My 2012 Prius v getting worse gas mileage now than when I bought it last Nov.

I thought so too. Including the initial fill-up, this trip included 4 fill-ups, with about 165 miles on my current tank left to be thrown into the mix. I could have stretched the tanks but another 50-75 miles, but I filled up when I stopped for a meal break and walk the dog. Only once did I not fill-up myself - in NJ where full service is required so may not have received a full fill-up, but it evened out on the two fill-ups on the way home. My v currently has about 13,700 miles so it's well broken in too. Tires were set at 39/37. I typically kept within 5 mph of the speed limit most of the time, but I was still being passed by a good portion of drivers out there!

 

Today I did a little test, mainly to appease myself as to the winter mileage.
I also finally figured out how to use the trip mpg on both the screen display and the small display.
Yippee me, I learned something new!

Temps from 30 degrees F to 37F.
Mostly Interstate, up large hills, rolling inclines.
Speed generally 63 to 70.

The more uphill part of the trip heading in. Trip ave. 40.6 mph.
Going home, same trip backwards. 43.5 mph.

Two short back and forth trips tonight, 4 miles each way. Some stop and go, traffic lights, max speed 40 mph.
40 mpg down, temp 37 F.
42.5 on the return, Temp 30 F.

What I did different.
I didn't turn the heat on until car was warmed up.
Used EV Mode manually when in lots.
I let people pass me, and I didn't care.

I'm typically a 75 mph driver, and got better than these results in the summer.

So I worked harder to make myself feel better

Next step, checking the tire pressure. Might be up to near 50 degrees F tomorrow, and another 80 mile jaunt in store.

All in all, I feel better

 

Did you recently have service before this was observed?

 

My last service was about 1,000 miles ago. The temps have really gotten low now.

Today, same trip. 36.6 mpg in, 39 mpg home. Temps a little colder, perhaps 10-12 degrees colder. But the big difference home? Headwind, and lots of it. My leg hurt from holding the too-stiff pedal under ECO. The combo of the hills and the wind made my Prius V less efficient than my 2004 Corolla, which I could drive faster and get about the same mileage.

Interesting to observe the differences, and understand why an Average is just that. I can achieve 45-over 50 mpg on some parts of trips, but not overall. The Prius drive depends on moderate to no inclines, no wind, and warmer.

But comparing with my other posts, 43.5 versus 39. Overall, the wind takes about 4-5 mpg off, depending on direction and strength.

Another observation. Speeding up to 70-74 mph helps alleviate the strain of getting up the rolling hills, or steep hills. When you approach a hill at 65 mph, you just know your mpg reading will suffer like crazy if you intend to keep it above 60 mph.

 

This will get all the forum, up in their seats. Let's understand one very important item, there is a Internal Combustion Engine and they are not Fuel Efficient. Let me state that another way, just because this ICE machine is attached to an Platform which is geared to run in conjunction with an Electric, does not make it, any less an ICE. Now, that baseline means the engine has combustion problems and the gasoline we use for combustion, is "Designed" to burn 60% and 40% or more, is Heat Purged using the Catalyst Platinum, in the converter for exhaust. Now, it is going to get complicated. As written in PCT/US2005/0033584, the world who knows about Catalyst Processors, will be educated on the use of Catalyst, "Pre Combustion", by "Selective Catalyst Processing". What is "Hydrocarbon Fuels", how are they formed at Molecule level, how does the carbon and hydrogen atoms bond? In very large clusters, refer to Wikipedia, to see Hydrocarbon Fuel Clusters. So, we have to find a way to break apart the clusters, to help the conversion from liquid fuel, energy carrier to "Kinetic Energy Transfer" without power lost. How do we do it, thermally, chemically or electro-chemically? Very good question, let's explore, those three, thermo cracking, is using heat and in my book heat in a engine is bad. Chemically is very good but you must add the chemicals to threat the gasoline each time you put a new batch of gasoline in your vehicle. Electro-Chemically with "Catalyst", catalyst create no heat, it works from a Molecule level, it is pre combustion and the catalyst does not deplete itself as it is used, to process the fuel. So, let's choose Electro-Chemical for now. Please, read, the Patent, referred to above and then you will find why, how and the application of this "Selective Catalyst Processing Device", as the EPA and the California Air Resource Board, both discovered is "Pre Combustion Catalyst Processing" decreases "Emissions" and "Improves the Combustion Characteristics". This where I usually go into a presentation of Chemistry and Electro-chemistry but here is the "Dark Science Technology", we have discovered and develop the means, with 6 elements, to solve both the Air Pollution problem with ICE and we have as a by product, if all 7 products in the Clean Air Fuel Efficiency Group of Products, can get up to double your MPG and Eliminate Air Pollution, if all elements run, on your vehicle forever, the longer the unit is processing the better.
Now members, due to the hostile nature of what I do, the American Consumer Market, will not be sold to, because we target the US Arm Services, Cities, States and vary large fleets. One by One, re education and general lack of understanding is why it is not worth my time or the technology potential, to offer to the public. Sorry, eventually it will be on your cars, you can miss out till then.

Technology is what develop the Prius and Technology will improve it.

 

Welcome to the forums.

Paragraphs are OUR friends.

 

That's pretty incredible stuff Mark. Is there an answer in there somewhere?