Highlander hybrid question, looking for help from Prius owners

[Guest Gus Reiber]

Hey all,

I own a Prius as well, but this is actually a call for help about my Certified Pre-owned 2007 Hybrid Highlander.

I have recently experienced a fairly steep drop-off in fuel economy. ~20%, such that my Highlander is now struggling to get 20mpg where it used to get 25. The new lower number is about what my friend is getting with his 2007 non-hybrid, slightly worse.

I know, I know, different driving styles, air-pressure in the tires.....

I have brought it into the dealer but their tests did not reveal any problems.

I suspect very strongly that the hybrid batteries have begun to loose their potency.

My local dealer has no additional diagnostics beyond a red-light, green light test.

Has anyone out there replaced their hybrid batteries, diagnosed them or seen similar fall-offs in economy?

Thanks for your help.

[Dougster01]

Gus, did anyone respond to you post? I also have a Prius and highlander hybrid. My 06 hi-hy still gets 27 or 28 mpg, depending on how I drive. I have 79k miles on it. I didn't see how many miles you have on your 07.