Is it still the breakin period or what? My prius has only gotten green bars ONCE in 517 miles driven. I used to test drive a prius and was able to get green bars no problem. Just by exiting off a highway. And my highway mpg sucks until i have just two bars short of full. How often do you get green bars on your prius? Mine is usually at the half mark and sometimes at plus 2 from half. but never achieved full. On that tank i got 517 miles and averaged 46.something and i ran out of fuel. Oh another question on the highway what is the ideal consumption display. it seems to be mostly on engine charging the battery as well as driving the wheels. Is it ever possible to just use the engine to only drive the wheels and not loose any power charging the battery or no? I think i passed by a priuschat member in a 1st gen prius today on the QEW from buffalo he had the priuschat decals on his car.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ranmandx @ Aug 6 2007, 11:26 PM) [snapback]491679[/snapback]</div> I know you are in the border area, but are you running the A/C? If so, shut that stupid thing off! I live in Florida and only run the A/C when my 6 year old son is in the car. Otherwise I keep it off, because the A/C is your enemy if you want superior MPG. It will drain your battery and keep you from getting "green" battery bars. Check your air pressure in your tires. Go to at least 42 lbs psi in the front tires and 40 lbs psi in the rear tires. I personally run above sidewall tire pressure and I have all 4 tires at 50lbs psi. Not only does it increase my MPG, but my handling is great! I hope I am not telling you anything you didn't already know. You don't need green bars for good overall MPG, as I am mostly in blue. This photo just shot this evening will help show that, good luck! Brad Tampa Bay Florida
"Getting green bars" is not part of driving a Prius. It serves no purpose to try to get them. In fact, any efforts you make to purposefully try to override the normal operation of the car in an effort to get green bars will result in reduced fuel economy. The car is programmed to try to keep the battery at a 60% SOC--5-6 blue bars. The area above and below that is buffer...if it goes above the car will intentionally use more battery to get the SOC back down to 60%. If it goes below that level the car will intentionally run the ICE more in an effort to get back up. This is another one of those "just drive it" situations, you're trying to hard...don't do anything different whether the battery shows full green or 1 pink bar...it will take care of itself, you just keep driving.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ranmandx @ Aug 6 2007, 08:26 PM) [snapback]491679[/snapback]</div> My mileage went up slightly with each tank for at least the first half dozen tanks. So, yes, you are still in the break in period. You should try to avoid running out of fuel, its not good for the car.
To see all green bars you need to go down a fairly long hill. Driving along mostly flat highways is not going to do it. Turning off the A/C in the summer and inflating the tires 15 pounds over the factory recommendation in order to achieve the highest possible mpgs is not for me. It's not worth it... and the little money saved will most likely not be deposited in a savings account, but rather spent buying stuff, eating in restaurants, drinking beer, etc.
The only time I get green bars is on the interstate on a 1.2 mile downhill coasting from 64MPH down to about 52MPH. The ICE(internal combustion engine) continues to run the entire time because the car is greater than 41MPH. Hope this helps. I keep my AC at 75 deg f. It also cools the battery so if you are cool then it is cool. Yeah.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(D Rock @ Aug 7 2007, 05:45 AM) [snapback]491757[/snapback]</div> I've also found that 75 degrees is the best all around temperature. However, even at lower temperatures I've heard the battery fan come on, after a long climb up the mountains.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ranmandx @ Aug 6 2007, 08:26 PM) [snapback]491679[/snapback]</div> This is really easy... put gas in when the "guess gauge" goes down. The blinking last pip means your car is screaming "GET GAS NOW OR YOU WILL RUN OUT". Search on "fuel bladder" and " :blink: ran out of gas" and you will find discussion ad nauseum on this topic. For some reason, people seem to think that knowing the MPG means you don't have to pay attention to the gas gauge. The major problem is that you never know exactly how much gas is in the fuel bladder.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Vagabond @ Aug 7 2007, 12:10 PM) [snapback]491957[/snapback]</div> ...And stop worrying so much. A few mpgs are not worth getting ulcers over. As for the AC, why suffer? If its hot or too cold, turn the thing on. The car will take care of the mpgs for you. Just drive.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(subarutoo @ Aug 7 2007, 02:20 PM) [snapback]491961[/snapback]</div> Or, if you get ulcers when the mpg is low and you find pleasure and fun in the 'game' of striving for high mpg you can do that too. We each enjoy our cars in our own way and you should do what you prefer, not what someone else tells you to do.
I'm not even going to pretend that I don't like to get green bars. Although I do not go out of my way to get them, I usually get them when coasting down a long or steep hill. I find that the milage does go up for that tank usually since the engine does not have to work as hard since it is taking more battery power to bring it back down into the blue range. I keep my A/C when its hot in the range of 75-80 degrees (I hate being hot!) and I do not over-inflate my tires...at least not yet. I'm still concerned it can cause suspension or shock problems in the long term.
Personally, I like getting the little green leaf cars... but then, I drive down a long mountain on my way home from work, and the leaf cars are my reward for coasting! My MPG keeps going up, so I think the engine is still breaking in. When I get my new tires, I'm sure that it will go back down a few mpgs for a few hundred miles.
But the *fewer* green cars you pile up, the more energy is going to the *road*... look at some of the screens from the extreme- hypermiler articles, you'll see very little regen. Assuming you're in the type of terrain that gives you the choice, of course. . _H*
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ranmandx @ Aug 6 2007, 11:26 PM) [snapback]491679[/snapback]</div> Blocking your upper grill now and the lower one when it gets cool will retain engine heat. The battery will charge more (green bars more often) and the ICE will run less (purple bars more often). If you want to see green bars glide down a mountain at 75mph.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Aug 7 2007, 03:04 PM) [snapback]492075[/snapback]</div> Well, like I said, I drive up a mountain to work, and down the mountain home. I have no choice but to get little leaf cars... When I drive the second half of my drive home, through town, I get lovely high MPG, and very few leaves...
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(hobbit @ Aug 7 2007, 05:04 PM) [snapback]492075[/snapback]</div> Bah. My stack of little leaf cars is often higher than my MPG bar. That's what I get for living on a #$%*ing roller coaster.
