Spouse gets much worse MPG, how to remedy?

Do and say nothing about it. Absolutely nothing. Put it out of your mind and be happy.

 

Mission impossible. Buy another Prius for yourself.

 

:iagree
Pearls of wisdom! (And if you don't believe us -- call the Car Talk Guys. I know they'll back us up!) :lol:

 

My first reaction was also to buy another Prius, however that may not be economically possible.

Why don't you reset the mpg when you drive? That way you can compare your trips and not worry about what she is getting.

 

:lol: !!!

Assuming the two of you chose the car to save gas and money, why not take a few trips with her offering helpful hints(careful about your phrasing) about how she might improve her MPG. As much as I dislike hearing what I should be doing instead, when it comes to saving money and getting the best MPG possible I would certainly be all ears!

 

Tony,
Are the MPG values in your chart from the car's computer? I'm guessing so since they don't correspond to tanks miles/refill gallons

 

Given all the variables in pumps, how you fill and all, I think I'll ignore the calc for "miles/gallons pumped" and rely on the computer as well.

 

do you two ever drive together??

maybe you should drive so she can see what you do to keep the mileage high...

also maybe explaining to her that rushing up to a light that you know will be red only makes your wait at a standstill longer.

emphasize the joy you feel when you coast up to a light just as the car in front of you starts to move, knowing that although you were forced to start coasting 6 blocks back that you still timed it perfectly.

offer her dinner if she can get up to say... 44 mpg...

a diamond for 55 mpg...

(forget that last part...,my so made me say that...shhhh)

 

For some strange reason, I find this to be an intriguing question. I have some questions of my own...

Is she an experienced driver?
If she isn't, she might not be able to change her style, even if she wanted to. If, like many newbies, all her attention is focussed on the basics of obeying the rules and not getting into an accident, then maybe she doesn't have any attention left over to think about improving her style.

Does she understand the factors that affect a Prius' average?
Not everyone is able to understand even the basics of how a Prius works and what the energy screen is saying. I've seen 8 year old kids "get it" instantly and middle-aged PhDs remain baffled after long explanation. If she's one of those people that doesn't "get" the car, it might be impossible for her to understand what she has to do to make it perform better.

Is she interested in keeping the car's average up?
If she thinks that keeping track of the stats is just a silly geek thing or something, then she'll never be interested in helping you.

What percentage of the time does she drive the car? What percentage of the time does she fill up the car and pay for the gas? If not often, then she might not have had the opportunity to see for herself the connection between driving style and a postive outcome (such as going for a longer period before having to fill up).

Just my two cents...

 

Or, the unthinkable:

Spouse 2.0

Very expensive and not necessarily an upgrade.

-Your marriage may vary (good luck!)

 

hmm, I often feel that way too - but then I realize most other people aren't paying any attention to me any more than I pay attention to them. The majority of the people driving by her are thinking about getting to work/home faster, what's for dinner or breakfast, and so on. And, a handful of others are paying attention to the road enough to not notice she's driving a hybrid!

I agree with Dave - the only good solution here is bribery. Offer her something for hitting certain MPG marks - say if she can make a trip at 42MPG, you'll take her out to dinner and she can drive, and if she can obtain 45 on the trip there and home, you'll rub her feet when you get home. If she plain doesn't know how to drive the car better, she's smart enough to ask you for tips, I'm sure. But make it personally worth her time, and I think she'll do it for the greater good

-m.

 

My situation is a bit different. It's 'our' car, but 'my' ownership (I traded in my old car to get this one). So, that being said, I 'got' it fairly quickly (driving for high MPG). My SO just wanted to drive it. I used to get better MPG.
Now, though, she is getting the same or better than I, and she says she is still 'just driving it'. I'm working hard at maximizing coasting, minimal high speeds, etc. and here she's driving fairly normally and getting simialr numbers!
I think it is a case where I try to 'baby' it too much and she just drives faster and coasts out of habit. Although I have seen her lately doing more 'predicting' red lights/stops and getting her foot off the gas as soon as possible! Love "my" Prius!

 

I just read this thread and something came to me.

Do you all realize that you all seem UPSET by 40 MPG!! Do you realize how many people would die for that kind of mileage? Also, is there anyone in this group that ever got more than 40 MPG prior to their Prius?

And now we find it disconcerting to get less than 50!!!

She is obviously driving quite agressively. (Assuming she doesn't leave the E brake on.) Can anyone imagine driving agressively in ANYTHING else and getting this kind of mileage?

To me, this is another example of what a GREAT car this is.

 

And another thing.

NEVER buy the .0 version of anything. Always wait for the .1 version so they can work the bugs out.

 

sorry prius04 but i would be extremely upset as is the OP for mpgs like that.

i got my oil changed yesterday and immediately took a trip of length that was identical to a trip i had taken a week earlier.

well my previous trip which was chronicled here got me 58 mpg on the freeway. this time it was only 54 mpg... i nearly had a coniption (what ever that is ...) i finally found out that the oil change people kindly drained my tires... they were clockwise from front driver 33.5, 33.0. 32.0, 32.5

well i immediately reaired them to 38/36 and now i hope my mileage will go back to normal

keep in mind that 40 mpg is exactly what the original CAFE goal for 2000 was... it was supposed to continue rising so settling for 40 mpg... that is the big 3 talking... well i dont drive an american car.