More Mileage Gripes and Excuses

Hello and welcome to the forum.

Please fill out the questionnaire and we will see if we can squeeze a few more mpg. Otherwise we have no idea of your real situation.

Those techs really need to get trained... a bladder, oh boy.

 

The Gen III Prius does not have a bladder. The Gen II NA models do.

That bit of mis-information pretty much discounts anything else you hear from that tech.

Tom

 

There is a learning curve to get the best mileage. Your mileage improved in the 2nd month with mixed driving and typically highway mileage is lower than city driving, so you're doing well. Mileage is also a negatively impacted by new tires and that hurt you in the first 2 months. I see a drop in mpg when the gas switches over to winter formula even when the temperatures are moderate. The colder weather will make your mileage drop further. I've had my IV for nearly a year and a half and my lifetime mpg is over 52 (calculatd). I can get 60mpg in the summer, but the recent cold snap has zapped mileage - my display says 50mpg which means I'm closer to 47-48 manually calculated. I expect my mpg to be in the mid 40's for the winter. You probably won't see 50mpg until the spring and I bet you do much better than that in the summer. In the mean time, enjoy your car and welcome to Prius Chat!

 

Don't forget that all new vehicles get improved mileage as they are broken in--call back at 10K miles. Also, in my experience the many factors that can affect mileage do so more in the Prius than in other cars that I have owned.

 

i got 50-60 right out of the dealers lot in 2004 and have never looked back. fill out the questionaire and let's have a look. something is definately wrong.

 

:welcome:

Greets and Welcome Aboard!
+ 1 to all above---except maybe the breaking in. It took me a few tanks to break into the 50s and I haven't looked back. It's not that big a deal, and you'll figure it out pretty quickly.

Good Luck!

 

In the above graph the red line is the gas mileage you get at constant speed, on level ground with a warmed up engine. The exact height varies with speed, wind, temp, and precipitation. The green line shows the engine warming up, if you never drive so far that warm up is done, you never get ideal mileage. Obviously the warm up time is shorter in summer than winter. You will hear folks discussing grill blocking, Engine Block Heaters, and insulation as means to speed up warm up time. (Remember that you really want to use less gas, so a longer trip that gets better MPG may still use more gas)

Toyota specifies a tire pressure that optimizes ride comfort at the expense of tire life, MPG, and handling. You want to be as close to the maximum pressure listed on the tire itself as you feel comfortable with. My tires say 44 PSI, so I subtract 2 PSI for a possible inaccurate gauge and put 42 PSI in the fronts, then subtract 2 More PSI and put 40 PSI in the back (On my model Prius, Toyota recommends this 2 pound offset front to back, I am keeping the offset, at a higher pressure) This is a harsher ride than stock pressures, but worth while to me. (Perhaps 2 MPG)

 

Thanks for posting the survey results.

You shouldn't assume anything about the state of your car. Be sure to check the oil level. Check the tire pressure.

Toyota gives a free alignment check within the first 12K miles I believe. If your steering wheel is off-center or the car doesn't track right on the road (pulling) have it checked out.

Those short city trips are going to kill your FE period as Jimbo pointed out. Grill blocking will help and so would an Engine Block Heater.

Take heart, I think there are things you can do to improve the mileage.

 

Your short city and shorter hwy trips (by times indicated) are what's causing your mileage to be less than expected as your ICE barely has time to warmup. On my 35 min drive to work (about 23 miles), if I look at the 5 min mpg interval, now that colder weather has arrived, my first 5 min of driving are always in the 25 - 30 mpg range. After that, it hovers around just above/below the 50 mp mark. Unfortunately, you can't use EV mode until the ICE is warmed up - I've tried!

 

my commute is 15 minutes each way. i don't do much driving other than that, so my 55-65 average is pretty much based on that. it's mostly 35-45 mph with a couple minutes on the highway (55). i don't know how much the extra 5 minutes is upping my average. you may want to experiment a bit by taking a longer route just to see if you're average improves. that 105 minutes on the highway should really bring up your average a bit. and your temps are probably 10-15 degrees warmer than us. i would definately raise your tire pressures to the high 30's and have the 12volt checked. because the 2010's have been sitting on the lots for quite a while, it's possible that it has been damaged. keep reading and asking questions, we'll get you sorted out. all the best!

 

Buy 2 8 ft lengths of 1/2" pipe insulation at home center for $2-4. Cut to length and compress into lower grill openings during winter months. This will significantly reduce warm-up time and retain heat at the lights.

Experiment with no climate control as that extends warm-up also. You can drive with gloves for a 5 to 10 minute commute. At least try it, so you see what it does without this demand.

Give it a little time. You'll average 50 year round if you press up your tires and perfect the techniques.

 

1st month all city and you're only driving 5-10 min at a time. That's where your problem lies. Plus it's cold.

 

I WISH I could get 55-65 on my drive, but I have 3 stop signs and 15 traffic lights to get through each way to/from work. 19 of my 23 mile commute is on 50 - 55 mph roads so slow acceleration from traffic lights is pretty much out of the question unless I hold traffic up behind me, which is not a good thing in rush hour. Some days it seems I'm in sync with the lights and make great time and other days it seems I stop at each light, adding 10 min to my commute. My other option is to take a highway bypass for less lights, but it adds 7 miles to my commute, negating the savings I'd get in mpg.

I can't complain about my 48 - 52 mpg average though!

 

hey and welcome,,,,, I'm anxious to found out what mpg I'll get, I picked mine up from the dealer last night and got snowed (iced) 'in' today...... bummer!

 

What's your typical route (actual roads) for your commute? As others have said, the climate control at 72 and short city drives will destroy your MPG. I'm honestly not too surprised to see the upper 30s with that setting at this time of year.

I ask the roads, since I live in the Christiana/Newark area and could possibly do a comparison run one day for you (keep in mind, I don't typically go into the city of Wilm, though). I'm averaging low-40s with quick pulses of the heater with the temp set to 68/69. My typical drive is just under 5 miles, with 8 traffic lights, and speeds between 35-45 the entire way. I've blocked the majority of the lower grill with the pipe insulation also.

I'd be willing to meet somewhere one day and see if I notice anything unusual.

 

I drive 2.5 miles to work. All of my cars suffer from awful MPG's. What I get is still better than my turbo HHR got..... this time of year, about 15.

 

Our commute it 20 miles each way by the shortest route, but we usually do 60 miles every weekend when all is said and done.

I've been resetting my trip meter each morning when I pull out of the driveway and it's a good 3-4 miles before the average mpg starts to climb up into the 30's, and even longer to get into the 40's.

Of course it's below freezing, and that means it takes a long time for the gas engine to warm up and reach any kind of efficiency, exacerbated by the need for warm air for defrosting and comfort.

So for the small miles you are driving, the car just isn't getting warm enough for max efficiency imo.

By the time I get home each day my daily average is in the low 40's and that was just on the 1st tank of gas from the dealership.

 

Shame shame. Before I can rap your knuckles, go check the oil level right now. And tire pressure, if you have a gauge. If not, get one pronto. Both of these must be checked very early, and quickly rechecked a few times. Once you know you don't have initial problems, then you can start risking longer intervals.

Initial tire pressures vary widely. Mine were high, as were many others, but some buyers have reported low pressures the very day the car was purchased.

Your local temperature has dropped 20 degrees in about two months since acquiring the car. This alone is sufficient reason to recheck the tires, regardless of how long a leak-free history they have demonstrated.


Others have covered the cold temperatures outside, lots of heat inside, a short commute with lots of time sitting at lights in stop and go traffic, which all make for terrible engine warmup.

I have a ScanGauge displaying engine coolant temperature, and it is surprising how fast the climate control can drop the engine temperature while sitting at repeated lights.