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New Toyota Highlander Hybrid Owners - Give Us Your Report

142 messages,  Last post on Jul 17, 2009 at 9:14 AM

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#102 of 142 Re: Completely dead after 7 days [hh_newbie] by nsxwes Jan 02, 2007 (11:59 am)
Replying to: hh_newbie (Jan 02, 2007 9:41 am) As I understand it, it is not the 12 volt battery that actually starts the engine. The 12 volt battery sends a message to the traction battery to start the engine when appropriate. If the 12 volt battery is dead, the message cannot be sent. Realistically, the HH should be able to sit for 3 or 4 weeks minimum without the 12 volt battery going dead. Anything less than that would not seem acceptable to me. I am very hopeful that the new 12 volt battery that was installed in my HH will cure my problem. Wes
#103 of 142 dealer mechanic comment by katzjamr Jan 03, 2007 (2:26 pm)
Replying to: hh_newbie (Jan 02, 2007 9:41 am) think about what that mechanic told you, toyota has made a vehicle that must be started at least every 24hrs. Please realise people say things without any basis in fact. It is not practical for many owners who travel or dont drive daily to worry about this and its not true. Your own manual asks that the car sit not longer than two weeks, and many of us have gone a month with no problem...this comment was made by a person who obviously cannot fix your problem and invented his own answer. I WOULD make him substantiate that statement and also never let him touch my car again.
#104 of 142 Re: Completely dead after 7 days [hh_newbie] by cdptrap Jan 03, 2007 (8:02 pm)
Replying to: hh_newbie (Jan 02, 2007 9:41 am) it's a known issue that you cannot let the car sit for more than a day without starting it. Whoever said this is not an owner and have no clue what he or she is talking about. Ask him to prove it.   Most of us owners will not tolerate such limitation and you can be sure the NHTSA would have received numerous complaints if this were true.   Our HH sat for a week while we were gone on a trip last Winter. The car was out under a tree exposed to rain, some snow and freezing temperature. I forgot to hook up the little solar trickle charger to the 12V but when we got home, it started without a problem. Are we the only special case? I think not.   As long as the 12V indicator shows blue, your 12V is fine. Like all cars, car batteries do die and when they do, we will get a new one and cruise on...
#105 of 142 Re: Completely dead after 7 days [nsxwes] by sam71 Jan 04, 2007 (1:10 pm)
Replying to: nsxwes (Dec 23, 2006 2:09 pm) I had two similar problems after 10 day park with car mileage at 600 & 4000 miles. I am bringing it in tomorrow for second time and this time will go to Toyota if I get no good answer. I will ask the dealer to measure the leakage current and see if it will discharge the battery after 10 days (without a resart).   sam71
#106 of 142 MPG back to normal by nsxwes Jan 04, 2007 (8:17 pm)
Just a quick note that my gas mileage is back to normal now which is an average of 27 to 28 mpg. Right after the 12 volt battery was replaced it was close to 20/21, a day or two later it was up to 22/23 and now after a week is back to normal. It appears that the engine computer has relearned properly Wes Replies to this message: hh_newbie (Jan 04, 2007 9:34 pm) stuartbonia (Jan 07, 2007 4:25 pm) skip11 (Jan 18, 2007 3:32 pm) llbonner (Mar 17, 2008 4:35 pm) cdptrap (Mar 18, 2008 8:32 am) desertfox1 (Jan 30, 2007 11:54 am) desertfox1 (Feb 01, 2007 1:34 pm) nomorebenz (Feb 01, 2007 4:01 pm)
#107 of 142 Re: MPG back to normal [nsxwes] by hh_newbie Jan 04, 2007 (9:34 pm)
Replying to: nsxwes (Jan 04, 2007 8:17 pm) As an update - I just got the HH back today and had a long talk with the service manager. He apologized for his mechanics comments and said it was total BS.   Just to be sure, he ran the comment past his Toyota contact who confirmed I shouldn't be having these issues. I didn't realize that the traction batteries actually started the engine...in fact I'm still suspicious. To start the HH when it died, I just put a battery charger on the 12V battery. It takes a good 5 minutes of charging before it starts the engine and there is a load on the charger when I try to start it. Perhaps there is a solenoid it's trying to engage??   In any case, I did have a radar detector installed in the car. I can neither confirm or deny the charger was left on the last time the car died (wife's car) so I just took it out all together. Other than that and a DVD player installed at time of purchase...it is pretty much stock. If it continues to die after sitting for a couple days I'll have to escalate the matter w/ Toyota.   For now I'm going to think happy thoughts and hope the problem was just with a radar detector being left on. (Ok, no one wreck my dream...I know a radar detector has minimal draw - but this will be my "happy place" until it dies again ) Replies to this message: stuartbonia (Jan 07, 2007 4:25 pm) skip11 (Jan 18, 2007 3:32 pm) llbonner (Mar 17, 2008 4:35 pm) cdptrap (Mar 18, 2008 8:32 am)
#108 of 142 Re: MPG back to normal [hh_newbie] by stuartbonia Jan 07, 2007 (4:25 pm)
Replying to: hh_newbie (Jan 04, 2007 9:34 pm) Go pick up one of those 12 volt power packs that can be used to jump the car. You can usually find them for $30 or so. Charge the power pack at home and take it with you.   These are good to have around just in case. Replies to this message: skip11 (Jan 18, 2007 3:32 pm)
#109 of 142 Re: MPG back to normal [stuartbonia] by skip11 Jan 18, 2007 (3:32 pm)
Replying to: stuartbonia (Jan 07, 2007 4:25 pm) I have found a seller on ebay who sells them. They have the 12 volt and 6 volt jump starters. Shipping is pretty reasonable too. Handy thing to keep around. They also sell the trickle or float chargers. The seller was misc.marys
#110 of 142 A New experience from an older owner by jdkahler Jan 18, 2007 (10:08 pm)
We took delivery of our 2006 HH FWD in July 2005, and it's been a great vehicle - though it's now in the body shop with almost $7000 in front end damage thanks to a fool driver who made a left in front of my wife. Good news is the vehicle took the damage and she was uninjured - not even stiffness and pain the next day - in other words, the HH did its job. I suspect the stability control helped to keep the accident from being worse.   Here's the new experience - we just returned from a week in Jackson WY where - to my surprise - the rental agency had all Toyotas. We were booked for a compact (Corolla) but there was a HH 4WDi there that looked lonely, and I figured it was worth a shot to see if they would give a deal, and for $15 extra a day we upgraded (the rates were the best in town to start with). Nothing like driving the vehicle you know.   For those in forums asking about cold weather - it was -27 F several nights in Jackson (high about -4 to 0 F every day up to yesterday where the high was a balmy 10, all temperatures from the vehicle thermometer and consistent with the weather service). The HH started up each day, no problem, even after it sat probably 30 hours (we walked around town - quickly! - and adjusted to the air and altitude for a day before doing several days of cross-country skiing). In every way it performed as expected, including on snow packed and somewhat icy surfaces. The best (?) test was when a pack of wolves dashed into the road at dusk - stopped straight and true from 55 mph with no sense that it wouldn't perform. While not trying to push to the limit (just what we would have needed, another accident) I drove normally.   I reset the mpg about the third day and for the rest of the week we averaged about 22 mpg according to the dash (it read 25 before resetting), not bad considering we were doing mostly small hops (5 minutes some, 20 minutes most of the others) in VERY cold weather, not ideal conditions at all for an HH (we usually get 26-27 at home in Philly these days). First startup of the day was no problem, ever (and most of the vehicles at the motel, especially the bigger SUVs and and 4X4s all had block heaters plugged in over night).   A couple of notes - this was a 2007 HH non-limited but with the upgrade package (JBL speakers, sun roof, fog lights, etc.) plus 4WDi that in most respects was identical to our FWD 2006 without the package. The dash indicator has added the MPG average setting (useful but I've been keeping mileage notebooks for years so not that big a deal) and the headlights appeared (from my memory) slightly different, but little else. The JBL system sounded slightly muddier than the standard when listening to radio (we didn't bring along CDs) so other than it having a changer didn't really have anything over the standard, at least to my hearing. The strangest thing was adjusting to the extreme lag in the LCD displays on the dash and radio due to the cold.   It was a pleasant surprise to be able to rent an HH, made the driving comfortable and secure. Sorry to return home to a (not to be mentioned but domestic) rental car until our HH is fixed. - John
#111 of 142 Re: MPG back to normal [nsxwes] by desertfox1 Jan 30, 2007 (11:54 am)
Replying to: nsxwes (Jan 04, 2007 8:17 pm) Just found this thread. My HH 12 volt drained on me over the Holidays while I was home on vacation. My fault, door left ajar. But, since then my mileage has decreased from mid 26 range after winter gas changeover to 21 range. It has been almost a month now and it has not seemed to "relearn". Planning on at least calling the dealer to see what they can do. Replies to this message: desertfox1 (Feb 01, 2007 1:34 pm) nomorebenz (Feb 01, 2007 4:01 pm)

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