mpg prius v less than epa

We're getting 37-38 mpg and also drive cautiously. While we're satisfied with the mileage, it's not what we had hoped for. I don't know how they got the 44/40 rating, but I would assume it was by a normal driving technique. Or at least the same procedure used to get a rating for all vehicles. And for us driving cautiously will not the 44/40 mpg advertised.

It just seems to me you shouldn't have to live in a warm climate, no short trips, heater and air off, accelerate and coast so slowly you inpede traffic, etc. to get the 44/40. I think 40/36 would be a closer rating for the v. But regardless, we still love it.

 

Maybe it's the cold weater or cold start/short trip combos that are gettin' you these days.

It takes some longer trips like 15 miles or so to get my liftback gage over 50 in winter, but it goes down pretty quickly with many cold starts. Cold starts and short trips bring the average down quick and it takes longer trips, fullly warmed up to boost it up again. No data, but it's like that. Things will get much better in warmer weather.

Check your tire pressures with a dial gage from any auto parts store and have a way to easily inflate them at home, like a small air compressor.

Some have used grill blocking and engine block heaters to help out.

 

Yes, block heater helps. Based on my calculation it cost only $0.03 to plug the car for 40min and the coolant temp goes up to about 30C. Engine shuts off at 40C.

In Alberta in February I got about 42.5mpg (calculated) so it is OK considering it is officially winter (mild winter).
I suggest you go through this link, I pickup some good hints:
Hybrid Hypermiling - Hybrid EcoDriving - Ultra High MPG

 

Read up on the good threads in Prius v Fuel Economy - PriusChat Forums It is a complex issue and will most likely have a complex answer. The sticky thread http://priuschat.com/forums/prius-v-fuel-economy/99503-why-mileage-gets-worse-in-winter.html is a must read too.

If you use the form below, it will help the Prius Chat comunity answer you question.
Please list your results using the following format:

Year of vehicle:
Date:
Miles driven:
Gallons Pumped:
Hand-Calculated MPG:
Displayed MPG:
Average Speed:
Tire Size / Wheel size:
Tire Brand / Model:
Tire PSI (Front / Back):
Seasonal Conditions: (please include A/C usage and temp setting if applicable)
Commute Length:
Hypermiling Techniques:
Other: (this could explain why a tank was bad or good or other unusual conditions like a rain storm, new tires, lots of short trips, etc.)

You did not give us much information.

 

I got 33 on my first tank due to how I drive, part of it is not just being cautious, but just taking advantages of certain things. In my signature is a link to catgic's hypermiling. As you can see with my sig also, I upped my avg mpg with a 38 mpg and I am in california, not using a block heater, where we do get some cold times and I am cold starting my car too. It is still better than my last car which was a 15 year old Nissan Sentra where I would be down around 9 to 10 gallons for at most 250ish miles. Last fuel up was 9.25 gallons for 351 miles.

 

After 3000 miles and a month of learning how to drive the v, I am now averaging 45-47 mpg...tend to leave it in standard mode...mixed driving of highway and city...40 psi all around...

 

Still on our first tank on our v "two", but the dealer filled up the tank and reset the trip MPG and 47.7 average on 300 miles so far without running the air cond... Weather has been warm in Atlanta in the 60s/70s so battery and tires are working at almost at optimal conditions I'd think... Our local driving is able to work in "EV" mode quite a bit so I think that helps (up to 45MPH and keeping the fuel economy bar graph on the left in the middle of it's scale)... Nothing like watching the "EV" light go off, then seeing instant MPG go to 99.99...

Simply put, I am amazed by this car.

 

The EPA cannot anticipate the driving techniques and conditions of every individual buyer and location hence the "your mileage may vary" clause. If you're getting lower than EPA in your v then you either have something wrong like underinflated tires or you would be getting lower than EPA in any other vehicle due to your technique or conditions.

Try checking your tire pressure and combining trips to avoid multiple short trips which kill mpg in any vehicle.

 

When my wife drives it (90% of the time) she was getting 38 mpg but the 17 inch tires were at 32psi. When I was driving it I was steady at 42. After I put the tires to 40 psi she immediately went to 43mpg and I can now get 46 on a regular basis. The tires are rated at 55psi max, so I may raise it to 45psi and see what happens.


iPad ?

 

I'm a lead foot and got a little over 40 on my first tank. It was 20-40F out. I'd suggest watching some videos for driving tips. I'm showing 47 on the panel now so it is probably closer to 42-43ish. I'm still at 32 psi and considering a bit higher. W

 

CoteBlanc – My dear one post budding Prius Borg Queen, follow the Catgic “Into The Light.†You are driving a Pv5ATP Petrol Warfighter, it does not get better than that.

36 MPG after 3,500-miles and multiple Tank-Fulls means the problem “Ain’t with your stealth Pv5ATP,†but with you, who are still way down on the Learning Curve as regards learning to drive “Hybrid $mart.â€

While I expect your still cold wintertime Pennsylvania morning start ups will keep you from achieving the “stellar†55.9 AVG MPG I am displaying in my signature, you certainly can start logging 44/42/40 MPG EPA averages by putting a couple of my Ten Tips For Ultra-High MPG to practice in driving your new, Pv5ATP Petrol Warfighter.

Click on the e-link in my signature. Read and heed the tips listed there, which you can comfortably apply to your driving style and profile, and you will be seeing 36 MPG + 8.5 MPG = 41.5 MPG before you know it. lane:

 

My suggestion for trying to improve mileage starts with doing two things:
- Buffering
Try to drive with a buffer to the car ahead of at least 4 seconds.
The "two second rule" is just a minimum for safety, it's not for efficiency

- Anticipation
When driving, concentrate on driving and try to see as much as possible.
Keep your focus on the driving, seeing everything around you.
Look well ahead. See how traffic is flowing and behaving. See how tightly they're packed. See multiple traffic lights. See the light sequences.
Is a car ahead driving slowly? Maybe they're going to turn.
Look for cars coming out of side streets or from driveways into the road.
Look for pedestrians approaching crosswalks or side streets you're going to turn into.
Look for cars approaching from behind. How are they driving? How fast are they approaching?

Basically, try to see everything early and give yourself time to act instead of react.
If you do this, not only will you be safer but you will become a more efficient driver.
It also sets you up to be able to apply efficient driving techniques that you don't automatically pick up with anticipatory driving and means that when you do add efficient techniques they are less likely to distract your from what should be your primary concern: safety.

 

It's winter. Unfortunately, these cars do suffer substantial reduction in range when it's cold--if it were warm weather I would expect you to comfortably get 40 based on same driving, since you're in PA. And I know the winter hasn't been frigid but it does impact a good deal.

Also basically it's sacrosanct that the first 5 minutes in which the engine is warming up with suffer a major hit in mileage, so a lot of short trips are not good for it. I regularly see 25 mpg on my Prius for first 5 min bar and then a jump past 40 for the next 5, it's that severe.

As always, accelerate gently and try to maximize regen braking (which involves braking early).

 

I agree about varying mileage. We are conservative drivers and with our previous vehicles we got the rated mileage and then some albeit terrible mileage. And I check for proper tire pressures regularly.

I checked the fuelly site and the 43 v's reporting are averaging 40.2 mpg. Most folks owning a v are fuel efficient drivers and yet collectively cannot get the 42 mpg average.

This is not a knock on the v. It gets far better mileage than any other car its size. Twice any other vehicle we have owned. We are "very satisfied". I know we are trying hard to learn to drive it, but the rated mileage may be tough to obtain for some of us. There are just so many factors that need to be met mechanically (the ice starting & stopping), weather, location, driving needs, comfort, driving distances, driving style, etc. to get the 42 mpg average. Tough scenario for some of us. More so than any vehicle we have owned. Not sure we will get everything to fall in place for us to get the mpg rating with the v. That is why I thought the rating might be a little high.

I know for some of you getting the rated mpg and more hasn't been a problem. Maybe following your suggestions we will get there.

 

1200 miles in, mpg improving steadily, now 43-44.

 

I don't think there are too many factors that have to fall in place as you say. There are a couple of big ones but that is about it. Anything else should just push you higher than EPA. The three big ones are like I stated above, tire pressure, driving technique (which includes speed) and commute length. If you drive fast then even if you are "cautious" your mpg will suffer. Most people that are able to easily achieve EPA and better will have an average indicated speed of 55mph and lower. What is your average indicated speed? What is your average commute length?

I don't know if I would call most v owners "fuel efficient drivers". I have a feeling they are just normal people who drive. They may not be thoroughbreds but I doubt the general Prius v population is hypermiling their cars. Also keep in mind that many v owners are coming from larger very fuel inefficient vehicles so if they are withing 2mpg of EPA they will claim they pretty much matched EPA ratings. Well that 2mpg at 20mpg average is about 10% low. If you have the same 10% change at 40mpg then you lose about 4mpg. The math makes the Prius appear to lose more mpg but in reality the loss is still lower in the Prius when total gallonage is concerned.

400miles / 40mpg = 10ga
400miles / 36mpg = 11.1ga

400miles / 20mpg = 20ga
400miles / 18mpg = 22.2ga

I realize you're not slamming the v and it really wouldn't concern me if you did. I am more concerned that you made a big purchase and are not happy so let's try and fix it without forcing you to change too much.

 

I am consistently getting between 43 and 45 mpg in the V. It is cold in Seattle and I drive up and down hills. I don't speed. I got my first speeding ticket in 20 years driving my Prius V one weekend. I probably should not have bought a red car. I did not know I was speeding when the officer pulled me over. Since then I have been super cautious on how fast I am driving and it seems like my mileage has slightly gone up.

 

I'm thinking the 1.8L hybrid package was optimized for the 3rd generation package. Putting it in a bigger body may produce some MPG penalty, especially if people speed.

 

I did notice some degradation over 65 and a lot over 70mph. (first tank). My mileage (average for the tank) went up doing 64mph in light traffic. I don't watch the instant because I find it too distracting but I do monitor the power bar and try to keep it close to the middle or 1-2 bars over. I can say with certainty if it's driven as you would a normal car it does appear to get sub par mpg results. I'm in similar weather to PA and did just that on my way home from the dealer. (35mi). The other v in the family was driven as a normal car for a complete tank and got 38. With some instruction from the experienced here those numbers are going up. We are both first time hybrid drivers too. Sometimes it technique and not the tool. Try some ideas from catgic or seek out YouTube videos. They do help. W