1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

Why only 19.2 MPG?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by samaruf, May 15, 2011.

  1. samaruf

    samaruf New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    28
    1
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    When I bought my 2008 Prius last Thursday, the "Energy" monitor showed only 19.2 MPG. In the last few days after driving around 170 miles, I have brought it up to around 50 mpg using the techniques learned in this forum :D. I am wondering why with 35000 miles driven by the previous owner, it showed only 19.2 MPG?
     
    #1 samaruf, May 15, 2011
  2. That_Prius_Car

    That_Prius_Car Austin Kinser

    Joined:
    Sep 23, 2009
    1,282
    344
    3
    Location:
    Pittsburgh, PA
    Vehicle:
    2016 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    There's a good chance that the trip computer was only averaging that low MPG over the coarse of only a few miles...

    I'm sure the previous owner got great mileage like you do, but while the car sat for a bit, someone probably reset the trip on the consumption screen, meaning that the car was averaging out the MPG from just mostly idling when necessary, and short test drives, ect. You'll get it sooner or later. :)
     
    #2 That_Prius_Car, May 15, 2011
  3. JamesBurke

    JamesBurke Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 19, 2009
    1,222
    493
    27
    Location:
    Morgantown, WV
    Vehicle:
    Other Non-Hybrid
    Model:
    N/A
    That 19.2 mpg was for the last trip since it was reset. It was not the 35k lifetime mpg as you were able to raise it to 50 mpg it just a few miles. Probably a result of moving it around the dealer lot or similar. Hope you got a manual with it so you can bone up on the MFD features.
     
    #3 JamesBurke, May 15, 2011
  4. samaruf

    samaruf New Member

    Joined:
    May 11, 2011
    28
    1
    0
    Location:
    Minneapolis, MN
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    I do have the manual and skimmed through it once to get the basics. Will have to read up again to understand all the features of the MFD. Using basic intuition, I was able to figure out the temp control display, syncing bluetooth, setting radio stations etc, but haven't looked into resetting MPG. I did however reset the trip meter to 0 after last night's fuel up. I filled it up with still two pips left because of the recommendations I have seen from posters in this forum. I am going to become a BP customer now due to the good things I have read about their "Invigorate" gasoline which is ethanol free.
     
    #4 samaruf, May 15, 2011
  5. Michgal007

    Michgal007 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 24, 2006
    1,321
    98
    0
    Location:
    Macon, GA
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    I always "reset" the trip meter when I fill up and record the MPG/# of miles for the previous tank. Then over time, you can see what mileage you get etc.

    Enjoy your ride.
     
    #5 Michgal007, May 15, 2011
  6. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jun 4, 2008
    11,627
    2,530
    8
    Location:
    Southwest Colorado
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius v wagon
    Model:
    Two
    A G2 Prius only monitors tank MPG. Your current 50sh MPG is a weighted average of the fuel consumption before and after your purchase.
     
    #6 SageBrush, May 15, 2011
  7. BAllanJ

    BAllanJ Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 9, 2008
    667
    78
    0
    Location:
    Kingston Ontario
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    The later g2 shows mpg between resets, not fillups. So you can do multitank averages, which I did for a while. The mfd odometer resets automatically, but the avg consumption or mpg doesn't on mine... I don't know which year that changed.
     
    #7 BAllanJ, May 16, 2011
(You must log in or sign up to post here.)