Since you said you got the car with a partly filled tank, you need to wait until you know how many miles were driven on a full tank of gas first before figuring out miles per gallon. So if you haven't filled up the tank yet, then you want to pay attention to the miles traveled between when you fill it up next and the time after that. Then divide by the number of gallons you got in the second fill-up to give you a usable number. Or if you don't want to do the math yourself but can save numbers, sign up for Fuelly. Enter in your odometer reading and gallons of gas purchased and they'll do the math for you. They also keep a running tally of your cumulative miles per gallon.
Ok, that is a bit clearer. It is not unusual to to get low readings initially but as the tank approaches empty (from Full), it will balance out to be a more reasonable average. As a new Prius driver, you still should be able to get 45 MPG to 47 MPG without trying. I've noticed that if I get a good reading initially, it carries on to be good, but if I get a bad initial reading, it can generally be quite hard to peg it back. YMMV. (Doubly hard if you have a lead-footed co-driver.) As has been noted, you need to fill up to full first, then the next time you fill up you can start "doing the math".
Also be aware that fueling nozzles at gas stations can have slightly different shutoffs so the true test of a car's MPG is over several tanks as one tank can be a short fill and the next a full fill and they balance out over time. I think I've varied 15MPG fill to fill but it always seems a unusually high MPG tank is followed by a low one but the long term average is remarkably consistent.
Just looked at your Fuelly page. You got a complete 11.9 gallon fill of the tank? That's amazing! I typically fill my tank when there's one square left on the fuel gauge and the most I've got so far is just over 7 gallons, presumably due to the fuel bladder.
Being the first entry, all that 11.9 gallon entry is doing is indicating that on that date the tank was full and what the odometer read. The 11.9 gallons will only slightly affect the long term numbers putting the first entry that way. Actual calculations will begin when the second entry is made and will calculate based on those gallon figures, not this first one.
i did not keep track of how much gas i put in it. i just filled it up. i am currently on my last bar of gas. my mpg is 45 and miles traveled is 330. i have seen people posting pictures of 64mpg and 700 miles. kinda wondering how this is possible and what i can do to improve. also wondering how many miles i can travel after the gas light starts blinking.
you have a rubber bladder inside your fuel tank. it affects how many gallons you can put in. don't travel any miles after the gas light starts blinking. if you want to improve mpg's, learn how to hyper mile.
i read the wiki about how to hyper mile. i didn't really discover anything that i don't already know. gentle on the gas, coast, tire pressure, heat and air, etc, etc. only two things caught my attention. iridium-tipped "performance" spark plugs and accelerate quickly. not sure how much difference those plugs can make. but i am super gentle with the pedal to the point where it's almost like a game how little can i press the pedal. my acceleration from a complete stop is rather slow but once i'm rolling i barely need to give it any gas to maintain speed. the amount of gas i give it is always the bare minimum but that bare minimum is consistent from complete stop to the 30-40 range. when the article was talking about accelerate quickly it made me wonder if giving it more gas to up to speed quicker so i can take my foot of the gas completely is more efficient that the slow but steady method. being gentle on the gas and accelerate quickly are very contradicting and i'm wondering which is more effective.
there are threads here on accelerating inside the efficiency rpm curve of the engine. counterintuitively, easy on the gas wastes fuel. also, you should learn to pulse and glide. holding speed with the accelerator also wastes fuel, because again, the engine is not operating in the most efficient rpm range. i think the oem plugs are iridium. how many miles on her, are you up to snuff on maintenance? is the 12 volt battery strong? could your hybrid battery use some reconditioning?
what is the efficient rpm range? i thought you only use gas if you're heavy on the pedal or going over 40. clearly this isn't true so how do i know if i'm using gas? 112K, dealer did all the maintenance before i bought it. have not tested the 12v battery as i have not had any reason to. how do i know if the hybrid battery needs conditioning and how would i do that? the display shows it's always a bar or 2 below full charge.
Model Years 2004-2009 are notorious for a fuel tank that will not fully refill, so driving range is shortened. Without keeping track of how much you put in, you simply can't tell if it is coming up just 1 gallon short, or 5 gallons short. Refill NOW! This era of Prius is notorious for lack of fuel margin at this point on the gauge. While many will go a long way after the final low fuel warning -- that last bar starts flashing -- a significant number will go dry almost immediately. A few even go dry with two bars showing. Don't assume you have any additional range until you test it, under conditions that won't be a serious inconvenience if it stalls for lack of fuel. And until you learn how to not drain/damage the traction battery or lock out the ignition and need a tow to service. 45 is the EPA rating for our year, so that is normal. 64mpg and 700 miles is exceptional for your year, and requires both expertise and great conditions. Don't pay attention to what 2010+ models are getting, your car won't match them. You might get 100 miles. Or you might stall before that light even starts blinking, especially with the rubber fuel bladder in your model year. Get fuel NOW!!!!, put off any lower fuel experiments until you better understand this particular car, see above. Before worrying about hypermiling, go through the list of common MPG issues here. Once this list is cleared, then go after the hypermiling. Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new | PriusChat[/quote]
Yes, in a Prius it is more efficient. As is Pulse and Glide, over standard ICE powered cars. To put some quantitive numbers around slow vs quick acceleration, aim to accelerate at the rate of 19 MPG down to 10 MPG (if required). A good way to get a feel for the acceleration to aim for is (if you have it), to use the cruise control to accelerate and observe (on the consumption screen) what instant MPG is when it accelerates from, say, 40 MPH to 60 MPH. The ICE is running.
right, but the only time i know for sure the engine if off is when i come to a complete stop. is it always running otherwise? i thought these cars also drove on full electric under certain conditions and the engine only assists when needed.
