January MPG Averages

Benevento-
I can help you out with this. If you want to maximize your mileage, here are some tips that allow me to get at least 58 MPG on every tank and a record of 65 MPG. These same strategies are employed by many others including the hypermilers that got 110 MPG for 1397 miles on a tank of gas last weekend. They took it a little farther with thinner oil and higher tire pressures but the principles are the same.

1 Set tire pressures to 42 psi in the front and 40 psi in the rear.
2 Use Mobile1 in the crankcase and only use three quarts which will put the level in the middle of the safe range.
3 When possible, accelerate without assistance from the battery and electric motor except at the very start of the acceleration.(up to about 10 mph) Accelerating with no arrows going to or from the battery will improve your mileage.
4 When coasting, apply enough pedal to prevent regeneration, thus increasing the length of the coast. Shifting to neutral helps some of us do this without having to feather the pedal for long distances.
5 Set the AC on auto and set the temperature just low enough to blow cold air on you, turning down as needed.
6 Combine trips when possible.
7 Brake slowly and steadily. Try to anticipate stops to prevent coming to a full stop when possible. Remember that the regeneration during braking is limited to the rate at which the battery can accept a charge. Above that the friction brakes come into play. The regeneration is only about 50% efficient at best so reduced braking through anticipation will improve mileage.
8 If you use these strategies in warm weather, you can expect around 55-60 MPG at speeds of 60 mph and less. At speeds in the 30-40 mph range and with minimal hills and stops the mileage will range from 70-100+ MPG.
9 Many short trips will prevent great mileage performance due to the inefficiency of the warmup cycle.

On the paint issue, it is my understanding that the newer auto paints from all the manufacturers are less durable due to increased standards required by the EPA for VOCs.

The battery is fine and you will not need service if you try the tips that I've offered here. Please come back and tell us if you try these things and how it works out for you. After doing these things for awhile they become so natural that it seems as if I'm not trying any more.

 

The EPA ratings are fiction for any vehicle. I have NEVER acheived the EPA rating on any vehicle I have ever owned. With my 2000 GMC Sierra, I got substantially less than the EPA rating.

I just got back from a quick road-trip to Rochester MN. My mother had an operation at the Mayo Clinic, and she didn't want to fly back. So I drove from Winnipeg down to Rochester, spent the night, and returned the next day with her.

I drove the speed limit the entire trip, with the cruise control on and with the A/C on. From Winnipeg to the Warroad, MN border crossing the speed limit is 100 km/h or 62 MPH. From Warroad to International Falls, MN, the speed limit is 55 MPH.

I topped off in The Falls as I needed a coffee and weewee break (The two are distinctly related). According to the MFD and confirmed by the fillup I got 52 MPG U.S. gallon or around 61 MPG Imperial gallon.

South on Hwy 53 until Virigina the speed limit is 55 MPH. From Virginia it's divided highway and you can drive 65 MPH. I bypassed Duluth by taking Hwy 33 through Cloquet, which joins up with Interstate 35.

On I-35 the speed limit is 70 MPH. Except for a brief stop at a rest area about halfway between Duluth and St Paul, MN, I stayed on the road at the speed limit. I took 35-E through St Paul and branched off at that confusing interchange to take Hwy 55/52 to Rochester, which is 65 MPH.

I got into Rochester with a little over 1/4 of a tank and topped off. The higher speeds I "only" got 49 MPG U.S. gallon or around 59 MPG Imperial gallon. I had almost exactly the same results on the drive back to Winnipeg.

There is something wrong here if I can drive the speed limit and get those numbers. I'm running Michelin Harmony all-season tires at the factory-recommended inflation 35F/33R. Have you had the alignment checked?

Winnipeg gets colder in winter than you do. We had plenty of -40 weather in Dec, Jan, and even Feb. Co-workers of mine have cars like Chevy Corsica, Saturn SL-1, and one drives a 2004 VW Golf TDI. We've even started a little office betting pool of who has the best fuel economy that week, and I always win.

In summer unless it's super hot and I'm running the A/C full blast, my MFD claims 3.8 litres per 100km, or 74 MPG Imperial gallon. That's during my relaxed commute at 70 km/h or 42 MPH. The Corsica with V6 is kept very well maintained and uses at least twice the city fuel, usually more. The VW gets around 5 MPG less than I do in city driving.

On the highway, My Prius gets almost twice the fuel economy of that V6 Corsica. Usually, the Prius and the 2004 VW Golf TDI are tied in summer highway fuel economy. I wouldn't put up with a 5spd in city traffic though, and if you get a VW TDI with the automatic you lose substantial fuel economy.

At -40, when I was "only" getting 9.8 litres per 100km, I was still happy as I knew it was many times what I was getting from my 2000 GMC Sierra under similar conditions (Around 4-6 MPG if I was lucky). Under those conditions I was getting almost 3 times the winter city fuel economy as the co-worker in the Corsica, and around 5 MPG more than the VW TDI driver. That is, when he could get it started. Diesels don't like -40 too much.

So with the results from just my co-workers, I very much doubt a Saturn or a VW TDI will have the same or better results. Cold weather, especially -20 F or colder, will kill the fuel economy of any vehicle.

BTW: -40 on the highway, my 2000 GMC Sierra never got more than 13 MPG.

I find it very hard to believe you would buy such a car. I'm practical to the nth degree, but if something rubs me the wrong way I hiss like my cat and walk away.

I guess "annoying" is subjective and I have no answer. But how is it "unsafe?" Mine has VDC, chest and head side airbags, brake assist, etc. According to the EU NCAP offset crash results, it's one of the safest vehicles of its size to be in an accident.

Run a few ads and you may very well be able to. I bet somebody in Michigan or even further afield would love a Salsa Red. The Prius looks very sharp in that color.

 

With a Prius that will cost you MPG, sometimes it will cost you substantially. Don't take off full throttle, but healthy acceleration is good.

I wish all cars had that feature. Especially in city driving, door dings are a fact of life. Plastic skinds also help with rust in winter if there is a lot of road salt in use.

 

Unless you drive down a lot of hills, that is an indication that you do not anticipate stops and use your brakes quite frequently. Take your foot off the accelerator and coast, when you anticipate a stop. You'll get to the red light a few seconds later, but your mileage will improve considerably.

 

Right you are. My bad I was trying to type too fast.

I noticed an improvement in fuel economy around 10,000km and another improvement around 17,000km. Certainly much better than new.

Feel free to visit me in January!

I think I have the "perfect" commute: my condo is around 10km to downtown, and most of that drive involves a posted 70 km/h with 6 stoplights in total. Only hitting downtown do I have to deal with traffic jams.

It was pretty rough last winter after all the blizzards when the snow routing closed many side streets. Way more cars were jammed onto my road and a 15 minute drive ended up taking 45 mins. That stop-n-inch at -40 just kills the fuel economy, I "only" got 9.8 litres per 100km.

I've found rather minor differences in such higher pressures, and it's not worth having a bone jarring ride for 1-3 MPG.

I've had 3 U.S. quarts of Mobil 1 0W-30 in my Prius for about a month now, and have not noticed any difference in fuel economy. The exception is that the first 1-2 mins of driving seems a bit smoother and the starting MFD will only dip to 15, not 25 like it did before.

I think a synthetic like Mobil 1 0W-30 will benefit most in winter, especially at -20 C or colder. The oil is proven to have much less drag at those temps than a regular 5W-30.

Jay

 

Thanks for all your suggestions for improved mileage. I will definitely try them.

It's a little off topic, but someone questioned my remark that the Prius is annoying and not safe. Yes it has many safety features, but my remark is based on:

1. Visibility out the rear window is terrible. I even took the headrest off the driver's seat so I could see out the back (or the left rear window) better. Yah, yah, I know. But in 50 years of driving I've never been rear-ended, but I back up every day. I'd rather risk a neck injury than back over a kid on a trike.

2. Some Toyota lawyer determined that the GPS should be given a lobotomy when the car is moving. Who's kidding whom? One can still push about 50 buttons even with the GPS disabled. And the irony is that you (or your passenger) can't put in a POI or address while the car is moving except by voice command (which doesn't work most of the time), and icons don't show up except on the half-mile (or some small) scale. So if the next rest area or restaurant is 20 miles away, you have to tap the screen 15 or 20 times (while watching the screen instead of the road), instead of the GPS just giving you the information. Is there anyone out there that thinks that is safer? Yes, I've ordered the defeat mechanism from Coastal Technology, but they haven't delivered in three months.

3. The passenger window is great. You push the button and it goes up and down. Push it longer and it goes up or down further. But the driver's side has been made "safe" with an automatic switch. Which means that if you want the window open just a little bit (it's cold up here in the winter), you have to push the button up, then down, then up, then down and WATCH what the window does (instead of watching the road). Not a big deal, but "annoying" and "unsafe" like I said.

Remember when cars just did what you wanted them to do, go from point A to point B? I guess I can't claim that the Prius is unsafe, but annoying? Absolutely. Is this a car or a mother-in-law?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Benevento\";p=\"116746)</div>

Just about every hatchback and SUV has poor rearward visability, I think it's the nature of the beast. Ironically, my Prius at work resulted in a co-worker purchasing a Nissan Murano SE with the Technology package.

The guy was blown away by the Smart Entry system but "needed" an SUV. So when he discovered the Murano he bought it. One thing I like is when you engage reverse in the Murano, the center LCD displays a fisheye camera view of the space behind the Murano.

Note: the screen will display "Turn and Look Before Backing" in a bright yellow bar at the bottom of the screen.

I wish the Prius had the rear camera at least as an option.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Benevento\";p=\"116746)</div>

This is Corporate CYA and every manufacturer does it. The co-worker with the Murano complains about his navigation system all the time.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Benevento\";p=\"116746)</div>

It took me about a week to get used to the Auto driver window. My 2000 GMC Sierra SLT had an Auto driver window too, but it required a MUCH firmer push to make it work. So much so I just held my finger on the button instead of dealing with it.

I've found the Prius window buttons respond best to a very light touch. So I just rest my arm on the door armrest and lightly press the button.

For parking in Winnipeg during winter at -40, I rarely have to open the window anyway. My condo has proximity cards issued to all tenants, so once you drive past the sensor the garage door opens. At work is a swipe card, but the underground entrance is well shielded from weather.

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Benevento\";p=\"116746)</div>

Those days are long gone. Thanks to idiot drivers, class action lawsuits, and well-paid lawyers, we're going to have to get used to even more invasive "safety" systems.

Personally, I'd wish they would just take the next logical step and fully automate the highway system. Then we could just sit back and let the car do everything while we read the morning newspaper.

 

Well, I'm not sure about 2003, but the 2005 Murano my co-worker drives absolutely has the backup camera. It's only available as part of the pricey "Technology" package, $3,600 Cdn, which bundles the navigation system with the backup camera.

I looked around a bit and here is more information:

http://www.nissan.ca/en/buying/configure/d...odelCode=L6SG15

I actually like his Murano it's a very stylish and nice ride. Get this, he can MANUALLY adjust his Xenon headlights to just the right cutoff angle! I seem to recall autos from the UK having this feature.

Especially in the optional Glacier Pearl, his Murano looks very nice. He's been out to my hobby farm a few times with his wife and I like riding in it, the back seat is comfy and it gets decent fuel economy (For an SUV). The rear windows seem to do a much better job keeping out hot summer sun than the Prius does.

One thing I found odd about his Intelligent Key system is that you have to press the black button on the door handle to lock OR unlock. I was quite used to feeling the bump on the inside of the door handle to unlock, so that takes a bit of getting used to.

 

Remember that the only way to get Intelligent Key on the Nissan Murano is to get the SE version: you have to take sunroof, leather seats, HID headlights as well.

The MSRP here in Canada of a "base" Nissan Murano SE is about $47,600. If you want that backup camera, you must add the "Technology Package" which is DVD navigation as well: $3,600. So your Nissan Murano ends up costing around $52,500 Cdn.

The SL version can be had for about $41,500 Cdn. Of course, no leather, no sunroof (Optional), no HID, no Intelligent Key, etc. But both have side and head curtain airbags, the SE adds stability and traction control.

Rather expensive, don't you think?

 

I agree the Nissan Murano is an extremely competitive vehicle, especially with the SE and Technology Package. The co-worker at the office loves his Murano, and it looks sharp in Glacier White.

If you have to haul around a bunch of kiddies and have to worry about winters like here in Manitoba, the Sienna AWD is hard to beat.

That said, my worst winter fuel economy of 9.8 would still be better than the best fuel economy you could hope out of a Sienna AWD. And with "proper" dedicated winter tires, my Prius happily blew the doors off any 4x4 running "all-season" tires.

 

I was averaging about 44 mpg during the summer here in Illinois.
The temps have dropped..its down into the 20s...and so has my mpg..about 36.
This typical?
Thanks.

 

We are in NH, and it's now in the 20's, or lower. However, our mileage was good at the start (around April), when we were averaging in the upper 50's. Since about September, the mileage has been dropping steadily; last tank was about 40.5. This is NOT what we expected when we bought the Prius, and we are strong supporters of hybrid technology. I don't know what to tell you.

 

I suspect it's normal. Every car I've owned has had a drop in mileage in fall and winter. In San Diego my normal commute went from 52 to 44 with the temp about 57.

 

My TDI is still getting around 44 mpg with temps from 5-25 degrees. Summer is usually around 46-47 mpg so my TDI doesn't take that much of a hit.

I have a feeling many new Prius owners are disappointed with their winter mileage but are afraid to admit it.