Who consistently gets the very lowest Prius Gen II mileage?

[efusco]

Originally Posted by orange4boy

A block heater would help.

+1 !! You may not jump to the stratosphere with the EBH, but I bet it would jump to the 40s....esp. if you can plug in at work.

[chinna]

Originally Posted by patsparks

If you only commute 1.5 miles each way and that is the only use the car gets why not walk on nice days and get a cab on crap days? Sell the car, invest the money and the returns will pay the cab bill.

Before anyone gets cranky, I'm just saying, I'm not demanding.

Mostly weather is problematic)cold and rain). In summer months I do biking. No one want to call a cab and wait for 20-30 mins for 5 min ride, and keep the change ready etc.

[Stev0]

Originally Posted by Bob Hayes

Who gets the lowest consistent mileage of all Gen II Priuses? It just might be me.

How's 26mpg for a consistent city average?

It's true. That's what I get. But my circumstances are very unusual. And yes, my car is tuned and tires are inflated.

I have a 1.5 mile commute, all downhill. During that time (5 minutes), the engine runs just to warm itself up. So, the gas in the morning is being used not for propulsion, but for generating heat.

On the way home, it's the same, only worse. It's usually hot (this is So. Cal.), so the A/C's on. Add to that: It's all uphill, so no hypermiling and no electric-only. By the time I get home, the battery is drained, the gas engine is roaring (straining to get up the hill AND charge an exhausted battery). And my screen reads 26 mpg.

Still, the glass half in me full looks at it like this: My Lexus (Camry-based) SUV gets 12 mpg on the same route. More importantly, one tank of gas buys me 80 or more round trips to work. That's 3 months on one tank!

You beat me. I get about 35-38 MPG on a tank. Similar situations - usually I don't drive more than three or four miles, all stop and go (and it's more stop than go). I also have that going-downhill going, going-uphill coming back thing, too. My saving grace is I go on the highway for about a half hour a couple of times a month. And now the winter is coming, so seeing crazy high gas mileage like 38 MPG will be just a pleasant memory for the next few months.

Note: biking or walking are out of the question, 'cause those three or four miles are usually spent lugging computers, groceries, lumber, etc.

[F8L]

Because of my commute change, adding the 17" wheels and high performance tires, AND the 1200ft. elevation gain/loss going back and forth to work dropped my MPG from 50mpg avg. to about 40-42mpg avg. Winter is here though so I'm about to swap the stock rims and Nokian I3s back on and hope for 47MPG or so

[Shawn Clark]

Would an EV button help this? The engine being on during the downhill is a complete waste of fuel. If one could stay in EV the whole way down (perhaps gaining charge rather than consuming it) then the overall mileage should be much better.

[F8L]

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

Would an EV button help this? The engine being on during the downhill is a complete waste of fuel. If one could stay in EV the whole way down (perhaps gaining charge rather than consuming it) then the overall mileage should be much better.

No because your speed will be too high for EV to stay engaged. Besides, when going downhill and your foot feathering the throttle you'll be at nearly infinite MPG anyway. The engine is on but it's not doing much and the injector pulse is all but nill. Watching the scangauge II can tell you a lot.

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by F8L

No because your speed will be too high for EV to stay engaged. Besides, when going downhill and your foot feathering the throttle you'll be at nearly infinite MPG anyway.

That's not what happens in my car. For this sort of downhill drive and short commute the speeds are typically in the EV range. If the engine is in warm up mode at less than about 40 mph the gas mileage is terrible.

The only question I have about EV is if the car will override it to try to warm up regardless of speed.

[F8L]

Originally Posted by Shawn Clark

That's not what happens in my car. For this sort of downhill drive and short commute the speeds are typically in the EV range. If the engine is in warm up mode at less than about 40 mph the gas mileage is terrible.

The only question I have about EV is if the car will override it to try to warm up regardless of speed.

You would have to engage EV mode prior to staring the warm up sequence. I have never had the EV button successfuly shut down the engine till after warm up mode was over.

On a side note, any "hill" that you can maintain EV speeds on while traveling down it shouldn't be called a hill, it should be called a slight decline. lol

[bedrock8x]

Cab fee in the US is very expensive. Average about $6 for the first mile plus dispatching fee to your house. The two trips will cost more than $20 per day, $100+ per week, $5200+ per year.

A Prius is still a better investment.

Originally Posted by patsparks

If you only commute 1.5 miles each way and that is the only use the car gets why not walk on nice days and get a cab on crap days? Sell the car, invest the money and the returns will pay the cab bill.

Before anyone gets cranky, I'm just saying, I'm not demanding.

[Shawn Clark]

Originally Posted by F8L

You would have to engage EV mode prior to staring the warm up sequence. I have never had the EV button successfuly shut down the engine till after warm up mode was over.

On a side note, any "hill" that you can maintain EV speeds on while traveling down it shouldn't be called a hill, it should be called a slight decline. lol

OP said 1.5 miles over 5 minutes. That's an average speed of 18 mph. I figure it is a long gradual decline with a few stops/lights. One can easily control speed with regen unless a hill is particularly long/steep. I prefer not to regen unless I must (e.g. traffic/conditions), that way I have momentum for the next climb.

There really is no obvious reason for the engine to run on such a no load sequence (other than possibly some transaxle lubrication issues that might require some engine rotation...not necessarily ignition.) It produces more emissions this way since the warm up and accompanying emissions are not even needed. Even if one drove the distance, then drove up a hill, the warm up should be delayed for the climb or acceleration. That is when warm up is most efficent.

I could double my low speed mpg in the Prius if it was not for the warm up sequence and other coolant/inverter/battery temp aspects (none of which are instrumented...grrrrrr!)