Help - Mileage Sucks

when you say "top off" do you keep filling your tank after the nozzle clicks off and fill till gas appears in the filler neck? if so then you're adding additional gas to your calculations which would give you lower MPG's due to the additional gas.

 

I think we should call on some of our Maryland friends to lend a helping hand by arranging a visit. Maryland is a small state and I know we have regulars that are experts at getting to the bottom of this type of problem.

'Tis the season!

 

This appears to be your lifetime (1,733 miles). So in the last 2.5 months, you've been charging equivalent of about 19 full charges. 52 kWh / 2.7 kWh = 19.3 full charges.

That is the root of your problem. I would look at how you are charging and your electric circuit. Can you provide more info? Do you use the timer? Is it a 15 amp dedicated line?

 

Not charging enough!

 

yes, it looks like about 10% ev, so 50mpg on the screen may not be totally off based on driving style and conditions seeing that some with non plugins get 40-45 actual. it may just come down to education and desire to improve.

 

Yup. 44 kWh charge (16.3 full charges) out of total 52 kWh were done in the last 878 miles.

So, during the first 855 miles only got 8 kWh charge (3 full charges). I wonder if it was bought out of state and driven back home.

Edit: Hmm I can't be sure if 44 kWh were charged in the first or the last 878 miles. I assumed it is the last 878 miles because that must've been reset after the first 855 miles. That's the only way it can have less miles than the other screen.

 

Case closed. Pictures never lie. We should just start asking for the pictures of the HSI up front. Low fuel economy? Prove it!.

OP, every morning when I start up, I'm greeted with a message that says charge completed successfully. Or something like that on the HSI. I don't remember the exact verbage. If you don't see that every single morning, then you have a charging issue.

 

We still need to help him and provide tips to maximize charging.

 

the ratio screens are independent from the trip meters and have to be reset each time you want independent readings. i use ratio 1 for lifetime, i never touch it, and ratio 2 reset every fill up. others do it differently. 32 gallons is approx. how much gas consumed since last reset. same with kwh.

 

Phew! Something clealy wasn't adding up. With potential like this...

...it just didn't make sense how yours could be so much lower.

Knowing how much kWh is actually consumed tells us the rest of the story...

...like how I achieved that 121 MPG average from 911 miles of travel.

 

That EV Driving Ratio screen shows that you used 52 kWh of electricity and went 190 miles (274 Wh/mi) with it and 1,543 miles with 34 gallons of gas (45.4 MPG).

In a 2 miles short trip, you get about 38 MPG using gasoline. Those are the type of miles that is dragging your MPG down. Use the electricity instead. The car estimate should show about 10 EV miles for you, after a full charge.

If you want to save EV miles, switch to HV mode. There is a EV/HV toggle button. The car starts in EV mode by default to drain the battery. Switching to HV mode will save those EV miles. If you know you'll have a 2 mile short trip later before you can recharge, save 2 EV miles. If those short trip is after you get home from work, plug it in. It takes about 30 mins to recharge 2 EV miles.

The more you increase the EV percentage, the higher MPG you'll see. So, charge often and avoid using gas engine inefficiently (short trips).

Why do you think you have only 52 kWh charged so far? Did you just started plugging in recently?

If you had it for 70 days, you are averaging about 25 miles a day. If you recharge it overnight daily, you should have 189 kWh and that would've went 690 EV miles. That also means you would've only put 1,043 miles on gas (1,733-690). At 45.4 MPG you are getting, it would consume only 23 gallons. 1,733 miles / 23 gallons = 75.4 MPG. That's what you should be getting if you recharge once everyday.

Your EV ratio would be 40% and HV 60%. Much better than your current 10% EV and 90% HV.

If you recharge more than once a day, you can get higher EV ratio and the displayed MPG.

 

I would save 2.5 miles. You really don't want to get 0.1 or 0.2 miles from the end of a trip and have the ICE come on while you sit at a stop light just to warm up the car and then drive for 1 min and park it for the night. It is better, previously in the day, to drive a little further with a warmed up engine (This actually means switching from EV to HV a little bit sooner, assuming you are driving some substantial distance in HV)

Mike

 

Low hanging fruit. The bulk of his low fuel economy problem is with plugging it in. A much smaller fuel economy improvement can be gained by driving techniques and maintenance. Figure out why the car isn't charged fully every day first. Then come back to consult on getting more mpg's.

I believe in the KISS method. Keep it simple. All this talk about EV ratio, how the screens should be set up, and etc is too confusing. The graphic clearly tells us there is not enough charging going on. That's it. Make sure the battery looks like john1701a's pic with a 9.9 or higher number in the morning and you'll see your fuel economy rise dramatically.

 

Can the OP confirm that it has a full charge in the morning? If so what is the EV range that is shown?

Next can you Reset one trip on the HSI screen and drive the 10 miles to work leaving it in EV mode the whole time and drive normally. Then please get a photo of the HSI screen after your 10 mile commute. Just doing this you should be well above 70mpg.

After we see this we can see if something is off with your car and then fix other things later.

 

I live in upstate NY, and my daily commute one is is about like yours...24 miles. How do you drive your PIP to achieve such good mileage...100 MPG's. That's awesome. Thanks,

 

what are you getting g.g.?

 

I'm pretty sure EC is running on factory tires, which certainly helps.

 

Yes, my mileage WAS better on the factory tires, but I still wasn't averaging 100 mpgs. My commute is not large hills, but there are a goodly number of long, slow inclines, up and down, both ways, and two towns. I guess that would make a difference, for sure.