Sudden drop in mileage

no offense, but i'm still trying to figure out what the problem is.

 

Cold temps, low tire pressure could account for it. In any case a one-time event isn't significant.

 

The sudden mileage drop you never noticed before in your other Prius v.

I have to agree that your sample size here isn't big enough to red flag this yet as a problem or just a happening.

This could be an experience, where YOUR experience is backfiring.

I personally try NOT to worry about the mileage I may get on any one given trip, or at any one given moment. It's how I average for the entire tank/month.

How's your overall mileage for a month in comparison to how it use to be?

Prius are great. But I think to make a generalization a majority of us are more attentive drivers than many of our auto driving brethren. So sometimes the amount of information The Prius actually affords us, about our driving, can lead to a level of undeserved paranoia about what is or is not happening on any single given drive.

I'm not saying you might not have a problem, but what I am saying....is see how it manifests over an average of a month or a few tanks, not just a single drive and a single section of a drive.

 

Headwinds, crosswinds, ambient temperature, heater temperature setting, tire pressures, load carried, humidity etc. can all have a small effect on mpg.

 

Headwinds, crosswinds, ambient temperature, heater temperature setting, tire pressures, load carried, humidity etc. can all have a small effect on mpg.

 

My vote is on the winds, head and or cross.

 

David,

I have owned my v for a little over two years and now have 26K mi on it. On a very few rare occasions, I have noticed some very odd behavior on my Scangauge. The computer will continue to charge the hybrid battery past 60% to around 65-68% while cruising on a fairly lever road at a constant speed of 60 mph. At the same time, the instant mpg on the the SG will jump to 9999. This lasted for a couple of minutes and the things returned to normal (mpg around 50-60 and the SOC back to ~60%). While this was going on, pressing the gas pedal did not increase the engine rpm (which was around 1400 rpm).

Based on my rare experiences, I guess it is possible that you had some momentary odd computer behavior that caused the mpg to drop on that particular trip.

Keep us posted.

Do you have a Scangauge? Did you see any unusual parameters?

Also.... Off the wall idea ... Is it possible you might have pushed slightly on the emergency brake by mistake by resting your left foot on it?

 

We are the happy owners of a new Prius V. We're just getting to know the car and have not even used a full tank of gas, yet. The last several times we've taken it out when I check the average fuel consumption, I'm seeing 24 or 25 MPG. We are in Minnesota and it is February, but still, this seems low. Do I need to drive in 'Eco' mode all the time to get the 40 - 44 MPG as advertised?

 

Eco mode will help a little, not a lot. Winter has a huge impact, MPG will improve significantly when warm dry spring weather arrives. It also takes a while to get accustomed to driving a hybrid. On top of that, there are many things drivers do that sabotage their MPG on regular cars, and it takes some time learn to learn better habits.

To give us more clues to help, read this questionnaire, then start a new thread, answering as many of these questions as you can:

Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new

The first link in the post leads to a dead end, so try here: Why Don't I Get The EPA Mileage?

 

Adding that in Minnesota, you really need a block heater.

 

I've had issues this season more with the winds, plus long idles during major icing. But I don't think my mileage has ever dropped below 32 or so, and that was short-lived. It's well below zero here this morning, so short trips would definitely impact mileage. 24-25 would indicate short trips with winds and very cold, or possibly a problem. My current tank is almost 40 average, and the cold has definitely returned.

 

with my 2010 Prius II, living in southern New Mexico at about 4300 feet elevation I receive a consistent 50 MPG, however on several trips into southern Arizona and California, as soon as I leave New Mexico the mpgs start dropping and bottom out at just over 40 mpg. As this happens on the same tank of fuel, same temps, same wind conditions, etc, and not being the fuel, why? As soon as I get closer to the New Mexico border the mpgs start back up to just over 50 mpg. The only thing I can see different is the altitude... The dealership couldn't come up with a answer... Anyone have this problem or an answer...

 

High altitude has helped mpg on all my cars, hybrids and nonhybrids alike. The thinner air produces less air drag, and also reduces 'air pumping loss' in traditional Otto cycle engines in nonhybrids. But the difference should be less than what you are observing.

 

Yes, mileage always improves at higher altitude. Has to do with drag and thinner air (less fuel used, less horsepower)

 

Short trips in cold weather are mileage killers. One simple tip, when doing more than one short errand at a time, go to the one that is farthest from where you start and work your way back, this gives the car more time to warm up, hence better mileage.