Suggestions for 33 MPG Improvement

If the previous owner drove the car hard, the computers have adjusted to that kind of input. It takes time for the system to adjust ( seems like forever sometimes ) to your more conservative driving style.

That adjustment to driving style is only one possibility and is hardly ever the only issue for a prius that's been driven hard in the past.

 

Pull the negative cable for a couple of minutes. If the computer is using all the “bad information” acquired from the previous drivers habits, you can start fresh with your own.

 

Shocked that no one has said anything about trip length. It's hard to work a Prius hard enough for any length of time to fully warm the vehicle up if one is just short tripping around Cambridge.

This mpg makes perfect sense if the car is short tripped and it is what it is.

If the car is used for longer periods of time and at various speeds this kind of mpg is crazy low.

I do rideshare all around the Boston area. Vehicle is loaded to gross weight and beyond quite often and I still average 50mpg overall. Lowest is in the city during a mid-summer heat wave with the AC cranked. I can rely on seeing a steady 40mpg then. Highway mileage in those temps is actually better. Driving around Cambridge I can expect low 50's if the temperatures are right. I can get higher in the suburbs if I want as well. I do not hypermile to the extreme like some here do. The driving environment and the passengers would never tolerate it. This mpg is the result of a combination of "normal" driving combined with some pulse and glide at times and heavy reliance on regen braking as much as I can.

 

My trips are 3-5 minutes in length and still in the low to mid 40’s with a high mile battery pack.