My wife and I both have 08' prius. She has 11700 miles on hers and is running mobil synth 1 oil. Our tires are inflated the same (37.5 front 35 rear). Mine only has 2200 miles on it and has the starter oil from toyota in it. My oil level looks like its a little above full on the dipstick (maybe 1/8 inch) - why that would be I don't know because her oil levels were perfect when the car was delivered. She is getting regularly 51-53 mpg and can't be bothered with pulse glide or stealth warping techniques. I get tops 48.5 MPG and occasionally do some hypermiling strategies. She also makes longer runs than I do but I definitely get out of the 5 minute range and into fuel efficiency range. I'm guessing that her mileage is better than mine because her prius is much more broken in than mine. I can't remember how hers did when it had similar amount of miles on it as mine. Could the break in make that much difference ? I would think that her different routes and type of routes might be helping as well. Does 48 MPG sound right for a prius with 2200 miles on it ? I'm not complaining because I got 16 mpg on my last car but was wondering why she is doing better than me and does nothing special driving habit wise.
Fill both cars with gas, reset the consumption gages, and trade cars with her for a tank to see if it's the cars or the drivers.
You didn't see my post entitled ' what does a front bumper cost'. Take a look at her mag grey bumper in the post and you'll quickly understand why I'm not going to let her have my superwhite - LOL. Anyway, I believe it is the car because like I said, she just drives her prius like any other car. I do hypermiling techniques from time to time to boost my MPG and I still hate when she asks smugly how my mileage is coming along. I also believe that the longer runs she makes may be a factor. The mobil 1 synth may help a small bit as well.
I can understand your trepidation about trading cars, but I think it's likely going to be the only way to actually find out what's going on. To put a little context around that, I also have an '08, with at this point about 6600 miles on it (sorry, not gonna go out and read the odo.) I've only had one take with FE of less than 50. I've also been running Mobil1 since I changed the oil at 5K miles; I haven't really seen a difference in mpg. Given that I suspsect that there's either a difference in drivers and/or more likely in the routes. I have a 20 mile, oneway commute. I get much better FE on weekdays than I do during the weekends (running errands, with alot of shorter trips, even though most are greater than 5 minutes, but most are also less than 10 minutes.) There really isn't anything bad about 48.5, but if it bugs you consider doing things like: Bump the tire pressure to 42/40. Think about using the CC when it's safe. Think about the shoes you wear if you drive alot under manual control. Alot of people find that softer, lighter shoes give better and finer go pedal control (that's really key for good mpg while driving manually.) Good luck!
Maybe I'll ask her to journal her daily stops. Then with my car I will re-enact her journeys and see if the routing is the difference. Is there a way to record a days worth of driving using the nav system. I know there is a record option but I'm guessing it resets to off each time the car turns off. I'd make myself crazy if she took my car. She has several dings already and doesn't care where she parks or who she parks next to. I am the typical prius parker - looking for concrete barriers and parking miles away from anyone else.
Since your wife has more miles I assume she drives longer trips...that, more than anything, will be a factor. It seems you must be doing much shorter and less frequent trips meaning you rarely get to drive with the car fully warmed up. I suspect the cars are equivalent and it's the drivers, routes, and habits that are much more of a factor than anything else.
Very likely the case. Also, one thing to add, when you are driving on the freeway, how fast do you go? How fast would your wife go? A few mph makes a difference in mpgs.
I agree with Dr. Fusco. I typically get between 48 - 50, but I know that I could do better with a longer commute. Its mainly due to the length of my commute (about 20 min on average). Just when the average starts to climb on the MFD, I arrive at work/home and shut the car off.
yeah I tend to agree with all the posts on this thread. I figure a simple benchmark test will be for me to follow her in my prius on a course I'll design. It will take us through various routes - a few short errand type trips, some highway travel and some characteristic bucks county PA rolling countryroads. Both cars will be loaded the same. That is to say with same full tanks so weights are the same. I'll reset consumpion data. Both will start from cold overnight sitting. Cold tire pressure will be matched. By following her both vehicles will be traveling similarly and results should be less skewed by driving style. Is there anything else I should control for this weekend test. I would suspect little difference in performance between the 2 vehicles. If there is then I'll have to figure break in is a factor.
I get about the same here in UK.. 48.odd mpg.. that leads me to the conclusion that the MPG measured on the MFD is based on the same US gallon calculation here in the UK. Mine only has about 1,500 miles on it. Tyres 44f 42r - OEM Bridgstone Turanzas
I commute 150miles per day and generally keep my speed between 60 and 63 mph. normal average pre tank (warm weather) is 53-56 mpg. I never use the cc and always glide when I can. If there's a head wind, i'll tuck in behind (2+ car lengths) a semi. My best tank was 58 and my worst (winter of course) was 43. It takes patience and practice, but well worth the effort.
I suggest you keep a manual log of Imperial gallons purchased and miles traveled. Then you can see how the cumulative result compares to the MFD display.
read this post too late. you probably got a million suggestions. 1) your trip length is the determining factor for any consider of trips under 20 miles in length...you say your wife's trip is longer, that alone is enough to make the difference. 2) put some air in your tires. with your pressures that low, TPMS wont kick in until you are in the low to mid 20's. tried and tested and PROVEN TP should be 42/40...extremists go higher, hardly anyone goes lower 3) the oil does make a slight difference as well as break in, but nearly as much as the two points above
I'd have to agree with the trip length comments. Think of it this way. Just getting out of warmup isn't really enough, you have to also be out of it long enough to average out the ill affects suffered. For a simplified case, let say you get about 25mpg for the first 5 minutes, then 55mpg for each 5 minutes after that. 5 minute trip: 25 mpg 10 minute trip: 40 mpg 15 minute trip: 45 mpg 20 minute trip: 47.5mpg 25 minute trip: 49mpg 30 minute trip: 50mpg Rob
And, I think you will see a bit of a bump in MPG when you get past the ... was it 8,000? ... next break-in hurdle. Check tread wear, too. If she's on OEM tires, they may be getting kinda bald (lower rolling resistance, in a BAD way) by now.
