Michelin Defenders poor MPG

Cool. Make sure you let us know how much difference there is in MPG.

 

Interesting info for sure, thanks for all the data. I believe once you get the Energy Saver A/S you should see better results. I have put around 2500 miles on the set I bought recently and have seen a great improvement over the original Integrities. If I apply hypermiling techniques and limit my trips to speeds where I can hypermile constantly I am getting well over the EPA estimate. Last tank came in at 56 on both the MFD and the manual calculation. I am aware of the bladder effect. Overall average since the change is 4 MPG higher than my normal average. I am on my sixth full tank of fuel now since the tires were installed. At 350 miles into the tank the MFD is reading around 65 and that is with a lot of hypermiling and about 70 miles of highway. Some of it is with the A/C on, some of it is off. I am running 40F 38R on the pressure. Click on my fuelly in my signature for more info. I post data with each tank in the info column if you are interested. I do tend to drive conservatively as I am retired and not in a hurry. At this time what I am doing is studying the MPG and will know more once I have completed a full year of time since the change. Then I will have a better idea of any improvement as we all know the Prius gives better MPG during the summer which is where I am at this time. But so far I can honestly say I have NOT seen a DROP in MPG which is very important to me. Best of luck to you!

 

priusgto,

Sorry to hear you don't like the Defenders. I absolutely love mine and suffered no MPG loss at all after the initial break in. Well, I am running Harmonies which is what the Defenders replaced. I got 178K on the first set and am about at 90K on this set. Would like to try for 200K from this set but I don't think Ema is gonna make 450K before needing an engine but we will see.

Happy driving,
Chris

 

Glad to see you finally got a set of the Energy Savers! I have no doubt you will like them. I have over 2500 miles on the new ones I bought a couple of months ago. The MPG's just keep getting higher and higher for me. Last tank came in at 64 on the MFD and 60 at the pump.

Like yourself I noticed a BIG difference immediately.

Best of luck to you.

 

Glad to hear you LIKE the Michelin Energy A/S! Keep a eye on the pressure and you should do fine.

You should see them improve even more once they are broke in. I did note a slight break in period with ours, but like you I saw immediate improvement. With 5K on them now, I am hitting mid 50's to 60 easily. Prius Michelin A/S (Toyota Prius) | Fuelly

Best of luck to you!

 

I too have recently put these Defenders on my 2006 Prius. My first tank I noticed over a 5 mile per gallon decrease. Am on my second gallon and am at about a 5 mile per gallon decrease. I am now averaging 40.2 mpg vs 45.9 mpg with a set of Cooper tires. I will be taking these back and getting the Energy Saver tire (hopefully). Pretty sad when you spend $500 on a set of tires and they decrease your mileage, even though the dealership stated these would increase my mileage by up to 7 mpg from where I was at. I will try to post at a later time if and when I get a different set of tires.

 

I have defenders and am averaging 45

 

I bought the Defenders a year or two ago, and had exactly the experience user DoRunRon described:

"Most here that have mounted the Defenders state the MPG drops and then comes back after several thousand miles. The tread compound is harder than most LRR type tires, but it is still considered a LRR type tire.

If you are looking for the best MPG go with the Michelin Energy Saver A/S or the Bridgestone Ecopia 422

The OEM Goodyear Integrity is not a good tire even though it came standard on the Prius. The wet traction is bad especially once they have some wear on them. They too are LRR type tires."

Was getting 47 mpg with the OEM goodyear integrity tires, am getting 49mpg now (within the margin of error for me, but it definitely didn't go down).

The Defenders have been great tires - they just work, no weirdness in handling, braking, they stop and start in the rain - they're just great. Will be replacing with the same tire whenever they wear out, though as they're noted as long lasting tires it could be a while.

 

I purchased The Michelin Defenders after looking up Tires on Their Web site. At the time I must have Missed the AS. Maybe too early to tell but immediately I noticed a BIG DROP (8 MPG) Went from 60.4 to 52.2 mpg... Now I found this Prius Chat and am learning about LRR and all. Soo what to do? only had them on 386 Miles.(3 weeks) It also got very cold here in the Mountains so I thought maybe that was it. One note, they are much more quieter and the ride feels softer but handles the curves in the mountains here great than the original Yokohama. Any comments, Help, Suggestions?

 

Give them some time? I hate saying that, seems like a tire store ploy. But they may come around with some break-in.

I just got a set of Defender XT for our son's Civic Hybrid. They're sitting in the garage right now, he's using Michelin X-Ice till Spring.

I've read mixed reviews on Defenders. His current all-season is Bridgestone Ecopia EP20. I know those are good for mpg, but they were getting pretty knackered, and for my son and his wife: mpg is not their priority so much. It's actually been tanking lately.

So they will be my lab rats, lol. I'll check with him after the Defenders have been on a while. They are highly rated for tread life, and have the GreenX label.

 

You will get different opinions but I would be happy with the defenders, especially since you like how they perform. LRR tires cost more and don't last as long, so the fuel savings are offset somewhat by needing to replace them sooner. The Defenders are rated at 90,000 miles and the Energy Savers at 65,000. I know it is fun to see that 60mpg but the colder weather is probably causing some of the drop and at today's fuel prices you are not spending much more on gas.

I have Michelin Harmony Tires on my 2010 Prius, the model previous to the Defender, and have nearly 50,000 miles on them with plenty of tread left. I am averaging no more than 2 to 3 mpg less than the original tires. Defenders are reportedly somewhat lower rolling resistance than the Harmonys.

 

Royrose
I tried something today on a short 20 mile in town trip. I kept the Heater OFF. Nothing ON. Temps are running in the Low 40's this morning and I was able to get it up to 55 mpg according to my screen. So as has been stated. I'll check my MPG Tank (I always mark it down according to the MATH (Miles /Gallons) . By the way most of the time is 2 miles LOWER than the Prius Computer. Thanks again

 

welcome! what pressure are you running them at? i don't know what else you can do unless the store will swap them. but the cold weather is definitely having considerable effect.

 

Only had them on 3 weeks now and I just said this morning with the colder weather coming in I better check the pressure. They should be at what ever Discount Tire put them at. (What's on the door) anything I should know about Tire pressure on a Prius. I run Michelin on my Tundra Pickup. (Great Milage ~ 22mpg ~ 16mpg towing)

 

it's controversial, some run them up to rated sidewall, but we have no objective testing. you might purchase a small compressor, or even a bike pump, and try experimenting the same route under similar conditions, with different pressures.

i pumped my energy savers up to 42f/40r but haven't noticed a substantial difference. i haven't run them on the highway though, might make more of a difference at speed?

 

That's typical

 

I find 40~42 range good when I've got 15" tires on, not too harsh. With low profile 17" I stay closer to spec., around 36 max.