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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Highlander Hybrid Toyota Highlander Hybrid MPG-Real World Numbers
417 messages, Last post on Oct 16, 2009 at 11:34 AM
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Replying to: stevedebi (Aug 28, 2008 5:00 pm) I am not sure that is correct. I have a block heater on my '08 HH which will bring the temp sensor up to almost operating temperature in mild weather (50 F). The car will back out of my garage on the traction motors and I can then hear the ICE start. It will shut down at stops after running only a minute or two. I do not believe that this is long enough to have brought the cat. up to operating temperature.
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Replying to: monte8 (Sep 04, 2008 8:46 am) I am not sure that is correct. I have a block heater on my '08 HH which will bring the temp sensor up to almost operating temperature in mild weather (50 F). The car will back out of my garage on the traction motors and I can then hear the ICE start. It will shut down at stops after running only a minute or two. I do not believe that this is long enough to have brought the cat. up to operating temperature. " I'm pretty sure on this. All the hybrids have to get that converter up to temp due to pollution controls. The Prius has a hot thermos bottle that stores the engine coolant, which speeds up the process. By using a block heater you are doing essentially the same thing. My FEH runs for about 5 minutes before allowing EV mode - in Socal summer conditions. It really bugs me with my 2008 FEH, which won't run on electric only until everything is warmed up. I sometimes want to move the car only a hundred feet or so - and the engine has to come on... |
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| My wife was always a few mpg's behind me on the TCH but with only a few miles on the 09 HH it was showing 24mpg. Mot bad I thought since winter has hit us early, but today I took it to the dealer on a 28 mile roundtrip to pick up the all weather floor mats. Driving just under the speed limit with some 4 lane, some small town traffic lights and some rural 2 lane hilly driving the computer showed 28.8 mpg. The road was wet with light snow and it was 27F (all things that killed the FE on the TCH). I was pleased! | |
I get 24 to 25 mpg 50-50 city-hwy if I drive normally. I can get upwards of 28 mpg if I baby it. That requires slow starts, slowing to 50 on up hill on freeways, overall a pain to tweek out an extra 3 or 4 mpg. I forget about it now and am happy with 24mpg as my buddy gets less than 18 on his non hybrid HH.
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Replying to: kenrosen (Nov 29, 2008 8:19 pm) |
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About a year ago last June I made a 1400 mile trip. To my surprise, I averaged only 26.0 mpg during this trip (total car mileage was about 27,000 miles at the time). I had normally seen somewhere between 27.5 and 29. On other shorter trips subsequently, the mileage didn't improve. As winter came on and gas blends changed, mileage went down a little more. About 3 weeks ago and since I was approaching 36,000 total miles, I decided to take the car into the local Toyota dealer. I talked when the service rep prior to making the appointment. I mentioned to him that: 1. My gas mileage has gone down starting at least last June '08. 2. My ICE seems to run most of the time and even takes more time than usual to shut down at stop lights. Also, when coasting long distances, the ICE usually did not shut down. 3. My car used to go into battery only drive when traveling at a steady slow speed (about 30 - 40 mph) but it rarely goes into battery only now. 4. I was only getting about 24.5 mpg around town. 5. If you don't find anything wrong, will you reset the "learning computer"? (answer was Yes) 6. Will you check the hybrid battery for performance? (answer was Yes) I then left my car. After returning to pick up my car, I was told: 1. The mechanic found no "out of limit" alarms so the car seems to be operating normally. ( I assume that the dealer checked the OBD ii indications which I could have told him that I had received NO warning lights.) As I know that there are several temperature inputs to the computer that may keep the ICE on line, I asked if those out of limit checks would tell the mech if ALL temperature inputs were working correctly. I got no answer. 2. I asked if the hybrid battery was performance checked. The answer was NO. In fact, the service rep said further, we cannot even charge a dead hybrid battery and if that needs to be done the Toyota rep must be called in to do it himself. 3. I asked if the hybrid learning computer was reset. "No, that computer cannot be reset." 4. I told the service rep that I was going to leave tomorrow on another 1400 mile trip and I will again see how my mileage performs, but when I return I will be a little over my 36,000 miles. But I reported to you the dealer that I had a problem before my warranty ran out. He said if I still feel I have a problem after returning, bring the car back in but "don't wait too long." The mpg on this trip was 25.5mpg, the worst I have ever seen on a trip. A few days later I went by the dealer. I told the service rep that I still have the mileage problem, that there isn't any reason for you, the dealer to look at it again since all you're going to do is check the "out of limit" alarms, and that I need some answers that I haven't received so far. I told him that I would like to be scheduled to talk with a Toyota rep that is knowledgeable in the hybrid system. Hopefully, he will be able to explain to me why my car is still functioning properly. I also told the rep that my batteries are under warranty by Toyota not the local dealer so if they need to be tested, then they should be tested. The rep said it would be fine with him for me to see the Toyota rep but he didn't know the reps schedule. Said he will check with his manager. A couple of minutes later he returned and said that the service shop manager would like to talk with me if I had the time. "Great, I do have the time." The manager came out and we talked a few minutes. He then wanted to see my car. We walked to where it was parked. He looked at my tires and noted that I had replaced them from original. Yes, but the rolling resistance is "good" as per Consumer Reports, I said. He then proceeded to disconnect the Negative battery cable (not hybrid battery but the normal battery found under the hood). He told me that by leaving the cable disconnected for about 10 minutes will computer reset the computer!! I told him that I was told that resetting the computer could not be done. No comment. Let me stop this long winded story here. After the computer was reset, my car now opeates as it did for the first 20,0000 miles or so. The ICE shuts down often, even short coasting events. Since the computer was reset, I have averaged 29.2 mpg for the first 134 miles, expressway and stop & go!!!! Moral of the story, you can reset your computer yourself by disconnecting the negative cable of the normal battery (not hybrid) for at least 10 minutes. Another thought: be aware of your car and try to understand the technical aspects of how it works. Armed with this knowledge will help you when receiving service from your dealer. |
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Replying to: bouvsrus (Jul 08, 2005 5:58 pm) |
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Replying to: newski3 (Apr 26, 2009 4:42 pm) I assume the "reset" refers to the ISL or Idle Speed Learning reset? Sorry you had to go through all this. I remember several of us posted about this nearly two years ago. Back then, several of us were noticing sudden improvements in mileage after service and we were trying to find out why. Someone posted the ISL "reset" note. The ISL "reset" happens when the battery is disconnected, then the computer has to relearn everything as the car is driven again. There is no way for Toyota service to set anything that can influence the ISL. Our local Toyota mechanic explained this to me when the ISL Tech Bulletin was out in '06 or '07 for the '06 HH. He said the most they could do was to test drive the car gently to get the learning process rolling but the mileage improvement will come after we start using the car. Glad you are getting great mileage again! |
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My wife and I just went through our first tank of gas with our 09 HH Limited. 311 miles total and 14.4 gallons to fill the tank. (21.59 mpg) I would say the driving was 50-50 city/highway. 22mpg seems a lot lower than we would expect. Any ideas on why this would be? We have been using the air conditioning, probably at least 50% of the time. Could it make that much of a difference? Tire pressures on the display were showing a variance from 33 to 43 psi, but when I checked at the gas station (manually), all were just above 31psi. Also, could someone post the major points of getting the best gas mileage? I read through the first 9 pages of this post, but to go through all 40 pages...UGH! Thanks in advance, Gusto p.s. I notice the gas engine will frequently turn on when we turn the car on, even while we're sitting in the driveway and the battery shows almost a full charge. Is this normal?
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Replying to: mcgusto (May 17, 2009 10:39 pm) |
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