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Very Poor MPG

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by RobertL, Dec 6, 2005.

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  1. hobbit

    hobbit Senior Member

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    You'd go off and believe a canned party line from some front-
    liner at Toyota who honestly doesn't know any better, than the
    collective wisdom and experience of this forum? Unbelievable.
    Of course they'll tell you any mods at all will "void the warranty"
    or some such and you'll come away just as confused as you are now.
    Don't bother. Wait, with the rest of us, for this to be TRULY
    tested in the real world, and then base your conclusions on
    those results.
    .
    _H*
     
    #21 hobbit, Dec 7, 2005
  2. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    You can do that, but you'll get a scripted "Toyota does not recommend modification of the car in any way".
     
    #22 efusco, Dec 7, 2005
  3. tomdeimos

    tomdeimos New Member

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    That sure seems to be their position. My dealer freaked out over my radiator blocking carpet, my bumper AC power inlet, and my can vue. I had to reschedule my computer update and come back with the can vue unplugged for the update since they said it prvented the car going into sleep mode.

    They never once mentioned my EV button. There was maybe too much else to bother them! Wait till I swap out the radio and get my extra 12 volt battery added!
     
    #23 tomdeimos, Dec 7, 2005
  4. hyo silver

    hyo silver Awaaaaay

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    I was questioning Toyota's confusing wording on a warranty issue. I was not questioning the collective wisdom and experience of PriusChatters - I was depending on it.
     
    #24 hyo silver, Dec 7, 2005
  5. aaf709

    aaf709 Ravenpaw of ThunderClan

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    One other thing to add (commute distance, tire pressure and temperature have been mentioned) is that some have said that after the engine is broken in there is an increase. Once I got above 8,000 my mileage did go up some. It's low now, but that's due to the cold weather (and the winter gas).
     
    #25 aaf709, Dec 7, 2005
  6. RobertL

    RobertL New Member

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    We are in Northern Virginia. Today we drove around some. Started with average MPG 26.0. Took a nice drive to D.C and back. Averaged went up to 32 MPG. There is hope. I have confidence the Prius can get good mileage. Seen it. But didn't expect to get below 30 MPG. But I am happy with the car. I feel like I am a driver in training. Need to lighten my lead foot some. Toyota: Creating a "New Driving Experience". I have figured something out about this car that I have read on the post here. So, I thought I'd try it. After I get going from a start and reach about 30 MPH, I would lift my foot off of the gas pedal and then lightly apply my foot back on the gas pedal and it seemed to have made a helpful difference in MPG. This car is a new learning experience and it is fun. Thank you for the good informational feedback.
     
    #26 RobertL, Dec 10, 2005
  7. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    So the EV switch may possibly void the warranty? If true then that sucks. I want one. I think that I could put it to good use on my commute. Why is the EV switch only available in Europe and Japan? That doesn't make much sense to me. Does anyone know the "party line" on that one?
     
    #27 tripp, Dec 11, 2005
  8. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    "may void the warranty" is the key. I seriously doubt that'll ever be an issue, but if your battery dies at 95k miles and they see the EV button and wanna be jerks about it they could potentially refuse to replace under warranty. Before installing the button you have to accept that is a possible risk.

    the 'party line' is that 1)The EPA requirements are weird and by having the EVb it could, potentially, throw the Prius into a 'dual fuel' vehicle category since the driver would have some control over whether the car uses gas or electric. 2)There's some speculation that IF the EVb does, indeed, potentially reduce the longevity of the battery that it could be an issue regarding replacement under warranty if they started seeing a lot of cars have batteries go bad at 110k miles and lots of irate Americans. 3)So many of us would not use the button properly.

    My personal speculation is that it's a bit of an experiment on Toyota's part. See what actually happens with one large group with an EV button and one large group without--does it actually have long term impact on battery life in long term real-world use? There may, indeed, be some impact, but if my theory is correct it must be a small one or they'd have been able to detect it in their experiments prior to release.
     
    #28 efusco, Dec 11, 2005
  9. tripp

    tripp Which it's a 'ybrid, ain't it?

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    E,

    Thanks. Useful info as always. It sounds sorta like a non-issue. I'll go ahead with it then. There are several instances where I think that it'd be beneficial.

    I don't see how they could classify it as dual fuel since it's not a plugin but whatever. The fact remains that you can't get it here unless you do it yourself.

    The key seems to be using the feature judiciously so that you don't waste more gas recharging the battery than you saved not burning fuel in the first place. time to scour the KB and see what sort of tips I can find there.
     
    #29 tripp, Dec 11, 2005
  10. Astrotoy7

    Astrotoy7 New Member

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    we have an EV button on the models here in Oz. Cant say Ive used it much, makes me feel like im driving a golf buggy. I really dont see why its even there, maybe an an emergency thing when running low on fuel ??
     
    #30 Astrotoy7, Dec 28, 2005
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