Poor gas mileage after collision repair

[ml194152]

My wife's 2005 Prius recently (April 2007) had a front-end collision costing $10K in repairs from an independent body shop . Afterward, it seemed to run as good as new, but she is complaining now that she used to average 45-47 MPG and now she only averages 35-37 MPG. And she also noticed that the battery now rarely goes above 5 bars anymore. I went out to the garage and her battery was at 5 bars, 35.7 MPG. I checked my 2004 Prius and it showed 6 bars and 51 MPG.

Admittedly, she does mostly short trips (3-4 miles at a time). But the past 2 years of experience with her Prius showed 10 MPG better mileage than since the accident. Can the dealer do any diagnostics to see why the battery doesn't fully charge anymore and she gets suddenly worse mileage?

[jrmgkia]

Unfortunately cars are often not the same after a bad accident. It could be caused by a number of things including, the front end alignment being out, the frame of the car being bent, a wheel that is bent, a bad wheel bearing or a brake that is causing drag, a missing air dam, or a combination of these factors. I would take it to a tire shop, explain the situation and have them do a through aliment check on the car, you may also want to have a repair shop with a frame straighter check to see if the frame is bent, also make sure the tires are filled to ~40psi. Finally I would make sure the wheel bearings and brakes aren't damaged and causing excess drag. Let me what you find out.

[jcadmus]

I think Jason nailed it -- I would bet some type of alignment issue, either front-end out of whack, bent frame, bent wheel, even a sticky brake caliper.

I would take it to a mechanic I trust, and have him go over it thoroughly.

[richard schumacher]

Has it been seen by a Toyota shop since the accident? Does the independent body shop know all the Prius computer codes and how to fix the problems they indicate? So many subtle things can go wrong with a Prius in a collision it's not funny.

[ml194152]

Thanks for the replies. The alignment/bearings/etc. still don't explain the battery not charging to 6 bars.

The body shop was really incompetent. They had to take it to the Toyota dealer when it failed to start after getting all the bodywork fixed. The dealer found the problem: an extra cable going to the 12V battery was not connected! There were numerous other things they messed up too.

But we'll try the suggestions you made.

[ml194152]

I took the car into the Toyota dealer to see if they could find any reason why the gas mileage was bad after the collision. The result: they said everything is working fine with the car. No error codes, everything checks out perfect. They drove the car 40 miles down the freeway (round trip) at 65 MPH and connected to an instrument that precisely measures mileage. It returned 42 MPG. They said that was normal for 65 MPH.

Well, I don't consider that normal. I know for a fact my 2004 Prius gets 52 MPG at that speed (summer time in Houston). But I didn't feel there was any point in arguing. At least they didn't charge me anything.

[Godiva]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ml194152 @ Aug 20 2007, 07:10 PM) [snapback]499442[/snapback]</div>

I took the car into the Toyota dealer to see if they could find any reason why the gas mileage was bad after the collision. The result: they said everything is working fine with the car. No error codes, everything checks out perfect. They drove the car 40 miles down the freeway (round trip) at 65 MPH and connected to an instrument that precisely measures mileage. It returned 42 MPG. They said that was normal for 65 MPH.

Well, I don't consider that normal. I know for a fact my 2004 Prius gets 52 MPG at that speed (summer time in Houston). But I didn't feel there was any point in arguing. At least they didn't charge me anything.
[/b]

May I assume they also checked the alignment? If not, I'd do that first.

I'd also check the tire pressure. When I got mine back from the shop they had aligned it. But they had also reduced my tire pressure from 42/40 to 36/34. My mileage also really sucked as it was obvious they had let the car sit parked but ON for long periods of time. I increased the tire pressure, filled up, reset and the mileage was back where it was.

[PriusOwner004]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(ml194152 @ Aug 20 2007, 07:10 PM) [snapback]499442[/snapback]</div>

I took the car into the Toyota dealer to see if they could find any reason why the gas mileage was bad after the collision. The result: they said everything is working fine with the car. No error codes, everything checks out perfect. They drove the car 40 miles down the freeway (round trip) at 65 MPH and connected to an instrument that precisely measures mileage. It returned 42 MPG. They said that was normal for 65 MPH.

Well, I don't consider that normal. I know for a fact my 2004 Prius gets 52 MPG at that speed (summer time in Houston). But I didn't feel there was any point in arguing. At least they didn't charge me anything.
[/b]

You're right! What a bunch of nonsense. 65 mph on a fairly flat surface will get you in the low 50s and no way anything under 50. OK, maybe 49, if it's windy, but 42 mpg definitely shows there is a serious problem with the car. It's disappointing they can't find what it is.
What about this. When you drop most (all) batteries on the floor they lose charge and get damaged. Do you think the impact damaged the battery? That's what I'd think.
I'm not concerned with the fact you're rarely now getting 6 bars since, during short trips and especially with A/C on and during stop and go traffic it's normal to be hard to keep 5 or 6 bars all the time.
But 42 mpg during 65 mph highway sounds to me like a serious issue. Keep us updated.