Why am I getting Low MPG on my brand new 07 Prius?

[dkitts]

I just purchased a brand new '07 Prius. I got it with 2 miles on the car and a full tank of gas. After driving this car now for 2 days I am under a half tank of gas and have only driven 160 miles. I was told this car should get about 600 Miles per tank and that I would easily get 40+MPG. Well, if this thing has close to a 12 gallon tank and I have obviously used over half a tank... I can take my first 160 miles driven and divide that by my first 6 gallons of gas to equal 26MPG.

Again, this is brand new so I am assuming maybe there is a "break in" time needed.
Maybe my next full tank of gas will get better MPG?

I hope someone has seen this and can shed some light on this for me and offer me some encouragement.

Thanks
DK

[fairclge]

I just got my 07 back a few months ago and now have under 3K miles on it.
My recommendations are:
- Forget about the first tank, burn off all that gas because you never know how good it was (water in it) and or how old it was etc.
- I have never been able to get much over 450 miles on a tank without risk of running out of fuel but I have not run it low until the low light flashes either.
- Do not worry about the MPG until the first full tank you put in.
- Check tire presser and add air as needed.
- Above all, do not drive the car like an “A” type personality – drive normally and within the speed limit and use your display as a biofeedback system to get the car mileage optimal while driving.

[hennedon]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(dkitts @ Jun 14 2007, 07:14 PM) [snapback]461984[/snapback]</div>

I just purchased a brand new '07 Prius. I got it with 2 miles on the car and a full tank of gas. After driving this car now for 2 days I am under a half tank of gas and have only driven 160 miles. I was told this car should get about 600 Miles per tank and that I would easily get 40+MPG. Well, if this thing has close to a 12 gallon tank and I have obviously used over half a tank... I can take my first 160 miles driven and divide that by my first 6 gallons of gas to equal 26MPG.

Again, this is brand new so I am assuming maybe there is a "break in" time needed.
Maybe my next full tank of gas will get better MPG?

I hope someone has seen this and can shed some light on this for me and offer me some encouragement.

Thanks
DK
[/b]

Hey DK,

What MPG does your MFD say you are getting (love the acronyms)? The multi-function display (switch it to the consumption mode) should give you the approximate fuel consumption rate. Perhaps the dealer didn't fill it up completely. Try filling it up again yourself and recalculate. I've heard that the Prius fuel guage has many scratching their heads. Also, check out some of the hypermiling strategies that can significantly boost your mileage. Even if you are driving very aggressively, 26 MPG is really bad for a Prius.

I also recently purchased an '07 prius with 2 miles on the odometer. I'm currently getting 50-52 MPG (100% city) with less than 400 miles on the odometer. I expect that to improve in time as my Prius breaks in and I become more familiar with the nuances of 'pulse and glide', etc. What a great car!

Keep us posted.

DH

[powphilprius]

I totally agree, don't worry with the first tank, was it really even full? Now, the sooner you learn how to pulse & glide the happier you will be the quicker. After 18 months I was still somewhat unsure and then learned how to P&G properly (I wasn't gliding correctly), has helped a lot. A few other things; the car isn't efficient until it is warmed up. The first 5 minutes will always suck, short trips kill your average. My two other worse things although not currently an issue is cold weather and ethanol. Also, there is a posted break in period of 600 miles after which one is supposed to start noticing improved mpg. It wasn't dramatic for me, but it kept getting better as if it took a lot longer to break in & losen up. Try this here P&G link:

http://hybridcars.about.com/od/owner...seandglide.htm


Enjoy the car!

[morpheusx]

Easiest thing to do to improve MPG (I will guarantee that you will get 54 +) w/ no p & g and even on highway at 5 over speed limits.

1. Put some air in those tires
(use a good air guage and put 44 PSI in the front and 42 in the rear) (If that is a little stiff lower it to 40F 38R, for a slight decrease in MPG)
2. Watch the display and let it glide (coast) down hills.
(on a slope release the accelerator and gently press back down where you have either only yellow energy bars or even better (no bars under about 40MPH)
3. The Fan in the ventilation is a battery hog, don't set it for faster then M, if its hot still use the A/C w/ the recycle button on (remember that the A/C helps keep the battery cooler.
4. Don't leave your vehicle in Ready mode at a stop for more then 5 minutes.
5. Dont use the rear defroster unless you need it. (another battery hog and the wiper clears most of the fog off in the morning for me)
6. Remember to look ahead at stop lights and try to time it to where it turns green as you arrive.
7. Also remember that you are in a Prius and there is no need to accelerate like you are Jeff Gordon in a racecar.
8. Don't haul away a trunk full of junk with you, when I worked at a grocery store you would be surprised how many people I did carry outs for had huge trunks completely filled with miscellaneous junk (boxes full of books, clothes, toys, tools, several tires, newspapers, magazines) they all said the same thing I've been meaning to drop this off at the dump or at good will, and sure enough next week the same crap would be in their trunk still. That extra 200 pounds of garbage adds up.
9. When you buy gas only buy from a station that looks like they maintain their building, pumps, parking lot.
(if they can't maintain their property what makes you think they maintain their tanks) There is usually a reason why the gas is 3 or 4 cents cheaper and it is because they cut corners.


Give it a try.

[ystasino]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(morpheusx @ Jun 15 2007, 09:12 AM) [snapback]462216[/snapback]</div>

Easiest thing to do to improve MPG (I will guarantee that you will get 54 +) w/ no p & g and even on highway at 5 over speed limits.

1. Put some air in those tires
(use a good air guage and put 44 PSI in the front and 42 in the rear) (If that is a little stiff lower it to 40F 38R, for a slight decrease in MPG)
2. Watch the display and let it glide (coast) down hills.
(on a slope release the accelerator and gently press back down where you have either only yellow energy bars or even better (no bars under about 40MPH)
3. The Fan in the ventilation is a battery hog, don't set it for faster then M, if its hot still use the A/C w/ the recycle button on (remember that the A/C helps keep the battery cooler.
4. Don't leave your vehicle in Ready mode at a stop for more then 5 minutes.
5. Dont use the rear defroster unless you need it. (another battery hog and the wiper clears most of the fog off in the morning for me)
6. Remember to look ahead at stop lights and try to time it to where it turns green as you arrive.
7. Also remember that you are in a Prius and there is no need to accelerate like you are Jeff Gordon in a racecar.
8. Don't haul away a trunk full of junk with you, when I worked at a grocery store you would be surprised how many people I did carry outs for had huge trunks completely filled with miscellaneous junk (boxes full of books, clothes, toys, tools, several tires, newspapers, magazines) they all said the same thing I've been meaning to drop this off at the dump or at good will, and sure enough next week the same crap would be in their trunk still. That extra 200 pounds of garbage adds up.
9. When you buy gas only buy from a station that looks like they maintain their building, pumps, parking lot.
(if they can't maintain their property what makes you think they maintain their tanks) There is usually a reason why the gas is 3 or 4 cents cheaper and it is because they cut corners.
Give it a try.
[/b]

But his tires will still be new. 2000 miles later I barely get 54mpg even though I do P&G and deadband a lot. And it depends on his terrain and traffic conditions. My next step is to understand how to maintain good battery charge; without instrumentation that is tough.

I d say there should be noone getting below 46mpg with your advice, but 54 is way too optimistic for a starting car imo

And to the OP, just completely disregard yor fist tank. Your MFD seems to know what it's calculating well enough for the Prius collective.

[pappyt]

i got alittle over 40mpg on my 1st tank. and i just filled up my 2nd with 10 gal. last nite and the readout said avg. 50.6mpg .but you have to lean how to drive also. i find myself going the speed limit and less in it and trying to coast and run on electric power when ever possible. and like the other member said terrain plays a big part in it too. but i still think no matter how you drive it, that it will still be one of the highest mpg cars on the road :P

[morpheusx]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ystasino @ Jun 15 2007, 10:14 AM) [snapback]462245[/snapback]</div>

But his tires will still be new. 2000 miles later I barely get 54mpg even though I do P&G and deadband a lot. And it depends on his terrain and traffic conditions. My next step is to understand how to maintain good battery charge; without instrumentation that is tough.

I d say there should be noone getting below 46mpg with your advice, but 54 is way too optimistic for a starting car imo

And to the OP, just completely disregard yor fist tank. Your MFD seems to know what it's calculating well enough for the Prius collective.
[/b]

the only time I've dipped below 50 has been on long distance drives greater then 4 hours long.

Tip for a good charge:
when coming off a highway or approaching a light at a higher speed, just lightly hold the brake (not enough to really slow you down significantly but enough to increase the regen) I frequently go into the green when I leave the highway.
I agree that the terrain plays a pretty big role, but I bought mine in late March and I live in Ohio and it was still cold here and I still pulled off 54 MPG on my dealer tank in cold weather that was between 30 - 50 degrees. I drove a trip to VA Beach all interstates at 70 MPH and avg 50 for the entire ride down and it is pretty hilly in PA (and that was at 38.5 PSI at the time).

You will make your largest increases by timing stop lights and accelerating moderately, but since I've always done that the tires made an improvement for me.

I am averaging 53.8 MPG for the life of my car so far with close to 7000 miles on it. and I drive mostly Highway driving, through Akron OH. The only time I ever averaged around 46 MPG was due to me getting drowsy driving home from vacation and spent 4 hours at a rest stop sleeping as we drove home overnight and I left the car running because it was cold outside (about 25 degrees) and it was snowing.


I still can't correctly Pulse and Glide to improve mileage, but I am still learning.

[richard schumacher]

Along with all that advice, *don't* assume that you will get X miles per tank! The tank capacity is variable. When the last pip on the guess gauge starts to flash it means "buy gas right now, dammit". It doesn't matter whether you've driven 600 miles or 300 up to that point: you are about to run out.

[morpheusx]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(richard schumacher @ Jun 15 2007, 11:04 AM) [snapback]462293[/snapback]</div>

Along with all that advice, *don't* assume that you will get X miles per tank! The tank capacity is variable. When the last pip on the guess gauge starts to flash it means "buy gas right now, dammit". It doesn't matter whether you've driven 600 miles or 300 up to that point: you are about to run out.
[/b]

yes, I ran out of gas on my second tank and the pip only flashed for about 10 - 15 miles.