MPG 2008 Prius=28mpg Winter; 35 Summer

Welcome to the site.

Your title says 35 summer, but you wrote:

"Several times on country highways, driving carefully/frugally with almost NO STOPS, I've gotten 44-51mpg. On a trip to the West coast, thru mountains, often as fast as 70+mph, I actually got my most consistent higher mpg tanks averaging 42mpg, which was very pleasing."

So you are averaging closer to 50 sometimes like the other Prius owners. You should try increasing the tire pressure (it's free at Sheetz where I live), and use the MFD display to maximize your averages. You probably do need to slow it down as well. My commute is almost 100% highway, and I keep it slower in the right lane because of the difference between 60 and 65. Learn to pulse and glide and block the grill(s) in the winter.

Also, look into the Engine Block Heater -- If you are making a lot of very short trips your mpg will be lower because your engine has to warm up. The first 5 mins of driving are typically the worst, so if you are making a lot of 5-10 min short trips your avg mpg will suffer. The EBH will help in that regard. Keep reading and you'll glean a lot more info than this, these are just a few of the basics to get started.

 

Never Never use B. It is only used to throw away energy when are going down long hills that are so steep that your battery gets completely charged and you start using a lot of the friction brakes. In normal short down grades, you will charge your battery by coasting or using light brake pressure without using B.

Are a lot of your trips short like 5 to 10 minutes, becuase the first five minutes, feul economy is much worse. You can only see the good mileage on longer trips after the first five minute warm up.

You may see a hop up in mileage after around 15000 miles and maybe again around 25000 miles because your baby is still just getting broken in.

 

Did you know that traditional vehicles also have lower MPG the first few minutes? As clear as day I could see warm-up taking place on my Taurus. RPM was always higher at first, despite driving at a constant speed. It's amazing what you learn when extra information is available.

Another problem for decades is moisture in the exhaust system from short drives. No matter what you drive, being only a few minutes away from your destination spells reduced component life. The opportunity to purge often simply isn't available.

Welcome to the world where awareness is raised... and keep on asking questions.

.

 

Yeah your many short trips, esp in cold weather, may be killing the avg mpgs the most. Is your car parked outside (requiring more warm-up)? Do you run the heater pretty high?

You can find the EBH on this website, I think, as well as the jdm site. And you may be able to use it year-round, or you may find it not to be necessary during the warmer months. Best thing to do is experiment and see when you no longer need it. I think you might benefit from grille blocking as well to retain the heat in cold weather. You can search for the EBH and grille blocking threads -- plenty of instructional information to digest.

Does your 50 mpg friend drive 70-75 on the highways or does her typical commute keep her at slower speeds? I suspect differences in your driving habits are in play here (by driving habits, I'm including *where* you drive and for how long, not just how you drive).

Since you're driving in the mountains, it's hard to know whether the terrain is working for you or against you. Case in point -- on my way to work, my mileage drops because it's an uphill climb. But on the way home I gain it back. Of course, that's a round-trip scenario that causes me to lose and then allows me to regain -- your situation could be different. So landscape can also help or hinder your mpgs as well.

Not everyone fits neatly within the EPA averages because of different factors. Some are able to get far higher FE, while others seem to struggle to meet them. A lot of these issues need to be taken into consideration.

Some things are just harder for some to do -- like I just *can't* seem to coast up to a red light until it's green without coming to a stop. Must be in my area that the lights stay red for so long you might as well forget it -- and the long lines prove it. Coast all I want as slowly as I can, but I'm going to stop at that crazy red light 95% of the time!

I'm sure the more seasoned vets can give you more/better recommendations.

 

Here in the Ohio even in the very coldest weather I manage 45 MPG or better. I would inspect your tires for abnormal wear. Since you are at 13,000 miles there should be some significant signs of wear if your wheels are out of alignment. If the weather is nice here its hard not to get 55 or better. Even my wife who pays no attention whatsoever to any MPG will consistently nail down 52 MPG - 54 MPG in most situations. (I run the tires at 44front 42 rear, but am now using GY 195/60R15 TripleTreds)

 

I'd like to put some emphasis on one item that has received very little so far: Check your tire pressure! Increase to 40 psi front and 38 psi rear and see if the ride is comfortable. It will certainly make a difference to your fuel economy. Even if you've checked it sometime in the past, check again. I was running my tires at 44/42 for the summer, but when I checked when the weather turned cool, they were reading 39/37. That's a significant decrease from just temperature change. Hey, it's a simple thing to do, and can yield real dividends. Hope it helps.

 

The issue is clearly the short trips which would be the issue with ANY auto due to warm up.

Advice for ANY auto = combine trips

... Brad

 

- Short trips kill MPGs in *every* car, it's just more obvious in a Prius
- Check tire pressures at least monthly
- Try increasing tire pressures; see if you like a different compromise between MPGs and ride stiffness
- There's no place in Wisconsin where "B" should be used. The nearest places are in West Virginia and the Black Hills.

 

Sounds pretty low even for short trips. It might be within spec, but I wouldn't call it normal. The things I would check/have checked:
1. Tire pressure at placard or above.
2. Wheel alignment. Does it pull at all to one side or the other? Even it if doesn't the alignment should be checked--probably still within your warranty period for free alignment.
3. Check your oil level--Toyota and the dealers tend to overfill it.

Does it run even when you are sitting at lights or is the ICE shutting down as it is supposed to?

In town rolling up the windows to avoid drag doesn't make much sense if you still need some ventilation. Aero drag is not going to kick in significantly until you are nearing highway speeds. If the AC compressor or heater are kicking in you will lose more mileage than with the windows down or partially down.

 

Hi Mark,

I went through some of my childhood in Houghton and Calumet. I am familiar with the winters up there.

The issue with the traction control is as much ergonomic as it is associated with the high low-end torque of the electric motor.

I imagine you wear boots while driving in the winter? We wore galloshes back in the 60's up there. They were neccassary to keep the snow from getting inside the the outer pair of pants, and melting, and causing excessive heat loss.

The problem with boots is you cannot feel the Prius gas pedal through them until you pressed it far too much for the winter traction. I wear boots here, too, in the winter but not galloshes over them. Even so, I had to learn where the gas pedal is, and not press by feel at all. Just pay attention to the accelleration of the car. Once it gets going a little bit, you can position your foot a little lower. I avoided saying "press on the gas peddal more", because, through boots you cannot feel the press well enough.

 

On another topic that you bring up, your headlights ARE adjustable, and you can do it yourself if you wish. The nominal adjustment is controlled by a silver colored nut on the back of each headlamp assembly. Turning this raises or lowers the nominal aiming point. Detailed instructions have been posted on PriusChat.

Tom

 

Where do you live? My parents live in Rochester NY (no hills) and their average trip is 10 miles. their 05 gets about 50 all the time (until they change to the winter fuel mix)
I live in Syracuse NY, i drove their car for a week before i got my 08 and the same car, gets 10 mpg less.
my 08 has 10k miles on it and around town it averages 43 mpg. the hills have stops at the bottom and i cannot coast through them. when i take the car on trips the mileage is considerably better.
I just went 700 miles (all the way around lake ontario) on a business trip to Toronto and when i set the cruise control to 68mph i averaged 51 mpg for the whole trip.
i think you may have a hill problem if you have alot of hills in your area.
Mike

 

Why? If your engine is running non-stop now, there really won't be a whole lot of difference when its colder anyway.

Many of us actually experience worse conditions. Picture the snow coming down so heavy the commute route turns into a very, very long parking lot. I personally experience that several times a year. Fortunately, even then the Prius is still outperforming every other vehicle in the vicinity. If nothing else, the Atkinson-Miller pumping cyle of the engine makes a difference.

.

 

The engine block heater you can get at the PriusChat shop or your Toyota dealer is about the only option you have other than a very expensive Webasto type heater.

Your problem is very much your short trips and tire pressure. You do need to increase the tire pressure, block your grill and get an engine block heater. For winter you can get steel wheels for a 2003-7 Corolla, which fit the Prius, and your choice of winter tires.

When you get the block heater give me a PM and I'll come up and install it and then take you around your route a bit and show you some tricks.

Wayne

 

Mark,

I would say you should be happy with your MPG. First of all. Anything short of all highway, given where you live, will probably result in less than expected MPG. Additionally, if the terrain on the highway is not nearly flat then expect to see less than 50mpg or there about. Despite the fact most hills have an up and down.. .it purely depends on how you manage the gas pedal to gain back what you put in on the uphill run. Try this. Rest your digital display when you get on the highway. Accelerate at a moderate pace and then when you reach your speed (65, 70.... whatever) come completely off the gas and then just touch the pedal and try to manage minor changes in range of the elec. motor or if the engine kicks in... 50mpg or above. If you use cruise control... the brain will use too much gas.

Toyota does not explain that the around town driving is not City. The perfect city driving would only require a car to get to 25mph with very little stops.. then you might see what the book calls for in city.

I will tell you that I drive 120 miles a day and when the average temperatures are above 50 degrees I see 52-55mpg. Out of the 120, 16 are up and down a few hills to the house. In the winter I see this drive drop to 46-50mpg. If I even make one trip around town, all bets are off as to what it will be.

Hope this help some. Good luck.

 

The OP has basically done almost everything possible to get the worst mileage out of a Prius. He does lots of short trips, that alone is probably 80% responsible for his poor (relatively speaking.....if he were driving a Suburban or F350 he'd be getting 6mpg) mileage. He is lead-footing it. He hasn't checked the tire pressures. And I suspect, given that he lives in Wisconsin that he either has the heater cranked in the winter or the AC in the summer from the moment he pulls out of his driveway. If a guy were to try to see if he could get the worst mileage from a Prius, these would be the things he would do, short of towing a 12' grand piano.