Only 40MPG on my 2010 Prius. Any ideas??

My 2010 Prius is only a few months old and I'm averaging 41mpg. I take mostly short trips (15 minutes to work) but even if I take it for 1-2 hours it doesn't help that much for the average.

Any ideas?

Andrew

Andrew,

I also drive a V model, and am averaging about 50 MPG. I do know that the short trips can impact mileage a little more than longer trips, but it sounds to me, it's a learning experience with the vehicle and you may be entering the power mode (red) area too often.

It's technique, and you will learn as you go. I would suggest resetting your TRIP "B" before leaving your house each day on the way to work and see what your able to accomplish with different driving styles. You want to have a little lighter foot, and it sounds like you may be driving it just a little harder to suffer in the MPG range.

On a 1 hour ride, reset trip "B" again and just try to keep it in the ECO area if you can on the MID. I don't know what mode your driving in, but experiment a little with ECO one day, PWR the next to see what your able to accomplish. There are many posts on here on the PULSE and GLIDE techniques. Maybe a good thing to read as well.

Check your tire pressures as well. I am running 35/34 on my V.

Keep trying and you should eventually get the feel for much better mileage. And if the car is new it's lower in the first few thousand miles anyway during break in.

Bob

Andrew, yes short trips do kill the mileage but you might be able to get it up quite a bit. Read some of the threads in the GenIII fuel economy forum.

There is a lot of discussion about tire pressures, I am of the opinion that higher pressures are good for mileage, tire wear, and handling. Most PriusV have 51 psi max tires (the Michelins are 44 psi) so you can put quite a bit of air in them. I am presently running 48 PSI in all four and have had good results. Check some of the threads on that subject to get both sides.

Typically you should be getting in the mid to high 40s on the freeway and around 50 combined city/highway. It takes some practice though, I had to develop some new driving techniques which took a while.

Have you tried resetting the average then going for a hour long drive? If you have the same average of 40 on there and go for a drive you may be getting 55mpg on the drive but your display will only go up to 40.4.

If you live in the hilly part of San Refael, you may expect in the low to mid 40s.

We live in the hills and my wife takes plenty of short trips in her III, up & down the hill. It massacres the gas mileage. 45 on a good week with lots of longer trips. Most times right around 40 to 42, after accumulating about 300 miles.

What was your previous car? How close did it come to achieving the EPA estimate?

Same here. My normal commute is short, there are a lot of hills, and many stop signs and lights and I am only averaging in the low 40s. Recently, it has also been raining a lot, which also brings down the mileage. I get closer to 50 (calculated tank average) on long highway trips. Reset your odometer for different trips so you can see how the length of trip and driving conditions affect your mpg.

Same model/year. Same story. Same mileage, mostly 40-41. Newish owner. Short commute - 18 min, local roads with lower speeds, some hills, little-to-no highway driving, yes a bit lead-foot sometimes (love that Power mode), am catching on to the engine brake. But coming from 18 mpg or less, I'm just so happy.