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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Highlander Hybrid Towing with the Highlander Hybrid
84 messages, Last post on Sep 16, 2009 at 1:27 PM
You are in the Toyota Highlander Hybrid Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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Replying to: igh (Oct 01, 2005 9:39 pm) Personally, just speaking as a consumer, I am very satisfied with the car. It has a very fine balance of performance and thriftiness, handling and ride smoothness, and overall interior comfort is very good. The stereo is not too shabby either. From a strictly "value" standpoint for cars in its class with comparable performance, this car has a ton of value especially with gas up to $3.22 (premium) a gallon where I live (SF Bay, CA). If CR's numbers of the other tested cars are believable, my HH is getting 69% to 115% better mpg than these cars! If Toyota offers all sorts of upgrades for better mpg without sacrificing performance, I will definitely consider them but even if Toyota does nothing, I am very happy with this purchase. |
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Replying to: igh (Sep 30, 2005 5:24 pm) Ace Techno - Larry |
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Replying to: acetechno (Oct 02, 2005 5:20 pm) The ICE will kick in to keep you at over 1 bar on the traction battery. The system is designed to keep you between 20 and 80% charged (thereabouts) and not more of less for maximum battery lifetime. When we first got it, i could get up to around 20 on the motor. Now I can get close to 40, from a standstill, but only by being really stealthy about accelerating. We love sneaking around on battery at tailgates, and so on. The ICE will always kick in to warm up the catalytic converter when you're just starting out with a cold engine. It's not ideal, but it improves emissions scores, which are apparently stupidly conceived with respect to hybrids. Make sure you're aligned properly (its not the same as the non-hybrid, so i understand), and most of us run high tire pressures - I use 40 psi all around. Air conditioning will cost you several mpg. There are a lot of advanced tricks, such as pulse-and-glide, explained elsewhere, because i'm sure i do it wrong. -- rick
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Replying to: idaten (Oct 02, 2005 6:18 pm) |
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Replying to: acetechno (Oct 02, 2005 5:20 pm) Q1: As Idaten had said, the ICE should kick in to charge when it is down to 2 pink bars. Was the engine ON and transmission in PARK? Q2: Try higher tire pressure (but within Toyota recommendation) and be patient with break-in time. Most of us here use 35-40 psi. Idaten is already getting 28.7 MPG at 1250 miles while we never could get beyond 24 mpg at 1250 miles. Idaten is using 40 psi while we used 35 psi, so tire pressure may be the trick. Q3: This car cannot accelerate using electric only. Let it start rolling from rest by itself and then tap gently to slowly bring speed up to whatever it can reach. Idaten can bring it up to 40 mph while we never could go beyond 25 mph on electric at 1250 miles. Again, it could be the tire pressure of 40 psi versus 35 psi. Please have patience and expect progress to be gradual rather than instant. I have just been surprised by Idaten's result so will be trying 40 psi next. This is part of the fun using a car like this! Enjoy the ride in the process!
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Replying to: cdptrap (Oct 02, 2005 7:18 pm) We keep the Head lights on all the time for added safety (auto mode). Curious to know if electrical consumption cuts down on MPG? Would more electrical demand cause the motor to kick on sooner than with less electrical demand? When at a stop we always leave the car in "D" never park or "N" I have on occasion just took my foot off the break and rolled up to speed just ever so easy on the gas. I recall the engine kicked in at something like 18-20 mph. I can really only do this on side streets. Just wanted to add, that we got the dealer to come down on the price $1000.00 off MSRP. They kicked in all the paper work for free and gave me the first 3 oil changes for free. Free tank of gas, polish and wax job. A coupon book with like 50 coupons that have anywhere from 5% off to 25% off for parts and service. And a free dash cover. Not the best bargain I was hopping for, but I guess every little bit helps. They also gave me $2000.00 over blue book for my 2002 Jeep Liberty 4X4. It helped that I took 2 cell phones with me and had two dealerships fitting for my business while I sitting in the seats at a 3rd dealership trying to make a deal as well. Thanks Ace Techno - Larry |
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Replying to: acetechno (Oct 02, 2005 5:20 pm) The ICE kicks in and raises the battery to 3 bars, then shuts off. For me it happened just as it dropped to one bar. 2. I seem to average only 20 miles to a gallon. I am already on my 3rd tank of gas. I am not a lead foot, but do drive about 15 miles of free way one way. Does this seem right? Unfortunately, yes. It'll get better - I started at 22mpg on the first tank and got up to 25 mpg on the 3rd tank. Freeway driving and short trips hurt mileage - the freeway driving doesn't use the hybrid system unless it's a lot of hills and the short trip hurts because the ICE always turns on to warm up the cat converter. 3. Lastly. How fast can I go on electric power before I should feel the gas motor kick in? It seems like the wheels make a complete 180 turn and then the gas kicks in. I would figure If I don't tax the engine I should be able to cruise around the neighborhood on straight electrical power alone, right? This, too, improves with time. I am on my 4th tank and I can get it up to 20 MPH on level ground with just battery and the A/C turned off. At the beginning it kicked in more or less immediately. You DO need to have a light foot to do this. Have fun! |
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Replying to: igh (Oct 01, 2005 9:39 pm) reduced acceleration requirements in city driving and at sustained speeds in highway driving. When further power is needed the ICE is always there for assist. Another option that Toyota has is to use the 2.4L 160 HP I4 ICE engine in a greener model trim hybrid instead of the 210 HP 3.3L V6. This will reduce weight by 150 lb offsetting the extra battery weight. It will reduce cost by 2k. So plug-in will be just $2-3K extra. It will give additional 3-4mpg in pure hybrid mode. Mate this with 2, 40 Kw electric motors on both axels or 4, 20 kw motors at the 4 wheels. 0-60 acceleration will be 9.5s instead of 7.3s using both power. This can be enough for many people. Then effective mpg can exceed 100mpg." Much said here and only one reply: If you want really high MPG, don't buy a 4500 lb vehicle and then try and equip it to run like a Prius. Buy a 2900 lb Prius. There is no substitute for lighter weight and smaller engine size. The HH and other hybrid SUVs are a compromise between the higher weight and wind drag caused by the SUV platform and larger size, and the need for somewhat better mileage. The fact that some HH are getting nearly as good MPG as the Escape Hybrid is telling - there are limits to the capabilies of the Atkinson cycle small engine when mated to a heavy platform. I actually think that if the I4 had yielded significantly better MPG in HH prototypes, Toyota would have produced that engine instead of the V6. |
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Replying to: stevedebi (Oct 03, 2005 10:52 am) So, they can build lighter cars (because they did). I can't believe the Prius weighs the same as my 4Runner . . . you should see the size difference, the Prius could fit inside. Hard enough to work out why the Highlander weighs so much more. |
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Replying to: stevedebi (Oct 03, 2005 10:52 am) If conservation is more important, Prius would be our choice and then we will buy a real 4x4 V6 or V8 for outdoor adventure use. With gas at $3.22 a gallon, I am glad we did not do this. It is fun to tweak a car like the HH so some will indeed try to tweak it for better MPG in town while sacrificing its performance. Our family prefer its current blend of efficiency and performance. More MPG is good but less performance is bad and more performance is not necessary  .
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