Newbies - Let's See Some Pics!

Hey everyone. I’m new to the forum and the world of Hybrids and the Prius. My wife and I just recently purchased a 2009 Gen II with 65K on the odometer. I’ve gone through 2 fill ups and the first tank was around 38MPG, this last one was 42MPG.

I’m in Southern California, with about a 15 mile commute one way.

I try to go around 60-65 cause I don’t wanna cause a problem on the roads...

Any advice on how to get better gas mileage? Is there any maintenance or upgrades I should do/look into doing?

thanks!

 

I think getting a plug in would only get you better gas mileage.

 

Why did you get bigger tires ? Is the handling any different ? What's the difference in gas mileage ? Just curious.

 

With just a short commute the prime would of been ideal.

 

It may need maintenance or it may just be that you're new to hybrids. At 60-65, you should get around 45-50 mpg or even slightly over that assuming no hills or contrary winds.

One great way to get terrible gas mileage is to wait till the last second to brake like most drivers do. Sudden stops are like throwing your wallet out the window. I often ask other drivers, "If you can see that you're going to have to stop, why are you still burning gas?" You'll find all kinds of good info on John's Stuff - Toyota Prius and more. One handy document I downloaded from there is the Prius User Guide.
http://john1701a.com/prius/documents/Prius_User-Guide_iconic.pdf. It's full of helpful stuff.
Note that in the section on increasing mpg, it shows the old less realistic EMA estimates although many people exceed even those numbers.

 

Very good advice Jerry.

 

It adds an additional 1 inch clearance with the bigger tires. I drive down forest service roads a lot. Handling -- the Ecopias are crap, IMHO. I feel more "Grippy" with my new tires.

Gas mileage -- to be honest, I'm having to learn to not have such a lead foot. I'm not the best person to ask. I'm trying to do things like use my cruise control more to modulate my speed on the interstate and as Jerry said, learning to glide into stops.
The lift doesn't reduce mpg. The bigger, grippier tires does. Estimates from others are 3%-7% hit on mpg.

 

Our weather has been colder and my mileage has been lower. Plus, we still got the winter blend gasoline going. Wait till warmer weather comes and your mileage should increase 3 or 4 mpg. Right now, I average 43 city, 46 highway. With warmer weather and the summer blend gasoline, 46 city, 49 highway.

 

OK, today I drove 72.4 miles on the interstate (60 mph to 70 mph speed limit). Average: 48.9 mpg (my electric battery had only 1.8 miles of charge in it). Sweet spot is more in the 60mph range, although when the limit's 70, ya go 70. 60F so no need for AC or heat.

 

I live near the coast and drive inland to work, it’s probably about 300-400’ elevation change with two hills probably about 1 mile long each and one probably a 6% grade.. it’s fairly steep in regards to freeways. Not mountains though.

I always try to coast/slow down gradually if I can before smashing the brakes. I have seen first hand someone waiting until the last minute and then their brakes didn’t work. Was not good.

I am new to hybrids, which could be a factor.

We got it from a family friend who’s sister-in-law passed away (elderly lady who owned it) for $3K. We needed a second car and it seems to have been a really good deal.

I’ll check out that guide you posted, thank you. Hoping it doesn’t need any major maintenance. The oil level is good and oil wasn’t out of ordinary color (was changed only recently)
All other fluid levels are good.

 

Is there a difference in us vs uk mpg ? That figure seems quite low. In my hybrid D I’m getting 80-90 mpg on a similar journey

 

Hi Paul, the Prius Prime is EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) rated for 55 miles per gallon in the city, and 53 on the highway for the gasoline engine alone. So I'm potentially taking a hit of about 3-4 mpg for my aggressive tires, which I'm fine with. As I said, I didn't have much of a charge in my electric battery (I'm an apartment dweller) so that was not a factor.
2021 Toyota Prius Prime Review, Pricing, and Specs

I suspect you are factoring in the electric battery or we're having some kind of conversion error.

 

A big difference. An imperial gallon is just over 1.2 US gallons. But even with your bigger gallons, 80-90 mpg is pretty good. Your 80 mpg is the same as 66 mpg over here. 90 over there is close to 75 here. Very respectable!

 

thank you for the clarification.
I’m happy to post screenshots if people are interested.

 

Here is what our 2012 V looked like last weekend. ..

 

Bought my Prius about two weeks ago. It is a rebuild. But the damage was very light. I have pics. 2012 with 96k miles now. Love this car. Bought new 17 inch wheels and tires today.

 

Howdy, new to the forum but not new to a Prius. I have a 2010 Prius 3 that I'm giving to my daughter so I just bought a 2013 Prius 2 with the Persona and Sport package. To be honest I never heard of Persona or Sport. From what I've seen buying tires for this bad boy will be on the pricey side. As the avatar shows I bought this at Hendrick Toyota in Wilmington, NC. The car currently has 74k miles on it.

 

[preface the next morning: WOW! How did I manage to put this in this thread??!! I guess I was half asleep. I guess I'll re-create it in the thread where it belongs. ]

It's installed and it works. Now to wait for the inspection. Then to wait for the electric company to make the meter change. It was almost dark when they finished, so I'll se how much it puts out tomorrow. Apparently it's OK to have it on while we wait for inspection and meter change. But I discovered that it actually consumes about 290 watts from the grid after dark so I turned it off for the night. That much consumption after dark seems high to me so I'll ask about that tomorrow.

 

Couple more pics

 

Suggestion .....black housing tail lights would be really nice with your white Prius ...
.