Drop in mileage in Mid-west winters

yes. i've gone from 65 in summer to 60 now and will drop to 55 over the next coupla months. search 'grill blocking'

 

Harsher winter (further west & north, like MN) does this to efficiency...


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Yep. It sounds about right. It is part gas blend. And part the need for the hybrid battery to work harder at staying warm.

 

Everyone sees a drop in mpg's during winter, just more noticeable on the Prius! Grill blocking and an EBH helps alot!

 

I believe that too be true only in colder climates

 

It has been in the single digits up here and my current tank shows about 43 - 45 mpg down from 52 this summer. No change in fuel blending. 100% blocking of the lower grill.

 

Got the Prius in late March 2010 and have been averaging in the mid to low 50's MPGs. About 6 weeks ago, in October (upstate NY), averaging high 40's and can't seem to ever hit 50MPG average.

Isn't it too early in autumn to have the MPGs drop this quickly? I thought it might be older oil. I had the oil changed at 5k and just took it in for 10k checkup. But the mileage hasn't improved.

 

It's more than just winter formula gasoline. See below:
Why does mileage drop in winter? — Autoblog Green
Cold Weather Vehicle Fuel Mileage – Why Winter Fuel Economy Drops – Fuel Mileage Drop in Vehicles
Car Talk
http://www.startribune.com/cars/11354696.html

 

i have seen a drop from 53 to 46. that started about three tanks ago.

 

45 summer to 33 winter. Lower mileage in my case is due to working only 1.25 miles drive from home.

 

I live in Southern California, and I bought my car a couple weeks ago. Of course once I do we get one of the coldest winters in my area. My MPG is around 42 average. I thought I was doing something wrong, but I guess new car plus really cold is the culprit.

 

It should rise as weather warms. What were you expecting and why?

 

That begs the question of what MPG you got with your previous vehicle. I remember observing higher RPM in my Taurus during initial warm-up. When it finally dropped to normal, that was my indicator of when heat was available.
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Same thing hear in Ct, dropped 4 mpg in one tank and it's not all that cold yet, is the milage going to to get even poorer when the temps drop to the 10 and 20 degree mark?

 

For me last winter it seem to bottom out @ 43mpg and it got sub-zero. Of course I also have a garage.

 

Here in Wisconsin, my 2010 dropped from approx. 54 in the summer to 46mpg during the January, February time frame and then went back to normal.

 

'94 GMC Safari. Yeah. It was much much worse.