Toyota - Highlander-hybrid :: 2009 Vehicle With Poor MPG
Jan 20, 2016
I just bought (ten days ago) a 2009 Highlander Hybrid Limited, hoping to take advantage of the very good MPG advertised by Toyota. The vehicle has 70,000 miles and in pretty good condition.
The problem is that I have a terrible 13-14 MPG. I did some research and I can not find what is wrong. I do everything by the book. No abrupt acceleration or braking. No AC. I drive only in city.
The batteries levels are good according to what I can see on screen.
I am a little worried because even for a regular gas engine Highlander 13 MPG is pretty bad !
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I was on highway and suddenly my 06 highlander hybride stalled and i saw the msg as "Hybride failed"and "VCF failed, I towed my car to dealer and staying in Motel, why this happen and how should I deal with Toyota, I am stuck on the road 400 miles away from home.
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We just purchased a 2015 Highlander to replace our 2005 Highlander that was totaled. We used to use a Garmin with the 2005 Highlander. When we purchased the 2005 the moon roof was an option. Now, it only comes with the XLE or above. The only features of the XLE we were interested in were the Navigation system and the moon roof. Otherwise, we would have been happy with a simple LE with no options.
This weekend we took our first road trip with the 2015. While the navigation system itself seems to be ok (it didn't send us the wrong way or anything), the design of the user interface really is horrible (at least when compared to the Garmin).
My wife was driving so I thought I would take our old Garmin and program in a few addresses into the new 2015 navigation system. I couldn't figure out how so I called up the dealership and found out that we can't do so while the vehicle is driving. In fact, I don't think you can do it while its in park either. We were told that the voice recognition system could be used to enter a destination (but not other addresses for future use).
Well, the voice recognition system was something we weren't very excited about when we first tried to use it to make calls a couple of days earlier. Nonetheless, we tried. It literally took us 30 minutes for the system to recognize the address: 1 Grand Avenue, San Luis Obispo, California.
While the instruction indicate that you should say the entire address as above, the system was unable to figure it out. (We don't have any accents and we had trained the system earlier in the week.) The system had all sorts of problems. Finally, we got the system to understand the destination by first stating the city and state, and then stating the street and street number. I don't understand why the directions would not tell you to do that to begin with. I can see that the voice recognition system is going to take a lot of getting used to.
But, my biggest complaint is that the navigation system will not allow you to enter new addresses unless the car is in accessory mode (the engine is turned off). My wife was driving and so I could have easily done so without any safety issues. In addition, when we were trying to find a restaurant at our destination, it would only list about 7 or so restaurants. It stated that additional restaurants could be seen only when the car was no longer moving. That is simply ridiculous. So, apparently, we are now required to stop the car and turn the engine off before we can determine where we want to eat at a place we may have never been to before!!!!
The problem is that there are a ton of touch-screen options that you can still do with the navigation system and Entune while the car is moving that are just as distracting or more. So, the designers have not in any way made the car safer to drive. Only more annoying. Moreover, the car already has a sensor that knows when there is a passenger. So, it should allow full access if it notices a person in the passenger seat (at a minimum).
The cost difference between the LE and XLE was $5k. There is no way I would have purchased the XLE had I know how clumsy the user interface to the navigation system is. The voice recognition system sucks and does not in anyway improve the safety of the passengers. It just increases their frustration level with the system.
My recommendation is that if the navigation system is the reason for you to consider the XLE, don't!!! Get the LE and buy a Garmin for less than $200, which is much easier to operate, has more customization options, and does not prevent you from doing things have no relationship with safety when a passenger is onboard.
Oh... also, the navigation system will only accommodate 100 addresses. In this day and age when you can get a tiny 64GB secure digital hard drive, such a limitation makes no sense. The Garmin also let me change the navigation voice to a male Australian accent that my wife (the primary driver of the car) like more. No such luck with the Toyota navigation system (at least that I could find).
There are actually a whole bunch of other little things about the navigation system and Entune that I can harp about, but those are my biggest complaints. Another one is that once I entered some addresses, I found that it would only sort by name or date. Date??? Why would I want to sort by Date? What about distance from current location??? Wouldn't that be more relevant? But that is not an option.
Otherwise, the 2015 Highlander itself is very nice.
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Looking to buy a used bmw x3 (75K miles) 2006 model versus a toyota highlander limited hybrid 2010 with 65K miles. The bmw is priced at 14K, while the highlander is priced at 26K. Both cars drive good, clean records. However the hybrid I fear has hidden costs.
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Driving a 2007 toyota highlander hybrid? this car has done well until just this last year. I think the auxiliary 12 volt battery and rest of engine has issues. I replaced the 12v battery in 2012 so it's still good, but when I go out of town for over 7 days and the car isn't started, it is dead when i return. So I charge it up but then the car won't move when started and put into gear. It acts as if a wheel lock is on it. I got a hold of an innovus code scanner and no codes appear. I don't know what to do. I have come across some posts on other forums where owners did have battery issues with these cars, not the fault of the 12v battery but just the car and how it's built, vis a vis the 12v batt. I had the ipm (inverter component) replaced on recall in march of this year. the above issue with the battery had just begun a month prior, so i thought that following the recall all would be well. but it isn't...
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Car wouldn't start, electric came on but it wouldn't turn over. Towed it to Toyota Dealer. Trouble reported in window was "Check Hybrid System" and " Check CVS? and one other but don't remember. After leaving the dealer and arriving home, I had a call advising me that there was water in the hybrid battery to the tune of $6K. Manager told me that the car had to have passed through standing water or water rose to level where batteries were contaminated. Don't know of any flooded areas around here and no evidence of water on the carpet so how does water get into the batteries. Manager advised me to call insurance company to have them pay for it. Nothing surprises me today but how does water get into the system without flooding the car?
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Noticed some pinkish water yesterday, but thought it was water from some puddles on the tires. Today noticed no heat in the car this am. Got home and noticed more pink fluid on the floor. Looked under car, no other area other than near muffler. Pretty evident leak. Same color as both inverter and engine coolant. It has 94k miles. Cant find leaks of any kind anywhere else. What do you all think?
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Just purchased a used 2008 HH - about 85000 miles. Seems to work perfectly except there is a very loud hum that sounds that it is coming from the rear. Starts to be noticeable at 30 MPH and gets louder up to about 55, and then isn't as noticeable, perhaps due to normal road noise.
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I read in a different vehicle forum that, in vehicles where the A/C condenser is mounted in front of the engine coolant radiator, when the engine coolant temperature reaches some near-overheat limit, the onboard system disengages the A/C compressor clutch so its condenser does not preheat airflow going to the radiator in an attempt to avoid overheating.
Is this the case with the Toyota Highlander (and specifically in a 2008 Hybrid Limited)???
I've recently been experiencing loss of A/C cooling when the center console outside temperature exceeds about 107 and the dashboard coolant temperature gauge is almost midway up towards H, but still closer to C. But once the outside temp reading drops back below 107, and I restart the vehicle, the A/C is once again cool.
Since coolant temperature is likely is impacted by higher outside temperatures, might the coolant temperature sender be failing or simply aged such that it is out of calibration, falsely indicating too high a reading?
How difficult is it to replace the coolant temperature sensor? Where is it located (in case it's just a corroded connection!)?
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Ever since I got a brake job, my brake lights have come on, all 8 of them. Traction Control, ABS, Brake, etc. Every once in a while they will go off and be normal for a day or two then they will come back on. The service center that did the brake job said everything looks good, it must be a faulty brake actuator.
The brakes work fine although on starting I have to remove my foor from the petal and then reapply it to move the transmission from park to drive. When on the highway doing 70 mph or so, when I take my foot off the accelerator I hear a pop coming from under the rear of the car mostly on the passenger side. In about 5 minutes, I'll hear it again. It sounds like pressure is being built up than all of a sudden released with a pop.
Actuator replacement and I rather not go through the expense if it is air in the brake line of a faulty sensor.
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Just had front Rotors and 4 brake pads replaced. Afterward, I noticed after the car has been in motion for a few minutes, a low rumble sound and vibration occurs randomly and usually at low RPM 1500-2500. Vehicle is a 2009 Highlander 4 cyl at 72000 miles.
Toyota service dealer ran diagnostic check and could not find anything.
Second opinion - mechanic swears it's coming from transmission drum and beginning of trans going.
Third opinion- shocks are starting to go and likely root cause on the sound/sensation.
Fourth opinion, wheel alignment or warped rotor likely the cause.
Performed wheel alignment, slight improvement but rumble is still evident. One replaced rotor has a pronounced groove on exterior. Serviceman suggested we won the lottery and the groove came from a rock from the street hitting the rotor.
Finally, it was determined we need to replace intermediate drive shaft due to knocking sound when turning the steering wheel. Not likely related to the low rumble.
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Inserted updated nav disc as directed in nav disc slot, closed door. Now the disc is stuck in the scan-disc mode and the load/eject button doesn't work on it. Wondering if there is a way to force eject the disc or other way to unstick it. You can hear the disc 'whirring' briefly as if it is trying to eject, but is stuck. It does this over and over. That's the only sound; none of the other buttons are responsive.
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I have had no problems with my Camry until one day it didn't crank or start. I first thought either battery or starter. Well the battery tested at 100%, alternator.
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Purchased a 2009 XLE Toyota Camry V6 on 11/15/2011 with 13,562 miles. Noticed a vibration that starts around 65 mph, the faster you go the more noticeable the vibration. Made an appointment for the selling dealer to address the vibration. Dealer balanced four tires however this is what was noted on the invoice.'vibration from rear end at 65 and up' (my comments when dropping off the car). Comments from servicing dealer 'balance all 4 tires - may feel some vibration-tires choppy'. Where would you suggest I start? Who should I talk to at the dealer? Am I in a position to have them replace the tires? I have contacted the salesperson to keep her abreast of the situation. Current mileage 15,100.
Tire Make and Model: Sumitomo HTR T4 - the tires appear brand new.
Tire shop balanced (said the selling dealer did not do a very good job balancing the tires), rotated and performed an alignment. Tire shop stated the front passenger tire is cupped. Manager figures the previous owner did not do any maintenance on the OEM tires so the selling dealer installed new tires on the car due to premature wear. The vibration is better but still obvious and annoying. Said there is a possibility the cupping will go away as more miles are accrued on the tires, but until then the ride will not be smooth.
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At the beginning of this year I purchased the 2014 XV Crosstrek Hybrid. I have been trying to love it for 7 months now, and am failing. The way the hybrid engine functions creates a very jolting, inconsistent, and frustrating driving experience:
The acceleration is poor and inconsistent ... it never seems to know what gear it should be in. So much so that there have been times I have felt unsafe moving into traffic (and I am not one to push a car or "jump out" into traffic; friends who have driven it also have the same experience).
The start/stop of the engine when it goes to/from electric creates a resounding shudder that shakes the entire car every time it happens (and it happens ALOT).
The engine is like a PC instead of a MAC ... it's always doing something and you never know what it's up to.
When you use the defrost or the A/C it makes all these matters that much worse.
I'm very disappointed that Subaru would put a car that functions like this on the market. I'm a long time fan of Subaru's (I still drive my 1992 Legacy wagon manual transmission, which, quite honestly, drives a whole lot better than this new hybrid). And I counted on Subaru when, after 22 years, I went looking for a new car. This is not a vehicle that Subaru should have on the road. I get so many people asking me about it because I got it in the Plasma green and it is beautiful. And I give them the honest truth about it's performance; I have NOT sold at least 5 cars for Subaru.
I looked at so many cars from so many other makers, and this was the only one I truly wanted. It seemed to have everything and I trusted that Subaru's engine would be fabulous as always. Make it run smoothly, accelerate well in a trustworthy manner, not have such a jolting engine experience. You've got it on all other counts with this car ... just not the engine, and all the other factors do not make up for poor engine performance.
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About a year ago our headlights were getting dim . Our dealer referred us to a company that had a process to polish the lights and restore their brightness. Now after a year or so the lights are again cloudy and need attention. I purchased a kit but haven't tried it yet because of winter in Wisconsin.
I've also read that toothpaste can be used to clean and polish the lens on headlights.
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I am trying to replace the alternator. I have removed the top pivot bolt, the lower bolt going through the tensioning device, and the bolt that adjusts the tension. The thing still won't come out. I can move it up and down (like it is pivoting on the pivot bolt) but it won't come out from between the area that the pivot bolt slides into. Tried using a large screwdriver to pry it out but it doesn't budge.
Is there a secret to remove this that I haven't discovered?
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In January I purchased a front wheel drive 2010 Toyota Highlander with 23,000 miles. When driving just over 60 mph, there is a fairly loud humming sound at the back of the car (seems to be more toward the right rear). The dealership replaced the LEFT rear wheel bearing (they said the right bearing was fine) and performed road force balancing on the new Yokohama Geolander tires I purchased with the car. Unfortunately, the annoying humming sound has not gone away.
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Everything electric works fine, windows, radio and all. The car will not start. New battery, still no start, not even trying. Put a new starter on and still nothing, but when you arc it you can hear it free spinning next to the fly wheel.... what to do next? some people have said it needs to be shimmed, how would I go about trying that?
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I have a '06 Toyota Highlander that blows hot air from the vents when the controls are in the following positions:
- Temperature anywhere in the cool to cold range
- Fan on at any speed
- Diverter in any position
- A/C OFF.
The air comes out hot after I make a sharp turn in either direction. If I turn the fan off I get fresh, cool air from the vents regardless of the turns.
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Wife is 5' tall and can't see out the windshield sitting in the passenger seat. No ability to raise seat, can go back and forth but not up. We had a 2010 Highlander SE and did not have this problem. Now she hates this car.
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