I was using trip "A" to keep track of my lifetime mpg, then I took my car in for the 5k oil filter change. To reset the oil maintenance screen you have to have the screen on trip "A". Unfortunately the technician accidentally reset trip "A", so I lost my information . So if you have just purchased your Prius and want to keep track of your lifetime mpg, please use trip "B" instead. Well, could have been worse. They didn't dent my car or run it through the automated car wash. OTOH, now I can claim that I have been getting 150 mpg lifetime and no one can prove otherwise!
Good to know. I decided to use Trip B for lifetime stats anyway, so everything should be fine. Of course if the tech hadn't reset Trip A you would've been OK too. Bummer for that.
I've been keeping a spreadsheet since day one which has two tabs, called "Trip A" and "Trip B". Each time I fill up, I'll reset Trip A after recording the particulars at the pump. The Trip B tab is used for short "experimental jaunts" to help me learn the most efficient way to drive. But oh, wait a minute, yikes! I just realized - I'm going to have the same problem when I get the oil changed. Even though I reset at each fill-up, when the technician dutifully resets the screen - poof - there goes one tanks worth of data! Thanks for the heads up. I'll be switching over to Trip B, at least for the upcoming oil change.
Hi Syncmacd, Have you asked the technical advisor at your dealer to know if these infos could be stocked some where in the car multiple computers ? I know for shure that total milage is already stocked in any brand of cars, maybe Priuses have more infos stocked.
A better approach might be to use one of the web based, mileage databases. In my case, I record the odometer reading with each record as well as the tank trip meter. By accident, I lost one tank trip meter but no problem, I had the previous ODO reading and continue. Bob Wilson
If (when) your 12 Volt battery needs to be disconnected for replacement you would lose A and B trip mileage, radio presets, etc. Might be better to keep it on a spread sheet or one of the on line services as Bob W. suggested.
That's what I do. The online sites will let you print out graphs of mileage and costs. I just write the mileage on the receipt and drop it in the center console. I enter the data whenever I have time. Sometimes several tanks at a time depending on my memory. Using one of the cars trip meters for lifetime mileage causes you to lose some of the fun of driving a Prius. I reset both when I fill up. One I let run for tank mileage and the other I reset before each commute or trip. It allows you to try and beat the mileage of the day before. It also eliminates that time near the end of a tank where it takes a long time to move the mileage up a tenth. Also someone correct me if I am wrong but doesn't the trip meter roll over to 0 after it reaches 9999?
Sorry, but it doesn't matter anyway. Track MPG for 10,000 miles and watch what happens. It settles, not changing much after that distance... so much so that the margin-of-error is larger than the actual MPG. In other words, on paper is the only true source of a lifetime value. Check out the spreadsheets on my website for detail. This graph shows the flatlining effect, which grows even flatter as the miles add up: .
Yeah, John's right. After talking with other Prius drivers, I added a new average to my spreadsheet for 12-month rolling average. It's relatively flat compared to the tank-by-tank but it's more dynamic than the Lifetime Average.
Most of the gas price forums have a fuel logbook/database. I use this one. North Carolina Gas Prices - Find Cheap Gas Prices in North Carolina Not sure if Idaho has one.
The technician who changed my oil on Friday managed to clear both meters. Next time, I'll record both figures before they touch the car.
What?!? Are you telling me that there's no way to actually keep a lifetime tracking of your mileage on the Prius?!?!?!?
The car doesn't have a way to do so. But I have never see a car that did, has anyone? As previously posted after a few thousand miles it doesn't matter anyway because getting really good or bad mileage for a few tanks isn't going to change the overall average enough to matter. If you really changed your driving style to get better mileage after several thousand miles you would probably want to reset the MPG average anyway. I do keep a little notebook in the car where I keep track of some of my better tanks and my trips with a few notes about how I drove. I think that will be handy if I make some kind of change, new tires, different tire pressure, winter vs summer, etc.
The original Honda Insight? My little notebooks keep track of the car's entire history. Same as the previous three cars, going back to 1984.
Oh you guys are talking about lifetime Gas Consumption MPG...NOT "MILEAGE"...right? I had always thougth "mileage" meant the actual miles on your odometer...not the fuel efficiency of the vehicle for its miles driven. Or, are you actually saying that the Prius doesn't keep a log of actual lifetime miles driven????
They are talking lifetime MPG not miles driven. The Prius has an odometer just like any other car. Couldn't be sold if it didn't.
