So Calif owners, what's your mileage?

1. U must hand calculate.

2. Mileage varies widely. Cant stress this enough.

3. PWR mode is better overall. ECO engages the ICE for longer.

4. If uve done everything u can check ur engine oil level that its not overfilled.

 

That is what you can expect. These high figures are not the norm.

My wife drives she get 45-48 mpg. I drive I get 52-56 mpg.

If you drive normally you can expect 45-50 mpg real world. Remember in Calif and other states your gasoline is cut with ethanol which is a 2-4 mpg hit.

alfon

 

My car just passed its one year anniversary, and I use trip B as a lifetime MPG gauge. I'm at 46 MPG.

This includes the first 6 months living in a very hilly area, and the last 6 months in a neighborhood in a flat area. My trip A (reset when I moved) is about 48 MPG. So your living in a hilly area is hurting your MPG.

When I first got the car, I drove it like an old lady (leading with chin in this forum ), never accelerating too quickly, staying in right lane and not going over speed limit on highways, etc., and I was able to get ~50 MPG.

To be honest, I got tired of obsessing over MPG (and being tailgated all the time ), so now I leave it in ECO by default and drive in what most would consider a normal way.

Still, my 48 MPG is 3X - 4X what I was getting in my last few cars, so I'm not complaining.

Also--keep in mind that the MPG on city streets is slightly better than highway, so your 75% highway is negatively impacting your MPG.

Last point--many of the hypermilers pump their tires up to 45 or 50 PSI, which will modestly improve MPG, but I tried 39F/38R and the increased ride harshness--and more importantly increased interior rattles/squeaks--wasn't worth the trade off.

 

46-47 isn't bad at all with lots of hills.

 

Also 75/25 (freeway/city) here, used to run mostly on ECO for the last 2000 miles, but now I just run it on normal; A/C 90% of the time or so lately. I don't drive on a hilly area like you though, mostly on the 10/5 freeways and lifetime average so far 50.2MPG. Barely any difference in MPG for me between ECO and normal mode because I keep the A/C on the minimum setting and around 72-76 degrees. If anything, normal mode has helped me "get up to speed" quicker so i can glide, where with ECO i had to slowwwwwwlly get up to speed probably consuming more gas.

No data available with Power mode, rarely ever use that.

Edit: 46-47 on ECO on the hilly simi-valley/118/101 areas is EXCELLENT. I'm averaging 50.2MPG in pretty much flat areas with psi at 40F/38R.

 

The computer shows 48-50 MPG. Daily commute is 90% on I-5, mostly flat, never with traffic.

 

First 5800 miles at 49mpg calculated - 51.2 computer. I use normal mode - do not like eco at all. Hills will kill the mpg & over 70mph - and a cold engine. It's getting warmer and that helps. Keep the tires up about 4 lbs above the book.
Oh, and find a big truck or bus to draft on .. no, maybe better not.
Bart

 

I've had the car a month, and drive almost exclusively in Power Mode. With my first tank I purposely did not attempt to drive any different from my previous non-hybrid car, and I got an average of 44.6 mpg. That's almost twice the mpg from my previous vehicle.

With my 2nd tank, I am still in power mode all the time, but I am trying to be more aware of my driving to help save gas. My tank is almost gone and I am at 51.3 mpg average.

I do mostly freeway driving, but not too many hills, and plenty of traffic (drove almost 5 miles on the freeway in EV mode before the battery got too low and kicked be out).

I am confident that I could get 55 mpg or more if I really work at it, but I am happy to be bringing in 45-50 mpg without having to drive like a grandmother.

 

Point 1: I have noticed the vehicle does pretty well calculating consumption but you must subtract 5% from the readings to cancel out Toyota's "marketing error".

Point 3: You mention that "ECO engages the ICE for longer" can you provide some data to back that up? I had not noticed that at all and the information provided by Toyota when the car was introduced indicated that the only difference would be throttle pedal mapping and more economical AC operation in ECO. Have you heard something different?

 

Here in Israel I drive mostly hilly and very congested roads and get about 37-38 MPG.
My last tank had a lot more flat surfaces and I improved to 43.8 MPG (my previous record being 40.2 MPG).
I believe under very good circumstances I can hit 50.
In any case bumper to bumber going up a steep hill is a MPG killer.
Danny

 

Which part of Southern California is that?

I'm at 12,000 miles, and have calculated my mileage since the first fill-up... and have only managed to hit 50 on two fill-ups since last October. The 45 MPG I get is even with my tires inflated to 45 psi...

I've gone through the seven stages of grief and am now at acceptance...

 

West LA... (Brentwood, Beverly Hills, etc...)

 

I'm getting 43.7mpg according to the computer....my best has been 47mpg according to the "B" trip computer. I'm in the SF Bay area, and have about 3600 miles on my IV. I leave it in ECO all of the time, and usually drive alone. I guess I have a "lemon" on the MPG Prius. Or the Solar Roof extra weight sucks down some MPG?? I don't know.

 

What mileage were you expecting and why? We know nothing about your drives. If you want mileage help and an idea of whether what you're getting is "normal" for your conditions and drive, please answer the questions at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-answer-these-questions-esp-if-youre-new.html.

 

Try raising your tire pressure, maybe try 40F/38R or slighty higher, 87 octane Shell and use normal mode with AC on lowest fan setting (if you use AC). Or maybe you live in the hilly SF area or something... no open windows on freeways either.

 

I never drive with the windows open, actually, and have 3M Crystalline® Tint on the front windows. I keep the air conditioner on usually (at 69º...68º if its over 80 outside). I was going to raise the tire pressure....but have just been enjoying that nice ride compared to my previous MINI. I just hope increased pressure doesn't increase road noise. I do get the hills sometimes when I head into SF or drive to HMB...but generally on the 580 so not too much there. I use Costco gas at 87 Octane usually. I don't hall around crap, and usually am driving alone. We'll see how I do once I bring up that tire pressure. I hate doing math, so I only go by the computer in the Prius.

 

I read a thread somewhere on this forum that AC temp actually affects MPG. Someone did a test with AC at 76 vs 74 and other settings and MPG decreased noticeably as temp went down. I try to keep mine at 74-76, cool enough for me.

As far as the tire psi, I haven't *really* noticed a lot more tire noise. More than anything, it's the rattles that get to me... more psi = more rattles!

Lastly, and people can flame me for this one... I have always noticed a MPG difference between gas brands. For instance, in my '05 Prius I put 84000 miles in two years. Yes, I drove to the ends of the world with that thing. When I put Chevron 87 with AC, I averaged 42-43MPG. With Shell 87 also with AC, 45-46 MPG. Same EXACT scenarios, I did that over 84000 miles and know it's true. I suppose the Techron kills some MPG, who knows. On my BMW, Chevron 91 gave me about 19 MPG and Shell 91 about 20-21MPG; put 60,000 miles on 2 years...tried and true for me again.

Point of the story, try pumping another brand for a few tanks, see if it makes any difference. Sometimes a certain station will have old/stale gas so if after a few tanks nothing is happening, try another station...preferably Shell, I'm biased from experience.

 

I think if you locate some of Bob Wilson's data you will find he did record differences in mileage between gasoline brands. As I recall Standard and Shell both did pretty well. I usually buy Costco around home but normally get Standard or shell when I'm traveling.

I have not noticed an undue increase in road noise due to high tire pressures, different road surfaces are quite noticeable though. I was on a newly blacktopped section of road today for 10 miles or so and my car was virtually silent.

I too think low AC temperature can be a mileage hinderance, I'm an old desert rat and I don't mind the heat so much, I usually set mine at between 77 and 80 degrees. I find it helps to aim the dash vents directly at me, it seems to feel cooler with a warmer temperature setting that way.

RedBack, if you can take the time to peruse this fuel economy forum you will pick up enough tips and suggestions to help you get your mileage up over 50 MPG in no time. The Prius is a different beast and requires a little different technique to really get the most out of, but if I could do it you can too.