Something wrong with my Prius II - It takes more gas than it advertised.

[bwilson4web]

Originally Posted by hschen

. . . but my wife did experience this when she drove up a very long and steep hill, in ECO mode Prius ran out of power (slow down and continued to slow down) even she floored the accelerator. She called me then and asked for help. . . .

Could that have been from CA-91 to drive south on CA-241 towards the toll stations at the crest?

33 55' 17.00" N 117 42' 08.00" W - 114 m altitude
33 49' 31.00" N 117 42' 59.50" W - 426 m altitude (6% grade)

Typical speeds on this leg? (80 mph or more?)
Are you running 87 octane?

If this is a common route, you might want to try 89 octane. What this will do is allow the ICE to provide additional power up the long grade without drawing into the traction battery at high speeds, 80+ mph. The other alternative is to keep speeds at or under 75 mph using 87 octane.

Bob Wilson

[hschen]

Originally Posted by bwilson4web

Could that have been from CA-91 to drive south on CA-241 towards the toll stations at the crest?

33 51' 59.80" N 117 43' 20.00" W - 110 m altitude
33 49' 31.00" N 117 42' 59.50" W - 426 m altitude (6% grade)

Typical speeds on this leg? (80 mph or more?)
Are you running 87 octane?

If this is a common route, you might want to try 89 octane. What this will do is allow the ICE to provide additional power up the long grade without drawing into the traction battery at high speeds, 80+ mph. The other alternative is to keep speeds at or under 75 mph using 87 octane.

Bob Wilson

Wow, Bob, I am totally impressed. You nailed right on. It was the long uphill from CA-91 southbond on CA-241 toward the tollbooth. Wife delivered the new Prius to me from Phoenix to Irvine. She said on no issue on I-10, CA-60 to CA-91 until reached CA-241. She was convinced that without power mode, Prius wouldn't get up to the hill. With power mode on, she said she was able to accelerate/maintain around 65-70 mph on the long hill drive.
Thanks for your detailed info.

[tpfun]

Originally Posted by hschen

Hey, Doc,

I don't mind being slow. But I am traveling on 6-lane freeway of LA where people drive fast. Even other Prius' passed me by a big margin. ...

Heh, driving slow in LA traffic is near suicidal.

[cwerdna]

Originally Posted by hschen

Thank you, Zythryn.
I have a Prius Gen III Model II.
It's about 350 miles from Phoenix to Irvine.
Prius supposes to return better mpg in city than on freeway according to the advertised numbers - 51 city and 48 freeway. I just don't see that, yet, maybe, and hopefully ... and I am frastrated in not getting high mpg as I tried so hard so far.

I haven't paid close attention to this thread (lack of time and don't have a Gen III) but DO read Car and Driver: The Truth About EPA City / Highway MPG Estimates about the EPA tests.

Most fuel-efficient cars shows what Consumer Reports got. http://www.consumersunion.org/Oct_CR_Fuel_Economy.pdf at the end has info on their tests vs. the old (pre-model year 2008) EPA tests.

[hschen]

Originally Posted by tpfun

Heh, driving slow in LA traffic is near suicidal.

After proving that I can do 60+ mpg in my daily commute if I want to, I started speeding up to normal speed like 70+ or even 80+ mph. Of course, then my commuting mpg dropped to around 55.