Hello, We're the happy owners of a new Prius v and I'm very glad to discover this forum for support. We've only had the car for a few days and a bit of driving in town but are very pleased so far. Mileage isn't great yet (seems to be about 7.2 L/100km, which is about 33 MPG, but we've had fun watching the EV kick in from time to time. We'll have the opportunity to try some highway driving later in the week and will see how the car does there. The dealer did explain that it takes a while for the mileage to really kick in, and we know that with winter tires and our cold weather (-20C today) that we shouldn't expect great numbers yet, but I see that other members here have all kinds of tips and tricks to offer. Looking forward to discovering these. Is there a central FAQ to consult? The only oddity so far is that the tire pressure indicator has come on. Again, the dealer said this might happen because we had winter tires installed when we took delivery and he thought the sensor might get confused between the winter tires and the summer tires (which were in back of the car). So back to have him check it tomorrow.
Pairing TPMS to two separate sets of tires seems to be a black art. We had a new set of TPMS installed in a set of winter tires/rims last year, and saw intermittent TPMS alerts after the summer tires/rims were rotated back onto the car. The TPMS alerts only stopped when the winter tires were re-installed this winter. Yes, it turns out the dealership never successfully paired the summer tire TPMS to the receiver...
Good to know. So I suppose I can ignore the warning light, though it's kind of irritating to see it there. And I suppose the only way I'll know if there's actually a tire pressure problem will be the old-fashioned way.
DavidS27, I'm curious - did you get an Engine Block Heater in your Prius v? if so, have you been using it? Depending on your morning travel distances, the EBH can help in very low temperatures.
Unfortunately, we don't have access to a power outlet where we park, so a block heater doesn't work for us. We don't commute by car, though, so it's not a major issue on a daily basis. I'm able to live with the fact that on very cold days mileage isn't going to be great but am certainly open to other tips to improve it generally.
Well, today is slightly warmer (only -15C) but much better mileage on two outings. For one, got 3.1 L/100km (75 MPG) and for the other 4.3 (55), which both seem quite excellent for a brand new car in cold weather. What I don't have a sense of yet is what the variation from day to day is actually attributable to - duration (and so opportunity for engine to warm up), traffic vs. no traffic, city roads vs. highway, speed, etc. Certainly once the engine had warmed up - after about 20 minutes - the EV indicator lit up when stopped and shortly thereafter would kick in for speeds under 70 km/hr. The scientist in me is definitely curious to get a better understanding of these variables to see how to maximize mileage. As always, tips and tricks are welcome!
This thread might help: Max MPG Driving Techniques Youtube Video | PriusChat Typically short trips are worse than longer trips, steady driving is better than stop and go, but slower speeds are better than faster speeds. And of course cold temps are rough, as you've discovered. Its worth noting that these things affect all cars, you just tend to notice it more when your mileage swings from 35mpg to 45mpg vs. 17-22mpg For your climate, you might want to read up on grill blocking. This can help a lot particularly in city driving, so the engine doesn't cool down as quickly every time it shuts off. The "v" forum is great, but there is a lot more traffic volume over on the "gen 3" forum and most of the info there will be applicable to the v. Welcome!
Thanks for the welcome and the links - and yes, I understand your point about the mileage swings. My old car did shift from about 33 mpg to 29 with the seasons. And thanks too about the other forum - hadn't thought to check there but that makes perfect sense.
We've had the car for a few weeks now, and after a mix of some city and highway driving we've filled the tank twice. By my calculations we're getting about 5.7 L/100km, which is about 41 MPG. I am hoping this will improve somewhat as we move past the break-in period - and as we get into warmer weather!
I wonder if the ATEQ QuickSet could help you solve the problem with the TPMS. It lists up to 2012 only, but hopefully it would work for a newer one. You'd need the sensor IDs of the set you want to swap in. (It will read the IDs currently programmed in the car.)
Thanks for the suggestion - it looks like the problem was really just having the second set of tires in the car. No problems since then.
Welcome davids27, -20c, you must be in Calgary, Edmonton or a major city in the east. Just guessing of course, you will understand the Prius and get great mileage......enjoy.
The Prius will see greater swings with the seasons. It's amazing what a mileage bump you get once the thermometer rises above 0°C. Below 0°C, even with grille blocking, I'm sitting above 5.0L/100km per the car's readout but above that, I start dropping into the 4s. Currently sitting at 4.2L/100km per the readout (probably 4.5L/100km calculated).
