2004 Prius can I get more than 30mpg?

Is that the very first tank? Give it one more, where you're in full control? Also, what tire pressures?

 

You can probably do better, but two factors that seem to play a large role are trip length and outside temperature.

The Prius delivers the best fuel economy once the system has come up to temperature (after about 10 minutes of driving). If most driving trips are 10 minutes or less, average fuel economy will be much less than if trips are 25 minutes or more.

Cold weather makes the system less efficient, which is especially noticeable in high MPG vehicles like the Pri. The best fuel economy is usually observed when outside temperatures are 70-80F.

The climate control can affect fuel economy, especially the cabin heater. I find that using the climate control system manually at lower fan speeds, only as needed, results in better fuel economy than leaving it in "auto" mode. I try to wait until a few minutes into the trip to turn on the heat/defrost, but that isn't always possible.

Don't forget to reset the average from time to time. It's tough to see changes when the average has been running a long time.

Are you calculating fuel economy by how many gallons it takes to fill? This only works if you average it over several tanks. The Gen 2 has a flexible fuel bladder that does not have fixed volume.

 

Give it a few tankfull and then calculate the averages. I'm still on my first tankfull on my 04 and my wife on her 09 is on her 2nd. She got 36 mpg on the first and shes a lead foot..I am sure you can do better in time.

 

probably a calculation error, not knowing how much gas was in it when you got it. what did the display read for average mpg?

 

Calculation ERROR? You probably have never been married...

 

tell me all about it.

 

I just took her word for it..lol - I can't tell her how to coast or glide or any technique that would save MPG..hey this is lots better than the 04 Taurus we had..especially for just running around town here in St. George UT. No matter what tho..Happy Holidays bud!

 

…all good suggestions, to which I might add (1) as the season gets into winter, the gas companies alter the mixture or blend which can make a significant difference to mpg as the seasons change, and (2) how heavy is your right foot? Featherweight? …or lead-footed? …try driving in stockinged-feet, or pretend you have an egg which you you mustn't even crack between your foot and the gas-pedal! - hope this helps

 

According to that screen you are doing 45.4 MPG over the last 34 miles. The 50 watt hrs regenerated is the electrical energy recaptured and stored in the traction battery that in any normal car would have been lost for ever.
John

 

When you brake gently, you regenerate power back to the battery. Each icon of a car of regeneration equals 50 watt hours of energy. If you successfully never hit the brakes, there will not be car in that 5 minute bar on the graph.

[Corrected per Bitprius, below]

 

I think you have a typo there Jim. It should read 50 watt hours. I wish it did generate 50 kwh as I would never pay for electricity again.

John

 

watch the videos on hyper mileing on youtube, my 04 has 213,000 miles and gets 45 mpg regularly with the original battery

 

hopefully by now you'll have seen this screen after driving awhile. It will display a Bar graph showing how much energy you've regenerated while driving recently. If you're particularly thrifty you'll see little green car icons. Each of those representing 50 watt hour. Hitting the reset does two things: resets the miles driven on this calculation, and restarts the mpg calculator. hope this helps

 

...Although it might seem like a good thing to have more little green car icons, you ideally want to drive in a way to minimize the number of green car icons. Although the regenerative braking captures some of the energy, a significant percentage is still lost. The most efficient driving involves maintaining momentum and minimizing braking of any kind. Read about the "Driving without brakes" and "Driving with Load" techniques.

 

i think alice would just like to see better than 30 mpg.

 

With our 2008 I always get about 52, my wife always get 42 (lead foot and heavy on the brake).

Just bought a 2004 for my older child who will start driving soon. Need to swap out the traction battery from my 2008 soon to do some testing but I believe that is the only problem, then will buy a refurb battery. Will be interesting to see how the older car does when I drive it.