....my concerns about the service centers not looking at this battery will be addressed to a corporate service officer and the idea that there is not back up to this battery or a sensor, will now go to corporate engineering review......dont know how or why my email was assigned a case number, but the manager who called me had talked to the service manager at the center that worked on my car, before calling me the second time....ok, im impressed,,,and my car does work great now....
chris
there ya go
i love my hh and would buy again over and over
chris
parting thought:
adding a sensor to this battery should be a simple task for toyota...in our old gas cars the alternator kept your system running until you turned the car off (in battery failure situations), i do not want the alternator back, because we have a power source..the hybrid batteries...couldnt some brilliant engineer find a way to draw power off the hybrid batteries through a source of voltage reducers or something like that, to power the computer in a complete battery failure. and put up a warning, go to dealer now.....just thinking outside the box...
Have owned the car a little over 1 year and needed to jump start the battery 3 times -- twice doors were left slightly ajar by young children and once a valet parking service left fog lights on overnight. (This is the first Toyota I've owned, and I guess I was spoiled by our previous cars, which basically shut down the lights after 20 minutes or so without the engine running!) Almost all our trips in the car are short trips less than 10 miles -- most are less than 5.
Thanks for the battery info. Just noticed this problem in the last week or two, and wanted to see if anyone else had a similar problem before taking the car into the dealer.
Dana
Has anyone else experienced this problem or have some suggestions as to what this could be?
The culprit may be as simple as a leak. Places to look would be the weather-strip at the base of the windshield, the black vent cover between the windshield and the hood and then the hood seams. I would try the following after parking the car in the same manner as before.
(A) I would cover the entire front portion of the car from above the windshield all the way to just over the front of the hood making sure to cover all seams around the hood, all weatherstripping around the windshield and that black plastic vent cover between the windshield and the hood. Make sure to tape or weight down the top edge of the plastic sheet real good so water does not get underneath the sheet. It this solves the problem, it could be a simple leak.
(B) If (A) solves the problem, it is time to find this leak. Keep the plastic as before atop the car above the windshield. Reduce coverage from the front of the hood by cutting or folding back towards the windshield. I would fold half way up to expose just the front half of the hood and the hood seams. This is to see if water flowing down from the top into the hood seam is causing the problem. If that does not cause the problem, then the leakage could be higher up.
(C) If (B) creates no problem, I would go as far up as the top hood seam just below the black plastic vent cover. Water could splash in through that top seam. Cut the plastic so it covers all the seams down past the black vent cover from above the windshield but leave that top hood seam uncovered. Careful to press down on the plastic so it fits the contour of the car and NOT DIRECT WATER into the hood seam where it should not. If it does, the experiment is skewed and is itself creating a leakage problem.
(D) If (C) causes that problem again, and you have made sure the plastic is NOT inadvertently directing water into the seam where it should not, then the leak is in that hood seam. The dealer now has info to use.
(E) if (C) does not cause the problem, then the leak may be further up. It could be in or around that black vent cover. Again, adjust the cover and expose the black cover to see what happens and so on and so forth.
This process continues until you expose the entire windshield but it should be clear how it may be able to help isolate to a specific area.
DO take pictures each time you change the cover so that the dealer can see exactly what you did. A picture is worth a thousand words
Good luck!
After your car has completely cooled off and you are preparing to park it normally, place several paper towels in the engine compartment and close the hood carefully and completely. Let it rain, or run the garden hose on the engine compartment. Dry off the front of the car and open the hood. I suspect you will find a very wet spot on the paper towels revealing the source of your leak.
First, the battery discharge problem you describe after leaving lights on is normal. The batteries are not built to provide unlimited power to lights. When you leave them on, the battery will eventually discharge. This would happen with any automobile regardless of the power source. I agree, Toyota should have equipped the car with a short timer to prevent this problem.
Your second concern with the battery charge state indicator in the Nav display seems completely normal. Mine experiences the same. The computer system controlls when to turn the ICE on to provide charging to the Hybrid battery. Leave your car running long enough and you will witness a continual cycle.
I notice mine will start the ICE when I get down to two bars on the indicator. The ICE runs for several minutes until the indicator shows 5 bars.
Believe this is entirely normal.
And don't forget to double check that all the doors are closed when you shut down for the evening.
After reading all the other posts about the battery, we decided to replace the battery at our cost. (The dealer insisted that it was still good.) Since we have the new battery from WalMart, the problem has not returned in the last few weeks.
it only last 3 years, so for an 06, it may be the problem...open the hood, look to the left , where the battery normally is,,,and there ya go,,,it is the size of a motorcycle battery..
gl
gl
chris
Friend of mine is Merchant Marine and everytime before leaving he disconnects the negative terminal of his battery on his 3series BMW because there was some sort of system drain that would kill his battery each and every time otherwise. I had an 93 MBZ SL and early in its production run, it would suffer from the same issue and it turned out that MBZ factory engineers completed a check of all the electrical components installed in the the 91-93SL and found that some of the radio/cassette/cd changer sets installed suffered a continuous current drain even when shut off.
I would have thought by now that Toyota engineers would have been smart enough to look for a similar cause and fix.
To their credit MBZ issued a repair bulletin and fix notice to all dealerships and notified all owners of the free fix. Would think that Toyota prides its product enough to do no less, but from all the comments it surely seems they don't care for their owners as much now as they did years ago when I bought my first Toyota ('73.)
Reason I am interested in this issue is that next friday I take posession of an one-owner, gently used 06 HH Ltd to replace my 93 Camry Wagon (220,000mi) and would appreciate learning what things I should particularly check out before forking out $20K+.
Would appreciate any suggestions of things to especially check.
Chuck