Highlander Hybrid MPG<23

Car companies tackle hybrid mileage complaints

By Gina Chon / The Wall Street Journal

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With consumers complaining that hybrids vehicles don't get the gas mileage advertised on window stickers, Ford Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Co. are stepping up efforts to let drivers know why they might not get the desired fuel economy.

Hybrids, which combine a gasoline engine with an electric motor, have become hot sellers because they are touted for their fuel efficiency at a time when gas prices are hovering around $3 a gallon. In September, Toyota's Prius, the top selling hybrid in the U.S., saw sales jump by 90 percent compared with the same period last year. The vehicle sticker pasted on Prius windows at dealerships says the Environmental Protection Agency estimates the car goes 60 miles on a gallon of gas.

But there have been increasing complaints that many cars, and especially hybrids, don't deliver the miles per gallon estimated by the EPA. According to a study by Consumer Reports that tested the mileage of vehicles in real world conditions, hybrids had some of the biggest disparities, with fuel economy averaging 19 miles per gallon below the EPA city estimate. The problem is that the EPA estimates assume that drivers are operating under certain ideal conditions, such as not using air conditioning and accelerating slowly, that can be very unlike what people actually do on the road.

The groundswell of complaints is spurring the EPA to act. The agency says that by the end of this year it will propose changes to the methods used in calculating fuel economy ratings for vehicles. The EPA said the new rules will more accurately reflect how people actually drive and will consider the impact of air conditioning, aggressive driving and traffic congestion on fuel economy.

To help drivers improve their mileage, Ford is creating a "Hybrid Patrol," a group of Ford staffers who will travel to 11 cities to talk about fuel economy.

This weekend Ford is holding a clinic at the Ford Research and Innovation Center in Dearborn, Mich. More than 280 owners of hybrid-powered Escapes and their guests, who are traveling from 24 different states, will learn driving tips to improve fuel efficiency and get a chance to ask Ford engineers about hybrid technology. The attendees, who are paying their own travel expenses, will also be able to test drive the new Mercury Mariner hybrid, Ford's second hybrid vehicle, which is arriving at dealerships next week.

There are likely to be few surprises or silver bullets among the fuel-efficiency tips, however. They include common sense bits of advice that few drivers are likely to abide by: Don't brake as much. And drive a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour on the highway. Auto experts say if you do follow these rules, you will get the EPA estimate.

Ford decided to hold the clinic because its studies showed that two out of every five hybrid owners lacked knowledge about their cars' technology. The Ford Escape hybrid, which gets a maximum of 36 mpg in the city according to EPA estimates, saw sales jump to 1,808 in September, compared with 1,363 sold in August.

Auto companies are putting more resources into hybrids. Last month Ford Chairman William Clay Ford Jr. said his company would increase production of hybrid vehicles so that more than half of its Ford, Mercury and Lincoln vehicles would be powered by a gas-electric engine.

At Toyota, luxury brand Lexus has begun distributing through dealerships a pamphlet on the RX 400h, Lexus's luxury hybrid SUV, listing reasons why the vehicle may not get the 31 mpg the EPA estimated for the vehicle in city driving.

The EPA tests, the brochure points out, assume drivers accelerate slowly, leave the air conditioning off, and average a speed of 20 miles per hour in the city. The pamphlet tells drivers that quick acceleration, heavy braking and driving at speeds above 60 miles per hour can make the mileage lower than the EPA estimates.

The RX 400h, which was introduced in April, had sales of 2,113 in September, compared with 2,607 in August.

Some hybrid owners are frustrated by the disparity between the EPA estimates and their cars' actual gas mileage. When Amy Quirk bought her Toyota Prius, the pricing sticker said it got 60 mpg. So when the San Francisco-based environmental lawyer saw she was consistently getting only 30 mpg, she complained to her dealer's service department. First she was told the problem was the cold weather. Then she was told that the Prius didn't get the mileage that was advertised on the vehicle sticker price. Ms. Quirk now gets about 40 mpg on her Prius, which she bought a year ago, by coasting down hills when she drives.

"You have to be very mindful of how you drive to get good mileage," she says.

Jim Press, head of Toyota's U.S. operations, said in an interview last month that the Japanese auto maker is trying not to overpromise on fuel efficiency, particularly for hybrids. That includes telling dealers to be clear to consumers that the EPA estimates can vary, depending on driver behavior. Mr. Press noted that if a driver is constantly hitting the brakes and the gas hard, then the vehicle won't get the EPA miles-per-gallo

During the summer, I am getting pretty good mileage. However, when it is cold, mpg is about 20. This is design issue. I have the battery full all the time. No matter how hard I try, I will not get a good mpg. We should all complain to Toyota about this.

The EPA is a "standardized" test that can be repeated accurately over and over again year after year and car after car and get the same result. These standards may not reflect the way that you drive. But, what IS important is that you can compare the EPA figure on one car with another and get a relative difference. So, if you compare one model with an EPA rating of 20 MPG to another vehicle rated at 40 MPG, you can assume that the latter is twice the efficiency of the former. What you get is up to how "heavy" your foot is and how much interior heat or cooling is on.

Also, yes, you have purchased a hybrid and a hybrid can usually double your efficiency. However, the Highlander has the same engine displacement as the non-hybrid PLUS the extra power from the electric motor. So, you are loosing any advantage from a smaller engine while the motor assists. The Prius, on the other hand, uses a smaller 77HP engine working together with the 66HP motor to give outstanding gas mileage.

And, when I last looked, the Highlander is an SUV.

I have been driving a Prius (both Gen 1 and 2) for over 100,000 Km over 4 years and I can meet or better the EPA standards. So, yes it can be done and the EPA results are accurate for their purpose.

Save your hard earned money; learn to drive environmentally friendly instead; and, next time, buy a Prius if you want to save gas.

~ Erik
KlnAir4U

Unfortunately, from my perspective, there were 2 casualties that occured when soccer moms and city slickers started buying SUVs purely for the image.
1. We started wasting a lot of energy driving inefficient vehicles in places they weren't designed for and are not well suited for.
2. We lost the availability of useful SUVs since the automanufacturers started softening them for the softer market that couldn't get enough of them.

They Highlander is NOT and SUV, it is just a car chassis dressed up like an SUV.
I would love to see a real hybrid SUV but I'm sure the market for real SUVs is way too small to warrent developing a hybrid version if they can't even justify building a pure ICE one. It probably won't be until the military supports the development of a hybrid SUV that we'll actually get them - this is how we got SUVs in the first place.
In the meantime, look at an off-road capable pickup truck since, from what I can tell, they are the only things that will handle off-road or towing although, of course, the gas mileage is terrible.

That's crap. We have 18,000 miles on ours since April, including 5000 miles towing a 3000lb camper. I once towed it up a steep (20 degree) dirt driveway with great traction. Summer my wife gets 29-30 mpg mixed driving,winter so far in the deep cold we get 22 mpg and towing I get 21-22 mpg. Low speed in the campground I have also towed on battery alone at low speeds (under 15 mph).

the poster formally known as Steve

I too am a real owner and have about 20,000 miles on my HH. I easily get 26-27 mpg NOW. My best tank was 29.8 mpg. When I first got the HH I would drive it like a standard vehicle and you just can't get away with that and expect to get good gas mileage. I live in Dallas and my 15 mile commute is 60% highway and 40% in-town. In order to get great gas mileage you have to make that your priority. You need to coast as often as possible and not punch the accelerator leaving the stop light. Never get the "power meter" over 50. I try to stay in the "zebra" range (for lack of a better term) as long as possible. Drive in electric mode as long as possible, as well (parking lots, subdivisions, etc.). Many of the city streets in Dallas have a 30 mph speed limit and you can drive in electric mode at that speed if you try. If the engine cuts on, just let off the accelerator until it shuts off and then EASE back on the gas. My wife's '07 Camry Hybrid gets around 40 mpg using these tactics with a 70% highway, 30% in-town commute. Hope this helps.

Just an update.
Very "Green" , fell for the hype, .
My advice-
Buy 2 cars, new Prius, and a used Jeep. Less than I paid for my 1 4WD hybrid Highlander.
latest challenge,
Stuck on the beach in the outer banks, just as I drove onto the sand on vacation last week. ( had a Jeep 10 years- Never an issue!)
The vehicle just shut off gas motor, and electric turned a little- cost $65, but actually more disappointed on the dealership stating vehicle is fine, and nothing they will do.

We really need a class action lawsuit started, I truly feel this is absolute fraud!

ginabean,
I'll second HiHySteve here. The HiHy is not an offroad vehicle, even if it is dressed up to look like one. I wish someone would come up with a hybrid off-road vehicle but I also understand that the business case for such a thing is rather weak. The US manufacturers have all left the offroad business completely with the single exception of the Jeep Wrangler.
I keep a Nissan Xterra around for offroad use and as a backup but I realize that I waste a lot of money just keeping it registered and insured and that that is not an option for everyone.

So you are matching a compact car against an SUV to compare milage?

I replaced my 05 Sequoia (avg 15 mpg) with an 08 Matrix 5 months ago. In my first 17,000 miles I've gotten 26-34 mpg in the Matrix with an average of 29 mpg. I test drove the HHy and liked it, but was not willing to spend 43K or change my driving habits significantly. The Matrix has considerably more road noise, but I have no car payment and have doubled my gas mileage without having to crawl along at 65 mph.