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Highlander Hybrid and driving behaviors

Hi!

I'm the new proud owner of a Highlander Hybrid and I LOVE it. I went on a 1800 miles drive for hollidays and got the announced MPG of 28 and even better in some cases (mountaneous areas, surprising).

However, in town, I'm not getting better than 23.5 MPG (in fact worst in some cases). This is MMMUCHH better than the minivan I was driving before, but there is still room for improvement. I know high MPG is possible, because I've seen it in some instances, but it seems to be a hit and miss thing.

Therefore I have questions the seasoned owners:

- Does driving style make a difference? Does the car get used to our driving style (as I've read in some reviews) or do we have to get used to driving a Hybrid? I have about 2100 miles or so on it). Before you ask, I'm a rather soft driver in town. I don't step on the accelerator or brake at the first occasion.

- Does fuel economy get better with time or does it remain approximately the same?

- I noticed that, no matter how gentle I am, I can't seem to get past

10-12 MPH on electric power while accelerating, while it will sustain 30 MPH on electric power on flat surface. It the secret to accelerate in whatever way and then let it go on electric power? Does that make any difference at all??? I also noticed that after a long drive (couple hours), the acceleration on electric power gets much better (makes sense, battery is more charged), but how to keep this?

- And fuel type as well. Did anyone notice any differences in using 91 octane vs 87??

FG

Reply to
Francois
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That's odd. Hybrids typically do better in the city and lower on the hiway.

It may improve. In my regula gas truck, mileage improved after each fillup for the first 4 tanks.

Use the recommended cheapest fuel. You bought it to save money, right?

Reply to
JohnR66

Yep! That's why I'm puzzled... I know the thing can do very well, I've seen it, but inconsistently.

At the cost of the HH, I'm not sure I saved much money anyways.... lol!

But I certainly bought it for fun! How much fun can you get per gallon?

FG

Reply to
Francois

Applying the brakes will charge your battery while coasting does not. Check out that part in your owner's manual.

Reply to
Ray O

That's about what I get on my 2004 4-cyl non-hybrid.

Reply to
Jim

That is pretty good compare to our 05 HL LTD. We only get 16-18 MPG in city. However, we can get 26 MPG on highway when driving carefully. I do think the grade of gasoline would change anything for you HL because we tried on ours.

Reply to
Tom

When I read the EPA estimates, I was disappointed Toyota had not chosen to make a higher mpg vehicle. From

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Mileage Estimates (mpg city/highway/combined)HIGHLANDER/HIGHLANDER SPORT/HIGHLANDER LIMITED 2WD 4-cylinder 22/27 V6 19/25 HIGHLANDER/HIGHLANDER SPORT/HIGHLANDER LIMITED 2WD 4-cylinder 21/25 V6 18/24 HYBRID 2WD/HYBRID LIMITED 2WD 4-cylinder NA V6 33/28/30 HYBRID 4WD/HYBRID LIMITED 4WD 4-cylinder NA V6 31/27/29

Reply to
NeoPhyte_Rep

Hmmm, if you look at the EPA estimates for SUV's at this site

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only SUV's that get better city mileage than the Highlander are smaller SUV's.

Reply to
Ray O

I believe that is wrong. I have one of the Highlander Hybrids and while I only have about 3000 miles on it, I love it. There is a graphic indicator on the dash that shows a battery, engine and wheels. Arrows point to where the power is coming from or going to. If I am coasting, it indicates that the battery is being charged, which makes sense.

You can notice a big change from a regular car when coasting. The engine braking that you would get in a normal car is going to the battery and not the wheels and the car doesn't slow down as quickly. It is something that you really have to get used to or you will approach intersections much quicker than you would normally anticipate.

I can apply cruise control when I hit 40 MPH and the car will run on battery only for quite a while if on a level road. The slightest rise in elevation will turn on the engine though and while I had fun experimenting earlier, I no longer try this but just drive normally.

I get about 29 MPG in the city and 26 MPG on the highway. The city mileage is getting a little better with each tank, but I don't know what it will settle at,

Another feature I really like about the car is the CVT, which means no shift points in the transmission. My last couple of cars had abrupt and annoying shifts and this is a pleasant change.

Don D.

Reply to
3D

It looks like regenerative charging occurs whether coasting or braking, with braking providing slightly more charging.

Reply to
Ray O

Not necessarily! Braking has nothing to do with it. In fact, there will be less energy applied to the battery charger if barking is used because there will be less charging time. The energy generated by the engine when no gas is applied is usually transmitted through the drive train and is in effect "wasted" in a normal car by slowing it down. The Hybrid transfers this energy to the generator that recharges the batteries and the car is almost "free wheeling" and doesn't slow down as rapidly. I'm not sure, but there may be a portion of the energy applied to the drive train in the Hybrid as a safety feature.

This has no bearing on the issue but there was a transmission made in the

1930's or 40's that used "Free Wheeling" as an advertising advantage - I think it was a Chrysler product. My dad had one and it didn't slow down drastically when you took your foot off the accelerator. It felt like it just kept going forever.

Don D.

Reply to
3D

OK, you should tell that to the folks at Toyota that prepared this web page:

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that they are incorrect.

Reply to
Ray O

Don,

That was any vehicle equipped with a Borg-Warner overdrive.

-- Mike Harris Austin, TX

Reply to
Mike Harris

It seems that in Indiana, you don't even need to do that to get shot at in your car! (8th sniper incident yesterday)

-

Ray O (correct punctuation to reply)

Reply to
Ray O

Ah, a control-freak Prius driver who loves to play his dashboard video game.

The world goes your way or not at all, eh? Fuck everyone else, it's all about you, right?

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Didn't I just read one of your posts where you were railing against people that post off topic?

Reply to
Scott in Florida

No, not only Prius drivers are selfish, ignorant brats. Please tell me where I said that. Did I say that? I didn't say that. Can you show me where I said that?

Or, by quoting you, I'll just show the world where you pulled that out of thin air...

Maybe I'm just lucky enough to have all the selfish Prius drivers here in my area. Certainly there are others who don't pay attention in traffic--but they're not playing their dashboard video games.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

What you interpret as "playing" is actually just a touch or two to see what the outside temperature is. I'm sorry that it bothers you. Maybe your tolerance is low from the heat. mark_

Reply to
mark digital

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