9- 10 mpg loss conundrum

Hi there,
I'm no expert but we have the same car and I can see you definitely lost some mpg on your car. There is a guy here Patrick Wong I always ask him whenever I want to know something about my car.

 

Have you ever replaced the 12V batt in the past?

 

No wonder why my car is eating a bit of gas this fall going winter. What is that gadget you're using and how do you use it?

 

okay sounds will try that unit.
on the heater block are talking about the swimming pool worm?

 

Lol.. I mean noodles. I though someone was putting these in the front of their air dam to rum the engine warmer of cold seasons.

 

The air inlet block will , in theory, help slow down the radiator cooling some. The biggest demand item, and what cause the engine to run more in winter is using the heater. The HVAC is always trying to maintain cabin temp. This means it’s constantly asking the engine to run more.

Pre heating the block will will mean the engine warms quicker and have easier starts especially in sub-zero F days. From a driving perspective, the air block with be more beneficial for winter mileage.

 

So …….a block heater is $75...that's over 30 gallons of gas at my location..I would have to save (30g x 50mpg)...1500 miles for it to pay for itself.

If I assumed I could get a 3mpg increase during the cold months, I would need to burn 500 gallons of gas. That would be 25000 miles. At 1200 miles a month.....for say 3 cold months a year,,,3600 miles …..7 years to get even without including cost to operate it...assuming it doesn't fail in that 7 year period. That's a long payback period.

I agree, the airflow blocker @ about $3 sounds like a better deal.

 

the 12v creates all sorts of havoc on these, so much more frustrating than on a regular vehicle. also, bad gas/e85/high ethanol content will make this happen too. happened to me once on my 05.

As you know a bad 12v battery can take with it the charging system and some accessories. Since there is no 'alternator', it can infect the charging apparatus, the CVT system. My 12v batt took down my HV water pump I'm suspecting. If the HV water pump isn't pulling strong enough, you will not get any codes and not realize anything is wrong. make sure it is functioning. it will only throw a code once the cvt overheats substantially! and it can cause the system to gimp itself to prevent overheating. feel it with your hand to make sure it's humming along. it will charge the hv and 12v batt erratically, gimp your ac, do all sorts of weird stuff I can't even think of right now.

even if the 12v voltage is fine while cold it can still cause problems. My battery was doing weird things to the generator/electrical system, it tested fine with a volt meter but bad at 300 cranking amps

 

It’s a car, their is no pay back, period!Just cost of ownership.

Last winter I wish I would’ve had a block heater on my car. We had 3 days in row where the Hi temps were mid -20’s F°

I was starting the car every few hours to keep some warmth in it. A couple of the starts were after a 6 hours. They were so hard on it, that it caused it to throw DTC codes for cam position sensor out of time.

 

That's a good thought. Yes it could be useful in some areas like north on Indiana to north side. Im just new to hybrid thou I know some about older cars. One thing for sure it helps the engine run better as always on a normal operating temperature. I'm a bit more concern about the wear and tear of the engine. I have an 80's Toyota pickup and 60's Austin Healey. I had both cars for a very long time. I hardly even lose any oil on it on regular driving days. I always take atleast min of 2 mins or more before I roll to work. Good thing I have the prius now and its my everyday point a to b car.
and Good thing I don't need the block heater since I live in the northwest.. if I'm correct.

 

If you live in the northwest and rare experience temps below zero F. You don’t need a block heater. Upper Midwest like me, it can get extremely cold in January/February.

 

Far out! I miss the Delorean days! Every Thursday the fresh recycler magazine comes out and were always in the used car section. Triumph, Jensen Healey, Austin, MG, old Jaguars, Sunbeam and so on... Name it and you have the car the next day. Very nice and intact! Nowadays I don't know what they're trying to sell. besides the car looks like it got raped and rotisserie'd the price is a moon shot.
Well once a month I see a DMC-12 on the road and as much as I like them and I know I cant touch those.

 

I’ve had mine 25.5 years. Long time enthusiast.