New car , first Toyota, first hybrid - help!

Yes, to avoid getting hit with unwanted music and noise at the next startup, and climate control loads that mess up my intended engine warmup cycle.

No.

 

My brother in law who lives in Michigan only gets about 44 mph with his 2010 Prius. There are two strong factors that maker it hard to do better in Michigan - the 70 mph to 80 mph speeds on the super highway and the colder average temperatures.

Since your commute is so short (1.8 miles/trip) I would argue that on your commute you might avoid going over 40 mph to avoid hard accelerations. Hard accelerations will push the Prius' MPG down. What is a hard acceleration? When the Prius Hybrid System Indicator Display bar goes pass the *eco* capsule - you are likely accelerating hard. The only other thing you should do is check your tire pressure and make sure it is properly inflated at 35 psi /33 psi (cold).

If you can bike or take mass transit to work - you should. In fact, if you could safely walk to work - you should. Walking rather than driving to work would be healthier - physical activity keeps the body in shape as well as lowering your carbon foot print than if you drove a private vehicle to work.

For short trips - an electric vehicle like the Nissan Leaf has a lower carbon foot print and the ROI is favorable (when compared to a hybrid, plugin, or conventional gas-diesel vehicle).

Disclosure: I personally drive my 2010 Prius in normal throttle mode - right now in the summertime for the first five minutes of driving from a cold start in the morning I'm getting about 32 to 42 mpg on my 2010 Prius. - my tires are overinflated at 42/40 psi. I have a 16 mile commute (32 miles round trip commute). I've design my commute route so that for the first 5 minutes it has a PSL of 25 to 30 mph (three stop signs and two traffic lights) so I'm driving under 20 mph for the first minute and under 25 mph the first 3 minutes and under 30 mph the first six minutes .. my fuel efficiency is higher than most because I'm hypermiling. How much better can I do than the EPA rating? ... when driving conditions are very favorable I can get up to 80 mpg on trip or 75 mpg on a round trip... but none of this is normal...

 

I guess it is, mine doesnt do anymore at all.

 

You mentioned battery rarely exceed 3 bars right?

What's happening us that, ICE generates very little power during the warmup. Battery is used more aggressively. Once the warmup is over, battery gets recharged back to the original level. That's if you drive long enough.

If ICE does not get the opportunity to recharge it, the bar will get lower and lower. When it gets too low, Prius will cancel the warmup and make more power (resulting in more emission without hot enough cat conv).

All those result in lower efficiency due to conversion loss (recharging battery) and abnormal ICE operation.

Try another approach and see if it works better for you. After you start the car, let it warmup until ICE shutdown. Now, you are in stage 4 where max efficiency can be achieved.

There will be some conversion loss when ICE charges the battery during warmup but it is much less than the bigger draw from driving it (would have to recharge back).

 

As another Northerner, I concur. My lifetime average is 44. I get closer to 50 when it's warmer, and closer to 40 when it's colder. I have the advantage (over the OP) of never doing short trips. Everywhere we drive is 5+ miles and usually more than15 and includes 70mph highway travel.