MPG averages in Northeast

I don't have any tank averages yet but I regularly measure my commute to work which is a 10 mile trip.

Summer I can generally get 53-55 mpg.

Now I am doing great if I get 49 and I have seen as low as 40. I think the variation is mostly due to how I hit several traffic lights at the start of my trip. These can significantly extend the warm up time.

One round trip out shopping for more miles recently I got 59 mpg so I think I must still be on summer fuel!

I'm putting in an outdoor outlet now for my new block heater. That should help stop the slide at least. I plan to plug in when temps get to the 20-30 range.

 

Here in central MA, this summer i've seen 52-55, i'm a pulse driver and drive the speed limit or less. Over this last week with the onset of colder weather i'm finding that the ICE is running alittle more and it's a little harded to keep the MPG up. I'm not looking forward to winter, and the drop in MPG....

God Bless.

Norm ºoº

 

I can't tell you the full tank average yet, because I started to car pool with my co-worker (he's driving for this week). We meet up in a parking lot 3 miles from my house. The short distance and the colder weather in NY (40's in the morning) really take a big hit in my mileage. I'll prob have a better averge next week when it's my turn to drive. My commute is about 50 miles one way and 90% highway.

 

Husband, Dan, reported a drop in his regular commute from 52 mpg two weeks ago to 48 yesterday.

Temp did go down here, to 40's and 50's in the mornings. And did they change the gas formula at the pump?

 

My worst last winter in Lexington was a tank at 38 mpg when temperatures were 0 degrees or below.
I expect to do better this year with a block heater.

On longer trips even in cold weather I was able to get 50 mpg but not short trips and not on back roads going 40 mph. Engine just cools off to cold.

My goal for this year is to average 45 mpg or better for each tank.
If your typical commute is 20 miles or more at like 55 mph you should have no trouble getting over 50 mpg. But you will get some drop from your summer numbers with winter fuel.

If you take any 5 mile trips, you could get down in the 20 mpg range.

My first 5 minutes of driving in summer might typically be 30 mpg but in winter it can read like 5 mpg.
In fact it did this today on my way to work, but since temps were over 40 degrees the car warmed and I still got some EV mode and got average up to 49 as I got to work.

It is critical too when temperatures get below 20 degrees to either use recirculation on the heater or use one of the 2 lowest fan speeds whenever possible. A temperature gauge is very useful to see when you need to help the engine keep warm!

I currrently use the scan gauge, mainly for temperature monitoring. Today my engine started out at like 80 degrees from the thermos water. Got up to 180 degrees on the highway. Then on the side roads it cooled to 150. In really cold weather it could cool to 100 even! You want to keep it at 170 or better ideally! When it is above that you can use all the heat you want to!

 

Since I started car pool, I only drove around 30 miles and average of 42.5MPG since last fill up. So I didn't even use 1 gallon yet!

It'll be my turn to drive next week. I'll have a better idea how the cold weather affect my mileage on my normal commute.

 

I really don't get it. I've got tires 42/40, use cruise most of the time,and round trip is 96 miles for me. I have 2300 mile on the odo. I took posession in August after a wait of 1.5 weeks, got lucky, I think (it had 9 miles mon the odo).Best tankful was 36mpg.

George

Tan with all the bells and whistles or

Driftwood pearl wuth BC 6

paid sticker

 

pakgeorge,
What do you set your cruise control to? Not 80, I hope.

We were disappointed in our first tank's mpg (42 I think) but after 6,000 miles, we're averaging middle 50's. Our best was while setting cruise AT speed limit, 55. Averaged over 60 mpg (!) on that run.

 

See the other thread on the block heater install here:
http://priuschat.com/index.php?showtopic=11176&st=0


Answer is anyone can do it that is comfortable getting under their car and has small enough arms. You should have a jack and jack stands or low clearance car ramps to get under your car safely.

It is a small hole you can put your hand through and you have to do it by feel. You can see nothing since it goes in around on the side of the engine.

It is so simple in concept just coat it with special heat conductive grease, slide in the hole till it clicks in with the little clip to hold it. Plug in the power cord you drop down from above, and tie the wires safely to something routhing the power plug out to the front grille.

Only problems are the hole in the engine for it is hard to reach, and is where you can't see it.
Unless you are used to working on cars I'd suggest getting the heater and then getting your dealer to install it.

Heaters are only available from Canada as far as I know. The other thread shows a web retailer that has them.

 

I'm in New jersey. Bought mine in late August. First tank was lowest at 49.4 mpg, since that tank my average has been about 53 mpg per tank.

Since it has been getting a lot colder and all this damn hard, non stop rain, my tanks have dropped, but I have yet to go under 50. My last tank was 50.2 mpg.

I drive a 34 mile commute each way to work, monday through friday. On the way there its mostly highway, but A LOT of traffic. 40 minute ride with no traffic, takes me about 70 - 90 minutes on a normal day. Only on fridays do I get there in about 45 minutes. Anyways, its a lot of stop and go, cruise for a bit, then 4 exits of dead traffic garbage commute. Route 287 sucks.

On the way home I take back roads and it helps my tank in a big way. I probably get about 50+ mpg on the way to work and about 59 - 60 on the way home.

 

In the last two weeks my mileage here in NJ has gone down from about 50 to 47 on my '02 classic. I think it is a combination of the colder weather and the rain. BUT I don't think a block heater would help at all. My car is kept in the garage, which never gets that cold at night.

 

I have installed the block heater in my Prius for the past tank. Our temperatures in the PNW ( Pacific NorthWest) are never going to be as low as you will get to, but I have been playing with my new block heater. The temperatures on the ScanGage with the outside temperatures in the mid to low 40' s outside are 137 to start out dropping a bit to the 120's before it starts rising again. I am in the 150's before I go .3 of a mile now! My milage has taken a real jump. The Prius is in a non heated garage. FWIW milage may vary!

 

Drove to work today (50 miles one way), my average of the tank shoot up to 53.2MPG. Morning temp was in the 40's.
So the short trip during car pool (3 mile drive to a parking lot) was the major killer to mileage.