Howdy Prius Owners/Non-Owners

I got mine 2009 Prius just a week ago.I was waiting for it for half a year. I was very exited to finally get one. My MPG s...! So far I get 31.5 MPG, and I don't step on gas, do not have hills to climb, my routes 85% flat (it's KS). I have Toyota Yaris 2008 and it gets better miles of 35-36 MPG.

 

I think so. I was expecting 40-45 MPG.
I did read (on this site) alot and some people suggest that you have to wait 5-10-15 000 miles for engine "to break" in order to achieve better MPG. There is an Prius owner in UK who actually gets 25 MPG.
You might want to read a liitle bit more about low MPG on the site. It looks like peole have a range from 25-30 to 75-81 MPG. There is a thread "winter 35, summer 38 MPG" where I found alot of useful information on how to boost MPG.
I just can't understand why Toyota states 45/48. I did not know about this site before purchase, but I did research Prius on Edmunds.com, consumerinfo, fuelefficiency.gov, etc..and never saw this low MPG problem.
I will be working on it.

 

eel, check your tp. If your trips are ~10 minutes the FE sounds right figuring 25mpg for the 1st 5 minutes & 50mpg for the 2nd 5. I'm not sure about the mechanical break-in period but there is certainly a driver break-in period. The rule of thumb for acceleration is that speed should be double the instantaneous FE. Read John's user manual and block your grill.

Toyota states 45/48 because the numbers derived from the EPA test are the only ones the can advertise. If you drove the EPA test scenario then you should be able to hit those numbers.

 

and what is the temperature where you are this week?

mileage drops quick with the temparature.
is this your first tank? how do you know it was full when delivered from the dealer?
wait until you've put 9,10 tanks in it. keep a record of total gas pumped. after a few thousand miles, divide miles by number of gallons pumped and see where you are.

if you've only had it a week, your displayed numbers are not accurate. even if the display says 'full', it might not have been.

hope this helps

 

Either there is something wrong with your car or something else. I did not find a need for 'break in' to get good economy. In August, I started off getting well over 50 MPG average. I drove the car home with 13 miles on the ODO (after test driving).

Even now, I do quite a bit of short trips to the store, gym, etc... my last tank was 49.85 MPG, but I've had 58, 59 and 55 MPG tanks averages too. Lots of very short trips, cold weather or hard driving will lower FE.

Practice getting off the gas soon as possible. Also, braking gently will help.

 

I am amazed at the low mileage that NEWBIE's are reporting.

I have a 2009 Touring, Package 6 with 2,000 miles. I don't drive the car any differently than I have with all of my other cars. The car is fully loaded with samples and I average 3,000 to 4,000 miles a month.

At the present time I have averaged 46.5 miles per gallon.

I wish I had bought a Prius 3 years ago!

 

It will get better. On your side there are some things you can do. Proper tire inflation is really important (especially in cold weather). Short trips (around 5 miles or less: again esp. in cold weather) are hard on mileage. Running the heat full bore can also have an effect.

As noted previously,... you should check out John's page. It is filled with a wealth of information. I've provided the link below. In addition there are always plenty of threads in this forum that deal with winter mileage. Many are in the "Fuel Economy" forum.

John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more

I'm in central Missouri with hills and such. It has been cool (10-40 degrees F) over the last 2 weeks and I have taken a 4-5 mpg hit due to it. I still average 46-50 mpg. My car is exposed to the elements, but I'm usually taking longer drives 30-80 miles.

If you store your car outside or in a car port or unheated garage you might look into an engine block heater. That will really help with winter mileage.

Best of luck. I'm eager to see how this turns out.

 

Hey.
I'm new here.. See this is my first posting.. <bow><bow>
I bought an used Prius last December 5th. It's my first Prium and it is year 2004.
I have noticed the average MPG is 47 and when I'm on highway with cruise control on, it goes to 85 MPG. I'm happy!

Off the point. When I registered for this forum, it asked what package is my Prius, I have NO idea, how do I find out?

 

No one knows?

 

http://priuschat.com/forums/newbie-forum/55651-package-identification.html