Finding Lifetime MPG Reading

Welcome to PriusChat and congrats on buying a new Prius!

There is no Lifetime MPG setting on the MFD -- Unless you happen never to reset the screen. If you never have reset, then you can find the number on the Energy Screen. See this photo of the energy screen from my MFD .

If you hit the reset button, then you no longer will have the lifetime MPG.

I reset everytime I fill the tank.

To calculate lifetime MPGs from your MFD, you must record each time - before hitting the reset button - these two pieces of information: MPGs and Miles.


Follow these steps:

1. Record MPG and Miles before each reset.
2. Calculate Gallons consumed (Miles divided by MPG) for each event. This is the "event calculated gallons."
3. Record the calculated gallons for each event.
4. Calculate the sum of event miles and divide that by the sum of event calculated gallons.
5. Result: MPG over the period of events summed.

If you are able to start with day one information, then you have the ability to calculate Lifetime MPG.

Plenty of folks have offered spreadsheets to track this for you. I have my own you are welcome to use, but it is very simplistic.

You also can go to GreenHybrid.com (or other sites) and have the site keep track of the information for you. It will produce the type of information you see in my signature line below.

 

As has been mentioned, many of us use spreadsheets to track various information (gallons, dollars, etc), and some of us use websites like greenhybrid.com as well.

However, to calculate lifetime MPG you only need to keep track of one piece of information. Total gallons pumped into the car. One way to do this would be to toss a small notepad and pen into the center console or glovebox. Then every time you fill up, just add the gallons pumped to your running total.

To figure out lifetime MPG, you just divide the number on the odometer by the total gallons pumped.

 

Tony, in your spreadsheet you have Avg Temperature, I understand
why this is important, I'm just curious as to how you come up with
that number.

Thanks!

 

Understood, Danny. I've been doing this since I was 16.

Orlando was just asking about lifetime mpg from the MFD. Since many other folks like to use the MFD to calculate mpgs, I thought I would show this can easily be done. I incorporate both methods in my spreadsheet. (The second just mimics what shows up in my GreenHybrid numbers in my signature.)

 

I was somewhat dismayed to find that this wasn't in the feature set. Would be great to have just like the odometer - something that can't be fudged.

 

Here is another Lifetime MPG/fuel cost spreadsheet (courtesy of PriusUK2008) that you might want to use.

 

It doesn't exist but I'm partial to the GreenHybrid.com database:

Hybrid Mileage Database - GreenHybrid

However, there are others. The advantage of a spreadsheet is you can easily tailor it for additional fields. The disadvantage is you don't have an easy way to share your results with others. I just mark the trip miles on the receipt and record the entries the next time I get to a web browser. As you can see, it is easy to share the data with others.

With our old 91 Camry, I kept a composition book in the glove compartment and recorded mileage manually when refueling. Today, you can get a PDA based spreadsheet and that might be a better approach.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

But it wouldn't be realistic.

The margin-of-error is greater than the actual variation once you've exceeded about 10,000 miles. So the aspect of being informative is lost with distance, making lifetime too inaccurate for anything constructive. The computer estimates, along with rounding, just don't cut it.

MPG data is only depicted properly on paper.

.

 

Actually to know your lifetime average MPG all you need to do is record the amount of petrol you put in the car at each fill, there is no need to record the mileage or the tank MPG because the car will record the miles traveled on the odometer. If you devide the total miles by the total gallons put in the car you have a lifetime MPG.
Easy peasy as long as you have the record.

 

Great idea! I wish I had thought to mention it earlier.

 

Maybe patsparks did mention it first as Aussies are ahead of USA time-wise, but by the time the server recognised his input, it got posted after yours..... oh sorry, we're on the new server... can't be that then