Edmunds dealer partner, Bayway Leasing, is now offering transparent lease deals via these forums. Click here to see the latest vehicles!
Options
Popular New Cars
Popular Used Sedans
Popular Used SUVs
Popular Used Pickup Trucks
Popular Used Hatchbacks
Popular Used Minivans
Popular Used Coupes
Popular Used Wagons
Comments
Also, the oxygenated fuel lowers your mpg.
And the heater only running off the ICE which cuts the mpg.
But the car is still really nice and when you manage your speed and have nice warm weather, you'll see better mpgs.
i drove the car for another 30 commuting miles yesterday and today. seems the number gets better. 40mpg average.
then i reset consumption for the last 3 mile really jammed high way, turns out to be 70mpg.
the tip is that, dont step on gas unless you have to...
once the gas engine kicks in, the consumption goes up.
it will be a nice commuter car...
He's at 140,000 miles in 38 months (!) in all kinds of driving and sits at 48 mpg over the life of the vehicle.... and...still on the original set of brakes.
When mine comes out of the body shop :surprise: I will be at 15 months, 41,000 miles and also at 48.1 mpg lifetime ( GreenHybrid ) ... and the original set of brakes. I get 51-52 mpg in spring, summer, fall and 44-45 mpg in winter.
But don't bump your Prius into Neutral! Just let off the gas and let the motor turn into a generator - the generator creates electricity which is saved in the batteries. This "regenerative braking" is a critical factor in getting good miles per gallon. Truly coasting in a Prius will reduce your MPGs.
I drive those same freeways, but mostly on weekends or in the evenings.
Is the MPG better after a few thousand "break in" miles? Is there anything I should have Toyota service check?
Norskeyman
I think you'll find that as weather warms up, your fuel economy will improve. You will also probably learn how to drive the Prius for maximum fuel economy, e.g. coasting as much as possible to use the regnerative braking, and using a light foot on the gas to stay in electric mode as much as possible.
1. Gradual starts from stops - no jackrabbit starts!
2. Keep the speed under 40mph - above 40 (or 43 depending on lots of circumstances) the engine runs regardless of needing it or not.
3. Keep the tires inflated. Some people set them at 40psi, others go to 42psi. More pressure, less rolling resistance.
4. Keep the windows up. The A/C will drag you down some, but not as much as the air drag with the windows open.
5. When you see the traffic light ahead turn amber, take you foot off the gas. Let the motor become a generator and return some energy to the battery. This makes you slow down more gradually than many people want to slow down, but it really does help the MPGs. Hard braking uses the mechanical brakes on the car - just like everyone else. But braking with the generator returns lots of power to the batteries, so let it! No, you don't need to shift to "B". That's used when you're coming down steep hills and you don't want to ride your brakes. It's the same as downshifting.
6. Don't carry excess weight; carrying four passengers, a trunk full of books or other heavy loads will reduce mileage.
7. I bet there are other ideas that others will suggest. Try them all!
Enjoy the car for all the other reasons. It is very comfortable, easy to drive, roomy, comfortable, etc.
Following these practices, I can make my Prius return about 45mpg. (Less in winter with oxygenated fuels.) To do it, I had to drive in the right lane and use the cruise control to keep from going too fast. Most of our major streets are four lanes and posted at 40 and everyone goes 45 - naturally. So stay right and let them pass you. And smile as you see much better MPGs on the dash.
By the way, no one recommends using a cruise control in heavy traffic. It will take too long to react when some knuckle head does something stupid.
shamm
I have had other cars with better MPG than what I'm getting with my new '07 Prius. I had a 3-cylinder Geo Metro that consistently got 50 MPG. I had another Metro, but with auto transmission, that only got 40 MPG ... but that's still better than my Prius, thus far.
I may try driving no more than 40 mph in the city, but that is inconsiderate, not to mention a bit dangerous, if the normal flow is a bit faster, say 45 mph, and others are held back. I've always felt that slow drivers who gum up traffic flow create as many frustrations and accidents as the speeders. For safety's sake, it's best to drive the prevailing speed of existing traffic. Just a personal opinion. Norskeyman
Less reassuring is the fuel consumption gauge-it reads high and low-usually high, it is not at all reliable, but I do the best I can to fill the tank manually to the same level and divide it by the tripmeter reading.
I've been using the 42front/40 rear psi tire pressure setting. However i've noticed every time I take it to a Toyota dealer or Walmart for an oil change or tire rotation, they lower the pressure to the psi listed on the door placard.
Since no one can control exactly how full their tank gets on a fillup; I, like you, am measuring over the long term. I am using linear regression to determine what factor causes bad gas mileage. Here are my results after 7220 miles, in reverse order of importance.
5) Surprisingly, mountains do not decrease gas mileage by themselves, you have to use your brakes. If you take an interstate over the mountains you do not have to brake, but on other routes you may have to brake to make sharp turns; this makes a big difference.
4) Speed. Between 45 and 65, my Prius looses about 4MPG. I suspect this extremely low figure is due to its low drag coefficient. Above 65, the MPG drops off much more steeply, as it does in all cars.
3) The outside temperature is a big factor, for reasons explained below. My Prius loses 1MPG per 5F degrees.
2) Length of trips. See below. I have no hard numbers on this yet, but I am willing to take previous testimony to this at face value.
1) Gas type. E10 is a real killer. Most cars loose about 3% with E10 but hybrids do much worse. The hybrid is programmed to run the (gas) engine until it reaches a certain temperature. In cold weather it must do this longer to reach the operating temperature and during short trips it may not have time to reach that temperature. Ethanol burns at a lower temperature than gasoline; so, depending on how you drive, your engine may never reach the right temperature and the electric motor may never do its part. SUV hybrid users that use E10 do about as well as the same SUV on regular gas.
My best advice, weak as it is so far, is to avoid E10 and 2-lane mountain roads, in that order. You probably can't avoid short trips, cold weather, and may not want to slow down.
I will continue my experiment adding the fuel gauge issue to what I track. The gauge may be correct but a driver's ability to fill up a tank exactly the same is an issue. Even if you can be accurate to within a quart each time, that means a variation of 1/2 gallon over about 10, or 5%. This means a difference of about 2.5MPG. I suspect this variation is about 5MPG in practice.
I do not think the air conditioner will make much of a difference (I will find out in a few months). The Prius AC runs off of the battery and not from a belt off the engine, so there is no real drag. This costs only about 75% the energy of a belted system but it will make the battery charge more and the (e) motor run less. I think it will cost between 1 and 1.5 MPG.
I drive from Pittsburgh to D.C. several times a month and am getting 51.46 (+-0.36) MPG overall.
If E10 gas causes the loss you describe, how much worse is E15? That's the only gas available in the DC area.
I also find that it is not necessary to drive at only 40-45 miles per hour. My best mileage is obtained on flat, open roads at around 65 mph. I have driven a little over 7000 miles since early February. Best car purchase ever for me.
I love my 2007 Prius.
I just completed a run down to Sebastian, Fl, and was on 95 from Florence, SC to Palm Bay. I ran about 75 mph the entire distance, ac on all the time. Per the computer, I averaged 43 mpg. The "actual" number was less per calculations, since the bladder must have expanded on the fillup down here. I was getting some new and odd "exhaling" noises coming from the tank while filling.
Mine is a Touring, so perhaps the stickier tires do drop mileage. I have the pressures at 35F / 33R
And, the AC blows ice cold. It was interesting to note that the ac continues to run when the ICE shuts down at a traffic light. Though the real test will be on a sunny 95 temp / 95% humidity day
This was from Las Vegas to Calgary on the I-15 about 1300 miles. The temp outside in the desert was ~90 to 100degrees and then when I got into Canada speed droped to ~65 but milage when down. ~41mpg. Windy and rainy and outside temp was ~37degrees.
Anyone notice changes in milage with outside temp?
Since your vehicle's engine was already at operating temperatures, the colder temps very likely had any affect at all on your MPG.
Here are the factors I've noticed along with their corresponding deductions from a perfect 'norm'.
In decending order of negative effect.
1) Towing anything is a huge penalty possibly as much as a 50% reduction in FE
2) Lots of weight in the vehicle, passengers cargo etc. ( EPA tests are done empty ) deduct up to 20% from your 'Norm'
3) Short trips under 10 min - deduct 20% from your 'Norm'
4) Snow, Rain, sleet - deduct 15%
5) Strong head wind - deduct 10%
6) Cold weather - deduct 5 - 10%
7) High speed driving 0ver 70 mph - deduct 5 - 10%
8) Many starts from a dead stop ( going from stop sign to stop sign to stop sign ) - deduct 5 - 10%
9) Winter fuel - deduct 2 - 5%
10) Low tire pressure - 30-34 psi - deduct 2-3%
11) Terrain - fortunately 'what goes up..' usually this balances out on a RT so there is little or no effect as you noted.
Actually at 41 mph and less the ICE does turn off. At 42 mph and faster the ICE turns down from normal revolutions of say 1600 rpms to an idle speed of 950 rpms. At 65 mph while cruising if you let off the pressure you'll see the 'biofeedback' bar go up to 100 mpg just the same as when you are rolling at 15 mph in heavy traffic. In the latter case the ICE is actually turned off.
If you have the opportunity take a Sunday drive at a very relaxed pace say looking at houses or at scenery while driving at a constant 20-35 mph for say 25 or 50 miles. You should be able to average well above 55 mpg or even above 65 mpg.
Best car purchase ever for me as well. 44000 miles in 18 months with a current economy of 51 mpg since the weather has warmed up. 48.0 mpg lifetime average fuel economy.
While I concur about the infinite gears, note that my ICE only Ford Freestyle also follows this characteristic. Accelerate (slightly) past the desired speed, then let off of the pedal. The computer will adjust the engine about 150 RPM slower for the set speed than would have showed if one had simply gone to the lower speed in the first place. After that the RPMs will remain stable. But the only time my ICE turns off is when I remove the key!
I realize the transmission is different from HSD, but I just wanted to mention that I found the original comment very familiar.
True, but only the slow ones get noticed - of course... :sick:
Hope it keeps getting better!
Does anyone know appx. how much fuel is left at the point when the last "bar" on the gauge begins to flash? Most cars I've had in the past have said something like "you have appx. 1.2 gal remaining" in the manual.
thanks,
cf
Most of the folks I have heard about that run out of fuel, claim they got anywhere from 35-60 miles after the blinking started however, I have a friend with a 2007 Prius that only got 12 miles after it began blinking before he ran out fuel just two weeks ago.
Best Regards,
Wayne
The reason that the amount to refill the tank seems to vary so much is the fuel bladder that's inside the tank. Depending on the weather you may get more or less in the bladder.
When you get down to two pips it's saying "get fuel soon". When it gets down to one pip it's saying "get fuel now". When the last pip starts flashing and the "beep" sounds, it's saying "last chance dummy, stop now or I will".
I recommend you do not try to "push" your distance on a tank. It's not healthy to run the car out of fuel.
For one thing, you can suddenly start to slow down when it happens, and if that occurs in certain situations you can become a traffic hazard (and you may get "run over" by someone else not paying attention).
Second, although the fuel pump does shut off when the engine stops, it is cooled by the fuel flowing through it and that it is immersed in, so when you run out there isn't any fuel to take the heat still in the pump. This -could- shorten its' life.
Third, there are places you don't want to leave your car while you go for fuel, or even be while you wait for fuel.
Fourth and most important, when you run out you will have to pull of the road on battery power. Then you will have to use the battery more to get the car restarted (fuel primed) - I say "you" but the car does it automatically. You may think you can go a little farther and try to start the system a few times as well. More battery power gone. This will get the "traction battery" discharged below the desired 40% charge minimum, and that can shorten the battery life. It makes it more possible to fully discharge one or more cells, causing them to be "reverse charged" when the battery is drained further. This often leads to cell destruction and permanent loss.
Finally, any "foreign matter" you manage to get in the tank will be stirred up most when the fuel level is very low as it will splash around in the bottom only then. Stuff such as dirt or water. It can damage the fuel pump and/or plug the fuel line filter.
There are lots of stories posted of Prius owners/drivers running out of fuel. You'd think it would be the least likely thing to happen to the most fuel efficient main stream vehicle currently being sold but many owners want to "compete" to see how far they can go! Total silliness.
The bladder would end up about the same temperature of the gasoline being pumped into it is my guess. How cold a day does it take to shrink the capacity of the bladder? On cold winter days the gasoline from underground tanks at the gas station would be warmer than the air temperature, right? But on a hot summer day the gas would be cooler than the air temperature.
Most owners report that at around 50 deg F the tank appears to loose capacity. It gets really noticeable below freezing. I forget the exact wording in the manual. But it is real. You can appear to loose 2-4 gal capacity. Usually closer to 2. Perhaps fuel vapour pressure has something to do with it.
It's very difficult to quantify exactly, because there is no really reliable way to measure tank capacity. Most owners get used to how much fuel they should be pumping in, and suddenly notice it decrease (or increase), along with calculated mileage suddenly changing.
I don't understand how you could think that.