Yes I've read the "why don't I get EPA mileage" many times...mileage still stinks

If you have records of all the tanks of gas and the mileage results and all the conversations with all the dealer service folk then I'd write a nice letter to Toyota and see what happens. It is a little late.

Obviously, hundreds of thousands have had a better experience than you have.

There are so many variables when it comes to mileage.

I get within .5% of EPA mileage without any special driving tricks and in the 40s as you can see but it is a v wagon and that is to be expected. My son gets well over 50 on a hatchback with around 100k miles.

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You wouldn't happen to know someone else who owns a Gen2 Prius, would you? If you could reset your average MPG, take it for a long drive, then do the same with an identical car, you could for sure tell if its you or the car. I just can't think of anything that would be wrong with the car that wouldn't have made itself known over 8 years, but the recent drop points more towards it being an issue with the car.

If you look at Fuelly, 40MPG isn't great for a Prius, but there are plenty of people who get that or worse. 2007 Toyota Prius Mileage

 

how many miles on her? sounds like you got a bad flux capacitor.

 

You keep explaining that you are doing everything correctly and that the car must be at fault, but have yet to detail exactly how you are driving the car.

The Prius is a totally different kind of car that needs to be driven in a different manner. Yes, you can drive it like a normal car, but you will get results that are only a little better than a normal car.

The majority of Prius drivers here drive slowly, accelerate slowly and coast/pulse and glide. On the freeway, hypermilers will drive slower than other cars, or at most at the speed limit.

Exactly how are you driving the car? How are the maintenance items on the car? What kind of tires are on the car? We need more specifics.

 

This is not true.
We drove it fairly normally and got the EPA rating in our 2007&2008 Prii. Dealing with winters we got in the low 40s during the winter months, but our year average was right around 48mpg.

Of course, we didn't drive at the breakneck speeds seen regularly out in CA, but normal speeds in this part of the country.

To the OP, sorry about the frustration. I understand if you want to vent and sympathize.
If you would like some constructive advice (you very well may not as it sounds like you have had years of it), more specifics would help.
For example, do you do lots of highway driving? Average speeds? Etc.

 

hmmm, that sounds pretty much like coocoocachoo's post.

 

I'm not a regular "Pri driver, I drive like a normal person in any non hybrid car.
My gas mileage in on up there, close to EPA rating. I think OP has something going on more than his driving habits.
Like Bisco said, it might be something like the Flux Capacitor .

 

Perhaps if you consider the crazy driving in CA "normal" then yes, you have to drive abnormally.
For me, there was no change, I didn't need to drive any differently to get EPA numbers than I had previously driven.

This may be a better way of looking at it. If your previous driving got you the EPA mileage in your previous car, you don't need to make any changes when driving a Prius.
If you didn't get EPA mileage, you will need to change driving habits to get EPA mileage, regardless of driving a Prius or some other car.

To the OP though, it sounds like there may be additional issues.

 

I see people writing about the accessory battery causing low mileage if it needs replacing. The ICE needs to run more often to charge the batteries because it will not hold a charge.

When was the last time the small 12 volt battery was replaced, if ever?

 

Maybe I missed it, how many miles are on your car?
With your problem, what have you had addressed( as far as having a dealer or garage look at it) toward resolving the problem ?

 

Dolly - It's unfortunate that you've been frustrated with it for so long.

We've only had our 2006 for a couple of months; our 43 average over 4,000 miles is due to multiple steady drives on the high desert to Ridgecrest, Bullhead City, California City, etc. that averaged around 50 or it would be in the high 30s. If you're anywhere close to Rancho Cucamonga I'd be willing to try to connect on a weekend and we could drive the cars somewhere on the same route under the same conditions and compare to provide you more evidence and witnesses. Of course my wife would be with me to protect from any appearance of impropriety; I could even bring my daughters along; you could bring your family and we could make it a family outing to someplace fun.

You don't mention the conditions of your commute, just that it's easy. I wonder if it mimics some of the things we've noticed that affect our mileage negatively. The car is very sensitive and it doesn't take much to affect the mileage either direction.

In the 100k miles you've had it have you had any extended drives on the open highway that averaged around 50 mpg or better or does it still stay in the low to mid 40s on those drives, too?

I'm not a mechanic and what I know about cars might fill a thimble but we're willing to help if we can.

 

Is this one of those trolls? Has had a Prius for years with problem mileage, but only finds PC yesterday?

 

Good point HGS, OP REALLY HAS NOT BEEN TOO SPECIFIC ABOUT ANYTHING.

Plus he made some joke about Star Trek, when Bisco suggested something.
Could very well be a Punk Troll....

 

Can't drive like an Italian cabbie and still get mileage like a Scottsman.

Bill the Engineer

 

I've only driven a few highways and freeways in CA.
From what I have seen, "typical" in CA is 75-80.
"Typical" in my region is "60-70".

That can make a significant difference. Others that report typical driving gets them EPA numbers may be in a similar situation.

However, the 30mpg is way out of whack. I'd second the suggestion to check the 12V battery.
Question for others, could overfilling the oil have this affect as well? Or did that cause some other issue?