Just picked up an 06 silver with 40k miles for $18k. Its got fog lights, running boards, and sunroof deflector and tires are brand new. I just installed an aftermarket Pioneer nav w/ipod and 6k HIDs today.

 

Nice. What mpg are you getting if I may ask. I just got an 06 with about 38k and it's been running a dismal 16.5 -18 and I'm looking for comparisons and any suggestions or ideas on maybe why since the dealer hasn't been of much use.

 

Hi

06 with 55k miles owned 2 years. Mostly run-around trips - dropping kids at school shopping etc, no long treks. Overall averages - Winter 22mpg, Summer 25, occasionally I get a 30mpg city driving. I drive "normally" and occasionally smoke folks for the fun of it!!

There's another thread about reprogramming the system after dead battery issue as otherwise the stealth mode doesn't happen and mpg goes to sub 20.

 

Thanks for the advice. I would so love to see something over 20 in town. I drive around at 25 miles per hour in stop and go traffic most of the time. I am hopeful that the reprogramming will do the trick. I just wish Toyota trained their techs to look for this issue. I had to find it myself and am basically forcing them to perform the operation. Otherwise the mechanic just says ieverything is fine regardless of the poor mileage. Maybe the third time is a charm.

I know what you mean about smoking people. When you do punch it, these things move fast for a big car.

 

They really should give everyone three MPG rates. I found that our HiHy is 17 city/ 32 suburbs/ 28 Highway. The Hihy is very weight sensitive. Short of stripping the car down, one of the keys to better gas mileage is maintaining speed, stop and go is the biggest energy waste. The suburb number comes from speeds mainly below 40mph with minimal stops. If you are looking for parking around the National mall with the A/C on, you can pretty much expect 15-19mpg. Highway in traffic or not, you'll see much better numbers because of the absence of stoplights.

All in all, 17mpg beats the pants off of the 13mpg I get from my V6 Rav4.

 

Maybe not a bad idea. I've run through the reset twice, just to be sure and my in city mileage has come up to about 23-24, so I'm a little happier. I've been following the advice of another poster that recommended keeping the acceleration in the striped area of the KW meter. If I don't touch the top bar I can pretty much cover a quarter to a half mile on battery in stop and go. The ugly part is your acceleration is so slow as to raise the ire of anyone behind you. I also find I need to drive about 1 mile before the engine warms up and the highlander will shut the engine off properly.

 

I have done lots of hours and miles
of testing (hazzards of going to college to be an an engineer) and here is how to get the best mileage out of your Highlander (I routinely average 27-31mpg with a 2006 Highlander Hybrid LTD)

1. Inflate your tires to the maximum pressure it says on the sidewalls (this will improve your mileage)

2. Adjust your driving techniques. Here is an easy method. Put your cell phone up on the center of the dash. (The hump right above the clock works great) Now drive conservatively enough that your cell phone does not slide out of place or off the dash. This will teach you to drive in the mannor you need in order to dramatically improve your mileage (keeping the KW needle as close to the hashed line markings as possible when accelerating).

3.Here is a rule of thumb to use- My Highlander gets 40MPG at 40 miles per hour. For every two miles per hour faster than that (or 2 miles per hour of headwind) the mileage will drop by about 1 MPG. 55 MPH is an excellent speed to drive to get great gas mileage - about 30-32MPG. Give it a try!

At 75 MPH my milage drops to about 21-22.

4. Leave the heat, airconditioning, electric seats off. (heat is fine after the vehicle has warmed up on its own).

5. Choose regular gasoline- not gasohol as your mileage will be lower with the gasohol blend.

6. Don't carry a lot of extra weight in the vehicle.

 

I've doen everything except the tire pressure and I still average about 23 mpg regardless almost of city or highway conditions. I do marginally better highway if I don't have any extra weight in the car. Tires and alignment are next on the list.

 

Adjust up the air in your tires to the maximum setting on the sidewall. You will be suprised how much of a difference it makes. I have a buddy that complained he was only getting 18-19 and adding air brought up his mileage to 25.

-Scott