Am I the only One?

I suggest you visit GreenHybrid.com to see the distribution of mpg results posted by various Prius and other hybrid vehicle owners.

If your driving is mostly very short local trips, then your mpg is normal. Recall that the first 5 minute mpg history bar will be around 25 mpg due to the need to warm up the engine and catalytic converter.

What mpg do you get for highway driving; and what is your average highway speed?

 

You do not own a lemon. Probably all your short drives are under the time it takes to get the system warmed up. The same short trips in a car that is EPA rated at 20 mpg will only be getting around 14 mpg. Most people do not know that, because their cars do not have a gauge telling them the sad facts. Still, getting your present mileage is far better that you would be getting on most other cars.

 

How's the tyre pressure, how high up the dip stick is the oil mobil 0-30 gives better mpg and 2/3's up is optimum, press your emergency brake and release it a few times, does it pull to one side at all? at one time I had a bad spark plug and was getting high 40's mileage
if yer out of alignment, dragin a brake, low on air or missing a cylinder, check
ethanol lowers mileage @ 10%, yers might be more than 10% check
clean yer cabin air filter,clean or change yer engine air filter
I'm pleased to be hangin right @ 60mpg lately

 

Most of my trips are under 5 miles. I rarely see above 40 MPG on a tank (and those only on those rare occasions I'm able to be on a highway for more than a half hour each way).

Nothing wrong with your car; it's where you're driving.

Personally, since I often go a day or two without driving at all, I still figure I'm using as much gas per month as your average Prius owner (and still get much more MPG than average car owner).

 

My wife uses our 2007 Prius mostly for kid shuttling, grocery shopping etc.. In Essex county New Jersey this rarely gets the Prius beyond three 5 minute interval bars. Her mileage is the same as yours, better in warm weather (~42MPG) worse in cold (~34MPG).

It's just not long enough to get the car warmed up fully.

When I drive it farther non-highway local I can get 50MPG+ to 60MPG+ and she just drove up to Buffalo NY from NJ and got 56MPG.

Short trips kill mileage. Of course it kills mileage on regular cars too - our Ford Explorer got 11MPG - 13MPG in this type of driving but gets 23MPG on the highway.

Rumple

 

Most of my trips are short,42-45 mpg.
When I take longer drives with fewer short ones,48-52mpg.
Sure beats my wifes mini van,14-18 mpg.

 

Our lowest MPG so far has been an avg. of 47.1 on our first tank (dealer provided). Our commute to work is about 15 minutes with a 50/50 city/highway route. Top posted speed limit is 55mph -- that is the first three miles after pulling out of our driveway. Our highest avg. for a tank has been 56.1 mpg .. mostly highway driving at 55-60, but lots of mountains to travel over.

We have only had the car a month and we are still trying to master stealth, warp-stealth, and glide. We are on our fourth tank of fuel with an overall avg. of 52.3 mpg since we got the car. Short trips (less than 5 miles) seem to really take their toll -- but that is true for any car.

 

I commute about 21 miles one way, mostly 65 mph on the highway. I average 45.3 mpg overall. Elevation is around 4000 feet and travel is up and down hill, not steep but not flat. At 75 mph in hot weather, mileage is 38-40 mpg.

 

Hi Taraya,

No your not the only one. There are two things enthusiasts have done to improve the specific short trip situation, besides all the general recommendations given so far. Many install the engine block heater. Even those in warm climates such as LA. This way the warmup is not totally gasoline powered, but much more economically electric plug powered, even in the summer. To do this they use timers, to start the engine warmup in the morning so that as they leave an optimum temp is reached. I imagine for optimum effect, the amount of time to run the engine block heater varies with morning temperature. The second thing, and this is for a very technical, and technically attentive person (as malfunctions may occur if not applied correctly) is the socalled "thermistor hack". A potentiometer and switch are installed across the terminals of the engine temperature thermistor input. With proper setting of the potentiometer, and operating of the switch, the car can be tricked into thinking the engine is wamed up, and allow various fuel economy modes early.

Although I have an engine block heater installed, I only use it in the colder weeks of the winter. I do not have a thermistor hack. I have a 23 mile commute, which is 75 percent highway. I have only gotten in the tank-average low 40's mpg in the coldest part of the winter (like between -5 and 10 degrees F). I park my car outside, which also makes for poorer mileage.

 

IF you are doing short trips (less than 10 minutes), you will not get the advertised good fuel economy in ANY auto. If this isn't the case, go back to the dealer to complain. Your mileage isn't in line.

... Brad

 

To go 60 miles on one gallon of gas with a car this large, heavy, and powerful, is no accident. It took a lot of engineering. If one drives like most others these days, the design won't be realized. I do almost all short trips and lots of cold starts and I never go below 50 mpg. I am seeing very close to 60 mpg on some recent 50-100 mile trips, at 60-62 mph. In the summer, warm climate, fairly flat terrain, fairly smooth roads, with Mobil 1 5w-30, with 35/33 tire pressure. 300 miles on 5 gallons, that's a big savings, and enjoyable. If you take the car on a level road at 60 mph, the mileage to maintain this speed with a very light touch on the gas should be 50mpg or above. If not, then maybe the car isn't performing to it's design.

 

My millage seems to depend on my need to be somewhere fast. If I'm constantly on my gas pedal to keep up speed, I get less gas mileage. I drive short distances to work, less than 8 miles, and have never gotten less than 41-43 mpg. I'm not bragging I would like to get over 50.

 

First thing you should do is to pump your front tires to 42psi and your rear tires to 40. This will help a lot. You should also think about installing an engine block heater if your trips are small in order to keep everything warmed up. Tires first and see how much that helps.

 

Nope-
Did the tire thing,Mobil 1,pulse/glide.
The very best is 52.

 

35-38 mpg--------------46-48 mpg------------50-54 mpg--------------60-70+
lead foot-----------------average-------------conservative-----------hypermiler
........|<---------------SPAN OF HUMAN SANITY--------------->|................
...|<---MOST DRIVERS--->|...............................................................

It's easy to fall into the lead foot category and not even realize it. Compounding the illusion is the speed and aggressive nature of the traffic around you. People do not drive to the posted limits, they drive as quickly as possible just up to the point where a few more mph would feel like the car is going to slide off the road. It's amazing how much g-force on a curve the average driver will tolerate as acceptable.

Take a lesson from the off roading world. You can take the same truck across the same rocks with two different drivers, and one comes through unscathed every time, and one will break an axle every time. Guess which driver is likely to blame the truck first before questioning their driving technique?

Also keep in mind that getting in the high fifties and up takes special effort. Getting 60+ takes a dedication, maybe even at the risk of attention to the road. Some here may report it is easy ("I get really high mpg without giving my driving a second thought"). Don't believe them

 

You're not the Lone Stranger - I too get 35-40 MPG. I drive 4 miles each way to work. What really p***ed me off is that an old fogger (I'm 73) backed into my Prius yesterday and drove off! ...and I have $1,000 deductible! Phooey!

 

I concur exactly to these numbers. sometimes even slightly worse on the short trips 90 + degree weather with A/C blowing at 77 degrees on low.
The short trips will kill your MPG's.

 

I feel better now. I have 17k on my 2007 & am averaging 42 mpg summer - 38 winter. My tires are 42/40 & I check my oil after each change. I drive 30 miles each way to work, 90% highway. I'll admit I'm a bit of a leadfoot ( I usually do 70 for the majority of my ride), and I don't attempt any of the pulse & glide or other tricks to increase mileage. But I kept reading about people who were doing nothing & getting 50+ mpg. I've never been able to get over 45mpg on a tank. I'm glad there are others who also don't get the high mileage.