Why am I only averaging 30 MPG??

I know what it is. People are making it complicated.
lets see
You say the tank shows half full.
And u already drove 150 miles.
U think u have used up 5 gallons of gas for 150 miles? that 30MPG.
Though your indicator showed full your car did not have a full tank. Its amazing to see how the fuel gage starts droping after driving 100 miles.
So u actually used up only 3 gallons of gas thats 50MPG

 

It's too bad the OP hasn't showed up to answer our questions. I'm curious as to the outcome and how much our tips helped.

 

Kathy- The Prius fuel guage can be very misleading. I've had my car now about 4 months and I just hit the 5K mark. At each fuel fill up I track the ODM reading, gallons filled, etc. I typically fill up my car myself since I live in Washington; however, last week I filled up in Oregon where they have gas attendees (required by law). During this fill up I noticed the pump would only allow 7.2 gallons before shutting off. Thinking this was odd- especially since I had only one blip on my guage- I just went with it (typically when I fuel up the car I get about 9 Gallons). Sure enough when I powered the car up the guage said it was full. At 1/2 tank I had gone 150miles when typically I get around 300. Then I knew the gauge was giving me a miss-read.

Advice- fuel up the car slowly (second knotch from the top on the fuel pump). If you can pump the gas yourself then do so. These tank bladders can really mess with the Prius's fuel guage and therefore with your MPG calculations...



b

 

My bet for Kathy's low mpg is caused by short trips.

Ken@Japan

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Kathy_23 @ Jul 4 2006, 05:07 PM) [snapback]281122[/snapback]</div>

As a newbie Prius owner, my guess is similar to AAWADKE and Erik's posts: the dealer probably didn't give you a completely full first tank of gas.

I just filled my new Prius for the first time and I was really surprised when I squeezed 9.5 gallons in at the 375-mile mark, so the yield was only 39mpg when the Consumption screen was reporting 50.1. I only expected to fit 8 gallons in there, and that's a bigger difference than I expected. I don't think I was intentionally cheated; I'm betting that the dealer filled the tank quickly, and the bladder didn't stretch to its full capacity...thus 'shorting' me by a gallon or two. Sure, the pips were all lit on the gauge, but the pips can be misleading.

I'm not going to worry about it for now; we'll see what the second tank brings. Of course, as miserly as this car is, it'll take another two weeks before I know! I now wish I'd topped off my tank at the 100-mile mark or so.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Snooze Button @ Jul 16 2006, 12:08 PM) [snapback]287151[/snapback]</div>

Since is seems that you didn't start out with a full tank, you shouldn't be dividing the miles driven by the number of gallons you put into the tank. Instead of "Miles Per Gallon," you're calculating something like "Miles Per Gallon that could have been in the tank." Wait until your second tank before evaluating your mileage.

 

Well, I managed to get my consumption screen to show 37 mpg in the first 25 miles of this tank. Never been below 46. How did I do it?

First, I gassed up in the valley and then drove home so I had to pull a hill. And I did it at 65 instead of 50, accelerating almost the entire time. Then I took a lot of short trips so the car never really had a chance to warm up. Then I drove 72 mph on the freeway to my parent's house. By the time I got there, 37 mpg.

I then reset the screen and drove home conservatively. (This includes the very same hill only at 50 mph with the cruise control this time.) By the time I got home...48 mpg.

 

Release the parking break :lol:

 

2. Remember that, when the last bar on the gauge starts flashing, you must buy gas. (Sorry for the digression, but new owners often falsely assume that they have at least 10 or 20 or 50 miles of gas left in the tank at that point. The gauge is not linear but it *does* know pretty well when the tank is nearly empty.)[/QUOTE]

"The Book" and general postings says that the tank holds 11.9 gallons. I have never put more than 10.2 in the car, and have driven some miles past teh flashing point. I can safely assume that when my car's gas display starts flashing I have 50 or 75 miles or even a hundred left to drive.

 

"The Book" and general postings says that the tank holds 11.9 gallons. I have never put more than 10.2 in the car, and have driven some miles past teh flashing point. I can safely assume that when my car's gas display starts flashing I have 50 or 75 miles or even a hundred left to drive.[/QUOTE]
Holy Thread Resurrection, Batman! You do realize that this thread has been dead for 3 1/2 years? I don't imagine the OP is sitting around waiting for an answer.

Tom

 

Since I am new to this group, I wonder if anyone is still looking at the question, but I have to try. My new 2013 Prius 4 has had 13 tanks since purchased. I have not counted on the computer to give me REAL mileage counts. Since purchase, the highest "ACTUAL" mileage was only 40.37 MPG. That is what my calculator divided Miles by Gallons to the hundredth read. I kept track because I have had so many Prius owners telling me how wonderful the car is because of the phenomenal mileage. I hoped they were not wrong, but the only people who can realize the 50 MPG touted are the ones who do not even see a hill driving to work.
Sorry folks; I have a really pretty Prius complete with heated seats For Sale. LennyG

 

Lenny, This is a 2006 thread about a 2006 Gen 2 Prius, in a Gen 2 Forum.

You have a 2013 Gen 3 Prius with a problem somewhere. Start a new thread in the right forum if you want help, Try to include details. (If you just wanted to whine that the car failed to make you a better driver, you did that)

 

Whatever happened to Qbee? Still lurking or did he point his boat to sea and cast off?

 

He posted as recently as Valentines day 2014

 

Oh good. Tom was OK.