Got a new Hybrid Camry!

[clayton4115]

yes that is a very good price more so because it only done 15k on the clock, so virtually new, but i see alot of hybrids with 50k to 60k on the clock selling for around $20k, these toyota camrys depreciate very very fast!

[aem]

yes that is a very good price more so because it only done 15k on the clock, so virtually new, but i see alot of hybrids with 50k to 60k on the clock selling for around $20k, these toyota camrys depreciate very very fast!

That's why it pays to buy near new. Not sure how the Hybrid system plays out when the Ks mounts interms of reliablity and cost to repair, but for normal Camry anything up to 50Km is VERY acceptable to buy.

[clayton4115]

well, i am seeing heaps of camry hybrid taxis and if the taxi company's have faith in the hybrid system considering the amount of time they are out on the road each day (close to 100%) i am pretty sure the hybrid system will be pretty reliable over the long term.

[aem]

Buy no one has the Hybrid that goes yet (have you heard of anyone?), and if it goes what goes with it?

The unknown will either be pricey or non-pricey, you'd hope the former.

[Adamsy]

Guys you need to remember Toyota has been refining HSD for more than 30 years. The Electric side of the car is more reliable than the conventional side of the car. There is already several Hybrid camrys with a few hundred thousands kms on them without any issue and there are prius upwards of 800,000kms onboard. It's all sealed for the life of the vehicle. if anything happened you would be one of the very few ever since hybrid was launched and Toyota would be all over as they would love to know more than you what the hell went wrong. So have no fear your hybrid is as bullet proof as any other Toyota. In some ways more so even.

[clayton4115]

you just have to look at the U.S and see the reliability of the toyota hybrid system there,

check this link out

http://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/f49/100-000-miles-reviews-how-your-experience-21100/

100,000 miles = 160,000 kms

[clayton4115]

ok finally received my toyota camry hybrid last night at 630pm, took the car into get a roadworthy certificate and although it passed the roadworthy the mechanic showed me a spot under the car where the is oil starting to leak, looks like a transmission leak he told me to take the car to toyota for them to fix it as it is still under warranty, love the car although the hybrid has its own way to get used to driving these cars and also new sounds I will have to get used to, but I am quite cheesed by the fact that the car has done less than 15,000km and an oil leak as already developed!

http://imageshack.us...snc00233zi.jpg/

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/225/snc00234l.jpg/

Edited June 22, 2012 by clayton4115

[pinzvidz]

I am quite cheesed by the fact that the car has done less than 15,000km and an oil leak as already developed!

Very unusual to see an oil leak on one of those, especially at those km. Definitely get it looked at by a dealer.

Good to see my thread's still going strong. Ours has over 42K on the clock now, hasn't missed a beat. hasn't had any probs. :)

[clayton4115]

ok it is not exactly leaking oil on the floor there is just dampness on the underbody of the car and the mechanic told me these things will get worst instead better if not fixed, ok driven the car even more now and what I like is

very smooth and quite

what I dislike

small boot (smaller than my 7th gen civic)

steering wheel handling very easy to move ( i suppose because it is electric)

overall so far I am enjoying it although have not even driven over 50 kms yet.

[clayton4115]

Hi all,

I had a look underneath of the toyota hybrid and noticed that there is some sort of plastic cover or something but with alot off riplles, is this normal?

Are other cars made like this too?

Have a look at the attached picture.

http://imageshack.us...0624134302.jpg/

can you please have a look underneath your camry hybrids and tell me if this is normal?

[DJKOR]

You get that on other cars too. Not just your Camry Hybrid. My TRD Aution has the same. It's actually coated on the body itself.

[clayton4115]

ok thanks ! thats a relief anyway i can confirm i have an oil leak!

this is the oil leak after the car has been stationary for approx 15 hrs

[clayton4115]

ok, i took the car in for a service and they confirm to me that there is a small auto transmission leak coming from somewhere, they washed down the area however they informed me to bring the car in next wed and keep it there for the day so they can investigate further and fix if necessary as it could be a big job, covered under warranty.

[clayton4115]

ok update to my transmission leak,

went today as they told me to come in, left the car there from 730am to 3pm, went to pick up the car and the service guy told me that it is fixed!

the problem was a washer or something which was worn and they had to replace it, so now it is all good!

i am so happy!

just to make sure I have placed a new cardboard under the car and will check the cardboard tomorrow morning, hopefully i won't find anything!

[clayton4115]

no oil leak on cardboard !

[mixo]

Just bought a 2010 reef toyota camry hybrid, Seems eerrrriiieee when driving on electric power.

Going to get 2 new tyres to pass the roadworthy and get my plates on wednesday.

Seems o.k to drive. nothing like my old XR6. But then again I am looking for fuel saving now that I am older and wiser!

Trying to learn how to drive this efficiently so i can get around 6 to 6.5 ltr/100

If i can do that then this sips halve the fuel my old XR6 did!

Also seems very comfy inside as well.

Mixo

[Dazzling_Darryl]

We just traded our 2010 Hybrid Luxury on the 2012 Model :-)

We used to average an indicated 6.3 in the summer and 6.5 in the winter (down here in Tassie with our 110KPH speed limits on the highways.

Did around 5000 Km trip on the mainland in March this year and got an indicated 6.1 average (flatter and only 100km speed limits in most places) I just used to accelerate gently up the the posted speed limits (using my GPS Speedo) and then back off when I got there using the the electric motor to help keep the momentum)

Anticipate lights and stuff like that .. Economy indicator is pretty good teacher ..

Good luck with it (great car) that is why We bought another :-)

[mixo]

I dont know how you guys get low 6's.

I have been drive for a week or so and the best i am managing right now is 6.0 - 7.2 range.

This is going work - home, 26 km round trip.

I have been very light footed.

Maybe share some of your secrets?

Mixo

p.s I have a 2010 model

Edited October 17, 2012 by mixo

[Dazzling_Darryl]

I got into good habits with our previous car a 2008 i30 SLX Diesel Manual Hatch.. That had heaps of Torque (255NM) for a 1.6 Ltr motor and I found i often needed a lot less throttle to maintain a consistent speed. The Hybrids are a bit the same. Fuel saving is a bit addictive.

Like I've said elsewhere I tend to stick to the limits in the case of our 1st Hybrid (2010 model) the speedo was 7 or 8 kms pessimistic so 110 by the GPS was about 117 Kph by the speedo. but still got pleasing economy(The 2012 is more accurate)... .

On flattish roads I use the cruise but on Hilly stuff i don't as it accelerates a lot more aggressively than it needs to.

There are about 6 ways I can go to and from my work (only 7 Kms away) but I have worked out a couple of them are more economical than others so usually go those ways. I don't drive slow I just drive smart.

Some people don't like the stop start engine thing (I love it) I think it's great that when you get pulled up by lights or road works all the other cars are using fuel and mostly the Hybrid is not.

Not sure where you live but hills and colder weather push the fuel use up as bit ..You seem to use more going up a hill than you save going down the other side. Cold weather, under 10 degrees C, the stop start doesn't seem to operate as much (particularly until the engine gets fully warm.

Between lights try an anticipate and slow down and speed up gradually.

I like the power when overtaking so can sometimes opt to give her a blast (but once in a while doesn't seem to hurt the economy too much...)

Hope that helps a bit and makes sense .. You just have to get into good habits (I treat it as a bit of a game)

Oh and I usually leave it in the mode where you can see it go up and down.

[Dazzling_Darryl]

One other thing, wet roads seem to push the fuel useage up a bit with the low rolling resistance tyres.

I have noticed on both Hybrids my economy figure sneaks up by about .2 LPH if I drive around on wet roads for a day or two.. I assume the tyres are designed to stick to the wet roads more for safety.

The car doesn't roll as freely on flat and down hill sections when the roads are wet so that supports my theory also.

[cyc3233]

I have been very light footed.

Maybe share some of your secrets?

Mixo

I have a 2010 as well, I average around 5.6L/100km for my daily commute of 38km each way along the M5 parking lot to the city.

There's a few tips I have learned from the net and also from experimenting:

Maintain battery power above 70%/ Pulse and Glide (essential eco-driving habit)

The trick I found is to maintain battery charge above 70% at all times would give you good economy. Also by using the petrol engine more when you are accelerating towards the speed limit/traffic speed, then as the situation dictates, lift off to shut down engine, and glide on regenerate for as long as you can without causing traffic delays, then repeat as neccesary. This will make sure that you are using electric only mode less which actually improves economy!

Step on brake firmly when stopped

this prevents the car from using battery power to power you forward, but not actually overcoming the brakes (check the HUD for the arrow to wheel when stopped).

Find the best route to travel (ie motorways better normal roads, even in peak hr traffic)

I also found that the car gives best economy when in constantly moving traffic but at varying speed. This is a great opportunity to pulse and glide as described above.

Inflat your tyres to higher pressures than the suggested 32 psi

I inflat my tyres to 38 - 40psi, the ride will be a bit less comfortable but at those pressures I get the best economy and I don't feel any drop in grip. The car will glide longer.

Hope these will help in some way.

[mixo]

i'll give it a go and see what happens.

if i can get 6.5 I would be totally impressed!

Anything under 6.5 would be WOW moment!

mixo

[pinzvidz]

Oh noes!!! I just sold the AHV40R Hybrid Camry, will be going to a good home on Friday. Has been a great car, and will be sadly missed. But...

We're getting an AVV50R Camry Hybrid h, should arrive at my dealership next week. The zero percent offer and factory incentives combined are just too good to knock back.

[Dazzling_Darryl]

I don't think you'll regret it Rob, the new model has won 4 awards in Australia now since Feb (they are a great car) Mind you the V40R wasn't bad either and I get a bit peeved when I hear negative stuff about them.

My old V40R Luxury is being driven by the Finance Manager at our local Toyota Dealership and as they didn't have a V50R demo handy they lent it to a potential customer for a day or two and it impressed him enough to order a new HL :-)

What colour are you getting? Mine gets its final mod fitteed today (slimline weathershields that were on backorder)

Have fun in your new car (I'm loving mine, done over 5,500 kms in just over 2 months and I only live 7Kms from my work... Cant help finding excuses to go for a drive)

Cheers Dazz

[pinzvidz]

Thanks Dazz. Silver Pearl here. I have a set of 17" Atara wheels on the 40 series, which I'm removing today and fitting to the new car. Lucky I kept the old 40 series' 16" wheels. Mods at this end will be probably changing over to a 2011 AVN or 2011 Display Audio (same touch screen stereo as in Hilux SR5, Corolla Levin etc.), VAISTech iVic, rear spoiler, tint, HIDs. That'll probably do to start off with...