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Lifetime mileage?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Rickster, Oct 18, 2004.

  1. Rickster

    Rickster Junior Member

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    I see lots of people posting about their lifetime MPG figures... does the Prius calculate this and display it somewhere, or are you doing it by hand? If it's the former, I still haven't found it... just the tank average on the consumption screen.
     
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    By hand.
     
  3. rflagg

    rflagg Member

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    Yeah, it's the one thing software-wise I'd like updated more than anything - having a lifetime mpg on the display, since the tank mileage on the consumption screen will auto-reset after fillups.

    -m.
     
  4. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Lifetime MPG becomes pretty much useless by the time you reach my mileage. The number barely ever moves at that point. And between pump error, bladder effect, and rounding, the value could be deemed worthless.

    Sorry to mention that reality, but someone's gotta do it.
     
  5. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i agree with john. too many variables to really use it as a measure unless you divide it into "lifetime winter" and "lifetime summer" which is something i have been thinking about doing.

    i have yet to see a winter in my Prius but this morning it was 46º when i went to work (that is getting near the normal overnight low in winter around here)
     
  6. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    These people who change their signatures every time there's a fluctuation in their mileage are crazy. Oh, that's right, I'm talking about you. :)

    I maintain mine in Excel, save it as an HTML file and upload it to Geocities where I can just refer to it by never changing my signature. Some family members and an Insight friend in Pennsylvania check it every now and again. For me, that's the easiest way.
     
  7. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    i maintain my with excel too. but why upload the whole thing when i only really want just one tidbit of info from it?
     
  8. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    I disagree Lifetime is lifetime plain and simple It's my lifetime mileage for my car. I also do a tank average as well as I compare it to the MFD display which is the one that varies on account of the bladder and pump cutoff etc. But for the Lifetime the MFD say's 5.2 and the spread sheet say's 5.19 Liters Per Hundred Kilometers. Pretty close. Now if some thing goes wrong I get to see it on the MFD in real time and on the tank average. Maybe I'm just a bit anal about it but I want a life time.
     
  9. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(john1701a\";p=\"45857)</div>
    all of these factors make the tank average worthless also.
     
  10. john1701a

    john1701a Prius Guru

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    Tank average?

    Most of use have been using MONTHLY for the standard of measurement.

    Try it. You'll like it.

    By the way, the Lifetime calculation for my 2001 the only fluctuated by 0.6 MPG the entire third year. The monthly difference had a 10 MPG difference though. So the value of each is pretty obvious. Check out the data pages on my website. Start with these...

    http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-data05.htm
    http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-data06.htm
     
  11. Frank Hudon

    Frank Hudon Senior Member

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    the only monthly that interests me is $
     
  12. bruceha_2000

    bruceha_2000 Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveinOlyWA\";p=\"45918)</div>
    Lighweight! ;-) 35F this morning and we aren't even close to starting "normal winter overnight lows" :) I guess you won't be seeing that snowflake on the road icon much.

    I agree with John that when the car gets lots of miles on it, the fill up to fill up, or month to month lifetime avg won't change enough to care. Even month to month tank avgs won't really do me any good since I will fill up every 2 or 3 weeks unless I do a trip. I'll just track tank avgs and can calc lifetime if Iwant to. Gotta have that number, at least for awhile, so when peole tell you "Those hybrids don't get the mileage they are supposed to" you have a number to give them :)

    Like Dave, I will be tracking winter / summer. In my Odyssey I just did a quick "in my head" calculation every time I filled up and know there was a consistant ~2 MPG drop in winter.
     
  13. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    I'll probably continue to track my mileage carefully, just for the fun of it, for at least 1 more year.

    I feel like the first several months I had the car are poor representations of what is really possible. It was my first hybrid, I'd just gotten the car, and the weather was already good then got cold by the time I 'learned how to drive' most efficiently, and it got broken in.

    I'm curious to see how my winter mileage compares this winter to my first. I don't think spring/summer mileage will change much. If it doesn't I'll probably quit tracking so compulsively by next summer.
     
  14. DaveinOlyWA

    DaveinOlyWA 3rd Time was Solariffic!!

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    well i for one, do not think tracking gas mileage is compulsive at all.

    i also track the cost of gas in cpm (cents per mile) and that might be something to track now before the gas starts going up again..

    then we can reminiscence about the good ole days when it was only 3.5 cpm to travel.