Newbie question about mileage

Yes, it can take a thousand miles or more for a Prius to break in a new driver

 

Just drive it, after awhile you'll intuitively learn to maximize your mpg's by slightly altering your accellerating and braking habits, by keeping an eye on the energy and consumption screens. For my first tank I only got like 44 or 45 miles per gallon (keep in mind that I'm in temperate Southern California-outside temps have a lot to do with miles per gallon), and now 2.5 months and 17 tanks later, I'm up to ~50 mpg. And I don't drive all that differently from how I did before I had a Prius. If you're achieving anywhere in the 40+ mpg range, I'd say that's pretty darned good and there's really no need to have the dealer take a look at your car. As the weather warms up-depending on what part of the country you're in-and summer approaches, you can expect to get higher mpg's than in the dead of winter.

I read on here somewhere that there are a few 'break-in' mileage checkpoints where you can basically expect to get better mileage as you pass a certain mileage: I believe the first break-in point is at 5,000 miles, which I have just reached.

Also keep in mind that short trips in the Prius (5-10 minutes) will not get you maximum mpgs that longer trips can achieve. The gas engine needs a few minutes to warm up each time you power the car on.

 

There are others that know more about this than I do, but it's my understanding that the break-in period can be as much as 4,000 - 5,000 miles. You will find that a lot of short trips will tend to kill your mileage, and that time spent on the freeway under 70mph is a big plus, as is warm weather.

Jack rabbit starts are a no-no, but the recommendation is to accelerate "briskly", and to avoid abrupt stops by allowing the car to slow gradually on it's own, or with very light brake pressure. Another thing you might want to do is get a good quality tire pressure gauge. After the car has been idle for 3-4 hours, check the pressure and make sure it's at least as high as the manufacturer's specs, but until you're familir with the car I wouldn't run it much over that number. Some of the pressures I see mentioned around here will give you a little better mileage, but can roughen up the ride quite a bit.

For more info, there are numerous threads and posts on the subject of mileage.

Hope you enjoy your 06. My wife and I love ours. (-6

Jeff

 

I'm a newbie too but I would suggest that you give it time.

When I drove the Prius home from the dealer, the fuel efficiency was about 45mpg. After some stop and go driving around town, it dropped into the upper 30's. Since then it has been slowly climbing (keep in mind that I only have about 150 miles on the car). It was around 42 mpg yesterday. By time I got to work this morning it was up to about 44 mpg. By the time I got home tonight (its only a 12 mile commute), it was up to 46 mpg. I am very confident that I will break 50 mpg in the couple of days.

So give it some time and I think your fuel efficiency with start to climb a bit. You may not hit that 55mpg combined EPA rating. I don't think many do. And if they do, I am sure they will jump in and say so!

 

A good article to read is "Why don't I get the EPA Mileage?" It'll help answer questions about mileage.

 

When my car as new I was getting about what you are. At every new tank, about every 500 miles, my mileage improved by 1-2 mpg. 3,500 miles was about the breaking in point for my car. I think I had several tanks over 50 mpg after that.

 

Another critical factor in MPG is terrain.

I live in the hilly northwest. I don't know where you live, Jeannie; put it in your bio or signature for more tailored advice. Few people here get much over 50 MPG even with lots of practice, the hills kill us. My average now, weather just beginning to warm up, is about 47-48 MPG. Going home, from the freeway I have to climb a 3 mile hill. My milage for that segment is usually about 35 MPG. On the other hand, from the plateau I drive down a half mile hill to my house and regularly see a fully green battery.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(paflyfisher @ Apr 24 2006, 06:32 PM) [snapback]244588[/snapback]</div>

Well, after nearly 7K miles and consistent warmer weather I had my first "EPA" tank. 544 miles and 56.2 MPG. I'm right at 55 MPG 300 mi into my current tank. We're having a bit of a cold snap with snow at the moment, but it's supposed to pass in the next day. We'll see. The warmer weather has made a significant (~5 MPG) difference. If you look at my tank history (click link on image in my signature) you'll see that I was hovering right about 50 MPG until April.

One other thing.... The EPA test really shows how well the car can do in ideal conditions. The "real world" tends to knock the numbers down a bit for almost everybody. None the less, there are quite a few folks out there with better than EPA numbers, but they're in the minority for sure. http://www.greenhybrid.com has a database with about 450 prius II contributors. I think the average MPG for the group is 48 MPG. So you're not too far off now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Apr 24 2006, 03:33 PM) [snapback]244513[/snapback]</div>

To directly answer your question, there is widespread disagreement, even among "veteran" Prius owners here at PC, on whether or not the CAR has a break-in period.

If there is, it certainly wouldn't be as brief as a tank of gas. Most "believers" say their first "surge" in MPG came at about 5K miles.

I'm one who doesn't believe there's a break-in period. I think it's the driver who gets acclimated/educated/broken-in. And with some owners that 5K mark has coincided with the advent of warmer weather, which also approximates (in northern climes) the switch from winter-blend gas to summer blend, and---well, you get the picture.

Be a little patient with the Prius---and yourself. Chances are good that, like most of us, you'll need to UNlearn a habit (or two) that's bad for MPG (such as acceleration, braking or warming-up habits).

We even did a poll about half a year ago. With over 100 participating, about 58% believe there IS a break-in period for the car.

 

Jeannie: It's those 5-mile commutes that are lowering your mileage. You car is performing normally for the conditions. There's nothing wrong with it. It's the EPA test that ought to be "taken into the dealer for service."

There are two factors: During the first 5 minutes or so, the engine burns extra gas to get itself and the exhaust system warmed up. A quick warm-up is one of the reasons for the SULEV emissions rating. Unfortunately for people with a short commute, it's probably counter-productive. It would be nice to have a Short-Drive button that would override the rapid warm-up. A ten-minute commute only gives you 5 minutes of normal engine operation. And if you had a 5-minute commute you'd probably be getting 25 mpg.

Second factor: Battery temperature. Those of us with CAN-View (a gadget that shows us many of the cars operational parameters, including the battery temp) are seeing that as the battery warms up, the car is much more inclined to make more use of it, leading to much better mpg. That can take 20 minutes or so. Maybe longer in colder weather when it starts out colder.

So a five-minute commute will get you very poor mileage; a ten-minute commute will get you disappointing mileage; and a one-hour commute will get you outstanding mileage, unless you go fast on the freeway, when wind resistance becomes a factor.

Your car is performing normally. Enjoy it.

And remember that with a ten-minute commute you are burning much less gas overall, and polluting less, and putting much less carbon into the atmosphere, than folks with a longer commute and better bragging numbers.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ghostofjk @ Apr 25 2006, 12:35 AM) [snapback]244758[/snapback]</div>

So we need a sample of people who have driven a Prius for a while (at least 5,000 miles) who are then moved into brand-new Priuses. I.e., broken-in drivers with non-broken-in vehicles.

 

Jeannie,

As others have indicated your car is performing normally for:
1) a Prius under 5000 miles
2) a Prius driver learning to optimize their driving


Some suggestions that should show you some immediate benefit:

1) REGULARLY check your tire pressure - you can see improvements in your mileage by raising tire pressure to 42 psi in front and 40 psi in rear tires

2) learn to pulse/glide, especially while in city driving. This involves accelerating briskly to perhaps 40 mph then taking your foot off the accelerator pedal. You will see the arrows switch over from gas engine and/or electric motor TO the wheels - to green arrows FROM wheels to battery. This indicates that rotation energy from the wheels is being converted back to battery storage. Now, LIGHTLY touch the pedal until you see electric motor driving the wheels then back off just a bit (NO arrows anywhere). At this point you are in a glide. From reaching this point for the first time you now proceed into a series of accelerate, back off, glide steps spending as much time as reasonable in the 'glide' mode. Fair warning though, gal... this method in city traffic may irritate the bejeebers out of the traffic around you so use some discression.

I'd suspect that often when you were seeing 99.9 you were actually also seeing green arrows from wheel-to motor-to battery this would also imply that the rotational energy of using the electric motor as a generator to recharge the battery is also slowing you down significantly. This is not the most efficient way to continue rolling forward at a reasonable speed. The glide I just described IS the most efficent way to roll forward.

Hope this helps. Have fun as you learn to optimize your driving skills.

I'm off to practice what I preach - gotta drive home and let the dog out.

Terry

 

:blink: :blink: :blink: Yep, I got mine two weeks ago and it's still baffling... One day it was warm here in Maryland and it said I was getting 61 mpg. Now its saying 54 mpg. Filled it up once so far and that came out to 51 mpg. Just have to keep playing with the beast to see what it does<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Jeannie @ Apr 24 2006, 06:33 PM) [snapback]244513[/snapback]</div>

 

I would say DO NOT try to pulse-glide in traffic. You will obstruct the flow of traffic, which is discourteous to other drivers, and might make unstable people very angry. Just drive your car. You are doing fine now.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Apr 25 2006, 04:23 PM) [snapback]245155[/snapback]</div>

I would agree. You need light traffic to pulse & glide. You can piss a few people sometimes, and a lot of people a few times but, you can not do it always! I have a low traveled route that I get away with it most of the time, but every once in a while some one goes over the top and passes inappropriately. I ask my self each time if I am at fault. The speed limits are 35 and I vary my speed between 40 and 34 mph. I think that the speeding up to "what others see" as an acceptable speed limit and 35 mph drives them insane. This is particularly true of the "kids" in the "ricers". They can not tolerate driving the speed limit to school in the morning. I will continue to drive my ride to work. I do not think that 2-3 under the limit is bad, nor do I believe that I have to drive more that 5 mph over.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(daniel @ Apr 25 2006, 07:23 PM) [snapback]245155[/snapback]</div>

You might make lots of people angry, but most wouldn't be unstable enough to do something about it