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Comments
1. Increased tire pressure to 42 PSI in 51 PSI tires
2. Use the recommended octane
3. Use a top tier gas (see http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html)
4. Use full synthetic oil
5. Use a K&N air filter (lightly oil it)
These are in order of least to most improvement. Items 1-4 were made this year.
Best results thus far with all 5 changes:
• 57 MPG driving 55 MPH
• 56 MPG driving 65 MPH
• 55 MPG at fill-up with a mix of city and highway driving
I use cruise control for most of my highway driving. I have no results for any speeds over 65 MPH.
The basics of my city driving:
• Normal acceleration from a dead stop to get to the speed limit.
I do not baby it, but I do not hot rod it either.
• Use the Consumption monitor to know when to ease up on the gas pedal.
I want to get the best MPG and maintain speed.
This applies when NOT driving up a hill.
MPG is pretty much out of your control when going up a hill.
The purpose of using the Consumption monitor is to cause the ICE to stop running and the electric motor to take over, or to at least enable the ICE to get the best mileage possible.
A word on tire pressure... I believe low rolling resistance (LRR) tires are the better option. Consider LRR tires when you need to replace your tires. You should do some research to find good tires. I found where some tires marketed as LRR actually hurt the fuel economy (http://www.inautonews.com/test-best-low-rolling-resistance-lrr-tires).
Only choose routes that are downhill.
Drive towards the equator to reduce the pull of gravity.
Follow sarcastic people to take advantage of the vacuum they create.
• 71 MPG city
1. According to Toyota, (i keep one trip meter without ever clearing it) I am averaging 53.1 mpg.
2. I reality i have driven 6301 miles and used 124.249 g. That is 50.71 mpg.
3. Using the Toyota stats, i should have used 118.663 g. Difference of 5.6 g. Who is right? Either the gas stations are ripping me off or Toyota is measuring fairly inaccurately!
Another note: The dashboard indicators show an indicator gauge from 0 to 100 labeled mpg. Are they kidding? Do they know what mpg means? 100mpg is easy to do on that dial but how do they know it is not 1000? Would be nice to have meaningful labels!
Still i love this car.
I don't think so.
Do they know what mpg means?
Pretty sure they do.
100mpg is easy to do on that dial but how do they know it is not 1000?
Does it really matter? It's for an approximation of instantaneous mpg. You'll never average anything close to 1000 mpg (or 100 mpg for that matter) on a 2011 Prius. Think about how big the dial would need to be to go up to 1000 mpg... if it could ever get that high. I suppose a digital readout could be used, but then folks might think it's more accurate than it really is. My Sentra has a digital mpg readout, but then I get to wondering, is it really 35.2 mpg? Maybe it's 35.0 mpg, or 35.5 mpg...
Instant MPG readouts can be very inaccurate, unless you're driving with the cruise control while on a flat road, since even slight variations in road or foot pressure on the gas pedal can greatly change an instant MPG. Remember MPG is Miles Per Gallon, so an instant MPG is looking at the MPG for one second and in one second at 60mph you've only driven .01667 miles, so when that .016667 mile is driven, only a tiny fraction of a gallon of gas is used. When that tiny fraction of gas is multiplied up to equal one gallon, any error is also multipled up. That's why in general estimating MPG is more accurate when calculated over greater distances...sort of like increasing the sample size in a survey to make it more accurate. You're wouldn't believe a survey if only one person was asked the questions, but you need hundreds or thousands of samples to get an accurate survey.
Also, my Honda Fit's MPG also goes down in the winter, from the mid 30s to the low 30s, so this isn't unique with the Prius. I think that that Prius owners just track MPG more closely, so they notice the winter MPG drop more.
On the freeway I easily achieved a mpg over 50 mpg . . .which i find a little odd given the EPA estimates--but I realize athose estimates are based on paritial usage of the EV mode in the city, something that can't be accomplished on the freeway.
Anyway, I am a total computer/mileage geek, and so I am completely in love with the "geek-out" experience offered by the Prius computer readouts and such. It truly is an engineering marvel.
I dont think my tires are low rolling resistance tires . . .they are Westlake SP-06 . . .seem to be a softer tire made more for traction and/or quietness versus low RR. Seet this link and maybe you can comment on them? and recommend another tire? Is the "Michelin Energy Saver A/S" my best best?
http://www.westlaketire.com/car-and-minivan/84-sp06
Thanks so much.
One trick I learned with my '06 Prius in cold weather is to keep the temperature high on the heat setting (about 77 deg) but after the car is warmed up inside to turn the fan to the Off position. This seems to prevent the car from running so much at stop signs and traffic lights, but keeps the warm air "floating" inside the cabin as the car is moving.
Or you can just turn the fan to the OFF position when you come up to a light and then turn the fan back on when you start driving again. Personally I wish the Prius had an "ECO-CLIMATE" control setting that would automatically do this to prevent the engine from running when stopped just to keep the hot air blowing in the cabin.
I brought the car home from the dealer with about 1/2 a tank and averaged 47 mpg on what was left of that first tank, as I reset the trip odometer when I took possession of the car. I then tanked up the gas on Saturday and so far have driven 98 miles . . . and so far my average has dropped to 44.5 mpg . . .my 8-mile commute makes up a fair share of my driving. If i had realized that the first five minutes of running time gouged the MPG this severely, I wouldnt be as disappointed as I am now . . . I would sure like to average 50 mpg and realize the cost savings . . . maybe I should move to the suburbs and do the 45 minutes commute :-)
Anyway, i tend to do longer drives on weekends, and with the 3-day weekend coming up we will see what my MPG turns out to be on my first tankful. In the meantime, thanks to all of you for your suggestions. The fan suggestion is a good one that I hadn't thought of, so thanks much.
Still pretty happy, but not as astonished as I once was.
However:
1) dealership where I purchased the car (non-Toyota dealer) did not put synthetic oil in the car, so I intend to do that and perhaps see some increase.
2) the cold weather of late has not helped the mileage. Even Atlanta gets to freezing temps every now and again
3) I'd like to hyperinflante the tires and see what happens.
Time will tell. But I know the single biggest factor in my own mpg are themany short trips I take (very short work commute, etc).
Enjoy your new wheels!
Gabe
Right now I get 20mpg in the Baja, the 32mpg by prius2007's experience would be nice to see. And looking at the www.fueleconomy.gov site, the low of 37mpg on the 2011's I have sights on would be even better.
Thinking of doing a rental from the dealership I plan on buying from for this coming weekend to see what my typical driving might bring. Hefty price tag for the Prius for some of us.
Also, the rental is a good idea and you can see what kind of mileage is delivered by your commute conditions. As they say, "Your mileage may avary".
Trip A will be reset after each fillup and Trip B will be used to look at the long term mileage...
Computer 54.3 mpg
Calculated 50.2mpg
My drive is 60-70% freewaY. My primary job is 60 mile commute on primarily flat highway. My 2nd job is 20 miles on hilly backroads. Hoping to get my next tank closer to 55mpg... been working on driving techniques I have been reading about around the boards, yt, etc.
And if you think about it, driving 60mph for your 60 miles will take one hour. If you drove 72mph, then it take 50 minutes. If you drove a constant 60mph you'd probably get close to 60mpg, so that would be on gallon of gas. At 72mph it might be down to 45mpg and you'd use 1.33gal of gas, or about $1.25, or about $2.50 round trip, or about $12.50/week or $600/year.
The question is whether or not the $600/year is worth the extra 10 minute commute each way. That's a personal decision. My commute is only 20 - 25 minutes depending on my speed, so for me I keep the speed down to increase my MPG, plus it gives me a chance to listen to more news on the radio driving to and from work.
Go to pure-gas.org to find the 5100(& rising) stations that sell 100% ethanol-free gasoline. Thousands of drivers switching to 100% ethanol-free gasoline show mpg jumps of 6-8%..... some people say they get even higher mpg jumps.
Also, gasoline engines running on 100% pure gasoline(no 10% ethanol blends need apply) will run smoother, quieter & have less need to shift down while ascending hills.
Calculated 53mpg Computer 56.5mpg. I was doing really well on my current tank. Computer was reading 61.5... then it got hot out and I succumbed to AC! Now down to 58.5 per computer.
Question-what are the "ranges" for rpm based on the eco bar? Sometimes i feel like i need alot of umphh, even into power zone to accelerate up any incline.
Any Comments or new tricks appreciated.
Another great techique is what I call "Fuzzy Cruise Technique." First never use cruise control on the highway. Cruise T your chosen speed and do not maintain your target speed. For example say you are on a 65 mph freeway. On the flat you maintain 65 MPH or use the Pulse and Glide technique. As you approach a hill do not press down on the accelerator to maiintain 65 mph. Try and hold a fixed throttle position and allow the speed to slowly decay as you climb the hill. Usually you will lose 5 to 8 moh depending on the size of the hill. Once at the apex of the hill keep the steady throttle position and the vehicle will accelerate back to 65 mph or higher. Bank the speed. Also if the downhill is steep enough on the backside you can glide downhill and charge the battery.
I have gotten 13 mpg over the rated Highway mileage using this technique on a 65 moh highway. (60.8 mpg on a 200 mile leg)Of course, this technique should only be used in the slow lane(right lane) of the highway and don't do it if you have tailgating traffic behind you in a 2 lane road.
I wish Toyota would give us a a two stage cruise control with a choice of a Hard or Soft cruise setting. The Soft setting would allow the speed setting to be fuzzy and allow a decay of speed down to a certain limit. Instead of soft cruise they could call it maybe, Eco Cruise. The problem with Hard Cruise is as soon a the speed drops the engines revs up high trying to maintain set speed. A waste of gas in my mind. That is why you should never use cruise control on hilly terrain. :shades:
This is a great car. The ride is great. I have to learn how to ignore the displays. I tend to use the one that shows EV, ECO, and PWR modes. I try to keep it near the middle if possible. To get where I live, I have to drive up 1000' for about 5 miles. I get in the 20s when I do that. On the way back down, I get close to 100mpg. I note the car seems at its best when you are going in the mid 40-50mph on fairly level surface. Most of my driving is "open road" at about 60 or so. It appears I will get near 50 on the type of driving I do. I think that is great.