2012 Prius v versus 2014 Prius v

Tires, tires, tires. Pump them up for starters, throw those cheap OEM tires away if you want to get serious. Also be aware that it really does take a few thousand miles for it to loosen up.

 

What you had on the old v was pretty good. The Energy Saver A/S is the best for mileage, but not the best for winter traction. I doubt that tires alone will get you from 32 up to 45 mpg, unless the OE tires are really low on pressure. Use ECO mode and keep the heat set low.

 

I can see the tires accounting for a slight decrease in MPG, but what you are describing is pretty drastic. Tires alone won't account for the discrepancy.

 

That sounds way out of line ... tires aren't likely to fix it. Have you tried to calculate MPG manually? Your computer might have a problem.

 

Fuelly.com is showing the same down trend for the 2014

 

Toyota Prius v MPG Reports | Fuelly

Not quite as bad as 30, but still lower. Granted, winter was a little harder this year too since 2014 came out.

 

Wouldn't most of the fuelly checkins so far be weighted towards winter driving? So you probably can't compare them until after a full year of availability.

 

Totally agree, I have the same tires and I get an average between 43 and 48.

 

Wheel alignment ?

 

I don't think tires or wheel alignment would cause such poor mileage. First, how's the engine running? If it idles and runs well, then the engine is probably not the culprit. Next, after a drive, check your wheels for excessive heat. Carefully touch all four wheels on a metal part like the lug nuts. If very hot, you could have dragging brakes or a bad wheel bearing.

 

Just got a v Five with Toyo tires. In a week of mixed driving, I started with 27mpg and have slowly climbed up to 43. Have not checked the pressures in my tires yet. Weather here is mild - Southern California.

 

How could Toyota deliver a car with tires that seriously compromised the EPA mileage? Can you read class action!!!!

The Original Poster was an experienced v driver so we can assume he hasn't changed his habits and is probably being even more conservative in his attempts to duplicate his previous mileage.

He is confirming the dash readout by using fuelly.com. They are close so the miles per gallon average he is reporting here must be close to true.

A letter to the dealer including the fuelly reports, copy Toyota starting to build a case for lemon law? Document any and every discussion and trip to the dealer attempting to resolve the issue. Make sure the dealer enters the requests into its computer system.

For what it is worth (not much) I have achieved exactly EPA numbers on my 2012 v3 and have since the odometer showed zer0. And even in a very cold winter the numbers didn't drop by more than a single MPG. I don't do anything special, just drive it a bit gently in ECO mode. No pulse and glide, no super pumped up tires, just drive it as I have the last 30+ cars I've owned.

Since no one else has reported a similar experience, we have to assume this specific car has some sort of a defect.

Does it seem to always run with the engine on? That is the only thing I can think of that would affect MPG by as large a percent as you report.

Good luck.

 

Got a v2 in mid March, now with about 1100 miles average 51 mpg in mix urban/suburban/freeway driving. I still have the oem tires pumped up to 44/42 psi. It is a nicer ride compared to my Prius 2006, which we still have with about 137k average 55 mpg, and tires at 44/42.

I will add that we use Chevron gas and found Exxon gas gives us less mileage and Shell about the same. We use Costco infrequently so don't have a good reading.

 

I have over 30k miles on my 2012 Prius v (lowercase v for the Prius v wagon) wagon package 3. It never averaged better than 39 mpg here in the central coast of California where the weather is perfect year round and that is not accounting for the discrepancy in the speedometer accuracy, it is usually off by 3 mph going 75 mph. I drive it like a normal car, doing 75 mph on the highways. Mixed driving, mostly highway. I don't over inflate my stock tires for the sake of extra mpg, just what the factory recommends.

51 mpg ?, I would seriously like to see proof of that many miles driven and the average, not what you got in the last trip down the hill , please show me the trip computer with those total miles driven, even on 1 or 2 tank full.

 

Ok, here is the display pic, it only has 1743 miles and it is 52.9mpg. I drove the first 500+ miles and my wife is the regular driver. She drives about 60 miles roundtrip in urban to freeway to city to get to work. We're in Cypress NW Houston, so she takes hwy 290 to west loop into the Galleria area. It's not a particularly good drive now that road reconstruction/expansion is going on, 5-year project started in about 2012. But her route the speeds vary from 40-75mph, she typically drives less than 70mph on the freeway.

I expect it should get better based on my experience with my gen II '06.

 

I need to see the trip A or Trip B total mileage displayed with the average mpg, not with the ODOMETER mileage.

52 mpg is pretty darn impressive though for a heavy wagon. the best we ever got is 39 mpg average. I have owned 3 2nd gen Priuses, by far they have always gotten 47-48 mpg at best.

 

Mine's inching past 40 mpg now, and it's been in the 40's and 50's mostly, and I still have snow tires on. I really suffered no drop in mpg when I switched to the snow tires from the Yokahama LRR tires. You can notice the extra stickiness when the temps are in the 60's though. Time to get them off.