Hello all. We leave to go back down from NY to our Florida home in Leesburg early Friday morning. My 2007 Prius is all clean, and I believe ready to go. It has exactly 58,000 miles on it. I did the following; 1) All waxed, vacuumed, with windows spotless, etc. 2) Michelin Harmony tires are good, with the front 43.5 psi and the rear ones are 41 psi. 3) Checked the air filter, (clean) and cleaned the MAF sensor with the correct spray. It did not look dirty, but it was easy. 4) Changed the oil filter and oil with new synthetic 5w-30. 5) Checked the wheel bearings and wheels for any drag. All good. 6) Installed a new Optima battery on Christmas day. 7) Checked the cabin air filter. Good. 8) All lights are working well. 9) Took off my front vent foam blockers- will not need them anymore this year. I am hoping to get some good gas mileage this time, I've been struggling with low, (like under 43 mpg's all winter). I do not expect great mpg on the trip itself, because when driving I-95 down the east coast, I seem to go fast. I usually drive about 9mph over the limit. Sometimes that is slower then normal traffic. Hey, if I get stopped, I could blame the gas pedal....right?? (Just kidding) Is there anything I'm forgetting? Thanks again for all of your good help. I love my Prius, but wish it got better mpg...I'd wet my pants if I ever hit 50 mpg in normal, non trip driving. I am getting tired of friends being worried about us because we own one of those "death cars".........kind of putting a damper on my "Joy of Prius" feeling. Frank D.
Well, we made it fine......as I knew we would. I avg'ed only 41.5 mpg, but it rained almost all the way to South Carolina, almost 900 miles. Also, traffic was heavy and the flow was about 10mph over the speed limit, so some of the time I was doing about 80-82 mph....probably averaging over 70 mph. I now must drive daily to Tampa and back, so we will see how those daily drives will be. Thanks, Frank
Glad to hear the trip went well. That mileage is about what I get from Colorado to Oklahoma. It will be interesting to see how much better it gets on the commute. Good luck!
Glad you made it back safely Frank; you were well prepared. If you can drop the speed and watch your mpg rise
Well guys, I've been in Florida for two weeks now, driving from Leesburg to Tampa and back. It is 85 miles each way, and most of that is driving about 80 mph to keep up in heavy traffic, then less when getting closer to Tampa. The total mileage for the two weeks was 1640 miles. I averaged 44.1 mpg. I reset things, and now I will see how things are for normal, slower, around town Florida driving. Thanks! Frank
Really? I thought that 43.5 in the front and 41 in the rear was high, especially when driving hundreds of miles in one day......what is the optimum tire pressure then for good mpg without hurting the tires? Frank
