Essential Tips for Toyota Hybrid Drivers' Safety

Toyota hybrid drivers should never overinflate tires, as it compromises safety and comfort.

### Essential Tips for Toyota Hybrid Drivers: Avoid These Common Mistakes
* 🚗 Welcome to the Car Care channel, where we discuss crucial tips for Toyota hybrid drivers, starting with the **dangers of overinflating tire pressures** for better gas mileage.
* ⚠ Overinflating tires to 60, 70, or even 100 PSI can lead to a **harsh ride**, **premature tire wear**, and most importantly, **dangerous driving conditions**.
* 🔋 Never cover the high-voltage battery fan vent, as this can cause **overheating and lead to costly battery failures**; keeping the vent clear is **vital for your hybrid's health**.
* 🏎 Avoid excessive speeding in your hybrid, as high speeds can **drain the high-voltage battery quickly**, potentially leading to a performance-limiting **"limp home mode."**
* 🔄 Leaving your hybrid in neutral for extended periods can deplete the high-voltage battery, making it **critical to keep the car in park to allow charging**.
* ❄ In winter, refrain from using cardboard in front of the radiator to speed up warming; this can **disrupt the cooling system and lead to overheating**.
* 🧳 Lastly, declutter your trunk and interior to avoid carrying unnecessary weight, as **excess cargo can significantly impact fuel efficiency** more than other adjustments.
* 📩 For any questions or further assistance, feel free to reach out via email, as the channel aims to provide **valuable insights and support** to all hybrid drivers.

Hello and welcome to the Car Care channel. In today's video, we're going to talk about some things that I see Toyota hybrid drivers do that you should never do. We're going to go over everything in detail, but before we get started, hit that subscribe button. Make sure you

turn on your bell notifications so you wouldn't miss out on any new videos. And without further ado, let's get right to it. The first thing we're going to talk about is you should never overinflate your tire pressures to get better gas mileage. I see people do this all the time.

I see people come in with 60, 70, 80, even 100 PSI in their tire pressure. People, I love you, but this is why I say this: this is flat out dangerous. You know the two, three, four, even 10 miles per gallon you're going to get from

over inflating your tires is not worth it. You're going to, first, let's leave the dangerous part last. First, you're going to have a very hard ride. You know, some of the hybrid cars, they're really comfortable, nice cars, you know, Avalon Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, RAV4.

Even the Prius, that is the smallest one, even the Prius, they're all nice riding cars. But when you overinflate the tires, now the ride is jarring, it's horrible, it's noisy. So that's the first downside. The other thing is you're going to wear out your tires very

quick, especially in the middle. I mean, the the savings from the gas, the more gas mileage you're going to get, are not going to justify the premature wear on your tires. And the most important thing, people, danger. Most passenger tires, the maximum pressure, some of them is as low as 41 PSI. Some of

They're 51 to 55, but not really more than that. This is the maximum tire inflation, and yes, I will tell you if you inflate your tires like that, you will get better gas mileage because the rolling resistance becomes less. But it's dangerous, it's not worth it.

Most hybrid cars get awesome gas mileage to begin with. Don't push it to the limit, it's flat-out dangerous. On to the second thing, never cover the high-voltage battery fan vent. It's usually located either in the back near the back seat, underneath it. Every hybrid model will be different. If you're

interested where your car's fan vent is, you're welcome to leave a comment or you can email me at thecarcarenut@gmail.com. I'll be more than happy to help you with that. The number one cause of high-voltage battery failure is related to overheating, because either

the fan is clogged because of a dirty filter or the vent is flat covered. I see this all the time. Seat covers, baby toys, items in the car like the Highlanders, they have them a little bit low underneath the seat. I see people put double floor mats and

now they're all covered. This is an express way to very expensive high-voltage battery failure. It's very simple. I repeat this in every single one of my videos. You do not know the high rate that I see this at. I mean, almost every other high-voltage

battery failure is because of a fan-related issue. This is very, very, very important. I cannot emphasize how important this is. The only other high-voltage battery failures that I see is cars that have three, four, five hundred thousand miles or very old cars. Maybe the first

maybe some of the early second-gen Priuses otherwise it's always fan-related. People please make sure you always leave that vent clear. You always check that filter, clean it. If you want to know more about that filter, check out part one of "How to Maintain Your [Video]". I did talk about that

that filter and I showed it to you. So there is that. Never cover that fan. Moving on to the third thing: never speed excessively in your hybrid car. You know, most people don't know this. Some people will debate this and that's okay. I'm coming here from a slight scientific

view here. Did you know that your hybrid system becomes extremely inefficient when you go very high speeds? I'm talking 90, 100, 110. But yeah, the speed limit in the United States, I think the max is 80 miles an hour in Texas, but

some people still do that. You know, we all speed every once in a while. It's no secret, but every once in a while I'm driving on the highway and here comes a Prius or a Camry Hybrid just whiffs by me, probably doing 110.

Don't do that. You over-stress the high-voltage battery system. Now you have your hybrid motors sucking down your high-voltage battery because they're trying to push you at that speed and your engine at max RPM trying to push you. And now who's going to charge that high

voltage battery? It just keeps depleting. The bleeding to bleeding reaches a point, actually, and this was a warning from Toyota along when the hybrids first came out. If you reach a point where you deplete your battery completely down, the car will actually go into a [they]

Don't call it limp home mode, but it's actually similar to a limp home mode where it'll lower your performance levels. Now everything is at a critical level because it's going to either kill the high voltage battery charge or it's going to limit your performance. So, of course, you're going to limit your performance. I'm going to let you kill your battery. So, people, it's not worth it. Stick to the speed limits. I always say this for safety, even if you don't drive a hybrid car, but especially in hybrid cars.

Hybrid cars are most efficient in city driving, stop and go traffic. They're great on the highway at normal speeds. You start going 90, 100, and above, come on, you're hurting your car flat out. Please don't do that. Moving on to the next item now. I'll admit this item is not as common, but I will include it because I've seen it enough where it has become an issue. Never leave your hybrid car in neutral for a very long time. Reason being is, even if your engine is running, the hybrid, because of the design of the high voltage system, and I'm not going to go into how everything works, I'm going to keep it simple. When you leave it in neutral, it has no ability to charge the battery, the high voltage battery anymore, because of the way the transmission is geared and how the hybrid motors are aligned. It needs that park to do that when you're stopped. So, when you leave it in neutral, it can no longer do that and you're going to deplete your high voltage battery. Your high voltage battery, when it depletes completely, where the computer...

knows that this is critical. It's just going to shut down everything.  Don't tell the dealership, and if you really push a high voltage battery down to its critical levels below what the computer thinks is the lowest safe, it is a very big problem because then

the car becomes a very large and heavy paperweight because the computer will no longer allow a start. And then we can't really start at the dealership; we have to charge the high voltage battery manually, which is a very difficult process and it's very

flat, dangerous, and it's going to be expensive. You guessed it. So it's not worth it. I don't see any reason why anybody would leave their car in neutral for a long time, but I have seen this and actually some of the hybrid cars when you leave it in neutral for

some time, it's going to display a message telling you to put the car in park. The high voltage system will shut off, so there you go. Try not to leave it in neutral because it cannot do what it's what it needs to do when the car is stopped.

[Music] Another issue that I see in the winter time, you know, I'm from Chicago. We get pretty pretty cold winters. Maybe that doesn't apply to you if you live in the southern states where winters are not as cold as here, but I see this all the

time. Hybrid drivers, they put a cardboard in front of the radiator because they read somewhere that, you know, hybrids are most efficient when they're warmed up until, you know, the engine will not shut off until the car warms up. So now let's put this thing in front of

the radiator and we'll warm up the car faster in the winter so we can go into efficient mode. Don't do that, let the car do its thing because you do not want to push that engine to a rapid heat cycle. Remember you have the high voltage

system radiator, you have the regular engine radiator. You gotta let enough cooling to pass on those radiators, that's how the car was designed. When the temperature is cold, it's going to take longer, it's not worth risking putting something in, overheating the high voltage system.

Again, I've seen this and believe it or not in 2016 when the new generation Prius came out, it has just that, it has automatic shutters that open and close to maximize efficiency, but the computer is watching everything, it knows when to open it, when to close it.

The computer can't remove the cardboard. Don't do that, it's not worth it. Now you know hybrids get great gas mileage on their own. You don't need to push the limits, they are beautifully engineered just to do that well. They're supposed to save the environment too, but I guess

we only focus on the gas mileage part, but that's okay. I love fixing cars, you know, and the last but not least, and this is uh a very interesting one, I see this all the time, so we're over-inflating tires, we're putting things in front of the radiator,

we're trying to hypermile to really push our hybrid to the limit to get the most gas mileage and I admire some people, they even get better gas mileage than what the EPA rating is, but I see this all the time, you know you're trying to hypermile and

Do all these things, but then I opened the trunk, trying especially, this is, I don't want to say it's a Prius, it's only, it's everybody, but it seems to always be a Prius. So, sorry Prius owners, but I will say this. So the Prius has another storage area

underneath the back when you open the hatch, there's a little door you open, and then there's a storage area. It's always full of stuff, always prime max, I mean, I estimate at least 150, 200 pounds of things you're lugging this weight around.

That's affecting your gas mileage more than anything else. So, instead of over inflating the tires and pushing everything to the limit like that, why don't we just get rid of some of the stuff there just sitting in the car. This is general advice for

everybody, there's no need to have 10 pairs of shoes in the trunk and clothes and things and this and that. Try to keep your trunk empty, you're lugging all this weight, even if it's not a hybrid, you're lugging all this weight, wasting

gas mileage. For what? Clean that trunk up. Center console, back seats, I see cars that are filled with stuff, and you know, I am, I work day and night, you guys probably work day and night, we work very hard in this day and age, there's no sitting around all day long.

So, I understand we get overwhelmed with life and we can't really keep up with cleaning things and keep taking things out of our cars, but in the name of efficiency, and especially if you buy a hybrid, try to clean it up, keep it nice and neat. Don't, don't

drag along extra weight with you that'll get you actually more gas mileage than any of the other dangerous or hazardous stuff, so this is gonna be a wrap for today's video. I hope you guys learned something new. I hope this video was helpful and informative for you.

If you liked it, subscribe to the channel, turn on the bell notifications. If you have any comments or questions, or you don't agree with something, please leave a comment, or you're welcome to email me at thecarcarenet@gmail.com. I would love to talk to you guys. This

channel's mission is to help you guys. I have some knowledge I'd love to share it with you and the whole world, because you know what it's all about the love. May the Lord bless you and keep you, and you have yourself a wonderful day.

Dont do this to your Toyota Hybrid

The Car Care Nut

Things Toyota Hybrid Drivers Should Never Do: Tire Inflation

Never overinflate tires for better gas mileage; it's dangerous.

Overinflation leads to a harsh, uncomfortable, and noisy ride.

Premature tire wear, especially in the center, will occur.

Most passenger tires have maximum pressure limits (41-55 PSI).

While higher pressure improves gas mileage, the risks outweigh the benefits.

High-Voltage Battery Fan Vent and Filter Maintenance

Never cover the high-voltage battery fan vent; overheating is a major cause of battery failure.

Clogged fans or covered vents lead to overheating.

Examples of vent obstructions: seat covers, baby toys, floor mats.

Most high-voltage battery failures are fan-related.

Regularly check and clean the filter; refer to "How to Maintain Your [Video]" part one for details.

High speeds (90 mph and above) make the hybrid system inefficient.

Excessive speed stresses the high-voltage battery system.

High-speed driving depletes the battery, potentially leading to reduced performance or complete shutdown.

Hybrids are most efficient at city driving speeds.

Never leave your hybrid car in neutral for extended periods; it prevents battery charging.

Completely depleting the battery can cause a complete system shutdown.

Manual high-voltage battery charging is difficult, dangerous, and expensive.

Some hybrids display a warning message when left in neutral for too long.

Do not place cardboard in front of the radiator to speed up warm-up.

This can cause overheating of both the engine and high-voltage system radiators.

Modern hybrids have automatic radiator shutters for efficient temperature management.

Carrying excessive weight significantly reduces gas mileage.

Keep the trunk and interior of the car free of unnecessary items.

Reducing weight improves fuel efficiency more than other hypermiling techniques.