gas mileage

[scott]

My god how bad my mileage is. I'm averaging in the low 30s with local driving. Running 87 octane gas in NY. Weather has been 30s-50s. I don't get it. VW TDIs get better mileage than me.

If this keeps up the prius may be going bye bye, so if anyone wants a clean prius in NY, stay tuned.

[efusco]

I bet your tire pressure is too low. Check it in all 4 with a good guage. Also take a look at the oil level. Low 30s is something you should see with the Prius under only the most extreme conditions unless something is wrong or you're driving REALLY hard.

Read this article:
http://priuschat.com/forums/kb.php?mode=ar...c9146689edce8fb

[bwalkhouse]

I've been getting about 35 mpg pretty steady for the months of December and January so far.

Tire pressure is at 40/38 and oil level is right where it should be. I also am using a block heater on a timer, and park in an insulated garage.

Temps have been at or below 0 F for most of the month.

With the gas tank bladder constriction, I've been getting about 280 miles per tank.

Looking forward to some warmer weather!

[john1701a]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(scott\";p=\"61576)</div>

VW TDIs get better mileage than me.[/b]

What do they really get in the very same driving conditions?

By the way, here in Minnesota I've been averaging MPG in the low 40's. Of course, my Prius is already broken-in and I try to keep the number of short-trips down to a minimum.

[mark_hamrick]

Here in Denver I've been getting around 47 since November...of course the weather here is not as extreme. Miss my typical 52-55 tanks! I guess I can't complain after reading the posts from other pats of the country... 8)

[scott]

I have to check the tire pressure....figured it would be on since i just picked it up from the dealer...but you never know, right?

i'm not driving hard at all. it just seems that if you want CONSISTENT hig mpg, you need to drive it like a granny. I mean seriously, to get decent mpg, I have to feather the pedal as if it were made of tiffany glass. it's making driving less enjoyable.

if i drive it as i would a regular car, I get 30 mpg average. that is for around town. if i go highway, it's usually about 40 or so, with one long trip netting me 47 mpg.

it just seems that around town, where the prius should shine, I'm getting my worst averages and the engine seems to have to work more.

very inconsistent, I don't get it. For instance, on my block is a downhill. when i coast, i usually get the electric motor only running it, but recently it coasted with the gas motor and averaged 22 mpg DOWN a HILL!

opinions?

[priusham]

I know exactly how your feel, but the phrase "I just picked it up at the dealer" speaks volumes. Your car is not broken in and neither are you - to the Prius driving style.

Last month, I sold my 2004 Prius with 11,000 well broken in miles on it and picked up a zero mile 2005. I went from low 40's MPG (here in icy-cold Michigan) to low 30's MPG and I already knew how to drive the car!

I'm now at 2,000 miles and the new Prius is starting to show some consistent 5 minute consumptions of 50 MPG - even in 20 degree weather. I'd never seen that in the first 1,000 miles even on a couple of freak, near 50 degree days.

So give it time. You'll LOVE this thing when the weather warms up and you're not running the heater and defoggers all the time.

[DaveinOlyWA]

Scott the biggest problem is not driving the Prius like a regular car, its stopping like a regular car.

i see it every day. cars driving up to a red light that they know wont change with foot on the gas to within 100 feet of the lineup of cars.

the gas mileage will be good when moving that is why the freeway numbers are impressive. reason? not stopping, no brakes etc. driving style helps sure, but more important is your stopping style.

i get good mileage. i averaged 54.5 mpg in the summer in a state where E10 is required year round. granted im only getting 45-46 now. but short trips and cold weather and winter formula gas all play a part.

try this, drive through town and try not to hit the brakes. now most of the time if you are real lucky you might get through a mile with only hitting the brakes once, but in many cases you know the light patterns and you know you will be sitting at a light up ahead, well gauge the light, if you can make it, go for it, drive like Dale Earnhart. if not... why lengthen the time sitting still at the light. coast... regen is at work. now regen is very inefficient but still MUCH MUCH better than friction brakes which take a lot and give absolutely nothing back.

as for me... i never drive under the speed limit, but at the same time, i realize that traffic frequently will not allow me to get anywhere faster no matter how badly i want it. so driving slowly from one stop light to another is something i do frequently (nice to do this when there are double lanes) because i know i will have to slow down. so instead of wasting a lot of gas to get up to a speed that i know is too fast, i just moderate my speed so i go slower, stop less, still make the same lights i would have anyway (i am not a very patient person and i HATE being caught at the light)..then again i frequently roll slowly through the intersection on very pink lights...i found that going through the intersection late at 20-30 mph will almost never get me a ticket since i have had several cops see me and not do anything. i have had 2 tickets for running red lights several years ago when gunning it to make it across. once when the light turned red after i entered the intersection!

[richbyrne]

If your trips aren't more than 10 minutes on a cold day, you won't get much better than 35 mpg. My first bar is just over 25 mpg on a cold day. That includes a good uphill for the first mile. After 40 miles or so I'm looking at 48 mpg in cold weather. Mileage really improves after the first 20 minutes of driving; even with temps in the 20s.

[canuckican]

"try this, drive through town and try not to hit the brakes. now most of the time if you are real lucky you might get through a mile with only hitting the brakes once"

This assumes a certain type of city driving...

The city I drive through is stop and go with red lights at EVERY intersection. That means I go an average of one to two BLOCKS (not miles) and have to come to a full stop with fully applied brakes. If I'm really lucky I can go 3 blocks and only have to hit the brakes once...

I'm sure we all know your mileage is a lot worse in this type of heavy stop and go traffic. With the weather averaging about -10 (Celcius, not farenheit) and this type of stop and go driving that only lasts 10-15 minutes (car never fully heats up), I am averaging about 25 mpg on this tank. Quite simply with that type of driving, with full defrosters and heat (necessary, at least to me) the ICE just never shuts off. It is spending all its time trying to keep itself and me warm. I am therefore agreeing fully with what richbyrne is observing and would agree with his conclusion. I can't comment on his "after 40 miles or so..." conclusion, as my commute is only about 5 miles.