Our Prius tank was filled up only for the second time today since purchasing it. After filling up neither the computerized gas consumption meter or the energy meter worked for a bit. They finally kicked in, but they just don't seem to be accurate or my gas mileage is now horrible. For example, in a parking lot without pressing on the gas it now reflects that I am at 8 - 13 mpg and it appears the gas engine is now running.... Is this normal? Maybe I just didn't notice it previously. Seemed I could stealth a bit more and generally the gas engine never kicked in the parking lot until pressed the gas and accelerated onto the street... I think my kid put the wrong kind of gas in... Instead of the mid-range, she put just plain regular unleaded in. I called Toyota Service and they said this should not be a problem. It is the use of higher octanes that cause a problem, according to them. Any ideas???
You're supposed to use 87 octane. The average mpg will fluctuate wildly until you've got about fifty or sixty miles. That's because it's calculating the average based on very little data at first. That's what I'm guessing that you're describing. I've noticed that the car isn't always complete consistent about when it uses stealth mode or not. Sometimes it uses the engine more and sometimes it doesn't.
Yeah, 87 octane is the mid-range here in Denver. 85 octane is what was put into the car this morning. Supposedly, this is fine from my googling search and conversation this morning. Seeing the ice continue to run a bit longer at a stop sign is a bit disconcerting...but I will wait for another 50 or 60 miles and see if everything calms down. Thanks for your feedback--
If the car is cold (first 5 minutes of trip), the ICE will tend to stay running to warm up the O2 sensor, itself, and catalytic. Short trips yield very low mileage for the Prius, but still better than even most economy cars.
Was it cold in Denver when you noticed the engine running more? A little bit of a cold temp. makes the ICE run alot more.
