Chasing better MPG, 2nd phase

bisco · Sep 21, 2018

congrats! all the best.

PriusCamper · Sep 21, 2018

George W said: ↑

UPDATE:

The car is back from Hybrid Repair Center.

1. On the issue of the low fuel economy, the HV battery did not show any signs of corrosion.

a.) there was evidence of a lot of dust under the interior panels. It's almost as if the car spent some time in a windy, dusty yard with the hatch up. Additionally, a small puncture was discovered between adjoining panels around the rear tail light assembly. From the 'repair' evidence, some damage had occurred in the past, but was fixed by someone who doesn't report to Carfax. The repair was perfectly seamless from the outside, it was only noticed when the interior panels were removed to get to the HV battery. While the interior panels were off, Hybrid Repair Center applied sealant to the puncture from inside and outside of the body panels.

b.) Hybrid Repair Center thinks there may be connections affected by this excessive dust further up into the wiring harness (corrosion has not been entirely ruled out). Labor estimate for replacing the harness is well above what the car is worth, so this where my search ends.

Back to the services requested.

Hybrid Repair Center performed the following services.

Removed, inspected, and re-installed HV battery
Replaced all the hydraulic fluids
Wheel alignment
Complete fuel injector cleaning, external and internal
Patched a puncture near intersecting body panels
Unclogged the battery-fan filter screen.
cleaned and vacuumed interior after re-installing HV battery. .

Note: Even though Hybrid Repair Center in an authorized installer of the Prolong Charging system, they said a Recondition was not necessary based upon the performance of individual cells, said it would be a waste of my money at this time.

After 2 days (approx. 80 miles) of highway / city driving, there has been a slight increase of average mpg. All of this driving is End-of-Summer with AC on.

* Initial mpg from purchase: 34-35 mpg

* Initial Tune up mpg: 39-40

After fluid replace / wheel alignment:

* Dash Command reports - Avg 43.4 mpg
* Prius indicates - 43.3 mpg

Odometer readings from my date of purchase show that actual economy is about 1 mpg higher than what the Prius reports, so I am confident that the new baseline is 44 (mixed driving).

Was it worth the $1574 that it took to get a $5200, 2008 Touring to this point? I say YES.

Cheap Tires - $400
Yellow Top 12V - $250
Toyota Spark Plugs - $8
Air Filters - cabin and intake - $30
Solvents - MAS and Throttle Body - $20
Hybrid Repair Center - $866

This is the first used-car I've had that gets this kind of mileage, every thing works, no leaks, and is fun to drive. I'm planning to keep this car for a long time.

The next boost I can get will be from better tires, so another $800 to set aside.....
Click to expand...

Thanks for the update... Now that you're up to 44mpg you're basically in range of a normally functional Prius, but a bit low which can be boosted way higher with ditching the cheap tires and learning about pulse and glide driving habit and you'll be up near 50mpg when the weather is warm.

Though I'm a bit confused why you'd have to spend $400 on "cheap" tires and are budgeting $800 for better tires. Whoever is selling you tires must be a con-artists or crook... I was able to buy a set of 4 ecopia ep422 tires, which are the highest rated Low Rolling Resitance / Low MPG tires (second only to Michelin LRR tires) online from simpletire.com with free shipping in the $70 each range or less than $300 total and I found a local shop that if I bring in the wheel and new tire separate from the car they'll mount and balance for $20 cash. So if I were you, I'd raise hell with whoever sold you cheap crappy tires and get your money back or some other type of compensation. And while my tire prices may be extremely low compared to most, your tire prices are insanely high to the point of not making any sense.

George W · Sep 22, 2018

PriusCamper said: ↑

Thanks for the update... Now that you're up to 44mpg you're basically in range of a normally functional Prius, but a bit low which can be boosted way higher with ditching the cheap tires and learning about pulse and glide driving habit and you'll be up near 50mpg when the weather is warm.

Though I'm a bit confused why you'd have to spend $400 on "cheap" tires and are budgeting $800 for better tires. Whoever is selling you tires must be a con-artists or crook... I was able to buy a set of 4 ecopia ep422 tires, which are the highest rated Low Rolling Resitance / Low MPG tires (second only to Michelin LRR tires) online from simpletire.com with free shipping in the $70 each range or less than $300 total and I found a local shop that if I bring in the wheel and new tire separate from the car they'll mount and balance for $20 cash. So if I were you, I'd raise hell with whoever sold you cheap crappy tires and get your money back or some other type of compensation. And while my tire prices may be extremely low compared to most, your tire prices are insanely high to the point of not making any sense.
Click to expand...

The 'cheap' tires were the least expensive 'OEM' tires I could get from my local Discount Tire store. $80 each, then add 20 per wheel for mounting, balancing, dealing with the tpms, and full road-hazard warranty. A pair of Michelin EnergySavers is $204 each at my local Sams Club.

FYI, the tire you mention from simpletire, for my 08Touring, are $137 each. The Michelin Energy Savers are $194 ea. Not much different from Sam's Club where I don't have to do the leg work myself, find a competent tire shop, and NOT have a replacement warranty. I've never purchased tires off of the internet, so I do have concerns about cyber merchants I've never heard of. Some folks may not think much of Discount Tire, but their price was lower than the same brand at NTB. I got what I could find because the Seller's tires were almost bald, they wouldn't have passed inspection.

How has your driving experience improved with these tires? How much better mpg have you seen with them? Thanks.

As far as P&G techniques, I'm still learning how to 'feather' the pedal, but it's slowly becoming a habit.

PriusCamper · Sep 22, 2018

George W said: ↑

The 'cheap' tires were the least expensive 'OEM' tires I could get from my local Discount Tire store. $80 each, then add 20 per wheel for mounting, balancing, dealing with the tpms, and full road-hazard warranty. A pair of Michelin EnergySavers is $204 each at my local Sams Club.

FYI, the tire you mention from simpletire, for my 08Touring, are $137 each. The Michelin Energy Savers are $194 ea. Not much different from Sam's Club where I don't have to do the leg work myself, find a competent tire shop, and NOT have a replacement warranty. I've never purchased tires off of the internet, so I do have concerns about cyber merchants I've never heard of. Some folks may not think much of Discount Tire, but their price was lower than the same brand at NTB. I got what I could find because the Seller's tires were almost bald, they wouldn't have passed inspection.

How has your driving experience improved with these tires? How much better mpg have you seen with them? Thanks.

As far as P&G techniques, I'm still learning how to 'feather' the pedal, but it's slowly becoming a habit.
Click to expand...

Wow... Glad I don't own a touring version, the increase cost for larger wheels size is significant.... And yes, I was a bit wary of buying tires online the first time, but I can't imagine doing it any other way from now on. As for driving experience, the first couple hundred miles on LRR tires causes terrible gas mileage. But after they settle in and seem great, way better traction than OEM tires. But I'd barely know, I'm almost always in the far right lane driving slow. Reduced speed is the single greatest thing you can do to avoid accidents. The slower your speed, the more time you have to avoid a collision. Quick reflexes are essential too!

DLC82SV · Sep 22, 2018

PriusCamper said: ↑

Thanks for the update... Now that you're up to 44mpg you're basically in range of a normally functional Prius, but a bit low which can be boosted way higher with ditching the cheap tires and learning about pulse and glide driving habit and you'll be up near 50mpg when the weather is warm.

Though I'm a bit confused why you'd have to spend $400 on "cheap" tires and are budgeting $800 for better tires. Whoever is selling you tires must be a con-artists or crook... I was able to buy a set of 4 ecopia ep422 tires, which are the highest rated Low Rolling Resitance / Low MPG tires (second only to Michelin LRR tires) online from simpletire.com with free shipping in the $70 each range or less than $300 total and I found a local shop that if I bring in the wheel and new tire separate from the car they'll mount and balance for $20 cash. So if I were you, I'd raise hell with whoever sold you cheap crappy tires and get your money back or some other type of compensation. And while my tire prices may be extremely low compared to most, your tire prices are insanely high to the point of not making any sense.
Click to expand...

That's exactly what I was thinking. I just picked up 4 brand new Michelin green x ice tires for under $400... Someone is getting ripped off!

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Chasing better MPG, 2nd phase

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