The novelty is wearing off...

Sorry to hear that. Here are some options for you;

- Sell it

but what I would do is;

- Modify it a bit - the prius is a dime a dozen especially in northern ca. Mods will give the car a new look, and possibly feel (depending on what you mod). They will also make your car unique which is something to value.

 

pearsonrj,

Ouch! ~40 MPGs! Something's not quite right.

You've covered many of the typical reasons for reduced MPGs. Many
times folks have reported a -5MPG hit for new tires. Tires do tend to
"wear in" over the first 2-3k miles. So, perhaps a little patience -- or a
long road trip! -- is called for.

Other possible causes:
* a dirty throttle body/air mass sensor.
* a real stretch, but a beginning-to-fail 12V battery could cause the
DC-to-DC converter to be in use overly much. This would require MG1
to be used overly much to generate electricity to keep the HV battery
charge up. More power to generate electricity means less power to
move the car and reduced FE/MPGs.
* maybe a slightly dragging rear brake shoe; which could be the
parking brake -- cable operated -- slightly out of adjustment,

Hope this helps.

 

Don't forget the cold weather factor.

Tom

 

This might be part of the issue. Speaking for myself, I find that I get just about the same mileage by driving relatively aggressively (not flooring it, but strong acceleration) as I do by "babying it". The car is actually pretty efficient when accelerating, so I accelerate briskly (i.e. just as fast as the majority) until I get up to speed, then ease back on the throttle and maintain that speed. If nothing else, its more fun to surprise a Chevy Tahoe at a stoplight than to be constantly tailgated. :madgrin:

Don't stare at the economy screen in any event.

Don't tailgate others and try to use the brakes as little as possible. Try to keep your momentum when moving and try to time lights so you don't have to stop at them if possible. Momentum is king. Watch out for momentum thieves™. They suck. :madgrin:

 

Coincidentally, this advice will get you point-to-point faster than everyone else.

 

Hi pearsonrj, what brand/size tyres did you get? If they're relatively non-LRR then yep that could be 5% less MPG. I've heard that the Touring edition uses slightly bigger+wider tyres which usually hits MPG a bit anyway, so yeah the tyres could definitely be an issue. In addition, new tyres of any type seem to cut MPG by another few percent until they're worn in.

Now factor in that your local temperature is probably dropping and there's a few more percent gone. Even worse if your region mandates ethanol blend "winter" fuel as do many parts of North America, take off a few more percent. So yes in my opinion the combination of tyres climate and fuel could very easily account for the approx 15% drop that you've seen.

 

What is this "momentum" that everyone talks about? Is it that imaginary theoretical thing where you drive more than two minutes without stopping? Has that ever actually happened to someone?!?

 

Who says that you must baby the throttle all the time? Drive like you are in an SUV and overtake all of the cars ahead of you, if that makes you feel better...

 

this is true. the other day i had my worst tank.........low 40's, maybe even high 30's. I thought a wheel bearing or something was causing drag.....until i started to pay attention to the consumption screen. now i'm back into the mid/upper 40's.

i hear ya pearsonrj.

 

Its a theoretical concept that an object in motion will tend to stay in motion, but it is always thwarted by "momentum thievesâ„¢"

Momentum thievesâ„¢ include:

Drivers who text while driving and swerve into your lane

Traffic lights that can't be timed because they operate by buried sensor loops in the pavement and random arrival of cross traffic

Drivers that hit the brakes for no apparent reason

Drivers that pull out in front of you without looking

Drivers that do not start from a traffic light in a reasonable time because they are busy dialing their cell phone




Still, its a nice concept and will improve your mileage when you can avoid traffic stops and inconsiderate/ignorant/antagonistic momentum thievesâ„¢

 

Things that butcher economy:

New tires
Underinflated tires
Impatient feet (pushing the throttle too much)
Short trips
Out of spec alignment
Cold weather


It's well known that new tires on a Prius will result in lower fuel economy, however this is usually temporary. Everything else will continue to affect economy.

You might have the alignment checked as well. Could have been that something was bumped or tweaked when you had the tires changed. It's worth checking.

 

Please look at points 4a and 4b in this post. http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-fuel-economy/66441-you-will-not-get-50-mpg-if.html

 

The only factor I haven't seem mentioned is speed. I used to drive about 10 mph over the speed limit wherever I went, city, residential, highway - everywhere. Once I started driving the speed limit (but not under) everywhere, the improvement in mpg was surprising! Some of the hypermilers I've read about seem to drive (far) under the speed limit, so top speed is a significant factor. FWIW...

 

True!

My current average MPG is 40 ... I don't complain because I know I could do a lot better in my Prius if I just changed my driving style.

 

In my case, it's stop signs and (usually red) traffic lights every 50 feet.

 

In the older parts of Sacramento, you can actually time the lights and get good mileage, but in the suburban parts of Sac County (where I normally drive) all of the signals use inductive loops buried in the pavement to tell if a car is waiting at the light. Even when you watch the light turn green and think you are going to make it through without losing your momentum, a momentum thiefâ„¢ will approach the intersection from a side street and trigger the light to turn red.

 

First, I would say that life is too short to drive a car you don't like. If you don't like it, you should trade it in since Priuses probably have good resale value right now.

Before you make the decision, consider the following: You are driving the car with the driving style you like, and getting 40 mpg. That's pretty good.

I have a minivan. And, driving the style I like, I get 17 mpg. Keep in mind that if you get another car, and drive aggressively, you will not get the government standard mpg. A Corolla, driven aggressively, maybe 25-28 mpg? The only way to get SUVs to respect you is to drive another SUV. On my Lexus 330, I never got more than 20 mpg in city driving. That's less than half of what you are getting.

Respect from strangers on the road will cost you a lot of money - like another 20,000. Basically, you need big, powerful, luxurious for respect. And then, after spending all that money, you need to zoom pass Priuses all the time to justify you spending. And then at 100,000 miles, you no longer have a luxury SUV, you have an old clunker SUV. Economy and old go well together. Luxury and old do not. An old clunker, driving like mad, does not get respect. So to get respect again, you need a late model SUV.

With the money I saved from not getting another Lexus, I am going to get a big screen TV, surround sound system, a new bathroom, and I still expect to have money left over. So I figure the SUV guy don't have to respect me on the road - they can pass me all they want.

 

[cue infomercial voice]



Are you easily intimidated? Poor at driving? Have no situational awareness? Desperate to feel in control because you're unimportant? Need the respect of total strangers? Have to tow a small boat? Live in suburbia? You need THIS ladies and gentlemen!

The International CXT!!!!


It's TWICE as big as a HUMMER! Sit 9 feet in the air! Tow 20 TONS! SEVENTY gallon fuel tank will get you between gas stations!

[/infomercial voice]

I hope someone out there LOLed.

But seriously, are you taking different routes? Is there traffic distribution different (because there's a lot of road/bridge construction going on due to all the federal infrastructure money)? I'm happy getting my 43MPG. I am careful to keep stuff out of my car. The slow creep downwards can be attributed to things accumulating in the car.

 

40 sets of traffic lights each way on a 50 minute 37km each way commute and I can often maintain momentum. It's a matter of dedication, concentration and commitment.
Learn to hate but love the brake. Avoid it if you can but if you must touch it stroke it gently.
The accelerator pedal, mash that bastard to the floor at every opportunity!
I'm getting about 55mpg following these rules, your results may vary.

I LOLed. Love the family truckter!