Hybrid Vehicle

[mscher]

Anybody have one?

I searched the old threads and found some post in 2004, were they were trashed pretty good.

Now it's 2008 and thing's have probably chanced in the hybrid world.

I'm considering a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, with about 25,000 miles. Supposed to get 25-30 MPG.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

I work for a Toyota dealer....

The Highlander Hybrid is my personal favorite. It is a blast to drive and it has amazing power and yes great economy. Great Hybrid component warranty from Toyota.

Now for the honest downside.... it is a very very complicated and it can only be repaired by a trained Toyota tech. I would not even trust an oil change to anyone but a dealership on them.

Answer these questions..... Do you trust your dealership? Does it have many Toyota awards (they are not awarded if they blow customer satisfaction)? How much experiance do the Hybrid Certified Techs have?

We have people from very very far away who come to us for our skill level.

Check your PM (private messages).

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

I'm considering a 2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, with about 25,000 miles. Supposed to get 25-30 MPG.

well, that's kinda sickening. My 1999 Cadillac Deville Northstar V8 gets 25mpg. They're wasting a lot of precious metals making those stupid things if you ask me.
Is a Highlander an urban vehicle? sounds like a country rig by the name.
It's in stop and go traffic where a Hybrid starts to show benefits over other vehicles.
A modern electronic diesel would make so much more sense than hybrid, and be so much better for the planet....but diesel don't sound sexy to tree huggers so they don't make one (except Smart cars of course).

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

I do not have one myself but I know several people that have Escape/Mariner hybrids. They have been 100% flawless. One of them has over 60K miles.

The in town economy is better than highway, as predicted. Be aware that with the A/C on max. the engine runs all the time. The driving is seamless. Other than watching the tachometer you cannot tell when the engine stops/starts.

 

[rwise]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Supposed to get 25-30 MPG.

But you can get this kind of gas mileage WITHOUT the problems of the 5 year battery. Hybrids are to costly, in price and maintenance for the mileage they get. Now when they get one that produces 200 miles per gallon,,,,

Edit: doesn't GM have a car that gets 35 mpg out now?

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

And to know that I had a 1970 Triumph GT6+ that got 46 mpg (@70+mph) with a small 6 cyl. Plus that is running it on 100+octane. Go figure that one out........SS

 

[JB]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

#3 daughter has a Prius and loves it. She claims to get 50mpg. I don't know if that is urban, mixed or rural driving. She lives about 5 miles from a town and about 25 miles from Wichita Falls, where she and SIL both work. I consider the Prius a niche vehicle. She also has a Ford F350 Diesel "Dually" and a Toyota 4Runner.

I would not consider the extra cost and the threat of expensive battery replacement unless I could get better than 35mpg on the highway, and I could get that with a CDI Diesel. A friend's '80s Rabbit Diesel pickup gets over 50 on the highway and the modern CDI turbodiesels should be able to do better than that. I routinely got 30-35mpg in my early '60s Mercedes Diesels.

Cars and trucks have gotten a lot heavier in the last 20-30 years and that makes it a lot harder to get high fuel mileage, even with much more efficient engines and transmissions.

Modern turbodiesels burning recycled veggie oil are around now, and considered eccentric. They may be considered mainstream in the near future.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

But you can get this kind of gas mileage WITHOUT the problems of the 5 year battery. Hybrids are to costly, in price and maintenance for the mileage they get.

FYI:

Highlander Hybrid System Warranty:

8 years (from first registered date) or 100,000 miles whichever occurs first

Includes: High Voltage Battery
: Hybrid Control Module
: Battery Control Module
: Inverter with converter

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

The Escape/Mariner battery is warranted for 8 years/80,000 miles.

 

[MrBigStuff]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Financially, they often do not make a whole lot of sense. I was looking over the ROI stats on some of the car hybrids. The best was something like 3 years, typical was 5 and some were 8 years!! I'd be willing to bet that the SUV variants are probably in the high end of that range as well.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Well people usually do not buy a hybrid to get a ROI..... they do it to give back to the environment....... Biggest advatage of the Toyota is the resale since they retain value. A pre-owned one has already taken it's depreciation hit and is still worth more money that many other vehicles.

My wife wants a hybrid Prius ....... she drives one at work and is in love with it.

 

[mscher]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

well, that's kinda sickening. My 1999 Cadillac Deville Northstar V8 gets 25mpg. They're wasting a lot of precious metals making those stupid things if you ask me.
Is a Highlander an urban vehicle? sounds like a country rig by the name.
It's in stop and go traffic where a Hybrid starts to show benefits over other vehicles.
A modern electronic diesel would make so much more sense than hybrid, and be so much better for the planet....but diesel don't sound sexy to tree huggers so they don't make one (except Smart cars of course).

Good points.

I think the issue with larger hybrids, is that people want (need) both power AND fuel economy.

For instance, the Prius will get 60/50 MPG, but only has a 76 HP gas engine. Not much power if you have 7 passengers, suitcases and towing a pop-up camper.

The Highlander hybrid SUV has a 208HP V6, which gives the necessary power, but also reduces overall fuel economy.

Maybe there will be a water powered car someday, but until then, more new car models will be sold as hybrids, and certainly power, fuel economy and reliabilty, will continue to increase. The technology works, is here and maybe hybrid prices will come down in time.

Heck, even the Caddy will probably be a hybrid before too long

 

[BoogieMan]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Maybe there will be a water powered car someday, but until then, more new car models will be sold as hybrids, and certainly power, fuel economy and reliabilty, will continue to increase. The technology works, is here and maybe hybrid prices will come down in time.

I believe Chevy has a or is coming out with a water powered SUV, if I'm not mistaken. There are already water powered vehicles out there but none that I have seen are in the USA.

I can't remember the name of that new Chevy.

 

[rwise]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

When enuf of these thing get out there, you will start to see more and more of them in crashes, that is when you find they are an environmental hazard!
Now if they can improve the battery,,,,,
And get the gas mileage to 200 mpg (several years ago I seen BMW's plan for a hybrid and 200 mpg was there goal)

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

Good points.

I think the issue with larger hybrids, is that people want (need) both power AND fuel economy.

For instance, the Prius will get 60/50 MPG, but only has a 76 HP gas engine. Not much power if you have 7 passengers, suitcases and towing a pop-up camper.

The Highlander hybrid SUV has a 208HP V6, which gives the necessary power, but also reduces overall fuel economy.

Maybe there will be a water powered car someday, but until then, more new car models will be sold as hybrids, and certainly power, fuel economy and reliabilty, will continue to increase. The technology works, is here and maybe hybrid prices will come down in time.

Heck, even the Caddy will probably be a hybrid before too long

My old Caddy has 300HP - thats 92hp more than the Highlander, and seats 6, and gets the same mpg without hybrid technology and the consumption of important precious metals. Therefore, my Caddy is friendlier to the environment as it's engine/trans is mostly aluminum and is easy to recycle.

People drive hybrids like the highlander for only one reason- to identify themselves publicly as an environmentalist, whereas the true environmentalists are laughing at them because true environmentalists don't drive cars. And anyone with a recreational powerboat driving a hybrid SUV should really be ashamed. That's the worst irony I can imagine. Prius, ok...it's a small car and will help the environment, but so will non-hybrid small cars. And the Smart blows it away in environmental friendliness in my opinion.

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

I believe Chevy has a or is coming out with a water powered SUV, if I'm not mistaken. There are already water powered vehicles out there but none that I have seen are in the USA.

I can't remember the name of that new Chevy.

Water has no energy unless it's falling e.g. Niagara
Maybe it's the 2009 Chevy Barrel!

Free one way commuting Hamilton to Buffalo

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

When enuf of these thing get out there, you will start to see more and more of them in crashes, that is when you find they are an environmental hazard!
Now if they can improve the battery,,,,,
And get the gas mileage to 200 mpg (several years ago I seen BMW's plan for a hybrid and 200 mpg was there goal)

Not to mention the REAL threat of electricution for a rescuer that has not been trained on what to stay away from.. There are some VERY high volt/ amp wires in those things.

200 MPG is doable now, as long as you do not exceed 35 MPH.

Hybrids are a test bed for the drive/regenerative braking systems. There really is not much doiifference in all the brands. The drive/brake systems will be used for fuel cell powered vehicles.

I have driven a hydrogen fuel cell powered car. It was great. No noise, no start-just go. Best yet, it had distilled water coming out of the tailpipe.

By the way, water vapor is the #1 greenhouse gas.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

DJ,

ALL of the hybrids (all brands) on the market are designed with the safety features that disable the battery and disconnect it at the source in the event of an accident.

There have not been any documented hybrid battery incidents to date....

Air bags are more of a threat to rescue personal and there are cases where airbags "fired off" during a rescue. The air bag systems in cars retain power even after battery power has been cut the systems are still "loaded".

 

[mscher]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

My old Caddy has 300HP - thats 92hp more than the Highlander, and seats 6, and gets the same mpg without hybrid technology and the consumption of important precious metals. Therefore, my Caddy is friendlier to the environment as it's engine/trans is mostly aluminum and is easy to recycle.

People drive hybrids like the highlander for only one reason- to identify themselves publicly as an environmentalist, whereas the true environmentalists are laughing at them because true environmentalists don't drive cars. And anyone with a recreational powerboat driving a hybrid SUV should really be ashamed. That's the worst irony I can imagine. Prius, ok...it's a small car and will help the environment, but so will non-hybrid small cars. And the Smart blows it away in environmental friendliness in my opinion.

No environmentalist here, just someone who wants a modern vehicle, that gets better fuel mileage than other similar models.

Not sure where you get you information, but according to /www.fueleconomy.gov/, the 99 caddy has an annual fuel cost of $2702, versus $1703 for the '06 Highlander Hybrid. The deville also spits out 30% more greenhouse gases.

 

[DJ]

Re: Hybrid Vehicle

DJ,

ALL of the hybrids (all brands) on the market are designed with the safety features that disable the battery and disconnect it at the source in the event of an accident.

There have not been any documented hybrid battery incidents to date....

Air bags are more of a threat to rescue personal and there are cases where airbags "fired off" during a rescue. The air bag systems in cars retain power even after battery power has been cut the systems are still "loaded".

A rescue doesn't always involve an accident. Also, someone (untrained) may be monkeying around the vehicle and not know what they are playing with. That is why the essential tool service packages include a "hot stick" (fiberglass pole used to remove a person that is electrically connected). It is also, now, standard equipment on most rescue vehicles.

Air bags will not kill you. They might give you a nasty bruise or scare the bejeebers out of you but you will live.

I don't have an issue with hybrids. I know what they are and are not.
I just think people should understand what they are getting. There are many vehicles out there that will deliver an honest 35 MPG with conventional technology, at a far less price. My son is driving one. He has seen 35 MPG-combined-consistantly.

As I said before, water vapor is the #1 greenhouse gas. How do we stop evaporation?