POLL : what MPG are you getting in your gen 2

Re: Do not believe those over 55mpg!

Hybrid drivers complete run for mileage mark

Since you've mentioned in the past you have two Touring models, see http://web.archive.org/web/20081231...-advice/most-fuelefficient-cars-206/index.htm. We also don't know what tires you have. You might've switched yours to ones that have higher rolling resistance than the stock ones.

 

An interesting thread...

After 3+ years driving my '08 Touring mostly in an urban commute of
~28 mi round trip, I finally made it through the winter maintaining 50+
MPGs lifetime after 58K miles. Actually, 50.2 and rising with
spring/summer temps.

Clearly, YMMV based on Five Ts:
Tires - make and size, pressure, age
Temperatures - ambient, ICE, Cat converter, HV battery, and that
maintained inside the car
Terrain - flat, rolling, good vs. bad hills
Traffic - volume, flow, and PSL
Temperament - behavior mods driver is willing to make to get max
MPGs: DWB, P&G, etc.

Some folks are lucky, they have very good driving conditions and high
MPG averages.

Enviable for sure...
but not a valid cause for resentment, denial, or name calling.

 

I love seeing pics like that. Finish the tank and post up the picture for us to drool over.

 

Re: Do not believe those over 55mpg!

Maybe I'll pass by VA on my roadtrip, if so I could give you an mpg driving lesson.



And from Vermont mountain driving for two thirds plus of this tank:



Gotta believe in Peter Pan so he can fly

 

was around 52 or so, but after oil change and hot AZ summer this tank is a stinking 38mpg--and i am bummed...2008

 

Hi lizmariecat. An oil change shouldn't cause any loss of MPG. Use the dipstick to check that it hasn't been overfilled!

 

And check that they didn't put the tire pressures to something stupid.

 

A question was asked a couple times in this thread but not answered in public that I would like to know... How do I find the lifetime mileage of my Prius?

 

I believe your 2008 model should do it automatically (provided you don't manually reset it at each fill)

For earlier models (up to 2006 I think), the MPG calculations automatically get reset each time you fill up. For these earlier models you'd need to keep a log book of fuel fills and miles traveled to get a true lifetime average.

Of course if your MPG's are very consistent from one tank to the next then you can estimate it easily enough. For me just about every tankful yeilds somewhere between 53 and 58 MPG. So without keeping logs, if I estimate 55 MPG it will be close enough.

 

I am getting 40-45, but I drive fast, and dont really try to get more MPGs.

 

The 2000-06 Honda Insight has a Lifetime MPG. It isn't an easy reset so it tends to be pretty accurate on most Insights. One of the features that I do like better on the Insight than my Prius.

 

I'm new here and we bought a 08 Prius. So far we are very happy with the car. I am curious how some people are achieving such high MPG. I really struggle to get in the high 40's and have not been able to keep it there goes back down to 42.
If I could ask a few things...
1: Are these reported MPG per tank full? That is what I go by.

2: What is the terrain where the really high ones are achieved? Is it on the flat in the middle of the country? Its Very up and down here in So. Ca.

3: What speed are you running average? If you aren't going at least 60 here you will be run right off the road.
I have had some noticeable increases lately using the "feather" technique where I get at a steady speed and let off the gas and slowly go back to a good High mpg hover point without losing MPH. We will see how far that goes.

I also have practice using this same thing in previous cars I used to practice Hypermiling in my Kia and I am still a member on on of the sights that practices that.

Coming up on oil change ,,,Synthetic?

I still want to know how to get into the 60's and stay there on an ongoing basis.
ADVICE WELCOME
Thanks Joe

 

With the models that have a reset button for MPG (I know 2009 allows it) you have the option of never of resetting or of resetting on each fill up or whenever you decide to. As a long time participant of the Prius Waiting List Support Group here on Prius Chat I was alert to this option so we choose lifetime MPG. It does not give you as much short term feedback as lifetime but it is an interesting number.

Southern Dad, my Prius was in your neck of the woods last Saturday (Moore's Ford Bridge). My city Prius enjoyed the highway mileage.

 

Yes. I compute it myself using the data from the gas station and keep a spreadsheet. The MFD can be high by 1 mpg or so. Gen III seems to have more of a problem in this regard.

All kinds of terrain are represented here, but rolling hills to flat works better

There's the maxim - 60-60-60. Holding 60 miles an hour at 60'F results in 60 mpg. That's under good conditions, but still shows that maintaining highway speeds doesn't demolish your mpg. However, going above 70 mph does definitely show up in your mpgs.

Southern CA in the summer, I'm guessing you're using a lot of A/C. That will definitely hurt your fuel efficiency. Short trips also hurt it, since the first 5 minutes are basically just getting things to operation temperatures. Accelerate normally, brake gently. Make sure your tires are properly inflated. If you want to get more advanced, buy a scangauge and learn the 4 stages (5 really) of Prius warm-up, but this only adds a few percent.

There are many threads on this, and there's a questionnaire you can fill out if you want a more complete answer. The search feature is your friend!

 

46 mpg this time of year, 51-52 in spring or fall, and as low as 40 in the winter

 

Hills aren't too big a hit, as after you go up, you then go down. Even if say your work is at a significantly higher elevation than your home, you would get worse mileage in the morning and better in the evening. The two could cancel each other out. Northern CA is very hilly too.

what is the length of your trips, when the car is cold and this is true of any car, not just the Prius, its mileage will be worse. It typically takes about 15-20 minutes of normal driving to really warm up the car. So if your commute is say 20 minutes, you aren't going to get great gas mileage overall, since a significant part of your driving in on a "cold" engine. When I went from a long commute to a short commute, I went from 50MPG to 35 MPG. Same car, same tires, same oil, same driver; very different daily drive. I don't feather, I don't draft or any of that, I drive it like it is a car. I do tend to speed, although I have cut back on that in the last two years. Forget 60, on open freeway I set the cruise control to 70 if I can. I haven't used synthetic on even one oil change, although I am thinking of switching over for the longer intervals.

 

Bad idea.

Check out a couple of the sticky posts written for people interested in high fuel economy, and good luck !

 

The following is an update from my post #39 in this thread ....

Mithril's "lifetime average" stands at 49.7 mpg after 30,900 miles as of the last fill-up on August 29, 2011 ...

Mithril's lifetime MPG stood at "only" 48.8 as of April 7th, 2011; tank-by-tank mpg has been REALLY good since then.

Since about the middle of June - 10 fill-ups / 3135.3 miles / 57.9 gallons - "he" has averaged about 54.1 MPG ...

Note ... most recent edits / updates above are shown in red ....

 

Advice from a Commoner (i.e. non-Scangauge equipped Prius driver) who gets comparatively good MPG anyway.

The usual pure pulse/glide "P&G" technique is to accelerate briskly (MPG around 3/4 of MPH) up to 40 MPH (in a Gen2), and then let off on the accelerator just enough to get "no arrows" on the Energy screen. This will allow the car to decelerate slowly. Repeat when you get down to a lower limit (usually 30 or maybe 35 if traffic is an issue). If the speed limit is higher than 40, you can still use P&G, but the yellow arrows light will come on until you fall back to 40 (this is "warp stealth" mode), using slightly more energy. The warp stealth P&G approach works for me up to around 55-60 MPH. Above that, you are on your own (I admit that highway driving is a weakness for me - I aspire to 60 MPG at 60 MPH at 60 degrees, but seldom make it over the long haul). However, I usually try to drive mostly on secondary roads at 30-50 MPH, and my approach gets me to 65-70 summer/55 winter MPG - (calculated each tank by miles driven/gallons filled).

I use the 3/4 MPG/MPH rule on the pulse above 30 MPH, but try for "no crossing arrows" between 20 and 30. This approximates a rule set forth by Hobbit in another thread to help the un-Scangauged, and it works for me.

Accelerating from a stop, even brisker than this is better (within reason). Remember - if your instant MPG goes UP as you depress the pedal, you can go faster and save gas. Decreased time spent at 5-10 MPH cancels the increased gas use AND gets you to more economical speeds faster.

The above works with my car to get overall MPG above 60 in a Gen2 (09) Prius in a moderately Northern climate.

 

^^ Yep yep.
dabize, do you block the radiator in the winter ? I am convinced of the utility.