Finally figured out how to drive this thing

Yeah. I'm getting better with mine as well. Check it out. This represents my daily commute, which is mostly interstate driving.

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Here's a picture of my ride!

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<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Hokie @ May 1 2007, 05:38 PM) [snapback]433589[/snapback]</div>

Good lookin ride and great mpg you just have to get rid of the dealership advertisement on the rear plate holder.

 

I just completed my 3rd fillup at 800 miles. The display showed that I traveled 425 miles at 45.8mpg but I put in 10 gallons since the last fillup which would calculate to 42.5mpg. Why the difference and does the displayed MPG ever reset or can it be reset?

 

Thanks, Priussoris. Yeah, I recently got my permanent tags & have removed the dealer license cover.

Scoreboard, it's been reported that the MFD calculated mpg is a little optimistic. Appears the most "accurate" way to estimate fuel economy is by taking a "lifetime" average of total miles driven, divided by the total amount of gas you've put into the car. With about 2900 miles, my lifetime mpg is about 57. By the way, the displayed mpg can be reset anytime by simply pressing the reset button on your MFD (bottom right hand corner).

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Hokie @ May 1 2007, 06:38 PM) [snapback]433589[/snapback]</div>

I just bought my Prius about a week and a half ago. My first tank was 44.5 MPG and when I filled up today I got 50.5 MPG. I drive about 60 miles each way, mostly turnpike going 65 MPH. Do you have any advice on how to get the mileage you're getting? I'd appreciate any tips. Thanks!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brick @ May 1 2007, 05:08 PM) [snapback]433531[/snapback]</div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Green Hokie @ May 1 2007, 07:44 PM) [snapback]433615[/snapback]</div>

Obviously you two are lying because we all know that the EPA lied and there is no way the Prius can get that kind of gas milage. :huh: :lol:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(buz lightyear @ May 1 2007, 08:53 PM) [snapback]433662[/snapback]</div>

First check your tire pressure, pump it up to 40lbs presure. Second learn to glide up to stoplights and down hills. (At below 40 mph, take your foot off of the gas pedal and then press the gas barely. You should see the arrows disapear and you will feel the car go into a smooth glide.) After a break in period of about 2,000 miles you should be able to get 63mpg at 63mph if you don't use cruse control. If you do use cruse control you should still get about 55 mpg at 65 mph.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ May 1 2007, 09:09 PM) [snapback]433670[/snapback]</div>

I'll check my tire pressure, I haven't done that yet. When you say "you should see the arrows disapear", does that mean that I shouldn't try to push down enough to get the yellow line showing the electric motor is propelling the car? Also, does the terrain I drive (kinda of up and down....mild....we don't have any major hills/mountains here) have a material effect on my MPG?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(brick @ May 1 2007, 05:08 PM) [snapback]433531[/snapback]</div>

Curious, that seems close to my learning curve with a used 2003 NHW11 Prius:



It occurs to me that our Prius have a learning curve that takes awhile, a couple of months. This goes a long way towards explaining why car publications don't get it. They don't have the car long enough to figure it out.

Bob Wilson

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(buz lightyear @ May 1 2007, 09:53 PM) [snapback]433662[/snapback]</div>

Yes. Exactly what Cheap said. There are also some great articles in the "sticky" section above that explain how to "pulse & glide" (as well as other techniques) to maximize fuel economy. Personally, I almost never use the accelerator to bring my car speed above 60-63 mph. Meanwhile, I try to let of the gas and go into "glide" mode as much as possible, since this is when the mpg reading goes into the 70's, 80's & 90's. During my daily commute to and from work, my speed will vary betwen 58-65 mph. If you are willing to adjust your driving habit a bit, I'm certain you can acheive at least 55 mpg. Good luck!!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(buz lightyear @ May 1 2007, 09:33 PM) [snapback]433685[/snapback]</div>

Yes don't push down enough to get the yellow arrows. (Under 40 mph) We will work on highway speeds later. You see when you charge the battery you loose some energy in the wires, and again when you use that energy later you loose more. If you could just glide every now and again you will see great improvements. In fact in your terrain you should do better then me. Power gently up hills and glide down. Because you are not recharging the batteries you will pick up more speed down hills. You will get the hang of it soon, but the most important thing you can do is check your tire pressure. For some reason Toyota only fills it to about 32 lbs and that hurts your average.

 

Congrats on your driving accomplishment! The highest mileage I have been able to get so far is 83 mpg into work which approx 18 miles. Coming back home I clip that down alot, cause it is mostly uphill driving. However, my highest mileage roundtrip has been 64. Today I got 62 mpg roundtrip. Needless to say, I am very pleased. I do use my EBH (engine block heater) too, btw and have my front grilles still blocked as it still goes down into the 40's high 30's here at night. The EBH I have found adds about 10mpg to my FE.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Cheap! @ May 1 2007, 07:39 PM) [snapback]433693[/snapback]</div>

I don't understand why you'd necessarily want to glide down hills. What about energy lost from regeneration?

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Display Name @ May 2 2007, 10:16 AM) [snapback]433907[/snapback]</div>

Gliding down hills IS the way to go. It's a waste to go "foot off the accelerator" as you end up maxing out, with a full battery, then the ICE has to kick on to burn off the extra charge. Gliding on the other hand lets you pick up speed to hit the next hill farther before the ICE has to kick on again.

B.T.W. ... Good Luck towards reaching your first 600+ miles pert tank. You'll need a cigarette after doing that! After 3+ years of experimenting, I'm still trying to go farther per tankfull. That means using WAY less cruise control. Didn't realize how much that could help. After dumping the stock GoodYear Integrities for Michelin HydroEdge's - great mpg has been harder to achieve, but at least the tires are holding up much better.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Scoreboard @ May 1 2007, 06:59 PM) [snapback]433597[/snapback]</div>

There is no guarantee that the amount you put in at a fill is the same as the amount that you burned since the last fill. There is also no guarantee that the gas station pump is perfectly accurate; note that the gas station owner has an economic incentive, *within the legally allowed accuracy*, to make the pump read more gallons than you actually get. Trust the MFD and be happy.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hill @ May 2 2007, 09:29 AM) [snapback]433913[/snapback]</div>

I'm trying to "stealth" down hills when I am on the highway. Here in Houston the only "hills" are overpasses!!

First, I cannot glide when I am going over 50 mph, and secondly, it seems that stealth (electric only) power causes the deceleration to occur more slowly and lets me use some of the charge I build up when the engine works.

On surface roads, is "glide" a better partner for the "pulse" than "stealth?" I find that sometimes I have no choice but to glide, I cannot get into stealth when the battery is only at 3 or 4 bars.

I'm having fun learning how to drive my Prius and hope to get some numbers that will be impressive enough to share. (I'm sorry for not being a good scientist, and reporting ALL data.)

 

I should show you all the MFD from my '02 Prius after a good 30 minutes. Why just the other day I was driving around for about an hour and came out with my MPG up to 63.9. It was 61.x previously. I've got about 150 miles on this tank and my MFD is showing me 63.8 MPG. That's the best I've seen so far. Plenty of time for that to drop as the temps get hotter. GF may want the AC on one day.

BTW, to get the best MPG in a hilly area you'll want to try to stealth over the hills. I know it can't be done all the time because of the grade of the hill and your battery charge. If you know there is a long downhill after the uphill part it's best to try and stealth over it. Also, if there is a downhill before a big uphill you'll probably want to use your gas engine to pick up your speed, then keep it at the upper end of the sweet spot if possible. I don't have a tech or anything, so what I use to know if I'm wasting gas is when my ICE engine revs hard. There is some point where if I give it some gas it just seems like it's reving like no tomorrow.

Anyways, I'll get that pic up if next time I drive 30 minutes. I usually don't drive very long, which is why I can't really get the most MPG out of this car.


EDIT: Took less time than I thought it would for me to drive 30+ minutes. Here's the pic:



Sorry if it isn't too good, I used my camera phone.

 

Thanks, Tideland. I'm crazy about my mag gray touring! It's also nice to be one of the very few in my area to have this particular color & trim. For some reason, mag gray doesn't seem to be a very popular color in my area and Toyota no longer offers the touring edition to any dealer in the Central Atlantic Region.

Sorry to hear about your Camry. Hope it gets fixed soon.

Yeah. My mpg average also drops whenever my wife drives the Prius. :lol:
She's definitely not into this hypermiling stuff.

 

My commute first leg is about 15 miles down (South) Route 3 from Nashua, NH to Route 40, in Mass.
Speeds MUST be 65+ or I'll get rear-ended by the idiots rushing to Boston.
Since this is my starting leg and I have to drive faster, I get only about 45MPG.

My second leg is about another 15 miles (West) on Route 40 to and through Westford, MA.
It's all country roads, with posted limit of 30MPH, which I (and others) drive about 35MPH.
I typically get 55MPG or so, as this is a slower leg.

Then, my next leg is about 20 miles on Interstate 495, where I have to deal with speed
demons, pickup trucks going 80, and BIG trucks going 75! I try to keep my speed at about
72 or so, and can only get about 50MPG on cruise control.

My final leg is through the city of Marlborough, MA to where I work. By now, my car is nice and warmed
up, and I get 55+ MPG.

The final result is I average no more than 49-51MPG.

The return trip is a little better average MPG, as coming back through Westford is all downhill and
my baby likes to charge up on the way.

Now that winter has finally gone, I expect to get a little better mileage.