New owner? Want MPG help? Read this first.

efusco,
i cannot locate your treatise on how to increase mileage. can you provide it in text or a link to the single document?

 

I sort of think that low mileage until complete warm-up occurs is the same for all cars. With the Prius, low mileage = 40 plus MPG. Very few cars can equal that. Going between buildings during the day, a bicycle might be perfect. Prius is not only a unique concept car, but I find it affects my thinking in other energy saving aspects.

 

This is probably a weird thread in which to put my first post, but I read the first several pages of it and I just have to chime in about something here

Several posters (this is from a couple years ago near the beginning of the thread) were lamenting that they only have a 5 mile or less commute and their Prius wouldn't get good gas mileage during such a short drive.

If they are still reading this thread, I would like to ask:

Have you tried a bicycle? I'm serious. Just about anyone can bike 5 miles in less than 25 minutes without even trying. Plus, you can get good panniers or an Xtracycle that will give you the capacity to carry enormous amounts of cargo should have the need. Plus, it's good exercise.

Just something to think about. It will save you money not spent on gas, time not wasted sitting in traffic (yeah it might take longer on a bike, but at least you're doing something productive), and improve your health.

 

I agree exactly with AndyPrius. All cars are hampered during warmup; the Prius is less so. Using the below technique, I (2006) get about 45 MPG during the first 5 min and 25 to 30 if driving regular for the first 5.

Also the link to Fusco's fine paper is right on. As can be seen, there are a LOT of variables. When measuring MPG, a basic requirement is to start and end the measurement with the same battery state of charge (SOC).

One driving technique that is Very effective is the "pulse and glide" :nod: , mentioned earlier. Key to the technique, surprisingly, is minimizing the use of the battery. This is because use of the battery is not 100% efficient. However, the technique requires some attention and can bug other drivers. 1) accelerate moderately, but not so hard as to require assist from the battery/electric motor. Accelerate to say 40 MPH, whatever the speed limit permits; 2) Feather the gas until the ICE stops but not enough to start using the car's inertia to put juice back in the battery (dynamic braking). This is coasting, while only very gradually slowing down, say to 30 MPH. Then repeat. Use the energy display to tell if you are feathering correctly (no arrows out of the ICE and none in or out of the battery). The SOC should remain fairly constant (unless the ac is on). This mode of driving in perfect conditions by experts can average over 100 MPG, but I don't like to bug the drivers behind me, so I can average about 50 MPG in moderate traffic and 70 in no trafic.

Any Prius owner that gets better MPG @ 65 MPH then in the city @ 30 - 45 MPH is probably driving aggressively in the city. The MPG for all cars drops dramatically at high speeds due to windage. Hybrids shine in the city because of ICE shutoff when coasting/stopped and dynamic braking.

 

i'm quite new here - still awaiting delivery on an '08/'09 Pkg #3 - but felt strangely obligated to respond to the above post ....

i know what you mean about driving downhill for 100+ miles. over the last SEVERAL years and on three different occasions, i've driven from Denver, CO - elevation 5300' - to Salina, KS - elevation 1250' - which is a distance of 400+ miles.

driving just a tad below the posted speed limit in the '97 Dodge Stratus - which i still have ... which is epa rated at 28mpg / hi-way driving - i got over 38mpg for that stretch one time, and over 40mpg the other two times ....

has anybody here had a chance to drive that same stretch of I-70 in a Prius at, say, 60-65mph? if so, what kind of mpg did you get for that haul?

 

slowly-but-surely, i'm getting caught up with this MOST informative and interesting thread.

i'm VERY happy to read, Lance, that - as of the date of the above-quoted post - your mileage had rather rapidly improved from 29 (?) to 46 (!) ... that's great!

we're still waiting to get our '08/'09 Prius - placed a deposit and ordered one nearly a month ago - and we certainly hope that IF our initial mileage is low as yours was, that it will also increase with time as yours has ....

 

I was browsing thru this post and found this message dated 10/15/2007. Oh how I miss the $85/barrel days. Cant wait to get my Prius 08 in Sept! Perhaps $200/barrel is not so far fetched by next year. Yeesh.

 

I was browsing thru this forum and found this message dated 10/15/2007. Oh how I miss the $85/barrel days. Cant wait to get my Prius 08 in Sept! Perhaps $200/barrel is not so far fetched by next year. Yeesh.

 

This thread is amazing! Thank you, everyone!!! I'm about 35 miles into my Prius (just picked it up from the dealership yesterday). The more I drive, the better the mpg is. I'm very quickly learning what positively and negatively affects mileage. At this point I'm at about 46.5mpg. I'm hoping to get about 55mpg after a lot of practice (and really studying this thread, of course).

 

I am new to the forum and I want to post a question. Traveling 150 miles each way, I can get either 47 or 55 miles/gal. I follow 95% of the recommendations given in the last 15 pages. I keep the same high/safe tire pressure, steady speed of 58 miles/hr using the cruise control, etc, etc.

The only difference seems to be the weather. If the environment has relative humidity 70% or more, and the temperature is = or < than 65 F, I get 47 +- 2 miles/gal If the temperature is above 70 F and the relative humidity is below 65%, I get 54 +- 2 miles/gal . This has happened since the car reached 20,000 miles (it now has 65,000 miles). Is this a general experience to the readership?

 

greay white up dawg

 

I hardly ever use cruise control, but then I don't travel 150 miles everyday. It's kind of odd though. Yesterday on the way home from work I made a few stops, then filled up the tank, then headed home. When I pulled into my driveway, I was averaging 62.2 mpg! It was evening...this has happened a few times before. But when I drive it again, the mileage goes down to upper 40's (47-49), and I'm okay with that, considering I'm getting almost twice the mileage as just about everyone else out there who doesn't own a Prius. Just an observation... My car rocks! :rockon:

 

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I picked up my 2008 Classic Silver Touring Hatchback w/Package #2 last Friday. It had 7 miles on it and the mpg was at 36.6. I have added 213 miles for a 220 total and the mpg is constantly rising and is now 44.6 for mostly 5-10 mile mixed city/Interstate trips. I keep the A/C on constantly. I am learning to use stealth mode more and more on these short trips and it is paying off.

Although not great mileage for the Prius as yet, it is way better than I get driving my 2003 Tundra V-8 A/C automatic dual exhaust Access Cab pickup. EPA on the Tundra is 14/17 and even with the patent pending gas saving device I added it only boosted me to an average of 22+ city/highway. (Although I have gotten 25.5 mpg using the device @55mph cruise control on I-75 from Tifton Ga to South Florida).

 

I picked up my Silver Pine Mica "Miles" on 10/7 and have put nearly 700 miles on it so far. MPG average -- 49.5. All but two miles of them are mine.

 

As any pilot can explain, the temperature and humidity affect air density, and denser air exerts more drag on a moving vehicle. At a given barometric pressure, cold air is denser than warm (because air expands as it warms), and dry air is denser than humid (because H2O molecules are ligher than either N2 or O2 molecules).

Several years ago I was commuting by bicycle to an office at the top of a hill. On my way home, I would free roll down the hill, my speed recorded on a digital speedometer. My weight and the geometry of the bike were constant, but on warm humid summer days my peak speed would reach 50 mph, while on cool dry winter days my speed wouldn't exceed 40 mph. I puzzled over the difference until my pilot friend explained the above.

I hope this helps.

- Rich

 

Is there a way to damage the HSD system? I usually drive up a mountain pass for 1/3 of my commute, and it gets backed up quickly, a lot of stop and go on an incline. I was wondering if all that stop and go is bad for the HSD. Also, my partner took it out and he seems to like to use the gas pedal to hold the car in place during uphill climbs in traffic. Since he took it out, my HSD hasn't stayed in electric mode more than 20 mph from a stop. Could any of these situations damage the HSD system? I live in the Los Angeles area, and it's been cooler here (50s and 60s).

 

I would save your money and buy a compact gas engine car like a Corolla. Our short trips in the cold weather (under 6 miles at a time) relegates our Prius gas mpg to 33 winter city. Not worth the extra thousands of price for Prius. Had I known, I would have stayed with a Corolla or small Honda.

 

Thanks for the replies. . . very helpful.

As far as freaking out. . . that was not the case. I have been quite pragmatic in trying to figure out why our mileage is low - asking many many questions & having the dealership look over the car once more.

I even drove another prius under the same conditions with equal mileage and, guess what. . . the other car reached over 43MPG.

Perhaps, if the dealer had the same info as that galaxee sent in his posting, I would have felt much more hopeful.

Again, I really appreciate the replies. . . I am hopeful.

Margo