[ KB ] "Why don't I get the EPA Mileage?"

Actually, from the MPG numbers posted on this board, even the ones where people are complaining, most people do get the EPA numbers, at least the Highway numbers.

Not the big numbers you see on the window sticker, 60/51, but the numbers in the fine print under the big numbers.

If you go back and look at the window sticker, you will see the following statement:

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Actual Milage will vary with options, driving conditions, driving habits, and vehicle's condition. Results reported to EPA indicate that the majority of vehicles with these estimates will achieve between

51 and 69 mpg in the city and between

43 and 59 mpg on the highway.
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Most people who complain about their gas milage with the prius actually are achieving the lower end of the EPA's range: 43 - 45 mph.

However, as this Knowledge Base article explains, you can do better.

 

those figures reflect the range of passenger hybrid vehicles and should not be used when comparing Prius mileage. only the 60/51 figure is valid

 

I'm pretty sure the range is not for passenger hybrid vehicles, but a +/- 15% range around the EPA numbers of the specific car.

 

nope. and that is the exact complaint that consumers and manufacturers alike have.<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ryogajyc\";p=\"116989)</div>

nope. and that is the exact complaint that consumers and manufacturers alike have. that they cannot provide a range. instead they can only provide exact figures based on a very inexact science. on the Prius its 51 highway, 60 city and 55 combined. by law, that is the ONLY figures allowed by the EPA.

the readings you see on your sticker take into effect the mileage of the small hybrid hondas on both ends. the Prius falls in the middle.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"117048)</div>

nope. and that is the exact complaint that consumers and manufacturers alike have. that they cannot provide a range. instead they can only provide exact figures based on a very inexact science. on the Prius its 51 highway, 60 city and 55 combined. by law, that is the ONLY figures allowed by the EPA.

the readings you see on your sticker take into effect the mileage of the small hybrid hondas on both ends. the Prius falls in the middle.[/b][/quote]

I looked into this a bit more, since it was a bit too suspicious that the ranges were exactly +/- 15% and also, the Prius is classified as a midsize passenger vehicle. There is no midsize vehicle that gets 69/59. The Honda Insight which is smaller than a midsize has the highest mileage among hybrids is 61/66.

While you are correct that the range of other vehicles is shown on the sticker, the +/- 15% range is also shown and from Marlin's quote, it appears he was referring to the +/- 15% range since those numbers are posted under the a short blurb title Actual Mileage. Here's an link that shows what I mean:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ratings_des...scription.shtml

The sticker for my 2004 Prius shows that the range for Mid-size is 10 to 59 city and 14 to 51 highway, and an Actual Mileage range of 51 to 69 city and 43 to 59 highway.

I believe you are correct that car manufacturers are only allowed to advertise the 60/51 number, but the fact remains the range is available, if only via the government's fuel economy agency.

 

ok maybe so... i cant understand why i find it hard to believe that the government would provide more useless information... and another thing, how is it the range for mid size vehicles is 10-59 city... what about the Prius?

just a few inches above that it says 60 mpg city...

but anyway... im gonna go sit in the corner and pout now that my previous illusion had me beating the EPA by simply averaging more than 60 mpg... knowing that im not beating them is a huge letdown for me.

 

From my link, the caption is: "Fuel economy range of other models of this size class." which I interpret to exclude the Prius (or whatever car the sticker is specifically for). I surmise that they include diesel cars which would have comparable EPA mileage to the Prius.

Sorry, didn't mean to burst your bubble.

 

When I was bored out of my mind while waiting for an oil change at my dealer, I was browsing through the new cars they had parked near the service door. That was the first time I had acutally read the fine print in the EPA box on the window sticker.

When I saw the 43 to 59 numbers in the fine print my reaction was "Well I'll be damned, all those people (myself included at one time) who are complaining about not getting the EPA gas milage really are within the range stated by the EPA."

It may be that they compute this range simply by using +/- 15% of the primary number, but if you think back to all of the MPG reports from people on this board, they ended up being pretty accurate.

Most newbies get around 43 to 45 mpg. The really adept drivers here with the ideal driving conditions get between 56 and 59. The rest of us get around 50 mpg.

There are a few exceptions, such as the people with 1 mile commutes who get less than 43 mph and the high milage and/or very talented drivers that get over 60 mpg, but it seems like the majority of us here fit quite nicely in the 43 to 59 mpg range.

 

I get around 50 MPG in my hilly terrain. However I tried the acetone trick that I saw on a thread here and got 56.9MPG 2 oz in one tank driving my usual route with no intential driving changes.
I didn't put it in this tank but I'll try it again in my next tank. I also had my yearly inspection with acetone in the tank and passed all tests.

 

what is the acetone trick??

 

There was a thread that was lost, about acetone increasing milage because it helps the gas to be vaporized by reducing the surface tension. It appears to work I'll post the website. It's at my office so I'll post it Monday.