New owner? Want MPG help? Read this first.

congrats! welcome and all the best.

 

Thank you so much for sharing

 

So an update after a long time..My mileage remained somewhere around 43 mpg for a long time till about a couple of months back when it started dropping down to 40mpg, with 38 mpg on highways. I'm rather disappointed with the car, because it makes me sad to never hit those 45-47mpg levels that others hit so easily, let alone the 55-60mpgs! Still better than other cars, but I bought this car to hit 45+ mpg's haha, not a mileage near a Corolla.
Don't get me wrong, I love my hightech futuremobile. I love its iconic kammback shape. I love my dark grey paint and alloy wheels and touring spoiler and SKS and all the cargo space and legroom. But its just getting a bit frustrating with the mileage and I have a nagging worry my car just has a problem.
All together I have never cracked a 50 mpg barrier other than on a road trip a long while ago. Sometimes when I cruise along at night in my town very delicately at 35-45mph, if I reset the gauge it shows a superhigh mpg readout. That puts a smile on my face.
And my driving has become pitch-perfect with the training the gauge has given me. But no matter what I try, it just doesn't go up. Its frustrating and disappointing.
My friend has a 05 Prius in bright stupid yellow with worn out cloth seats and a dented bumper that regularly gets 48mpg. That just gets on my nerves.
I'm thinking about checking out the brakes the next time I go to a stealership. But other than that I'm clueless what else to do.

 

Brakes could be an issue but there are a lot of other little things that can affect the mileage. The type of tires, tire pressure, the weather, condition of the 12v battery, etc. A cracked plastic piece under the car can affect the aerodynamics and knock some mileage off. Even though I try to drive efficiently most of the time I figure I'm not as good at it as some other drivers and I refuse to agonize over or become a slave to the mpg. As long as I'm reasonably in the ballpark I don't worry too much about it.

You also have to consider how the car was broken in and driven by the original owner. You did buy it with over 50,000 miles on it.

In addition, some cars on an assembly line are just destined to perform a touch better than others. Maybe one of the robots that put them together had a hangover the day ours were built.

 

I've had my car for a couple weeks now. After seeing (and hearing) from Prius owners who said they never ever got below 45 miles per gallon, I was a bit unnerved that my car was getting only 40 mpg. But after finding out about the impact of cold weather (I live in the upper midwest US where we typically stay below freezing for months at a time), I feel better. And my current tank of gasoline is averaging 44 mpg, so maybe I'm learning to drive more hybrid-friendly too.

 

For what it's worth, I'd say you have nothing to worry about. My Gen 2 Prius has had to deal with freezing weather - down to -7c in the last few days, along with freezing fog and the most miserable damp weather.

That's meant having to practically fire up the ICE and scrape the windscreen (and other windows) of "prickly frost" (you know the type), before being able to drive off anywhere. It's meant upping the onboard temperature from my usual 18c to at least 20c and on the worst day ever, up to an initial 25c onboard, before reducing it to 21c to ward off the crippling cold. I literally had ice crystals formed on the inside of the windscreen!

Shorter journeys also haven't helped - whizzing back and forth to the shops and picking or dropping my daughter off at the local train station. I've been on holiday for the Xmas / New Year period, so I haven't done my usual 36 mile a day commute either for at least 10 days.

The result of all of the above? I'm down from 58.5mpg to a paltry 52mpg (UK). That's about 43mpg (US).

Operating a Gen 2 Prius in freezing conditions for 2 - 3 months on end would virtually guarantee lower MPG approximately similar to what you have described.

However, take heart and rest assured that all average normal ICE powered cars WILL NOT be getting anything remotely close to what you're getting under the same climatic conditions.
It's no good, them quoting Summer MPG and comparing it to a Prius in winter conditions.

Doubtlessly, they'll be getting much less MPG in colder weather than they might care to admit. Cold weather takes its toll on all standard ICE powered vehicles when temperatures drop below zero.

I used to own a 1998 Mazda MX-3 1.6 Coupe with a 50 litre fuel tank. One winter, I got only 180 miles out of 45 litres of fuel! My calculations equate that to a paltry 15mpg (US)!

In summer, I was lucky to get 270 miles per tankful out of the Mazda MX-3. T'was a nice car, but lousy economy by today's standards.
Compare that to 500 miles (UK) from the Prius in winter, (600+ miles in summer) and you know you're on to a winner.


iPhone ?

 

The winter grade fuel used in the US worsens mileage too. I think it is supposed to lessen pollution.

 

Don't worry about it. The people who talk the big numbers are people who really work at it and show what can happen or be accomplished but those are not the numbers the average user should expect. A trip to fuelly.com shows the 2009 Prius averaging 43.7 overall. Those of us who bought our cars used have the unknown factor of how the car was broken in after initial purchase, how much TLC it got on a day to day basis, etc. Many times we have good repair histories but that's about it. You're in the ballpark and it will probably get better with time and experience.

Lower your stress level and just enjoy the car.

 

This is true. I elect to drive 18 miles to work on week days, at an ungodly hour in the mornings, when there's virtually no traffic on the road. This keeps my MPG up. It's a 30 minute trip that should normally be up to 90 minutes during the morning rush hour.
It also lowers my stress levels and preserves my health - I suffer from chronic illness which IS affected by spending more than 1 hour at the wheel at any time.

I also get to scoot off home usually before the rush hour begins in earnest, once again keeping my MPG high.

If I had to mix it with everyone else during standard commuting hours.....my MPG would be much less, and I'd probably have blown a biological gasket in my brain - and kicked the proverbial bucket into the bargain.

So, yes. Enjoy the vehicle, don't get hung up on the MPG.
Even I have started making the Prius work for me - I really use the cruise control at every available opportunity during my daily commute these days. It's not always economical, especially going up hill, but I've stopped worrying about this.
I bought it to do a job - and its reducing my stress levels in both directions of my commute. Good! That's more important to me than a high MPG reading.

Ditto with safety. I'll crank up the cabin temperatures in winter and even fire up the AC to de-mist the windows on freezing foggy damp days - all those operations are fuel consuming, but that's irrelevant. Safety comes first


iPhone ?

 

Thanks for your comments, Data & srellim! You give good advice.

I think instead of treating a certain MPG level as an expectation, I'll treat it as a game instead. And win or lose, I've got a surprisingly roomy, comfortable, and very reliable car to enjoy the game as I'm playing it.

 

Toyota tweeked a bit of startup efficiency by having Prius pump a bit of hot water into a sort of thermous bottle when the motor is shut down, which is then used to help warm up engine when started again. (2007 gen 2) Not sure if this is still being done in newer Prii.

 

the heater is all electric?

 

Not on Gen 4. Mine definitely uses ICE heat.

 

same on gen 3, except for some 'claimed' goofy pre heaters, which i've never felt.

 

flybynightprius posted that in Apr, 2006 and was last seen on PC in 2011. In terms of the electric heater, it is inaccurate, for the Gen II at least.

 

Sorry I checked quickly but missed this is a Gen 2 thread

Feel free to ignore me and have a Happy New Year.

 

UK Gen 2 Prii do not have the thermos bottle / pump setup. Neither do the UK Gen 2s have electric heaters. I believe the Swedish models definitely have an electric heater added as standard, for their climatic conditions. Heated wing mirrors too - which we also don't have in the UK.


iPhone ?

 

FWIW, The Gen 4 in the US has heated mirrors standard, at least on 2017. I believe the 2016 press release implied an electric heater assist on Eco and higher. I can say the base Trim Two does not have it, though.

 

Hello.

I've had my '05 / 142,000-mile car since last Friday (5-days). I'm halfway through my first tank ... and I'm averaging 45-mpgs.

COOL.​

 

hello and welcome! congratulations and all the best!