Fuel Economy, Hypermiling, EcoModding News and Forum - EcoModder.com - View Single Post

Howard_Woodard · 07-13-2012, 12:01 PM

In 2006 my wife and I traded our 2002 Highlander in for a [used] 2006 Highlander Hybrid. For a couple of years we consistently averaged 26.5-27.5 mpg on 92 octane fuel -- with and without the winter ethanol additive. So consistent was it that we just quit paying attention to it.

Early in 2011 I noticed that it was showing that the average was 22.3 mpg -- about the same as we were getting with the previous non-hybrid model.

We are retired and living in the Pacific Northwest where the weather is mild year round. Our driving habits and typical destinations/routes have not changed.

We tried resetting the car's computer and letting it re-learn everything but the avg mpg stayed the same.

We put new low resistance tires on and set the pressure to 37 psi. Rides like a hay wagon now but the mpg stayed the same.

Had the dealer check everything, looking for anything that might be contributing to lower mpg. They changed out the ECU for an un-related reason and said that they found no indication that the car wasn't running at design efficiency. The car still averages 21.7-22.3 mpg.

Has anyone seen something like this and do you know what was done to get back closer to the expected mpg for this car?

Thanks in advance for whatever help you can offer.

07-13-2012, 12:01 PM	#1 (permalink)
Howard_Woodard New Saturn EcoModder Join Date: Jun 2012 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 4 Josh's Car - '95 Saturn SL1 SL1 Linda's Car - '06 Toyota Highlander Limited 4WD-i Thanks: 1 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	2006 Toyota Highlander Hybrid In 2006 my wife and I traded our 2002 Highlander in for a [used] 2006 Highlander Hybrid. For a couple of years we consistently averaged 26.5-27.5 mpg on 92 octane fuel -- with and without the winter ethanol additive. So consistent was it that we just quit paying attention to it. Early in 2011 I noticed that it was showing that the average was 22.3 mpg -- about the same as we were getting with the previous non-hybrid model. We are retired and living in the Pacific Northwest where the weather is mild year round. Our driving habits and typical destinations/routes have not changed. We tried resetting the car's computer and letting it re-learn everything but the avg mpg stayed the same. We put new low resistance tires on and set the pressure to 37 psi. Rides like a hay wagon now but the mpg stayed the same. Had the dealer check everything, looking for anything that might be contributing to lower mpg. They changed out the ECU for an un-related reason and said that they found no indication that the car wasn't running at design efficiency. The car still averages 21.7-22.3 mpg. Has anyone seen something like this and do you know what was done to get back closer to the expected mpg for this car? Thanks in advance for whatever help you can offer.