My mileage has gone from an avg of 45 to 50 mpg. Same highway/city driving, but noticed battery is being used a lot on highway, which normally is not the case. I don't want to run down my battery. Any suggestions as what might be the problem.
welcome! how many miles on her? there is not enough battery to accomplish that. any other changes in maintenance or circumstances? how are you measuring mpg's? when you say 'the battery i being used a lot' do you mean the battery display is swinging wildly from full to empty and back again?
Welcome to the forum. Unfortunately, this may actually be the first time I've ever heard this: My mileage has gone from an avg of 45 to 50 mpg. Any suggestions as what might be the problem. I was thinking "congratulations", but I don't have a good answer for you as to it being a problem. Mileage can vary quite a bit depending on the weather, driving habits and seasonal fuel blend. Have you recently started purchasing fuel at a different place? Have you had any work done to the car recently like brakes or spark plugs, etc? Have you stopped using the AC since the weather has cooled off a bit? My AC makes a big difference in MPG.
Just under 125,000 mi and about due for oil change & filter and there's been no real changes in maintenance (5,000 mi ago had wheel bearing replaced; new tires in the last 15,000 mi; in last couple weeks, a few weeks ago upon backing up 1st thing in the morning, brakes sometimes slightly squeak) or circumstances (both highway and city driving, a few dirt roads). My screen has always been pretty accurate in gauging mileage. A few weeks ago after I filled the tank, I noticed the consumption monitor, which was pretty much at 45 mpg, dropping and kind of swing up and down between 40 and 44 for about 80 mi, but then settling around 45 mpg. Then it began to rise and now is around 50 mpg (the fuel monitor looks like I have around 100 mi left). Usually when I'm on the highway, I'm using just gas unless I'm braking, slowing, etc, but now the consumption screen is registering (every 30 mi) that the battery is engaged and the energy monitor is showing the battery almost fully engaged.
Thanks. Actually, the "problem" started after I went to a heavily frequented gas station I had never been to. Brakes about 50K ago. I was told I may need to have spark plugs replaced in another 5-10,000 miles (which was 5K ago). It's not the AC. I posted other information on previous reply.
I've recently become a fan of having Dr. Prius hooked up and monitoring the parameters while driving the Prius. My daily is a manual Insight, so the Prius is kind of boring to drive, so I have to throw some stats up to keep me entertained. Anyhoo, on the Prius it seems to strive to keep the actual SOC of the battery at around 62%. Any less and it will use more gas to charge it up slowly, and any more and it will use the battery more to bring the SOC back down to 62%. How many battery bars does your car typically have now? If it is showing nearly full bars all the time, then the car will be more generous in its use of electricity. For how many miles have you noticed this increase? Are you doing more low speed driving? My mileage on the Prius can vary between 45 and 70 mpg depending on weather and conditions, so 5 mpg isn't that much unless it's been consistent over a few thousand miles. Little things like tire pressure, brakes, etc. can all impact economy either way. A change in economy doesn't necessarily mean something is wrong with your car, especially if it's a mileage increase.
Which Prius do you drive? Where do you drive often, city or highway? Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
08 Prius, as seen in my sig. I've driven more highway miles on it numerically due to a couple of trips, but most of the time its around town and in the country, or a combination of both. The lack of the third pedal and the overall disconnected feel from the road compared to my Insight deadens the experience.
