Tires pressure

although the car has tpms, the best way to go about this is to visit your local auto parts or hardware store and pick up a tyre pressures gauge. this will allow you to check the actual pressure (cold) and confirm your fears. then you will need a compressor to add pressure to your liking. all the best!

 

Yup, just standard gauges ought to do the trick? What was your tire pressure beforehand? I've been doing 42/42/42/42 and that has worked well for me. Keep in mind the temperature is getting colder now and that will affect your MPG and tire pressure too.

 

Lower tire pressure increases the rolling "drag" and will definitely affect your mileage. I run mine at 40 psi all around, and my Prius gets 48-51 mpg average. Check your tire pressure if you aren't sure what it is.

 

....we're getting lousy MPG this tank, but its just all short trips in bitter cold weather.

 

there's a thread here on winter driving. grill blocking is one intervention that some people seem to think helps.

 

If it helps at all it would only be at speeds where wind resistance takes over as the major factor in fuel useage.
That probably happens somewhere around 25-35 MPH so......if most of your driving is at relatively low speeds, it probably won't help at all.
The cars with that feature don't close the shutters until a certain speed is reached.

 

Grill blocking isn't just for aerodynamics, its also to help the engine warm up faster, which is why they're used more in the winter.

 

get a tire pressure gage and learn to use it; the tpms is not a test of pressure, just a 25 psig limit.
one tire can be at 35 psi and another at 28 psi so one can have a bulged sidewall compred to the other but because both are above the 25 psi safety limit alarm so no alarm. but its important to have tires on the same end of the car be the same. Tire pressures must be incresed/decreased to match. And both front tires should be 36 psi so make them the same. 36 psig front and 33 psig rear is agood start.
Tire pressure certainly affect mpg; if you want to maximize mpg with cornering 49 and 36 arebetter.

 

I'm not sure the low pressure threshold is hard coded to 25 psi. I've read it's tied into what you've set TPMS pressure at, ie: if you've set higher pressure, the low pressure threshold will rise. Maybe by some percentage?

 

Go to your local COSCO club store, at C.S. counter ask for a daily pass if you are not a member. Then take your Prius to the entrance of Tire Center. Ask them to check fill your tires. They use Nitrogen. They can discover things about your tire pressure an owner cannot visually see.

Free service... Why should you squat or bend down to fill? I VOTE for Free Air for all automobiles. Free is great

 

No offense, but why not become educated with regards to some aspects of your car? There are bad people out there who will take advantage of unsuspecting/ignorant people for their financial gain. With some degree of knowledge/basic understanding, you'll be able to defend yourself.

Costco membership is required for a day pass. A free trial pass does not exist.

Tire center will allow one to fill the air themselves. Just ask one of the techs if you can use their air inflator.

Checking tire pressure, engine oil level, air filter, brake fluid level, coolant level is easy and near fool proof. When checking tire pressure, you can also see the condition of the tire treads. Using a good quality tire pressure gauge (preferably digital) allows one to "see" what the pressure inside the tire is. It's not magical and you will have the same ability as tire service personnel to check tire pressure.

 

When we went to an new owner night, the service manager shepherded us through the service bays, and at one point got kinda religious, saying something like: " you should never have to pop the hood".

Yeah, who'd want to do that?

 

The air is free. Compressing it is not. Someone has to pay for the compressor and the energy to run it... ;-)

 

Chevron still has free air up here. That's one reason they get my business. The competitors all have coin operated machines. Penny wise, pound foolish?

 

California law requires all gas stations to provide free air & water for paying customers; fair and reasonable. Stations that have coin operated air/water machine are still bound to provide free air/water for paying customers.

Stations are supposed to have a sign posted that says this, and a contact info to a State department if a consumer has issues w/ a station.

After a horrible experience getting a gas station to comply w/ California law, I now carry a 12V air compressor in the trunk.

 

How's chevron down there? Same as the rest, or?

 

I like Chevrons overall too. Maybe b/c of the "techron," and the animated cars commercials. Generally have cleaner bathrooms vs other stations.

Some Chevrons have a truly free air/water machine. Others have a coin operated air/water machine; however, the attendant will give you a token for air/water if you purchased gas, just ask.

 

Cheaper than Texaco, but still more expensive than necessary.