Low Prius C MPG reading, please help!!

Go fill up the tank, reset the meter and drive till that tank is empty. Refill and record all of the data. Report back at that time with all of the information like miles driven, gallons pumped, indicated mpg, average speed indicated etc.. Until then there is nothing anyone can tell you except slow down if you want good gas mileage. The EPA does not test cars at 80mpg sustained speeds so it is foolish to think you should be able to hit that number doing so. Very few cars can.

 

Try to limit to the speed limit (assuming 65 mph). The faster you drive, the more air you have to push out of the way, therefore the more gas you use. Headwinds/crosswinds make a big difference too (as does rain). Basically, all these things impacted previous cars you drove, but without the handy dandy MPG meter, you didn't know the consequences of your driving style or the impact the environment has on your MPG's.

You should check your tire pressures and inflate accordingly. I run mine at max PSI in the fronts and max PSI - 2 PSI in the rears. Underinflated tires will reduce MPG's. Also check the treadwear (after a few thousand miles, to make sure they are wearing evenly). If uneven, it could mean they are underinflated (hint the recommended PSI on the door jam = underinflated) or one of the wheels could have been knocked around during shipment and is out of alignment.

 

First off, I don't have a Prius C, I have a regular Prius Three. But, I got 55 mpg on my last tankful and that was real world not FCD. My commute is about 35 miles each way of which there is about 2 miles on each end of local roads.

The last two days I got to work and it just so happened that each day a Prius had parked near me at the same time. I asked each person what kind of mileage they were getting. They both said around 46 mpg and I'm sure that was via the FCD, so it was really about 44 mpg.

They were stunned when I told them that I got 55 mpg. I get such good mileage because I gain the system by using driving techniques I learned in this video titled Max MPG Driving Techniques:

youtube.com/watch?v=3XxB6ma7qu8

Prius 2010 MAX MPG Secrets - YouTube

Watch it several times and learn from it. I let a friend drive it a little today and he wanted to see what he would get driving it normally. Guess what he got ... 46 mpg.

Let me know how you do! GOOD LUCK!!!

 

Haven't you ever heard of breaking in a new car? Your owner's manual says:

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Breaking in your new Toyota​

To extend the life of the vehicle, observing the following precautions is recommended:​

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For the first 200 miles (300 km):
Avoid sudden stops.​

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For the first 1000 miles (1600 km):
• Do not drive at extremely high speeds.
• Avoid sudden acceleration.​

• Do not drive at a constant speed for extended periods.

 

Great to hear! Likely nothing is amiss with your car, just new to you and you'll learn a different way to drive. Driving below the speed limit can be a "painful" (emasculating) thing to do, but you will find that driving becomes very relaxing, even more so if you don't constantly look in your rear view mirror at cars racing up behind you.

Get a tire pressure gauge and check your tire pressures as well. Not only will you get better mileage, but longer tire life to boot. I've got nearly 45,000 miles on my OEM tires and I expect to get another 15,000 miles before they will be down to 2/32 by this upcoming Fall/Winter.

 

I'm glad you got it figured out and that you are happy. Once the car is broken in and you are comfortable with the hybrid system you won't have to try hard to get fantastic mileage. You won't have to drive like a grandma either.

 

If your going to exceed the posted speed limit by 13 mph you shouldn't have bought a hybrid. I always laugh at the people driving a Prius 80+ mph. You are defeating the whole purpose of the hybrid vehicle purchase.

 

Not really. Going the same speed in a Ford Fiesta or Elantra will result in lower mpg than the Prius. It's true that you will ultimately get lower mpg than driving slower but being able to get 40mpg+ at 80mph+ is still cool.

 

We're always here.

Good luck with the new car and stop in whenever you need advice or feel like offering it to newbies!

 

While it would be great if everyone would drive more efficiently, driving the doors off a Prius is still doing more to save gas than driving like a grandma in pretty much any other vehicle. Every once and a while I get the urge to drive it like I stole it, and I still get 40mpg. Not quite as much fun as my WRX was, but 17mpg wasn't that much fun either. Most of the time I drive as efficiently as I safely can, because I enjoy seeing how high I can push the mpgs. In reality though, trading in the WRX on the Prius makes infinitely more difference than how I decide to drive. Trading in our 12mpg Land Rover on a second Prius made even more difference

@12,000 miles per year
12 mpg Land Rover uses 1000 gallons
17 mpg WRX uses 705 gallons
40 mpg Prius uses 300 gallons
50 mpg Prius uses 240 gallons
60 mpg Prius uses 200 gallons

Its also a common hybrid myth that driving a hybrid at freeway speeds makes no difference. The presence of the electrical system to supplement acceleration and manage the engines operation allows the use of a far more efficient Atkinson cycle engine, which rivals the efficiency of a diesel. I did some calcs recently to see what the highway mpg would be like for various engines substituted into a Prius. Compared to a standard 1.8L corolla engine, the Prius HSD system yielded ~30% better mpgs at 60mph and 26% better at 80mph.

You can see the full calcs here:
http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...minus-hybrid-synergy-drive-4.html#post1501132

 

Interesting note, using the calculator here:
EV Calculator
in a Prius it takes 19.3 hp to sustain 60mph, but 36.2 hp to sustain 80mph. That's 88% more power/fuel to drive 33% faster.

 

In Indiana the speed limit is 70 mph on the highway. Sometimes going 70 is the absolute slowest I can drive without causing semis going fast to slam on their brakes and drive even more dangerously than they already were.

I just try to remember that the Joneses drive Hummers and the Joneses get horrific mpg so I don't need to try to keep up with the Joneses.

 

After two days, I am averaging in excess of 60 miles per gallon on my 32 mile commute from home to work in the city and back home again. This is with a new Prius C. I am thrilled!

Here's what I have learned so far:
1. Keep it at the speed limit, not over. That's 65...then 60..and finally 30 miles per hour in the city.
2. Use gradual braking. It really kicks up the battery charging.
3. Accelerate gently and you usually can do it with just the battery (that really helps the mileage) sometimes it goes as high as 31 miles per hour on electricity.

 

Congrats on excellent results!

If you want to try for more, make sure you understand that using "electric" is not always what it is cracked up to be. It comes from the gas, with far less than 100% efficiency.

So, while it is great to have the batteries, your very best friend is gliding (just enough throttle to remove regen). And using the ICE to accelerate is not a bad thing; you actually want to avoid using your pack energy in many, if not most, situations.

 

If my arithmetic is correct, that means 41% higher energy/mile at 80 mph than 60 mph. If 60 mpg is 60 mpg, then 80 mph is 36 mpg.

Sound about right ?

 

Nyet.

Your other advice is sound