After Service Issue

Yes they did check the fuel consumption again and ran a complete diagnostic on the electronic system. No codes were generated. It did seem that the system reset did clear the problem on initial startup, but the problem quickly returned. I haven't had a chance to try Mobil gas yet. My last tank was Shell and I still experienced the same loss of mileage. I'm considering adding a mileage additive at the next fill up to see if it counteracts the ethanol mileage loss. As always, I'm open to any ideas. I still don't understand why this happened now after two and a half years without a problem.

 

No, I don't have a scan guage, but am considering getting one. I do maually check my mileage against the MFD and the math is very close. Tires are rotated every 5k and have never resulted in this dramatic a loss in MPG. The car is dealer serviced and oil is consistent from fill to fill. Front end was aligned on the same date when the problem first occurred. And my trips haven''t changed one bit.

After reading all the posts recently about the effect of ethanol and the introduce of it in gas in FL., I tend to agree with Toyota that the problem is caused by the gas blend.

Just for grins, I put a bottle of octane boost in the car today when I filled up. Curious to see if it make a difference or not. I suspect not, but for 2 bucks, what did I have to loose?

 

Even if the dealer is letting it run, the problem began on 5/31 and has persisted until the present time. Also, this is the only dealer who has ever serviced the car, so I would expect the same result time after time over the past two and a half years.

The battery load test is a good idea. I will get it checked.

 

Actually, there was a problem with the alignment on 5/31. Shortly after the alignment, one of the weights came off a wheel and I could feel it in the steering. I took it back, they rotated the tires, rebalanced and rechecked the alignment. Everything has been fine since. I will check for a a dragging parking brake, and of course, the battery. I have previously checked the air filter and supply. All is well there. Thanks to all for the input. I'm still angry about all this......

 

UPDATE: True to their word, Toyota Corporate called me back after one month regarding the loss of mileage problem. I was surprised but very pleased. Unfortunately, they still do not have an answer to the problem and are experiencing it across their entire car line. I did ask the tech about the parking brake and the battery load test and they indicated neither would have this effect on the car. I still plan to test both theories and thank those who mentioned them. I want to report that the additional of a bottle of octane boost did not help to increase MPG. I didn't think it would, but it was worth a 2 dollar try. Toyota will keep the work order open for another month, so I expect to hear back from them again. The only other thing I haven't tried is Mobil gas, which some owners have told Toyota, has improved the MPG problem. As always, thanks for any and all ideas.

 

Update: I recently was made aware the BP gas stations in FL do not put ethanol in their blends. Ethanol was pointed out to me by Toyota as the potential cause of my 10 mpg loss of mileage. With Ike coming to visit FL in a few days, I fueled up with BP gas. While I only took on 5 gallons, I intend to buy BP gas for the next few tanks to see if ethanol is the cause of the problem. I'll report back to POG with the results.

 

If you have read my posts in this thread and have the same problem, you have my sympathy. I anticipate a call from Toyota corporate some time this month to follow up with me on this problem. They claim they have received similar calls from around the country, however, not all vehicles seem to have the problem judging by the lack of activity related to this topic on this site.

I'm beginning to wonder if it isn't a computer or electronics problem. I used to get over 100 MPG on the first pip. With this tank of gas, I got 35 MPG on the first pip. My dealer went over the electronics on the car twice and claim everything is to spec.

Its too early to tell if the BP gas I put in has made a difference or not. I will have to run a few tanks through to see.

Its frustrating.............

 

Latest update: After talking with Toyota corporate offices for the past few months, they have now recommended the cleaning of the fuel injection system. They made arrangements for my local dealer to perform the service at no charge and I had the work done on Oct. 20th. The gas tank was nearly empty at the time and I filled up with BP gas, ( with 10% ethanol). I have only put about 150 miles on the car since the service was performed, but mileage and MFD seem to be working as beforethe problem started. I got 112 miles on the first pip which is close to the 120 miles on the first pip I had always gotten before the problem started. The MFD currently reads 43.2 MPG which is within the range I was getting before as well. Obviously its too early to tell if the fuel injection system cleaning solved the problem. I plan on driving at least 2 or 3 tanks of gas before declaring the problem solved. Toyota wants me to call them after that and let them know if I feel this has solved the problem or not. They are anxious to know since they report others with the same problem as mine. Finally, I want to thank Toyota for their support and my local dealer, Ft. Myers Toyota for their help. I will report back to PriusChat members after I run those additional tanks through the car.

 

Mike:

The fuel injector cleaning seemed to work for awhile and then my mileage headed downward again. My earlier post regarding BP gas needs to be updated. They now have placed labels on the pump indicating they are using ethanol. My last 6 tanks of gas have avg. 44, 48, 39,41,38 and 38 MPG. I think since my car was 3 years old when I had the injectors cleaned, it probably helped a little in the short term, but not much in the long term as the mileage is going back down again. I am debating whether or not to contact Toyota again.

 

Mike:

Like you, I had consistantly avg. 43 MPG over the 3 yr ownership period. I don't know when ethanol came to FL, but the change can be traced to my last visit to the dealer for rountine service in May of 2008. Things have never been the same since then.