Mileage Improvement Over Time

Not me from around 100 miles on the car to 41k i got now i never noticed any better mpg. i would think your seeing warmer temps help your mpg out.

 

Or driving habits. There isn't really anything going on that should improve mpg 3-5 mpg.

 

I have read on here that as a prius gets out of puberty its mpg goes up...no joke!

 

There are many factors involved.
1. The driver is learning how to actually drive efficiently. I suspect this is the dominant factor.
2. The tires had to break in, but this happens in a few thousand miles.
3. The traction battery will become more efficient after about 3-4 months of use.
4. The ICE will break in, becoming more efficient (mostly due to lower friction losses). This takes about 10,000 mi.
5. The ECU will "learn" how to operate more efficiently. This takes a few months.

All this is difficult to measure, with all the variables involved with mileage, such as seasonal variations, differences in use over time, tire pressure changes, fuel changes, etc etc.

 

I suspect it is learning to drive a HSD car. With my first Prius I think the mileage did improve over the first few thousand miles as I learned all the tricks. With this one my mileage hasn't changed from when it was new.

The car itself should be broken in and limbered up enough after the first 1K to 1.5 K miles to provide maximum mileage if driven correctly.

 

As tires get older, their radius decreases due to tread wear, which means that there will be more revolutions of the tire per mile driven. While this probably doesn't affect your actual mileage, it will affect your computed mileage, although only by a small amount. On a Prius, a 1/4 inch change in tread depth from new to worn would change the computation by about 1mpg.

 

After 13K miles my MPG trend is definitely increasing with mileage/time.


Tony

 

We purchased our Prius two years ago. We went on our honeymoon to Reno NV. I believe the round trip calculated was 52 MPG or so.

Car had only about 400 miles on it. It may be 2-3 mpg better now probably due to the Michelin Energy Tires we replaced with the factory Yoko Avid.

al

 

1st year coming up, I'll let you know...
Winter and change in some of my driving (short trips in a harsh chicago winter).
2010 - 51 MPG
2011 - 47 MPG (but going up, have over 50MPG last 1K miles this year)
And this is actual, not off the screen....

 

[mpg graph snipped]
Part of this is seasonal. You bought it in the worst MPG season, and the best MPG season is rapidly approaching. [We hope. In my region, spring is seriously delayed this year.]

Part of this is also tire breakin, but I think at least half your improvement is continued fine tuning of the nut behind the wheel.

 

Yes it gets better and there are a several factors at work:
- mechanical parts break in and friction reduces
- (probably the most) tires improve MPG as they wear out (up to 20% less rolling resistance)
- improved driving habits
- temperatures going up in spring, summer blend gas tend to improve MPG

 

My gas mileage definitely went up after about 10K, even with cooler weather coming on. When I bought it in April, I struggled to get 50mpg. At the end of the summer, I was regularly getting 55 mpg without trying. This spring, I'm getting 60 to 65 mpg on my daily 50 mile commute driving 45 to 55 mph.