Rural Mail Carrier seeks advice on Pruis

Yes, I'm beginning to think the EV mode is not relevant for increasing efficiency on the route. It's not worth experimenting with IMO.

By coincidence, my wife's route changed to all paved roads recently, so hopefully will cut down on the excess dust she had previously.

We are keeping the Dakota in 'ready mode' for the same reasons, and the fact the county doesn't exactly keep the roads plowed in our area.

Had I not run across this forum the notion of ever using a Prius may never have been considered. This will be an interesting test. Taking notes....much appreciated.

 

EV mode only works for a limited time due to battery capacity, so not much use on a mail route where you may make hundreds of stops. You'll also likely cause it to disengage unless you start up gently (not something I see my mail carrier doing, they're usually in more of a hurry). It doesn't even really help mileage, and may even hurt (it's less efficient to discharge the HV battery in EV mode and then recharge it, than generate power as needed). Let the hybrid system decide when to run the engine.

Sounds like you already bought one, but there are other hybrids out there you could have considered too, though none quite reach the Prius in MPG. But any of them may be well suited to mail delivery since the regen braking in all of them should be ideal for that kind of driving.

 

If your new purchase works out for you, and I expect it will, you may be in the market for a used Prius v in about 3 years, best of luck with you new car.

 

Congrats on the Gen-II Prius purchase and I hope you like it as much as we do. I don't think you need the EV button, unless it helps you sneak by the noisy dog on the route. Lots of tech tips here about how you can do many settings tweaks mods and fixes.

 

Thanks all again.

We've used several different cars over the years. I expect the Prius to perform reliably based on my previous experience with Toyota's, albeit not on mail routes.

The problem is there are few and far between choices these days as the shifter on nearly all vehicles is in the console. Nobody at the office where my wife works likes nor uses RHD for whatever reason; she says they like to have their mail on their laps.

I was not able to locate any hybrid cars other than the pre-2010 Prius that doesn't crowd out the console area.

As there are (or were) 750,000 rural mail carriers it is surprising no auto mfr offers 'carrier friendly' vehicles including non-RHD for those who don't want that option. Perhaps it is because of warranty worries, but as carriers use them anyway, they (carriers) know which ones work better than others. In any event, there is a huge market being ignored.

It looks like pedal extensions may be required for the Prius. Any suggestions there? I found this place: pedal extensions - extender selections They look pretty simple, but frankly I don't have the time to spend making.

 

Ok, first day on the route.
I reset the mileage. My wife drove 53 miles, averaged 31.9 mpg. 8 of those miles are the drive to the office.

I was expecting better than that, but of course the best method is to fill up, drive empty and fill up again. Are the MPG readings accurate on the Prius?

Now the money question. Is there a technique experienced Prius drivers on mail routes use to maximize fuel mileage?

She does like the car and now others are in lurk mode.

 

For slow driving with A/C running, that sounds not too far off the mark.

 

Hello michiganmailcarrier,
I welcome your wife to Prius mail delivery. After 145,000 miles (60% mail miles) in four plus years, I can tell you that starting with a reset makes it hard to get a reliable mileage reading. If I fill up on the way to work the average mileage will be lower than actual mileage. Rarely does the MFD match the calculated mileage (welcome to guess guage and the fuel bladder). Driving while off the route will bring the mileage up to normal.

Questions; How many stops are on the route ?
Did she use the A/C ?

The best method for mileage on the route is to accelerate moderately between boxes then allow regenerative braking to slow the Prius before applying brakes. She will generate a lot of little cars on the display, that is normal. I have had mileage in the low 30's but usually in the winter with the heater, lights, defroster and snowy roads.

Her mileage should improve as she becomes accustomed to a new vehicle and all the mail in new locations.

Good luck to her and goodbye to stacks of gas receipts.
Jerry (check your visitor message, thanks)

 

I believe she said over 700 boxes, but some are multiple in a few places. It's a lot regardless....whew. She used to run 6 days, now is 5. No dusty dirt roads on this route.

She said occasional A/C, but really shouldn't need it much the rest of the week with highs in the upper 70's. We're seeing a big departure from June/July when it was very warm.

I have gently reminded her that coasting is the biggest saver, but that also means longer days We'll see.

What would you say is your average mpg in warmer months without A/C?

 

Hello again, I see a heavy "L" route for her. Our temps have been 100 to 105 forever. The mileage drops in severe heat to the high 30's without A/C. The A/C runs off of the hybrid battery and then the engine runs to charge it back up which lowers mileage. Officially, the cooling for the hybrid battery is the vent by the right rear door ( don't block it). The battery cooling fan runs and pulls cool air from inside the car to the battery. Well, with the window open there is no cool air in the car, but the fan doesn't run that much in the 90's; it has been running a lot in the 100's.

I have hypermiled the route and had over 50 on the mfd, difficult and slow. What I propose to her is not coasting, just accelerate enough to get to the next box (like a normal car) and let off the gas to shut down the motor. My route time is as fast as the Jeep if not quicker. The electric motor has all the quick you need from a stop. The ICE (Internal Combustion Engine) doesn't have great low rpm torque so it needs the electric motor to get the car moving. My daughter kills mileage by constantly moving the accelerator to stay on speed (darn that digital speedometer).

The ideal temp for mileage is probably 70 to 80 degrees. My normal mileage in a normal summer is about 38 to 40. Fall and spring are the best mileage temps. I dress warm and run the vents to warm the mail hand and feet in the winter.

There is a simple solution to the turn signal that uses a 3/16" rod and a few zip ties to lever it over to the mfd. Good luck, Jerry

 

Ok, as you said there appears to be a large discrepancy between the MFD and actual, probably due to the type of driving she does. Today I filled the car after 220 miles. About 50/50 between her work miles and normal highway driving errands etc. Her route is 44, total is 53 per day. So, 106 for work purposes and 114 'other'.

It took 4.6 gallons topped off. That is 47.8 mpg. The MFD said 37.8.

I've done literally dozens of mileage tests on various cars so understand the issues with getting correct fuel mileage numbers i.e. ethermal expansion etc., and this was just a preliminary test, but we are in awe if even close to 47.8 combined. Wow.

BTW, what is MFD? You also mentioned the "fuel bladder"???

 

The Multi Function Display is in the center of the dash shows mileage, GPS, Phone, Climate, etc.

The 2004 to 2009 North American Prius have a bladder inside the metal gas tank to reduce the gasoline vapors, improving emissions. One side effect is that it is more flexible when warm So the size of the gas tank varies with the temp at which you refill the tank. In the dead of winter you may find you have a much smaller tank.

This means a 10 tank running average is much more accurate than a per tank reading.

As you already discovered, whatever the true number, it is better than any other car.

 

I have a 1999 ford f150 that has a right hand drive conversion kit that i use on the mail route, am looking toward a Prius, but must have no later than a 2007 I think for conversion. there are 4 conversions at my PO out of 10 carriers.

 

2004 through 2009 ("Gen II") Prius should be identical for drive conversion purposes.

 

So far not many things I can complain about. I am getting great MPG. I have only owned the car for about 2 weeks. I might just use my truck when it rains or snows. Which Prius do you own?

 

I have the Prius C which is the model that doesn't have the big console in the middle. Maybe the older models are different.

 

2007 liftback, that's all they made back in the day.

 

Who installs them? Car dealerships? What if I just wanted the pedals and not the steering wheel.

 

A GPS Navigation system can potentially save gas for a Rural Mail Carrier by preventing missed turns and optimizing routes.

 

Oh!

Jerry's mail delivery system seems well-organized and efficient.