08 Highlander owners question. How is the MPG?

[summerwind]

Originally Posted by summerwind

Well I just filled up and zero'd to trip odometer so will see next time what the actual mileage is.
I also noticed my local station has a new sticker on the pump..."Ethanol Added"
I will be checking out several other stations in my area to see if Ethanol is now in our lives in Seattle or just some stations.

OK I did a quick check between the Multifunction display and actual calculation.

My AWD Limited has 1400 miles on it so far

The miles for this test were 80% city and 20% highway
Miles traveled was 141.6
Gallons used was 8.182 (second click off on nozzle)

MultiFunction display said 18.4 mpg
Calculation was 17.3 mpg

Guess it is close

Will see how much it improves when we get off winter blend and my HL has more miles on it.

[Harley0711]

I live in Northern Ca (Turlock/Modesto area) Drove to Palm Springs over New Years. Left Turlock and fueled just north of Palm Springs (383 miles - 15 gallons of fuel = 25.5 MPG (Two wheel Limited - cruise set on 70. Now I bought a 1000 pound enclosed trailer and brought it back - same route ( Palm Springs Ca area over the I-5 {Tehachapi mountains - 4200+ feet}. Trailer was empty - V nose = anyhow, this time 304 miles - 15.7 gallons of fuel = 19.36. Cruise set no more than 62-65.

will be interesting to see the drop once I put a 800 pound bike in the trailer... Still workable MPG and pretty much what I expected overall. Plan to retire and use this to tour the US - trailer - ride for a few days - trailer to another spot and ride more - do this until we feel a need to come home (or not - lol)....

BTW - Limited has about 2K on the meter....

[kraky]

Summerwind....your results match that of our Avalon. It just can't hit mixed mileage very well. It is usually dead on the nuts for an "all highway trip". It's off about 5% optimistic on mixed driving. And....it's off a good 10% when it's all city driving. Not sure how the computer works but it's what I've found on our Avy.

By the way...how does the mileage computer work on the new Highlander.....is it resettable at any time during the trip. On our Avy you can never play with it......it resets itself for every full tank of fuel and you can't reset it until you fill the tank. I find this very aggrevating.

[sagupta_2000]

Hello,
I bought my Toyota Highlander 08 sport 4WD on 12/27/2007 and with the first gas fill I noticed I am getting 16.8 MPG. My drive was 50% on highway and 50% on local with stops and traffic signal. Is there a way I can improve the MPG. Toyota claims 17/23. I am expecting atleast 20 with mixed drive. Right?
Any help?

[Harley0711]

Originally Posted by kraky

Summerwind....your results match that of our Avalon. It just can't hit mixed mileage very well. It is usually dead on the nuts for an "all highway trip". It's off about 5% optimistic on mixed driving. And....it's off a good 10% when it's all city driving. Not sure how the computer works but it's what I've found on our Avy.

By the way...how does the mileage computer work on the new Highlander.....is it resettable at any time during the trip. On our Avy you can never play with it......it resets itself for every full tank of fuel and you can't reset it until you fill the tank. I find this very aggrevating.

On the trip south, the computer was right on.... city/highway it is not always that correct.... and Yes, on our Limited - you can reset the computer when ever you want (I think) I just have not had a reason to do so.. I will still not trust the computer - when I wannt to know miliage, I do my own math... I rode with a very good friend in Palm Springs while there, we were in his Caddie SUV, I ask his MPG and he stated around 16 - However, I did notice he Really push on the gas peddel ALOT to either get around cars or just off the light... I am talking like an ole man here, but that type of driving Can and Will effect the MPG.... I even found when I had my cruise set and I had to slow, when hitting "resume" often, the engine would drop down a gear to get back up to cruiseing speed... I found I could avoid that by not hitting "resume" and just bring the car back up on the easy.. may not be all that big of a deal - but I was trying to get the best MPG while pulling the trailer...

[Speedy001]

It's the winter blend gas that hurts the milage, when summer comes it will increase. I got about 19.0 MPG with city/hwy mix (50/50) before winter.

[Speedy001]

In regard to resetting the MPG trip, there are two (1) is current MPG of tank (can't reset) & the other is the MPG since LAST time you reset it.

[daRRski]

Hi
AWD
First tank , mixed driving in freeezing temps...19mpg..not bad at all..

[ryan_rus]

2008 Highlander Limited with 150,000 kms (4wd) The best I got was the following:

Hwy: 10.5 L/100km (21.8 mpg)
City: 15.4 L/100km (15.3 mpg)

[tomrp40]

2009 Highlander Base 2wd 4 cyl 6 speed 25000 miles
Location: Florida

Hwy Best mileage to date (70-75 mph, road and mountain on East coast): 28.5MPG actual (doesn't have the electronic mileage computer)

Normal town (25-40 mph) 22 -23 MPG
Mixed town (30%) and road (70%) 25.5 - 26.5 MPG

From what I can find the 4 cyl is only about 1.5 seconds slower on 0-60 than the V6.
Due to the 6 speed this car has impressive pickup off the line.
It is rated to tow up to 3500 lbs and mine has the towing package, 3rd row seating and A/C. I am very pleased with the gas mileage for a vehicle this size and weight.

Owned a Toyota Camry and a big old honkin 91 Olds Custom Cruiser prior to this. Traded both for one all purpose vehicle that would hold 6-7 passengers and tow a small boat.

[TrailDust]

tomrp40,

Do you have ethanol gas in Florida, or is it without?

[tomrp40]

Yes, it does contain 10% Ethanol and I always use the 87 (cheapest) grade, but only buy from known dealers (Shell, Mobil, Marathon, etc.). Won't take a chance on messing up the system with some no-name brand to save a couple of cents. Have never tried the better grades to see if it makes a difference because it's about 20 cents more per gallon and I just can't believe it would make up in MPG.