winter gas mileage

^^ How often do you reset the MPG display(s) / trip meter(s)?

I reset one every fillup, the other every morning at startup. The daily MPG provides much faster feedback to help refine driving style and monitor weather impact. The hideously low initial value also highlights the fuel cost of engine warmup and short trips.

If you don't reset the MPG display every tank, but use it as a longer term or life-of-car indicator, then it won't have a comparable history to the previous car and can't be used for comparison during the first entire year.

Higher tire pressure will help, but this is a matter of personal preference. Not everyone is comfortable selecting values different than the door placard recommendations.

The more braking you can avoid, the better. Braking regeneration is not very efficient, merely better than the 0% efficiency of other brakes. Do remember that once the HSI bar is pegged all the way to the left, any additional brake pressure is not regenerative, and this limit varies with speed. DWB -- Driving Without Brakes -- doesn't mean not using brakes, it means trying to avoid burning the last fuel that was consumed before that. Always use the brakes when you need them, but review the last fuel burned to see if there was a reasonable way to avoid it without interfering with safety and traffic.

Cabin heat costs fuel. I use a ScanGauge to monitor engine temperature, rarely turn on heat before the engine is warm, and never set it above 60-something. While waiting at the first stoplight, before the engine is warm, I'm also taking steps to make sure the ICE shuts down despite being cold. But drivers with different cold tolerances in different climates will have other preferences.

If your 2011 has any particular problems causing it to produce lower MPG than your 2010, it isn't showing in your posts.

 

ScottN, we get that you went from a 10 to an 11 and they should be the same mpg to the extent nothing has changed. You can play with psi and brake use and climate control and improve results, but we are not yet helping you with the change in mpg.

I would check battery voltage (12V) as it is possible you got a dud.

It is also possible you need a throttle body cleaning or have too much oil or wrong viscosity oil etc.

Nothing seems highly likely to me yet.

 

The weather today was sunny & warm with temps around 50F. I filled up our Prius & even with my winter tires from my Corolla mounted which weigh 42 lbs & have 205/55R16 winter tires, I got a computer readout of 55.7 mpg over the 40 miles we drove around looking at land & homes. I reset the tripmeter when I filled up.

 

I reset everything every time I fill up so I can have a decent comparison. I will watch the cabin temps a little closer, but the next few days the highs are only in the 30's, so that might be a challenge. I will have to see about getting the battery checked. With my first fill up I added a can of Techron since I do that about once a year to try to help keep the fuel system clean. I have the reciept showing that the oil was changed with 0-20 syn, but who knows for sure what they put in it. Thanks for all the posts and suggestions.

 

I just filled up today and got 49 mpg last week. We've had a mild winter so far in SE PA--mostly 40s.
I've been doing a lot of that pulse and glide--at all speeds, not just up to 41 mpg. By that, I mean pulsing the gas pedal regularly instead of maintaining constant pedal pressure. I think I'm doing a few mpg better this way.

 

The Nokian snow tires alone will drop your mileage, along with all the other factors.

I'd chime in on getting the block heater and grill block. For tips on the latter:

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...62556-2010-prius-grill-blocking-strategy.html

I also keep a bit of tubing on year round here:

 

235 miles and mpg guage is indicated at 55 mpg when we returned from our trip to Portland Oregon via hwy 26, elevation to about 1,600 feet or so. Temps were 39-46 degrees and the roads were relatively dry.

Three adults in the vehicle, speeds at speed limit or slightly above. Gas is Costco Regular with 10% Ethanol and winter blend.

I believe wet roads and rain have more of an effect on MPG than temps.

alfon

 

alfon, that would depend on the amount of wet, the amount of cold, the trip length, etc. Once you become a warm, wasteful engine on the freeway, a little cold is not a huge deal. On short trips at low speeds, cold is a very big factor compared to a wet surface.

 

In the summer, I was getting close to 600 miles in a single gas tank, but now I'm getting slightly above 500 miles (that's what the cluster says when I fill up the tank).

 

Left from Seaside to Longview Washington my wife and I and I reset
trip B. Round Trip was indicated at 55.5 mpg for approx. true 52 mpg, 138 miles.

Temps were in the mid to high 30's, roads were mainly wet with light rain at times.

Gas was regular grade with 10% Ethanol and winter blend.

Driving mode was mainly highway and with about 15 % city driving.

Speed were at or slightly above speed limit, max 55 posted limit.

Our car has over 67,000 miles, Michelin Energy Saver Tires, all 4 max 44 psi, 195x65x15. Oil is 0w20 Mobil One with only 4 quarts in the
crankcase so not to overfill.

In summer with temps 60 F plus mpg calculated would be about 58 mpg.

One more thing in the last 7 days gas has increased nearly 40 cents
per gallon. The lowest price I seen gas during the entire trip was at
a cut rate station self service in Longview Washington that was $3.859. Most gas stations are at $3.99 / gallon. So $5 per gallon
may only be a month away.

I have never in my 61 years seen gas prices this high in February.

Be happy you have a Prius