Quote:
Originally Posted by STonoma
I bought a 2007 Highlander Hybrid two months ago. If I could get the battery to stay on for longer than two seconds, then I might be satisfied. I would like for the battery to at least run the car up to about 25 miles an hour. If I put the slightest pressure on the throttle the engine turns on. Is there anyway for the dealer to tune the Hybrid to force it to stay on battery longer?
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As others here have stated, the battery pack can't take much of a continuous, unrecharged, load. I sat in our '07 Hybrid Highlander while my wife went in a store over the weekend. I let the engine "idle" so the a/c would keep running and so I could see how long it would be before the "real engine" turned on. It was about 7 minutes. I watched the battery-charge symbol on the dash gradually diminish further and further ... then the engine cycled on.
After about 4000 miles, about half of it highway driving, the cumulative gas mileage is 26.2 mpg ... I never reset the mileage computer at fill-ups ... just gonna let it figger it out over the life of the vehicle.
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Update. Just completed a 2800 mile round trip to Boston to bring college grad home ... cumulative mileage was 26.9 mpg, running 70+ mph most of the way, 80+ mph a considerable portion of the way, and with a/c on at all times ... ambient air temps were as high as 106 across Tennessee. The car performed flawlessly and proved its mettle as a safe, comfortable, reasonably economical highway cruiser.
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Update to my Update: Nov. 11, 2009. 45,234 miles on the wife's '07 Highlander. Total cumulative gas mileage now stands at 26.2 mpg. If I could get gas that hasn't been diluted with ethanol, I'm guessing the cumulative mileage would be closer to 28 or 29 mpg. No complaints here. Wife loves her Highlander. When she's happy, I'm happy.