What To Expect On First Tank of Gas

Howdy Boulder Bum

First tank MPG? Hard to say since you didn't know how full the tank was and what the dealer did with the Prius before you got it. My first tank was 38.4 MPG. Like Tony, I still haven't breached the 50 MPG threshold at 2,400 miles on the clock. Currently I'm seeing ~46 MPG and expect that to steadly increase for likely the first 6,000 miles or more according to my experience for 2+ years in my 2004 Prius.

ENJOY YOUR PRIUS

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(TonyPSchaefer @ Mar 16 2007, 01:10 PM) [snapback]406890[/snapback]</div>

Very useful information - Thanks! B)

 

I'm averaging 41.3 right now, on our first tank and yet to break 200 miles.

The dealer used it for driving to and from his house so it already had 90 miles on it [so by that, I guess we've broken 200].

I can't help myself, I have to do some things like coasting to a stop and barely pressing the gas and such. It makes driving so much more fun.

My parents won't be doing any special driving in it though. I just feel I have to make the car have amazing mileage to prove to them that it was worth it.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rainydysandmondys @ Mar 16 2007, 04:49 PM) [snapback]406958[/snapback]</div>

Dude, you're 16 years old!? Good for you for thinking smart! I'm 21 and have some pride for buying one (of course I didn't buy it new...wanted to, but found a used one for $10,000 less than when it was originally sold for......though it does have 63,000 miles on it). Good to see that younger people are trying to be more environmentally conscious.

 

The environment is [and will always be] my life. The only reason we bought the Prius is because I was incessantly pushing for it. Prius = <3.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boulder Bum @ Mar 16 2007, 02:05 PM) [snapback]406887[/snapback]</div>

Hi Bum, I had a 06 that started out getting better milage than my 4 day old 07 Touring. There are so many variables that affect mpg its a bit hard to determine if its the car and its associated systems or something totally out of my control like wind, grade, temperature etc. I've got about 450 miles on the 07 and have been averaging 47 mpg at 70 mph for half of that 450 miles and the balance represents around town driving. The 47 represents the total mpg at this point. I would suggest that you break the car in the same way you intend to drive the car day in and day out. Get use to and be comfortable with all the other gee wiz stuff and let the milage take care of itself for now. Keep reading the prius forums and you'll pick up a few good hints along the way. You will develope your own techniques that suit your driving style and the efficencies will slowly unravel themselves as you put time in the seat. Congrats and good luck with the new car. Greg

 

Hey there!

Congrat's on the new Prius. I'm sure you will enjoy it.

My personal experience:

I didn't even figure out how to look at the mileage until
after my first tank. I was too busy smiling and talking (and listening)
to my car to bother with pushing buttons (other than Power, of course ).

At about 800mi, I took her to Houston using cruise control the whole way.
She gave me 48mpg there and 52mpg back.

Up to now (1800mi) I average 47mpg in city driving.

Good luck!

 

for the veteran Prius drivers here:
Should newbies like even bother to look at mpg numbers within the first 1000 miles, leave alone the first tank of gas, given the "break-in" period???

Reason I ask is newbies have all sorts of doubts and worries about things that aren't always intuitively obvious, like the "break-in" period for the Prius. How does a new driver know subpar mpg is not a sign of something being wrong with the car versus just normal occurrence for the first 1000-2000 miles?

I filled up for the first time today at 311 miles with two fuel-gauge bars visible. Put in about 8.6 gallons before the auto-shutoff mechanism of the pump kicked in. Should I read anything into this? Sorry, if I am belaboring an already discussed-to-death issue, but your personalized response to my query would be sooooo much appreciated
Thank you!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Boulder Bum @ Mar 16 2007, 02:05 PM) [snapback]406887[/snapback]</div>

Keep in mind where you drive , temperature and the short duration of your trips will hold your fe down . I was able to get 52+ on my first tank. Reason I live in Florida --flat roads and mild climate etc.

 

I got an 07 Prius recently. First tank me and my wife averaged only 38. Is this normal?

We got some medium sized hills that we have to drive every day, so that may be affecting it.


<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(gamiller @ Apr 7 2007, 05:47 PM) [snapback]419625[/snapback]</div>

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(WhitePriusZOOM @ Apr 7 2007, 10:13 PM) [snapback]419650[/snapback]</div>

Because of where I live I am able to do a lot of pulse and gliding and many miles are driven below 45 mpg
check this site http://www.greenhybrid.com/ and http://www.hybridcars.com/

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Mar 16 2007, 02:20 PM) [snapback]406898[/snapback]</div>

It will take me ages to get a couple of thousand miles on! It will be hard to not try hypermiling, but will heed your advice at least for a bit!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Mainewoman @ Apr 8 2007, 05:22 PM) [snapback]419978[/snapback]</div>

Hey Boulder--that's where I went to school!

Nice job getting 50! It took me a little while to figure out how to drive. I thought granny driving would deliver the best milage but I only got 35 mpg doing that. I let my leadfoot sister drive it and she got 49! So I combined quicker starts with gliding and gradual stops and started averaging 52-53. This was with less than 200 miles on the ODO, so I'm pretty pleased.

Eric

 

As with all new cars, your mileage will increase as the car breaks in. My old VW GTI saw a significant mileage increase at 5,000 miles, 20,000 miles, and again at 40,000 miles.

My first tank in my Prius resulted in 52.8 MPG in what I call entirely "normal" driving. No "hyper-" whatever. All that "hyper-" stuff just sounds like names of STD's to me.

Just drive your car ... your mileage will vary according to a number of variables that no one here could explain in full.

Besides ... it's more fun to figure out the tricks on your own. They're more meaningful that way.

Such is life, too.

Enjoy your new sled.