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Hybrid Vehicles Toyota Highlander Hybrid New Toyota Highlander Hybrid Owners - Give Us Your Report
143 messages, Last post on Nov 19, 2009 at 10:23 AM
You are in the Toyota Highlander Hybrid Forum. Your Host is pf_flyer
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We had just picked up our Hybrid earlier in the day. It was such a nice night that we decided to go out for a ride (love the wind through the moon roof). As we were coming back toward our house, we stopped at a light. A guy and his girlfriend were standing on the sidewalk next to the car. The gas engine had turned off as usual. The guy did kind of a double-take and asked, "What's wrong? Did you run out of gas?" I replied, "No, it's a hybrid!" And we drove away with big smiles on our faces! 
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Over the past week we put on our first 1000 miles on our FWD Limited HH. There was about 13hrs of 70 mph interstate travel (w/cruise-control and A/C on) and the rest was short trips. Our computed average was right at 26 mpg. I have to say that I'm pleasantly surprised at that. I dropped it off at my dealer's today to get my hitch installed. The loaner they gave me is nearly identical to mine, but not a hybrid. What a great way to compare between the two. The HH's acceleration really rocks and of course is so incredibly quiet. The transition to/from the ICE is amazing. I didn't know if I'd like the nav unit but have fallen in love with it. There's a bit of a learing curve, but it becomes more and more intuitive as one uses it more. I didn't realize that all of the other auxiliar controls were also routed through the touch screen as well. What a nice way to set up the sound system, memorize and monitor your radio stations, schedule your maintenance, etc So far, we couldn't be happier..
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Replying to: fizban (Jul 11, 2005 11:04 am) I agree with 100% regarding your comments on the Navigation system. I not only love it, I now wouldn't purchase an automobile without one if available. I have used maps to find my way around for a long time and they do get me to where I am going - but, in my opinion, the Nav system (especially if you are in unfamiliar territory without a human navigator) provides for a more safe, secure and relaxing trip to your destination. |
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| Wahoo...just got my HH friday...was deep down on the list but dealer gave me one of his first five cares (not sure how that worked out...guessing that being persistent paid off)... Anyway driven it over 500 miles and first filled up (after 366 mi) was 27 mpg (trip computer said avg~25.2)... now the computer says 27.2 mpg and i am hoping its more like 29 mpg... I love this car. If you are on the wait list stck it out as it is totally worth it... almost went out and bought something else as I thought it was gonna be another 12 months but definately glad I didn't make that mistake... Its well worth the wait... | |
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May be there needs to be an owner's forum so owners can share info. Or posters can identify if they are owners so readers can decide how to weigh a poster's information. While everyone here tries to voice meaningful views, only owners have in depth usage experience with the car. 1 news article, good or bad, about the car written by a reporter is somewhat meaningless. A bunch of information from a host of owners provide a better picture of what is good and bad about the car. And yes, we got our for $1000 below MSRP with no add-on's. We just completed a 1550-mile trip in our new HH Ltd 4WDi into OR from San Jose, CA. Here is a list of good and bad quirks we found: For new owners: 1. The Integrity tires are not very good for rocky dirt tracks. We lost a tire to sidewall rupture most likely by sharp rocks. Consider using Wrangler SilentArmor if you plan to take this car down rocky dirt tracks. 2. With careful driving, the car easily takes on flat or steep dirt tracks and trails with aplomb. Ruts, holes, wet spots posed no challenge. 3. Lacking a low-gear ratio, we will not take it on REAL off-road trips or into sand because that is clearly beyond the capability of this car. But the instant torque at low speed acted as a kind of low gear ratio to help get the car moving up steep dirt road/tracks at slow speed and in and out of holes without shooting out of control. It is very very impressive for a car that Toyota clearly states is "not" meant for off-road use. Please do not try this unless you have done it before in a 4x4. 4. Tire changing had a few surprises. First, we found a cargo cover that comes with the car in the tools compartment under the trunk carpet area, a pleasant surprise. It must be removed to access the tools. The tools are nicely organized and laid out in a flat tray making the tire changing process a snap. We changed the cut tire in 15 minutes. 5. The full size spare is not just a lower grade full size tire mounted onto a non-descript spare wheel. The spare is also a Goodyear Integrity and the wheel is a MATCHING wheel that matches the other wheels. A nice touch. 6. Roof rack weight specification is 165 lbs maximum total. We could not find this in the manual and got it off Yakima's spec. Be sure to move front rack crossbar all the way forward to support your cargo box. At HWY speed, the Yakima flexes enough to tap the moonroof on occassions until we moved the front crossmember all the way forward to solve this problem. 7. Moonroof switch has a strange "close" position where if we hold the button in "close" too long, it changes to "lift" to lift open the back edge of the moonroof. So we had to learn when the moonroof is properly closed and when it is actually in the "open" position. If you hear road noise coming in t hrough the moonroof, then it is not closed correctly. The moonroof is silent when closed properly. 8. The "B" (Engine Brake) is not very effective beyond 65-MPH. At 65-MPH, it easily holds or slow the car depending on grade. On many 6% grade, it works beautifully allowing us to drive the car through curves at HWY speed or slower without brakes. At speed over 65-MPH, it does not do much to slow the car. 9. Be careful when the car is on "Cruise Control" traveling uphill. Even on steep grade, it will take off when drive system senses it needs more power to maintain speed on the climb. This can be fun but it can also be dangerous because you can plow into a slowing V8 Chevy in a blink. We are used to our V8 ICE car slowing on climbs so to feel this car literally "sink" us into the seat back and "takes off" (like a jet) uphill is actually a bit scary. So for now, we no longer keep it in cruise control when going uphill in traffic. For general readers: 1. Car fit and finish is top notch. We found nothing loose, bad or anything that is subpar. The 1 news article about Toyota Highlander Hybrid quality is just "sensational" news garbage. Are *all* HH like that? or is it 1 bad apple in a tub of 3000+? Readers need to put on "critical thinking" cap when reading any news articel anyway. 2. Our trip took us through mountain passes ranging from 1500-ft to 3000+ ft at HWY speed. No sweat. 3. Our mileage, with normal safe driving techniques averaged 25.6 MPG mixed at end of trip. I would say we logged about 80% flat and mountainous HWY miles (65-80MPH), 15% flat and hilly country roads (45-55MPH), 5% flat and steep mixed dirt tracks (5-20MPH). 4. Steering is not sports car precise but responsive and tight. It goes where you point it so it is very maneuvarable for a SUV. Car is absolutely stable and solid on curves and turns with proper driving caution of course. 5. For comparison, we easily matched a (not 2006) Mercedes ML 350 SUV in the mountains turn for turn and climb for climb. We trailed it just to keep up with traffic, no hanky panky stupid driving stuff. We passed countless V8 Chevy's, Ford's, Tundra's, Nissan's new truck on mountain roads not just because of power but also because of suprior handling. These trucks may have the power but sloppy handling makes them drift all over a lane going through curves in the moutains while the HH makes a precise track. 6. Instant torque means accelerating to pass is almost instantaneous and sports car like. On 2 occassions, we had to quickly get away from smaller cars racing each other and doing stupid weave-and-pass maneuvers. In both cases, if we had slowed down, the foolish drivers would surely have squeezed between us and a truck in front while they chased each other. So we quickly passed the trucks and found an empty stretch to slow down and let those fools pass us cleanly. It is nice to be able to put some safe distance between us and them in a blink of an eye. None of our previous cars including a late 70's turbo-charged Mustang could have moved so fast. Forget about all the debates about saving gas and so on. If you really want to save gas above all else, buy a Prius or some Honda Hybrids. If you need a larger people mover SUV with better than V8 performance, top notch handling for SUV's, top quality fit and finish, that is cheaper than Mercedes yet more reliable (according to CU), and in the process, you want it to get decent mileage, consider the HH. |
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Replying to: discussion1 (Aug 11, 2005 10:24 pm) When I said the car takes off on a climb when in "Cruise Control", the car is NOT accelerating beyond set speed. It simply boosts power to maintain the set speed. But unlike ICE cars, the boost is instant with absolutely no lag. So if there is a car in front that is slowing even just slightly because of a steep climb, we will very quickly run right up to it. With this car, it is best to observe the 3-second rule and be careful how hard you tap the accelerator. |
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Replying to: discussion1 (Aug 11, 2005 10:24 pm) Temperature during the trip averaged 102-F and we had A/C set on auto inside all the time. |
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Replying to: discussion1 (Aug 11, 2005 10:24 pm) ongoing concern for over two years on the Highlander forum. Dealers--for some reason never seem to do this correctly before turning the vehicle over to the customer. This procedure should be in your manual. The instructions are not too clear, but stay with it and you find the moonroof will work the way it was designed to after the normalization process.
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Replying to: bdyment (Aug 12, 2005 4:32 am) |
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Hi. I bought a HH Limited 2 Wheel Drive in June. I was out of town, visiting family, went to Toyota dealership to buy a Prius (our local dealer had incredibly long waiting lists) and discovered I didn't fit behind the wheel (I'm very short). Then discovered the Highlander on the Lot and drove it home to the Florida Panhandle! I had no intention of buying an SUV but I wanted the hybrid technology. I didn't want 4 wheel drive as I would never go off-road, snow and ice are not a consideration (I live in Florida after all) and I was told it didn't get as good mileage. So I've had the car since June 20th and I can only say that l love it. I traded in a 2001 Acura CL and I was afraid I'd lose some of the spunk and handling of my Acura but I am very pleased with the HH. I also confess that, being so short, I like sitting up higher in the SUV. My visibility in the Acura was a real problem, mostly because everyone else around me was driving pick-ups, vans and SUVs. Often pulling out of parking spaces was a visual nightmare - literally backing out blind. Other than the 500 mile trip home right after I bought the car it's been pretty much in-town driving. We averaged about 26 to 27 mpg on that first tank of gas. The car salesman told us not to use cruise control and to vary the speed a lot on the maiden vogage, so to speak, as we were breaking in the car. The mileage at first did not do that good around town here and I discovered a reference here to "pulse and glide" and I Googled that and came up with very specific instructions on how to drive that way. My mileage increased immediately. I am still getting the hang of it and you can't always use it (especially if there are cars behind you - it will probably make them nuts if you vary your speed). I paid full MSRP for the car which was fully loaded with everything but they also gave me the same trade-in on the Acura as the local Acura dealer had offered me. And here's my question: my Acura ran on the most expensive gas - high performance engine and all that - but the Toyota people told me that I could run on regular. Is that what other hybrid owners are using? We also have a '93 Toyota pick-up truck as a third vehicle and it knocks and pings on regular and we have to use the middle gas, unfortunately. I've been enjoying reading the discussions here. I sort of bought the car first and researched it later - kind of a dumb and expensive thing to do but I am just crazy about it. I find that when people find out it's a hybrid (I wish it screamed it in big letters across the back instead of that tiny tag) I get a lot of questions. The average person is pretty clueless as to how they work and some even think you have to plug it in at night. . . mmreid
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