My First Prius... Some questions please...

:welcome:

1) Driving at highway speeds, while getting amazingly good MPG - usually on downhill slopes
2) Driving in pure EV - 42 mph or less - generally in parking lots
3) No
4) Um.. sorry
5) Never heard that one. I'd not do it, myself
6) Yes. On the bright side, you got new tires. Hope they are good ones
7) Um.. sorry
8) NO!!!!!!
9) Perhaps. Depends on your driving patterns. Probably

 

1) See some of the posts and info I linked to from http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...y-mode-alternative-65-75-mph-range-hints.html where I posed some questions. I found http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6179, if you want some gory details. You'll need ScanGauge or something else that will show you the IGN values.
3) No
4) Don't know, perhaps you're talking about the 5 stages? See above URL.
5) I wouldn't.
6) It could. Please tell us the make, model and size they put on. Well picked ones will affect in a good way. Ones w/high rolling resistance will have a negative effect.
8) Definitely not.
9) During cold weather, esp. short drives, grille blocking to reduce engine heat loss can be beneficial. It's much cheaper (as a starting point) than an EBH, but not a replacement.

 

What better results were you hoping for?

No one has found better MPG via a different Octane. (In some cases Regular has 10% ethanol and Premium does not, but the mileage difference is not due to Octane)

Bob Wilson has found more HP in full throttle Hill Climbs above 70 MPH using Premium. If your normal commute resembles this, you might get more HP, but not more MPG with Premium.

All Internal Combustion Engines work better warmed up, the Prius focuses on not polluting during this warm up period, so MPG takes a back seat in priority. By speeding up the warm up cycle, the Engine Block Heater improves mileage. This has the most effect if the car gets really cold while off, the EBH is not magically better than a heated garage, just cheaper to install.

 

Search will answer many of your questions. Some answers and some links:

1) http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-ugh-what-exactly-super-highway-mode-shm.html

2) EV mode. In other words, no gas engine.

3) No. You can do the math in your head and figure out how much gas is left in the tank, but all that will do is leave you on the side of the road out of gas. The fuel tank on the Gen II Prius has an internal bladder, which makes it hard to tell how much usable fuel remains. Don't cut it close.

4) Five stages: http://priuschat.com/forums/knowled...12919-five-stages-prius-hybrid-operation.html

5) Cars with automatic transmissions often set shift points by "learning". The Prius does not have shift points, and therefor does not learn about the driver. It does learn about the engine. Normally you don't need to reset the ECU by pulling the power, but in some cases it can help. Presumably these cases involve an ECU being somehow confused, which is cleared by a reset.

6) Yes. New tires reduce mileage, but the mileage will improve as the tires wear in. Some tires produce better mileage than others, so brand, model, and size are important.

7) Certainly. Are you asking if there are other commercial options?

8) No. Use the recommended fuel, which is 87 octane; 85 octane at high altitude. Using higher than recommend just wastes money.

9) Yes. How much depends on where you live and how you drive.

Tom

 

Any reason the car will be in the garage all winter? There are a number of folks here who drive their Priuses in snowy areas.

The Prius has a good reliability record. Take a look at these for example:
Top Picks 2008
Best & worst used cars
Consumer Reports Cars Blog: 2009 Annual Auto Reliability Survey: 10 best and worst models
http://pressroom.consumerreports.or...ures-place-among-worlds-most-reliable-ca.html
Best used vehicles under $20,000

130K motor replacement? No way. I've almost never heard of anyone needing engine replacements here.

Although this is a small sample size, you can see how the Priuses did at Advanced Vehicle Testing Activity - Hybrid Electric Vehicles. They take some of their test cars to 160K miles.

A 1st gen Prius owner took his to 349K miles before its life was cut short (John's Stuff - Toyota Prius Owner - Jesse 4).

 

One emerging 'problem' with the Prius, You can't jumpstart others, you should resist being jumpstarted. One way to avoid this is to replace the 12 v battery every four years.

The damage that can be done to a Prius if you reverse the jumper cables runs to many thousands of dollars, my best advice is be sure your car never needs a jump. It is easy, with minimal planning.

 

Jump starting incorrectly isnt a problem a problem with the Prius. Its a user problem incorrectly jump starting the prius
Never jump start another car needing a jump from your prius.

 

I'm skeptical of this because of the usual lack of scientific evidence supporting such claims. I also doubt your testing procedure was up to snuff if you were reporting only 8mpg in a 2006 Grand Prix. Short of stuffing an alcohol injected big block in there, there is no way a properly running Grand Prix should ever get single digit mpg even with typical mods.

 

It might be possible if the OP had short stop and go city drives (w/lots of idling) and drove it really hard.

Unfortunately, Consumer Reports didn't test any V8 Grand Prixs, but 3.8L V6 04 they tested got 13 city/31 highway, 20 mpg overall. Apparently, the V8 uses a 5.3L LS4 V8. I found they tested an 06 Monte Carlo w/that engine and got 11 city/28 highway, 17 mpg overall.

 

The listings I've seen in the past and the ones I looked up prior to posting were:

16/25 - FuelEconomy.gov
18/28 - Consumer Guide Automotive (HowStuffWorks)

Regardless, I've personally modified and raced all the the early-mid 2000 GM LSx equipped cars and trucks and had friends who raced the Grand Prixs. Even with mods pushing HP to 700+ you wouldn't see 8mpg in these vehicles unless you did engine swaps for serious drag racing. My 5400lb GMC Z71 with twin turbos (712rwhp) still achieved 13-14mpg combined. But I will concede that with the type of driving you describe AND seriously horrendous tuning you could probably dip that low.

 

3. Drive until you don't feel comfortable about how little fuel is left in the tank, remember the miles on the consumption screen, now whenever you wonder how many miles are left on the tank subtract current miles on consumption screen from the previously memorised number, bingo, miles to empty!

 

No, just me. The rest of the members are fine.

 

jessesmith21: Are you going to park your Prius all winter? You may want to hook up a 2 amp battery tender for the 12 v battery and I would probably start the car every couple weeks in order to take care of the SOC in the pack. I would take mine for a drive every couple weeks. I know it means insurance and all that stuff, but I think your Prius will appreciate it!H