Very low gas mileage in hot weather?

No worries

[font=Comic Sans MS:3c48730b99]Michelle, I would never start out by calling you annoying. You seem like a nice person with a good question, which I tried to answer. The ]you[ tag you used by mistake in your signature, however it got there, is what I was calling annoying.

It got BigDaddy so riled he's started a new thread about removing it.

And it seems PriusEnvy agrees with me, you should have had, and maybe still should have, your engine checked. (Didn't I say that, PE?)

As for me, no worries :lol: I'm as light as a silver cloud.[/font:3c48730b99]

 

Bill, now I'm confused?? Why are you apologizing to me when I never posted here until now? Was there previously someone with the same user name before I signed up?

Stan

 

say what??

 

darn right i take this seriously!!

laughter is the best medicine and i value my health!

 

this is soooo funny!!

 

Anyway, back to the topic at hand...

1) I don't know why your gas mileage is so low -- particularly in warm weather, which should cause it to be higher.

Just to check: it's your overall gas mileage we're talking about that's in the 20s, right? I.e., when it's time to fill up the tank, you look at the Fuel Consumption screen and see that your MPG is ~20?

2) About the battery being pink in stop-and-go traffic -- that's to be expected when it's extended traffic congestion.

The car stops and gos in electric mode, using your battery -- which is great, because you're using no gas at all!

However, after a while, the battery is almost used up (the pink bars in the battery) -- so the Prius starts up the gas engine, to charge the battery.

That's absolutely to be expected. I don't get caught in extended traffic jams much, but the last time it happened, those were exactly the symptoms.

[hr:4eb856520c]
Sorry not to be more help!

 

If the weather is hot and the traffic is sufficiently "stop and go" you mileage will suffer. I posted on another thread about a 28-mile freeway trip that took, if I recall, about an hour and a half at about 99 degrees. See my post Tue Jun 07, 2005 9:23 pm : http://priuschat.com/forums/re-ice-shudder...ighlight=#96582 I had recently filled up, so MFD showed about 36 mpg by the time I passed the accident that caused the tie-up.

 

Huh? Who? What? Where? How? Aint it infuriatin'?...I'm going back to bed!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(michelle_mcd\";p=\"101550)</div>

hey michelle, i'm in phoenix and it feels like we are located about 2 miles from hell this time of the year. it's about 90 when i leave for work at 7am, and it gets up in the 100-110 range in the heat of the day...

i have a 2005 as well - and my mileage is fantastic (by my standards) regardless of the heat. i'm only on my 2nd tank - and holding between 53 and 54 MPG. i got 51 on my first tank. i run a/c always.

 

We are five days past the summer solstice and afternoon air temperatures are warm. I'm getting excellent fuel economy - averaging 57 mpg (10.5k mi on the odometer). This is a large improvement over cooler winter fuel economy.

 

Yestertay was pretty hot here so I did an experimet.

Temps 95 to 100 degrees F
Speed 60-65 mph

Mileage driving steady with no stops: about 49 mpg with temp set 73.

With temp set to 78 the AC went to lower speed and power and mileage went up
to my normal 54 mpg. I was still comfortable enough so I left it there.

Biggest AC load is at start up for first 20 minutes with a hot car. So again short trips will hurt. Sitting stuckin traffic also could make mileage approach 0 in any car.

Normally the AC load should be under 5 mpg cost most places I would guess. And this cost can be reduced if you can tolerate a temp that lets the auto mode stay below medium fan speed.

 

We've already had a few days here of temps +35 C, factor in the nasty humidity and it "feels" more like +42 C. Due to the humidity, you really do want to run the A/C even when cooler, just to keep comfortable.

On my usual 10-15 minute commute, if I anticipate stops and keep near the posted 70 km/h limit, I can easily average 3.8-4.0 litres per 100km. If I'm stuck in traffic and cranking up the A/C, then I'll "only" get 5.8 litres per 100 km.

FYI 3.8 litres per 100km is 74 MPG (Imperial gallon) and 5.8 is 48 MPG

 

Just to clarify, my name got brought into this thread about signature tags. I got thrown into the discussion innocently. I was just reading today and minding my own business.

 

Howdy Folks,

I'm not sure how I got honorable mention earlier in this thread, but here's my first posting in this thread...

I have no idea about tags unless they are dog tags!

PS I'm averaging 54-56 mpg while are temps are in the high 90's, some AC use on my 50 mile daily commute.

 

I drive in Houston, and have noticed a mileage drop-off when the A/C is screaming to cool off a hot car.

Peter

 

Note to readers of this thread:

You may see your user name appearing in this thread due to the use of the "you" tag as Bill mentioned earlier.

I was confused when first reading the thread because my name appeared in some of the posts, even though I had not posted to this thread.

I think I understand now, so be cautioned about the use of the tag!

Peter

 

I just completed a run to Las Vegas over the weekend. Highest outside temperature noted on the MFD was 108F. Continuous AC usage. I filled up just before leaving Vegas, and I got just over 48 mpg when I pulled into my driveway. And this was with 3 people in the car and stop-and-go, bumper-to-bumper traffic with hills between Baker and Barstow. The previous time I took the Prius, I had 2 people and in cooler weather managed 50.2 mpg.

 

It seems hot weather, ice cold air conditioning, hills and heavy traffic are death on MPG. After spending last Saturday running lots of short stop 'n go errands, going up & down the hills through Rock Creek Park, I'm showing 33.6 MPG on my MFD and 91 miles on the ODO.

I'll be doing some longer drives when I start driving the Prius full time (still driving a company car in town during the week and still putting more miles on rental cars while traveling than miles at home), am expecting a nice boost, not worried about it at this point.

Cheers,
Jeff