Disappointing MPG on 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid
Created March 13, 2008, at 5:46 pm by calderman2@verizon.net
I purchased a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid on February 14th, 2008. The advertised EPA MPG rating for this car is 27 city, 25 highway. When I bought the car, it had 139 miles, and showed an average of 14 MPG. The salesman told me this low MPG was because the car had sat idle a lot while prospective buyers saw the car, options, etc. Unfortunately, 600 miles later, the best MPG I have gotten is 18. I drive “by the book” – I never drive above 60 miles per hour, and avoid sudden breaking and acceleration. I took the car back to the dealer and the service department said “it was working fine” and there is nothing they could do. They said that the MPG ‘may” get better after the break-in period of the car. I got the same story as you report as to why the car is getting such a low MPG (this is winter, fuel type, MPG is not expected to be as good as EPA rating, etc). I am following up with Toyota. As I see it, my hybrid is either a defective car, or, if that is the expected standard of performance, we have a clear case of "bait and switch". I purchased a hybrid because of its advertised fuel efficiency, paying a hybrid price, amounting to over $6,000 more than a "regular" Highlander. As of now, I am not getting better performance than got with my 7 year old Mercedes SUV! I expect Toyota to act swiftly to resolve this issue. I would hate to see hybrids get discredited, which is what will happen if Toyota is not proactive at dealing with underperforming cars.
Has anyone had similar experiences? If not, what is your MPG? Many thanks.
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3 years ago
Well im still young to own one, but i agree with the low milage. WE had recently test drove one to see how it was. Since we already own a TCH (toyota camry hybrid) we knew what to expect. IN our short test drive we had improved the average from 18mpg to 22.6. WE had tried to coast as much as possible, avoid quick acceleration, stayed below 43mph, and braked gradually. Im not sure what else can help, other then to switch it to 2wd ( if possible).
ps what is the EV button by the gearshift do?
3 years ago
There is a learning curve with it you need to learn to feather the gas peddle and engage the battery at every opportunity. My wife can get an average 30 MPG out of it combined driving when she tries. In colder weather that drops to about 27.5 MPG. If she doesn't try then she gets 24 mpg in winter and 26-27 mpg in summer. Towing a 3000 lb trailer I can get 21 mpg out of it, but with the trailer and kayaks I get 18 mpg. All still way over what we got with our old Explorer.
3 years ago
I have an '06 HH, and I think it is great. It has 60+ thousand miles on it, and I have had no problems at all. I get 34 city and anywhere between 24 up to 31 highway. Highway works best at 55-60mph.
I think there is a little validity to the break-in response, but I never logged anything worse than 24+ mpg even when it was brand new. Having the heater temp control set to a warmer setting triggers the combustion engine to keep the coolant warm enough to warm the cabin, so if you don't need it, set it to coldest.
One thing I think is true with mine is that it needs to be driven at full throttle periodically...after which the EV functions seem to be more frequent. (maybe my imagination?)
I am curious why the '08 is only rated at 25hwy, 27city. I guess they increased horsepower, but I don't think any improvement in that department was necessary.
3 years ago
If you think you got screwed, how about those of us who were told we would get 31MPG (on the freaking window sticker) in the city and got similar mileage to yours? As far as Toyota doing anything about it...FORGET IT. The way it is written, we don't have a leg to stand on legally. Now, on to some useful advice. These Hybrids have a programmable ECU that DOES need to be reset CORRECTLY in order to get reasonable MPG's out of them. Search for my name, ndabunka on other Hybrid forums and you should be able to discover the methods for resetting your ECU. Heck, even the dealership didn't know what I was talking about until I showed them the procedure. It helped our fuel economy go from low 20's to 27MPG.
3 years ago
You know it's been said over and over and over on this and many other boards that Toyota has absolutely nothing to do with the mileage rating, it is tested by the EPA and posted on every vehicle by federal law. So of course they are not going to do anything about it, they ae not making any claims, As far as 2008 mileage ratings the EPA changed it's testing methods and every 2008 car tests lower. If you go to this web site http://www.fueleconomy.gov/ you can see how the new testing affects a 2006 car.
3 years ago
Driving a Hybrid takes practice. Are you in ECON mode?? Did you push that button? Are you certain you are not in the B position on the shift selector? Are you setting the heater very high to keep yourself toasty? I had a 2004 Prius for 4 years and then bought a 2008 Highlander hybrid. I routinely get 25 to 31 MPG with the Highlander and got 47 to 51 with the Prius. You have to learn to drive all over again. Slow down - lift off way before you have to come to a stop. If you're hitting the brakes hard, you're wasting energy - you should coast, etc. Pay attention to your gauges and drive in the econ mode. I communte to work at 70mph and get the mileage above, but I get very few of the little green cars (braking recharge) so there is much less wasted energy. If you are getting 18mpg - then you are doing something, perhaps many, things wrong. Read the forums and begin to drive a hybrid, not your regular car!
3 years ago
I've searched for 'ndabunka' to no avail. I'm curious about Jay's comments relating to the ECU and a reset. Anyone learn anything more?
Our '08 was one of the first off the boat last fall (in Canada anyway) and I've been disappointed with the economy. It stays in ECON mode and we take it easy. I tend to squeak out good mileage from all my vehicles, so figured with some experimentation I could do well with this one. Not so far. We live in mountainous terrain and the city we live in has plenty of hills. City driving averages about 12 litres per 100 km... nowhere near the ratings.
My sense of things is that the motor is used too sparingly. Starting from a light, even with *very* gentle acceleration, the engine starts after a second (or less) of electric propulsion. The engine is fully warm in these circumstances.
The battery is rarely showing full charge bars. Recently, we've seen the battery go to full charge and the vehicle seemed to want to use more electric for a while after that... but on the next drive it was back to 'normal'.
I frankly don't think the dealer has a clue about the software/firmware in this thing... the ECU reset mentioned above is therefore interesting!
3 years ago
I purchased a 2008 Toyota Highlander Hybrid in April. I had a Ford Escape Hybrid prior to the Toyota so I had a couple of years of green driving. I normally get between 30 to 34 mpg between refills. For one tank, I averaged 35.5 mpg. Typically I get 31.something. My friend purchased the same model about a week before I did. He seems to average in the very low 20s. Same car, same part of the world, just different driving habits.
The window sticker on the 2008s state the average is from 23 mpg to 27 mpg. Your 14 mpg is really far out of the average window. There are two buttons, on the console. Make sure the one on the right is pushed in. It sets the car to ECON. That might help.
Good luck.
2 years ago
We have about 9k miles on our 2008 Toyota HH. We bought it during the cold winter months and got very iffy mileage for a couple of tanks. It started improving but a mishap caused our battery to be replaced and the computer had to "relearn" our driving habits. Anyway, once it got above 20 or 30 degrees and we got a few tanks under our belt, mpg went up to about 23-26. That is where we are now.
I wish the mileage was a little better, but I know that I would be getting about 16 mpg if I owned a non-hybrid Highlander, Flex, Odyssey, etc. So, I wish I could get it up to 27-30 mpg, but it is still much better than the alternative.
2 years ago
YOurs is the first suggestion, to solving this problem, i've found. my mileage started at 26 the first summer, 23 mpg the next, 21 mpg the next, and now down to 17 mpg. Same driver. The dealer says everything is fine. I'll look for your name to try anything.
1 year ago
We are averaging about 18 mgp with our '08 (w/ >1000 miles now) in the city as well... I think the mileage on the vehicle is grossly misstated. If I had known I would had haggle harder for a bigger discount with the dealer. I would've still bought it to encourage further hybrid development. Does any one own an '09-'10 model? If so, what has your mileage been?
Every once of carbon spew counts toward global warming and we should try to minimize it as much as possible. I'll be buying a smaller hybrid or electric when my kids get out of their child seats... I think the vast majority of buyers of SUV like the convenience in buckling up kids in child seats because of the height.
Another issue is the small battery, it dies if you play the radio for half an hour and can not restart the car if that battery is dead. Ironic since this vehicle has more batteries bigger than any non hybrid. There is a special feature in the manual that allows you to start the car in such a situation but I could not get it to work. Will be calling Toyota about it soon.
39 weeks ago
My gas mileage on my 2008 Highlander Hybrid has been dropping every year since I purchased it new. This past winter I was getting about 20 mpg. Now that spring is here, I'm doing a bit better, but no where close to what I was led to expect. This may well be my last Toyota after almost 20 years of owning nothing else.
39 weeks ago
My gas mileage on my 2008 Highlander Hybrid has been dropping every year since I purchased it new. This past winter I was getting about 20 mpg. Now that spring is here, I'm doing a bit better, but no where close to what I was led to expect. This may well be my last Toyota after almost 20 years of owning nothing else.
35 weeks ago
I own an 08 Highlander Hybrid, and in conversation with various techs at the dealer, I have found that Toyota never intended this auto to be highly efficient. It was built for power, which it has buckets of, while getting decent miles. I can still get over 21 in town, and up to 30 on freeway driving without stop and go.
35 weeks ago
Hi, can you help me, how to reset ecu in 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid and MPG is 16-18.
dealership says everything is fine... I'm very disappointed...
Thanks!!!
28 weeks ago
Keep in mind that batteries don't operate in the cold very well and old batteries do not keep their charge as long as new ones. Which is why I got an extended 7 year/75,000 mile warranty which includes battery replacement.
19 weeks ago
I also have a 2008 Toy HH Sport fully loaded . I've been getting 30-31mpg. This has improved from 26-28 for a few main reasons. The first is I installed a K&N reusable air filter. This increased air flow and efficiency. 35lbs in tires cold. I went ahead and put full synthetic 0w20. I drive 60 on the freeway. With traffic most of the time not much slower than the speed of traffic. I have 55000 miles on the car and the only problem I've had is replacing the engine batt. I have enjoyed driving it, very smooth ride. I do utilize the hybrid battery both directions to and from work. I feather the accelerator and stretch my braking distance at every opportunity. This charges at a lower rate but longer stretches is generating the most braking energy. This ends up close to 500 miles per tank.
14 weeks ago
I called Toyota regarding the low mileage problem and was informed that mileage depends on the location of the vehicle... it does perform a little better in the summer, but only by 1 to 2 mpg. Where do you live? Do you experience degraded performance in the cold? I will try the K&N filters but I doubt it would make a 30% difference. I bought a demo which was sitting in the lot all summer, was wondering if extreme heat had anything to do with it? (degrading battery) Which bring up the point of when to change the battery?
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