I know that when the engine is broken in (after 650 miles) you start to get better mileage by just a tad. But, I would like to know when do you REALLY start to notice the increase in MPG and effeciency? When does the car operate to it's fullest? Please let me know. My car currently has 802 miles on it!
I started really noticing a differece after about 7000 miles, when the transmission started to loosen up a bit. mwbueno just posted something on the Prius-2G group stating that at about 30,000 miles, he's still noticing gains as the car continues to "break in".
OH YAH! POST LIKE CRAZY! Actually, it isnt a very controversial or big subject. Anyway.... I guess the hybrid synergy system is always getting better MPG as time goes by (this is good for USED car buyers of the prius). Well, I am very busy now, but when I get my new camera I am going to film a little short film about the prius, promoting it and showing off to future purchasers to show them how "it doesn't need to be plugged in", as well as other interesting info about the car! Look forward to the video coming to my website soon (http://www.pizcofilms.com)!!!
Pete, I noticed a marked improvement right around 5000 miles. If you go over to Jason's GreenHybrid.com site and look at the mileage database you'll see that I had something like 8 consecutive tanks of gas that showed improved mileage. Temps were up, but not enought to account for the improvements I saw. Things seem to be stablizing now at around 55-56mpg for my routine driving--I'm right at 8k miles now (time for an oil change).
Do you use cruise all the time? I do, my average is about 46 mpg but I think that's because my trip to work is only about 7 miles and I usually have to stop at a few stop lights and signs, so more hitting the gas. I also notice it doesn't like to run on EV at speeds under 30 or so, nd many of the roads have a 25 mph limit. I do notice the mpg cimb when I take longer trips, depending on the kind of driving. The highest I've gotten then is 48, though the car was full of 800+ pounds of people at the time. Anyway, I'm happy with what I'm getting, since even if I had higher miles with a longer ccommute, I'd still need to use more gas to get there, right?
I just reached 5000mi and registered my highest tank at 51.7mpg so far. it just keeps going higher a tank at a time!
You'll notice the biggest increase in milage when you've taught yourself to drive efficiently. The Consumption Display is useful as a training aid. Keep the blue bar as high as possible and avoid aggressive driving.
