Prius c only getting 43mpg avg

This is the link to the web site. The Prius C Est MPG is 53/46 per Toyota.
Toyota Prius c - 2012 Performance & Specifications

 

And it can also be found at Compare Side-by-Side.

 

My gen 3 IV w/ solar 51/48 in all my driving, part city, part highway, part stop and go traffic, and part hills and part flat averages 50 MPG on a full tank of gas. I can't complain. That is perfect and meets all my expectations. It is also in line with the manufacturers claim. I like the car so much that I think the next one I will get the PIP perhaps in 3 years.

 

If you’re getting 43 than you should check a few things out. The most obvious culprit is underinflated tires. We had a similar Chat with someone and he went to pep boys and purchased a tire pressure gauge and discovered his pressure was low. He inflated and achieved his 50+ MPH. Other obvious thinks is try and drive with the windows closed, no roof rack, keep weight very low, get a good quality gas from a reputable establishment and watch this video on hyper mileing techniques. This guy is funny also.

 

Yep.

ALL cars suffer from this. The thing is, some cars have no trip computer nor any sort of instantaneous FE feedback. And, some people never paid ANY attention to their FE on their previous car. The other thing is the the problem created by measuring mpg instead of gallonage. See Car and Driver: Mileage? No, it's Your Gallonage that Really Counts | PriusChat.

A "drop" or shortfall from 50 to 40 mpg results in a smaller gallonage difference over say 100 miles than a drop from 20 to 18 mpg. Yet, someone who experiences a "big" drop from 50 to 40 mpg will notice yet the 20 to 18 mpg guy might dismiss his drop as noise.

Over 100 miles, the gallonage difference is 0.5 gallons for the 1st case and 0.56 gallons for the 2nd.

There's more to blame than winter fuel: Why mileage gets worse in winter | PriusChat.

 

This video is more instructional.

 

To get the EPA avg, you'll have to change your driving style. Driving "normal", which I take it as you're driving like you did with your previous car, will not yield optimal results. A few small changes to make: accelerate moderately; anticipate when you need to slow down and lift your foot off the accelerator to take advantage of coasting; slow down a bit, especially on highway. Most drivers I know only know "go" and "stop" when they use the gas and brake pedals - there is actually a lot you can do in between without slowing or impeding traffic. Assuming everything else is good (tire psi, no left foot braking, etc), driving style will have the largest impact on your mpg's. I rarely use ECO mode in my 3rd gen IV - I switch normal or power mode and still get 52-54 mpg now consistently.

 

To successfully operate the C for maximized MPGs, you will need to "get your mind right."

Leave early for work. Turn down the heater as much as you feel you can. Drive fairly normally the first several minutes to get the battery topped off and to warm up the engine. After the car is warmed to about 145-158 you will be able to easily slip into EV.

The mph's 31-37 will be your constant companion. You will always be at the back of the pack, until the next pack comes up from behind, and until they all pass you as you go 35mph in a 40-45 zone. Get used to seeing people pass you...even old blue-haired grannys will pass you.

Ease up to the lights whenever you can and be still moving when they turn green. Don't rev into the red zone when you leave the light. Let off the gas and get the car into EV before you crest a hill and let EV take you over the top and down. Remember to let the people go around you.

You'll wind up 6-10 (or more) car lengths back from the guy in front of you so you have that distance as a buffer zone. You'll use that zone when you let off the gas and ease up the lights real slow so you will still be moving when the light turns. Get used to people pulling into that zone. Let it slide, continue to stay back. Be heartened in the knowledge that those people will soon go on around the guy in front of them and will leave your zone quickly enough.

Did I mention to get used to people passing you? Daughter's hands used to start to shake and she'd get crazy eyes when she tried to do that. She's better now.

Repeat after me, "I am not in a hurry. I don't care that people pass me. MPGs are my life." Repeat those steps and that mantra until you reach the zenith of your abilities. At that point, you may resume your previous life at whatever level becomes comfortable. You may wind up going faster, but you will not be as big a jerk as you used to be. You will be a changed driver.

Enjoy the drive.

 

You're lucky when people passing you.

I got a lot of tailgating, horn, flash, finger from my rear view mirror, ... because they don't want to pass me, they think they own the lane even the others around are empty and I have either drive faster or move away.

 

I know what you mean, I am always courteous to others and drive on the right lane. I try to at least do the speed limit. Yet I always getsome douchebag who thinks he owns the lane, instead of switching to the left lane they find it funny to ride my butt and flash their lights. I even had some guy get off his truck and started walking towards my car at the red light. When he got close enough that he saw I was in full Police uniform and turned back around. It depends were you live I guess. Some places are better than others. Big cities make it hard for you to take full advantage of this car. Mainly due to the type of drivers you encounter. Ironically this car was made for the City? Lol. With that said my lowest full tank MPG has been 49 and highest 57.

 

I had something like that happen just yesterday. This huge Tacoma was right on my butt as we waited at a red light. Light turned green and all three lanes started out... I wasn't going *that* slow, but he stayed right on my bumper then leaned on his horn, tore into the other lane and raced away as fast as could. I had to laugh, though, because at the very next light, less than a mile away, we were side-by-side. I so wanted to get out and ask him exactly what he accomplished by getting to the red light first.

 

He gets the satisfaction of beating you to the next red light. While you get the satisfaction of getting three times the distance on a gallon than him and still make it to your destination not much later. I think some people drive like that because they just wish they had a Prius and have to release their frustrations by driving like a jackass.

 

I go even slower. Eventually they can't stand it and will pass you. At the least, I stay the same speed. I rarely go faster as that only encourages them.

It's my road, too. As long as I'm not a hazard to navigation and not breaking any laws I pretty much do as I wish. Of course, I'm 6'2" and 240, too. I don't much care what those other guys think.

 

Oh, I never let another driver intimidate into driving faster than I want/need/must... and certainly never let them force me to exceed the speed limit. My road, too, indeed, and I was there first! Most especially if it's a three-lane road and I'm already in the far right (they call it the slow lane for a reason) lane. Honking, flashing your lights, gunning your engine, riding my rear, not going to intimidate, only going to make me laugh at you. Besides which, while I might accelerate slower now than I did in the past, I rarely travel at less than 2-3 miles under the speed limit, and then usually only because I am approaching a turn or red light - the rest of the time I will drive the speed limit, I just don't achieve the speed limit as quickly as the cars around me.

 

I am almost always speeding, going 2 - 10 mph over the speed limit. Most roads are 35 - 55 mph limit, but sometimes I get on the highway where it's 60 or 65 mph limit, but generally won't go over 70 mph. I think speed in itself is not the main culprit for disappointing mpg's, but what you are doing between 0 mph and 70 mph. My friend bought a Prius III shortly after I did and complained about getting only 42 mpg. After taking a short ride with her, it was easy to see why. No amount of explaining how some simple changes to her driving style helped - she didn't get it. My neck was sore afterward though being snapped around as her foot was either on the gas or the brake pedal.

 

Oh, sounds like your friend and my husband should drive together. He reads about hyper-miling techniques, or just good C habits, and says "I already do that" and the next time he drives he's topping out the red on every acceleration, and not removing his foot from the gas to break until he's about 4 car lengths from the red light.

 

On my current tank of gas, I've managed to be the only one to drive the car so far... a week in and my tank average is well above 70.