poor mileage

[beeper]

A friend of mine who has a new (2005) Prius says he is getting mid 30s MPG.
He says that every time he gets in the car in the morning the batteries are discharged down to one or two bars on the display. Apparently, this became issue after he had the oil changed at the local dealer. He says service manager told him the mileage was bad because he didn't have emough gas in the tank.
That service manager is the reason I don't go to my local dealer for service anymore.
Any ideas about the Poor mileage?

[efusco]

Originally posted by beeper@Nov 2 2005, 02:23 PM
A friend of mine who has a new (2005) Prius says he is getting mid 30s MPG.
He says that every time he gets in the car in the morning the batteries are discharged down to one or two bars on the display.  Apparently,  this became issue after he had the oil changed at the local dealer.  He says service manager told him the mileage was bad because he didn't have emough gas in the tank.
That service manager is the reason I don't go to my local dealer for service anymore.
Any ideas about the Poor mileage?

[snapback]149402[/snapback]

Yup, lots of ideas. But no answers until we know more about him and his car and his driving techniques and his usual commute and the weather.

Print out and have him read:
http://priuschat.com/forums/kb.php?mode=article&k=23

Be sure to have him check his tire pressures and suggest inflating to ~42f/40r for starters. Also, have him check the oil level--some mileage hit can occur with an overfill. I suspect the battery SOC thing is mostly his imagination. It always drops 1-2 bars during warm-up, so if he's starting with just 4 bars that could explain it. In any case, I highly doubt there's anything wrong as far as that goes.

[Maytrix]

Originally posted by beeper@Nov 2 2005, 03:23 PM
He says that every time he gets in the car in the morning the batteries are discharged down to one or two bars on the display. 

[snapback]149402[/snapback]

Um... how many bars are there when he leaves it at night? It shouldn't change overnight. If it is, maybe he's not turning it off?

Tell us more about their driving as well. Things I'd ask:

1. How long have they had the car?
2. What kind of mileage were they getting before?
3. Has the weather changed much between before and after?
4. Have driving habits changed at all?
5. Has the commute changed at all?
6. What's the commute terrain like? Hilly? Flat? Mix?

If you can give us the above, plus any other relevant info, we may have more luck in helping.

[ThetaSigma99]

Originally posted by Maytrix@Nov 2 2005, 06:14 PM
Um... how many bars are there when he leaves it at night?  It shouldn't change overnight.  If it is, maybe he's not turning it off?

Actually, I'm not sure I agree with this. I have a 2005 BC Prius and have definitely noticed mornings when I start up the car and the battery gauge shows a lot fewer bars than it did the previous night when I got home and switched it off. And I definitely always switch off the car. My best guess was that it had something to do with the Auto A/C being on when I switched off the car. Since then, I always turn off the A/C before the car, but I'm not convinced that this matters.

[Salsawonder]

I find that this car is just like college. I have had to re-learn eveything I thought I knew about driving. I even have to learn how to "talk to it". It has been 3 months now and my mileage in a hilly area of San Diego runs in the low 40's, I frequently have green bars even in the morning.

You have to be aware of your driving habits on a regular basis, view the screen often enough to keep track but not so often as to hit the person in front of you or miss your turn off. Use the Cruise when possible. Gas mileage has nothing to do with how much is in there. Sounds like you might be one of those poor Floridian's from the sounds of your service dealer. I don't think there is a decent dealership in Florida from the comments I have seen.

I am learning to check and fill the tires during those infrequent gas tank fill-ups. I still need more education on Pulse and Glide like how long to pulse, speed range for gliding, can you do it at a variety of speeds or just at a certain speed level. How to minimize that bite your MPG's take on that 1st AM trip?!?!