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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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Replying to: blewdog (Aug 30, 2005 4:47 pm) For less impact harshness lower the tire pressure, but then your mileage will go down a few MPG. Good luck with your HH and welcome to the forum!!!
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Replying to: blewdog (Aug 30, 2005 4:47 pm) If you are a purist audiophile (ARC, ML, Nordost, Wilson, etc) demanding perfection, this post will do no good  . but if you will tolerate car stereo, it may work out with some "break-in" time. We had same reaction to the stereo (JBL w/ Changer) for the first 6+ hours playing CD. The initial bass was mushy and boomy, horrible! The treble was too high, almost metallic. Mid-range was "where is it?". So in the beginning, we adjusted the bass down 2 bars, treble down 2 and mid-range up 1 just to be able to tolerate the "noise". It was painful adjusting for different CD's. After close to 12+ hours now, the bass seems to be firming up, getting tight. Treble has lost much of its metallic hardness and the midrange is showing up more. We have old ears so we still set bass down 1 bar, but mid-range is back to "neutral". JBL makes decent product so we were surprised at first but the extended break-in seems to be working. Another good sign is that different CD shows up differently rather than the same, so the CD player and wires and electronics are fairly decent. Good luck with your HH listening sessions .
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Replying to: falconone (Aug 31, 2005 3:14 am) RE: Toyota Highlander hybrid 4wd The dealer offered us the 7yr. 100,000 extended warranty for 1,700...We thought it to expensive and turned it down..Where did you see one for sale for 995.00...Thanks!
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Replying to: aizm (Mar 11, 2006 4:22 am) By the way, I'm thinking of contacting Consumer Reports (I'm a magazine and on-line subscriber) and telling them that the 22 mpg they report for the HH is ridiculous. Aren't almost all of us doing much better than that? Or has someone already contacted them? Kind of curious. . . mmreid |
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Replying to: mmreid (Mar 12, 2006 7:57 am) The technology is present in the vehicles to allow us to maximize the FE if we use the best features correctly... driving smarter. On balance in all the comparo's and articles that state that '.... the vehicle only got (_____ mpg ) being driven the way a normal driver would driver...' obscures the fact that the tester is not likely proficient in the use of the HSD system. Heck they've been in it for what 30 min. Honestly, give me any of the three HH, Prius, 400h and I will be able to provide you with any FE value you desire from 35 mpg to 70 mpg. Give it to a tester who has little idea of it's capabilities and you can see how such results might happen. Yes you are in fact smarter and more knowledgable than CR on this point.
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Replying to: kdhspyder (Mar 12, 2006 11:17 am) BUT the average mainstream consumers interested in hybrids don't know about these techniques and if they were to go drive these cars, they'd get something similar to CR. And in all fairness, I think if someone were to drive an ICE highlander with these techniques (light acceleration, anticipate stops, watch speed) and had an instant MPG guage, I think conventional cars would also see an increase in MPG- although not the same magnitude as a hybrid. Getting back to CR- I think it's their job to be as "consistent" as possible when testing ANY car. I think they'd be opening a can of worms if for each car, they "played" to that car's strengths. maybe a reasonable comprimise would be to list the MPG as 22, but have a footnote stating higher numbers can be acheived using blah blah techniques. Maybe as teh hybrid segment emerges out of a niche market, these testing procedures can be modified to reflect the higher percentage of hybrids on the road.
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Replying to: otis1 (Mar 12, 2006 7:13 pm) Most people have unrealistic expectation of the HH and set themselves up for disappointment. CR should have added a little blurb about how to increase mileage, that would have done the public a great service. Not sure why they did not bother. I think mmreid should send CR an e-mail to at least ask them to add that blurb or at least discuss it. The part of the CR report I find strange, as another post had mentioned earlier, is this foolish focus on ROI. No one ever analyzes the ROI factors in a $40,000 HUMMER, BMW or $60,000 Mercedes, Lexus or Toyota LandCruiser. Everyone just assumes it is "normal" to pay a premium for a "luxury" car. When it comes to paying a premium for a cleaner car, with a new technology that burns less gas with similar or better performance, suddenly the focus is on whether one can recoup the premium. Suddenly, there is a ton of argument as to why such new technology is unnecessary. I completely fail to see this logic. I like to ask CR or the anti-gas-electric hybrid crowd what is the ROI on that $40K HUMMER sitting in a suburban driveway that sees at most 1 off-road trip per year if at all? What of that giant Toyota 4x4 Landcruiser or Lexus GX470 sitting on more driveways doing nothing but shuttle children around town? What is their ROI computation? Where is the gas comsumption, emission and price premium analysis? Most 2007 models, including many of Toyota's models (RAV4, CAMRY, Lexus), now offer ICE engines at 270-hp and up! Where is the "green" in any of these manufacturers? Yet no one says anything. Strange...... |
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Replying to: mmreid (Mar 12, 2006 7:57 am) Do you happen to remember what level warranty you picked up? How many years/mileage? Tks bob
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Replying to: bob2006 (Mar 13, 2006 5:51 pm) Since I work at home I knew that I'd never hit the mileage on the extended warranty so I've quite forgotten it. I tend to only put 6 or 7,000 miles per year on a vehicle. I'll have to go out in daylight tomorrow and find the papers in the glove compartment to figure out the warranty mileage. I do remember the 7 years part. Hubby thinks it was 70,000 or 80,000 miles for extended warranty but I'll go see if I can find it in the light of day. Still haven't heard a peep from Consumer Reports. mmreid |
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I just took delivery of my hh and am totaly amazed at the vehicle. The 1st tank I am getting 29.1 mpg average combined city and highway. The power is amazing along with the high mpg. I bought it from Gault Toyota in Endicott, very easy transaction, great people to buy from. I had looked all over Colorado but found with nav, they were available only upon order for a 9 month wait. One dealer in Boulder had 1 and wanted to charge me $7000 over msrp. What a joke. The colorado tax credit of $3900 makes them impossible to find in that state. I located the car through autotrader.com. and did a trade during a planned trip east. I also got xm installed by internaction, great install, the unit is totally hidden, and controlled by the nav screen. The sound is worth the cost. In summary, the best vehicle I have ever owned.
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