35 mpg Prius blues.

My 08 Prius now has 9000 miles. I've been averaging 47 mpg. We rechecked the tires and found they were low. Filled them to 42/40 as suggested here. Yesterday I did a freeway trip- got 53.9 mpg for the 180 miles.
I am still learning about pulse and glide, and am driving more slowly. I love my prius.

 

Drove three miles to work in downtown stop and go city driving in 20 degree weather this morning . I couldn't even look at the fuel economy....i'm sure it will be better at 30 degrees on my three miles back home, with traffic even worse. lol

 

you know, izza, i was kind of thinking the same thing - that the dealers don't really want to try to answer questions. they just want us to go away now that we've bought the car.

 

I think the number one fuel ecomony factor that few respect is the nature of Your commute.

You CAN NOT drive "pulse and glide" or any other long-trip (or clear straightaway) methods in a daily 2 hour bumper-to-bumper grind...
for example, like mine here in WA state on I-5 (example, the Everett Boeing freeway Northbound, 7 miles into Marysville)....(or anything basically from Tacoma N or S for 70 miles)....

Add in cold rainy, windy weather or your extreme heat climates (requiring either Front defrost or A/C on always) and then you try to drive "normal" (5 mph over, at least, in the "fast lane" whenever possible........speed limit in trap areas.....

Then, add in the 32psi factory tire fill, in 51 psi rated tires, (FILL THEM TO 44 PSI, and SEE the rolling resistance difference)......

So, there you have a few answers.
Add in a learning curve, because the Prius drives funky, and then ask yourself, what exactly did your OLD CAR get in the same commute conditions??

Take your Prius for a nice holiday run to someplace fun, see what it can do..... don't compare this sites so-called averages, unless the authors are driving your commute exactly....and,
!!IF THEY ARE, OFFER TO CAR POOL..... BEST MPG EVER!!

Good luck and cheer up..... we are all learning together!

 

For the first 20,000 miles, my 2005 was getting 48 mpg without even trying. For the next 70,000, it was hard work to get 40 mpg. I had it checked every time at the dealership, and they couldn't do anything.

In October I was talking to a mechanic at a Las Vegas dealership (about 600 miles from home) because I needed to change a headlight and couldn't believe the cost was almost $400 for the lightbulb alone. Anyway, that mechanic heard my mileage story and suggested reseting the memory in the ECU. I paid him a few dollars on the side to do that, and on the drive home I got 58 mpg for one tank and 50 for the second (at 80+ mph). Now I'm getting about 46 mpg on average. I'm thinking I ought to have the ECU reset with every oil change.

 

I tried this approach once, the lady became rather agitated and the policeman said he would lock me up if I did it again.

:focus:

 

So how long have you and the lady been married now?

Bob Wilson

 

I get the same as you and I've got 35k miles on mine. Approx. 35-38 combined driving in Winter and 42ish in Summer. It's been in the 20's and 30's F here in the winter, and in the 90's/100's in the Summer. We have 10% ethanol in our gas (a horrid joke btw).

I just drive the thing, no pulse, coast, brake, etc. too complex to keep track of.

I have a lot of up and down hills. We're at 2200ft elevation, drop down to 1500ft, then back again a couple of times a day. I switched to Goodyear Assurance tires right away and run Bridgestone Blizzaks in the winter.

Good luck. I still love the rig, though it's got some problems, but... don't get me started.

Thanks to all.

Ken

 

35 is actually better than I can get in this weather. I'm struggling to get 30.

mid-40's most of the summer though, sometimes dipping near 40, occasionally up near 47ish.

I try pretty hard to do well, but don't go overboard, no EBH (although I 'm thinking about it), but I'm done in by cold, snowy roads and short trips, not to mention lots of stoplights on the short trips.

 

What do you do, floor the pedal at every green and slam the brakes when the light turns red? Do you turn the car off every time you stop? I don't know how anyone can get in the 30's. Especially in Florida.

 

i get 35mpg to 40mpg. i tend to accelerate fast. i used my car as a generator and outdoor audio system pretty frequently. i also have the heavy rims... aged suspension... mudflaps... hitch.. etc.. etc.. etc.. they all add weight and drag.

if i had a new suspension, lighter rims, new 12v battery, did a transaxle change, change ignition coils, and radiator flush.. it would probably get 43 to 48 mpg again...

 

Most of izza's trips are very short and he keeps tire pressures low to improve ride comfort. Both of those things are bad for MPGs in *any* car, it's just more obvious in a Prius. There's nothing else to be done (unless he's also using "B", which nobody should ever do in Florida).

 

I'll buy his Prius for $10,000 (and then flip it for 18 when gas shoots up this summer mahaha).

 

From what I recall Izza never really did much to determine whether his car had a problem relative to others, or if it was his routes, etc. Determining if it was a problem with his car would require driving another Prius or swapping cars for a time so that another owner could compare.

We are getting in the 50 mpg tank range routinely now. The commute is only about 6 miles each way. Lots of hills, twists, turns and stops with highway & interstate interspersed on our normal drives. The 2.2 mile grocery trip can be challenging to keep at 50, more likely to be about 45.

It's ironic that someone would complain about the nav. All the packages above #2 were crazy overpriced in my opinion. If I wanted bluetooth and GPS nav I would buy a standalone anyway. As for the front seat, it seems a smart buyer would actually test drive it and determine if it worked for them before ordering...same with the nav.

For whatever reason, some cars are poor fits with some owners. This seems to be an example of that. Buying a loaded car for infrequent, short trips and expecting to recoup any price differential is hard to rationalize.

 

I'd posit the most likely cause of a driver getting poor mileage when all else is good (alignment, tire pressure, etc etc...) is because of...


... THE DRIVER.

 

From Izza ITS OK GUYS, SAY WHAT YOU WILL. OTHER PEOPLE HAVE DRIVEN MY CAR AND GOT THE SAME MPG. I TOOK IT TO THE DEALER 5 TIMES. They checked it out and said "some do better than others. Its still within the EPA range, and depends on driving conditions." From experience I know mediation is in their favor unless it is an objective and not a subjective issue. I have a fickle back condition. When I test drove the car my back was ok with it. But when flared up that seat is killer. A great car like that should have power seats and teloscopic wheel for bloaks like me. (Disabled). I do 5100 miles in 14 months. So gas prices are not an issue. I can unload this thing and get a fun ride, or give it one of my Granchildren, I did not finance it. All due respect I think you guys have great cars. I am not knocking yours. I am happy for you. But I was told by you folks that it would get better if I had 5k miles on it. I do and same story. I did everything you sugested. Same story. So now you know that some do not get the great miliage you do. No offense, just fact. No reason to knock and critisize. It Is what it is. Its a nice car but I am just not satisfied with it. Sorry Your Old Pal IZZA​