My 2018 Prius Three is draining gas FAST

Did you fill the tank when you first got the car? Dealers will often "top it up" so it looks full - but if you take it to fill up, it'll still take a good few dollars.

Only ever fill till the first click on the pump. I've had a couple of pumps which click off when I'm fairly sure it isn't full - expecting to put $40 in, but stops at $25. Pump problem, unfortunately.

You say you've filled 3 times - can you list how many gallons you've put in each time?

 

These car are all made in Japan so QC should be out of the question. Prius is also the flagship car of Toyota hybrid line-up. The only reason why people are getting worse mileage is mostly, imo, heavy foot and/or extreme prolonged period of blowing AC with gas.

So my suggestion for you is to go as long as you can with a single tank of gas til it hits with probably DTE 50km (~30mile). Let the computer learn your driving habit. Second, adjust AC accordingly. You don't have to put priority AC on. ECO AC is a must tho. And you should always try to score at least 4 out of 5 stars. Lastly, hand calculate the mileage yourselves. Mark the current odo. Fill up the tank to FULL, reset trip A, drive until half a bar of gas left, then fill up again. Now write down your previous Trip A range, the amount of gas you have filled up. And there you have it, your MPG. Rinse and repeat.

Fuelly is a good website to track all of your gas mileage and the above info is all you need to add a fuel-up.

 

Three fill-ups within 427 miles. I don't believe that. COMPLETE fill-ups?
The engine would have to be running 24/7.

 

Alan's right, that's far too much refueling for a Prius, so something's not quite right. Do you always use the same pump to refuel, or different pumps? You need to record the number of gallons at each fill-up and note the mileage traveled. Pen and paper of a spreadsheet will give you the exact mpg. If it is greatly different from the indicated mpg, I suspect a fuel leak . Is there ever a strong smell of gas outside the car when the engine is running?

 

If true, you are using about 1.5 gal of gas for 22.4 miles drive, or ~15mpg. The number is in agreement with needing 28.4 gallons of gas for 427 miles of driving or 3 fill-ups in that short distance. If this is all true, you have a major problem. Something is really, really wrong with your brand new car. I would take it back to where you bought it and complain. Just make sure you can document how much gas was filled and what odometer reading it was to be able to calculate gas mileage. Keep us informed what you find out at dealer.

 

Nowhere in your post did you tell us how MUCH you are putting in the tank at each fill.
You need to log the MILES DRIVEN and divide that by the GALLONS USED to get a real "miles per gallon".

For the moment, you should forget all of those numbers on the displays. THIS PART IS IMPORTANT.

And.....you mentioned a "half a quarter" (one eighth) on the gas gauge.......but didn't mention where the gauge is when you feel a need to fill it up.

Your car is under warranty. If there really is a problem, take it in.
BUT you need some better data first.
It might be that your gas gauge is just off a bit.

 

Something is not right if they're full fillups. I get around 500 miles out of a full tank. Bear in mind the Prius does have a very small tank for the size of the car.

I suspect either the fill-ups aren't truly filling the tank, and/or aren't starting from nearly empty... i.e. not much fuel is going in, or the fuel gauge is faulty and telling you the tank is close to empty when it's not.

Also make sure you're not using B mode. There's a lot of false information out there around using B. Some people think it means B for Battery Charging. It actually means B for (Engine) Braking, and you lose energy to heat instead of that same energy being used to charge your battery.

 

1/8th a tank for 22 miles, at what speed?

 

Actually doesn't matter... 1/8th of the tank on the gauge is not 1/8th of the tank, nor is one 8th on the gauge the same volume as any other 1/8th as the gauge is not linear. In general, an 1/8th when the gauge is full is a lot more than an 1/8th towards empty.

 

Yeah, there is something wrong with your car. With my Prime, even when EV range is depleted, driving as hard as I can on hwy at 75mph+, I can not get below 40 mpg. 4Gen Prius should get at least 50 mpg easily. Please keep us updated. I am curious what is going on with your car. And Good luck.

 

AND......after taking the time to type ALL of that.............
You still did not actually calculate the Miles Per Gallon.

Without that, over several fill-ups, you will be wasting your time going back to the dealer.
BECAUSE they will just hook up their little computer and say "No codes set. Nothing wrong."

YOU HAVE TO PROVIDE SOME ACTUAL EVIDENCE and NOTHING you have said so far really means anything solid.

So, let's try one more time:
For this discussion to be fruitful, either with us or with the dealer, you MUST record how many gallons you put in at each fill and how many miles you drove since the last fill.

 

Ok, there's obviously something wrong and you're doing the right thing taking it back to the dealer. Don't be offended by post #13 as the author often 'shoots from the hip' and doesn't empathise very well. However, IMHO he always means very well and he's not stupid.

 

Are you parked outside? Maybe someone has figured out how to siphon gas from a fourth Gen??

 

Can I drive your car? I can be up there in about 5 hours.

 

Nah, they have banned straws in California... and rubber hoses.

 

i won't use the t-word.

 

Maybe one of the nice Priuschat members in the Bay Area can meet up with her, and assist with her car. A simple test drive with an experienced Prius owner.