Possible undiscovered performance and MPG issues with Prius v (lowercase v)

I never said change it late, I said leave it for the Toyota recommended interval which is 10K miles.
Not "scientific studies" but there are (Google) references to running an engine in on the internet, some say leave the oil until the first service, some say change it early (mostly US sites) to get rid of the contaminants and others say any contaminants big enough to cause damage will be caught by the filter so no need. One or two mention that changing the oil early or even using synthetic oil with its better lubricating properties will slow the bedding in process.
e.g.

Frequently Asked Questions | Honest John

 

I have “trailer” Prius v5 2014
average MPG indicator is about 8% high. I get 35-36 mpg (ave indicator is 37-38) no matter how I drive. its as if the car is programmed to deliver 35-36 mpg
Southern California driving

 

Krill, you have probably done most part swaps any Priuschat member ever did.... I do not know what else could be the cause. Body? brakes? Alighnment? Is there any way to check what plant the car was built on ? I think there are 2 plants in Japan that make Prius
Alex

 

Aha. So this is a Franken-Prius v?

 

Wow! That's a lot of work! I was surprised to see you have the larger and much prettier wheels on your v since you seem to be all about the mpg. Beautiful car and good work for the Prius community

 

I have some simple questions, but I will avoid the backlash.

 

wow, that's a lot of work.

 

Maybe not all of the vees like the air in Los Andgeles, and some areas are hillier than others. Also, some of them were made specifically for trailers.

 

Maybe this has something to do with the "trailer" vehicles:
Toyota Recalls 109,000 Prius Vs for Stalling, Hybrid Failures – News – Car and Driver | Car and Driver Blog
and the ones you swapped out were the same

 

Maybe mine's starting to go. My last tank was 46 mpg, and I'm over 50 mpg now after 180 miles, 90% highway driving too.

 

Mileage on a per fill up basis varies according to when the fuel shut off occurs. Just after you get a very high number tank, you will often get a low number. For example, my last 2 were 63 and 25. All you should do is look at long term averages, a single tank can vary too much depending on how much actual gas got into the tank.

 

63 and 25?!?!?

 

Yeah, huh!

63 I think is impossible for a v to average for a full tank, and 25, heck my wife can't even get as low as 25 and she tries hard. Lol.

 

63+25=88/2=44 assuming equal miles on both fill ups.

So the point is, that single tank MPG stats can vary surprisingly because of fuel cut off inconsistencies leading to fill ups that don't fill the tank to the same level each time, but the average over time evens that out.

44 MPG for a Prius v (over two fill ups) in the summer sounds about right.

 

My wife's Prius v is getting 35 mpg this summer. Lol. Oh well. Pumping ac non stop, she keeps a load of stuff in the trunk too which I keep telling her about... And a 9 miles varying elevation commute with multiple stop lights.... Not the best combo and I don't think it's possible to get much worse.... Although loads better than the 17mpg in the 4wd RAV4 we had...

And sorry but no way that there can be a 38mpg difference in one calculated (not displayed) tank to the next (difference between 63 and 25) just due to maybe at most an extra quarter to maybe if pushing it half gallon or so pumped due to pump shut off inconsistencies. Just not possible. I'd say at most maybe a couple to a few mpg difference per tank if imagining worst case scenario one tank was under filled a half gallon and the next tank was over filled a half gallon.

But most counties have a weights and measures dept that routinely inspect and test all gas stations for These things. Big fines if they are set up to cut off early and not provide you with what you paid for..

Maybe a top notch hyper miler might be able to squeeze 63 mpg out of a v for a stretch but I don't see how it's possible to do for for an entire tank! Add 5% minimum due to indicated mpg vs calculated mpg always being high and that would require 66.5 mpg displayed on the mfd for the entire tank.


And in regards to the 25 mpg! Wow, maybe if you are running rally cross all day non stop....

 

Before I got my Prius I had a Ford Ranger truck i bought new in 93 I had the truck for over 20yrs crazy can't believe I owned the vehicle that long.
Anyways I always filled it up from day one and the truck constantly got approximately 250 miles to a take full for 20yrs didn't make a difference what pump what station.
Then last year got rid of it and bought a 2010 level 3 was getting just under 400 miles to a tank full traded it in for a 2013 level 4 filling it at the same pump everything the same but only getting like 300 to 320 at most to a take full ?
I prefer to go by what I get from a tank full because that's what counts for me.

 

It could have been the way the gas nozzle was in the tank, it clicked off too soon so one tank wasn't exactly full.

 

I agree, my last fill went all the way to 34 litres without stopping then cut off, after letting it settle a few seconds the next click took it to 38.5 litres another 4.5 litres. That would have given me 56mpg compared to the real 49 mpg (UK gallon) for that tank.
To get 63 for one tank and 25 for another one must have only been half full.
My average is 47.7 UK mpg or 38 US mpg, about 80% city driving 3 mile commute.

 

i have never seen that kind of variation, even with my bladdered '04 and '08.