Lifetime MPG

speedy · 05-05-2005, 12:28 PM

I have had my Prius for 10 days now, and of course I love it. It's hands down the best car I've ever had.

And I downloaded the user's guide that's suggested in the "taking delivery of a prius" guide. It mentions that you can find both your lifetime MPG and MPG for your current trip or tank of gas. I can't find the button for lifetime MPG. Any hints on where to look for that?

Thanks.

randalla · 05-05-2005, 12:53 PM

Hi Speedy,

Welcome to the world of Prius! I hope your car is meeting your expectations.

There are a number of inaccuracies in the owner's manual with regards to features. One of them unfortunately happens to be the lifetime MPG. Hopefully, there will be a software upgrade available in the future to include that feature.

john1701a · 05-05-2005, 01:22 PM

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(randalla\";p=\"87218)</div>

Quote:

Hopefully, there will be a software upgrade available in the future to include that feature.[/b]

I don't.

Sorry to be blunt, but when you reach the mileage I'm at, you'll discover the curse that wish would bring... The margin-of-error (1.4 MPG) is greater than the annual variance, making a display lifetime value pretty much worthless and definitely misleading.

Looking at these year #2 graphs for both my Prius, it becomes obvious. Notice what doesn't happen to the green line.

http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-data04.htm

http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-data13.htm

Then note how it gets even worse as the year's progress.

exhuman · 05-05-2005, 02:00 PM

I'm not sure I follow what you're saying about the 1.4 mpg margin of error and the annual variance. I know I wasn't a good statistics student, tho'.

Do you mean that after a year or 2 the Lifetime MPG becomes close to a straight line but that it's y-coordinate is deceptive in that the margin of error is 1.4 mpg?

I know for me the lifetime average would be a source of frustration. Like the poor person who tries to make up in one semester what 3 years of partying did to his GPA. (just anecdotal, not personal experience

) After a few years, you could drive like that guy who went over 1000 miles at 35 mph and still not get your Lifetime average to budge.

I hope I haven't added more confusion to the confusion.

john1701a · 05-05-2005, 04:04 PM

Margin-of-Error is the difference between DISPLAYED and CALCULATED values. The Multi-Display rounds optimistically. So we know for a fact that it will read higher than actual.

And yes, it becomes a flat line after awhile... which varies less than 1 MPG.

So rarely ever seeing a change and realizing that it isn't entirely accurate anyway would be very frustrating.

05-05-2005, 12:28 PM	#1
speedy Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 17 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Lifetime MPG I have had my Prius for 10 days now, and of course I love it. It's hands down the best car I've ever had. And I downloaded the user's guide that's suggested in the "taking delivery of a prius" guide. It mentions that you can find both your lifetime MPG and MPG for your current trip or tank of gas. I can't find the button for lifetime MPG. Any hints on where to look for that? Thanks.

05-05-2005, 02:00 PM	#4
exhuman Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Pasadena, CA Posts: 149 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Re: Lifetime MPG I'm not sure I follow what you're saying about the 1.4 mpg margin of error and the annual variance. I know I wasn't a good statistics student, tho'. Do you mean that after a year or 2 the Lifetime MPG becomes close to a straight line but that it's y-coordinate is deceptive in that the margin of error is 1.4 mpg? I know for me the lifetime average would be a source of frustration. Like the poor person who tries to make up in one semester what 3 years of partying did to his GPA. (just anecdotal, not personal experience ) After a few years, you could drive like that guy who went over 1000 miles at 35 mph and still not get your Lifetime average to budge. I hope I haven't added more confusion to the confusion.

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05-05-2005, 12:53 PM	#2
randalla Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Kensington, MD Posts: 344 My Car: Package: Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 0	Hi Speedy, Welcome to the world of Prius! I hope your car is meeting your expectations. There are a number of inaccuracies in the owner's manual with regards to features. One of them unfortunately happens to be the lifetime MPG. Hopefully, there will be a software upgrade available in the future to include that feature.

05-05-2005, 04:04 PM	#5
john1701a Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Minnesota Posts: 2,715 My Car: 2004 Prius Package: Pioneer #3 Nominated 0 Times in 0 Posts TOTM Awards: 0 Friends: 3	Margin-of-Error is the difference between DISPLAYED and CALCULATED values. The Multi-Display rounds optimistically. So we know for a fact that it will read higher than actual. And yes, it becomes a flat line after awhile... which varies less than 1 MPG. So rarely ever seeing a change and realizing that it isn't entirely accurate anyway would be very frustrating.