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Like a New Car - But Better!!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by TonyPSchaefer, Nov 16, 2010.

  1. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    This past weekend, I took Priapus to the dealer for a new 12v battery and water pump.

    But first, some background:
    Around this time of the year, my average mileage is as follows:
    - 2004 :: 50.0mpg @ 49.5ºF
    - 2005 :: 50.8mpg @ 45.4ºF
    - 2006 :: 56.5mpg @ 41.6ºF
    - 2007 :: 59.5mpg @ 41.8ºF
    - 2008 :: 58.8mpg @ 47.1ºF
    - 2009 :: 59.5mpg @ 58.7ºF

    In the 77 miles after the visit to the dealer, I have averaged 67.3mpg. I've attached a picture I took this morning where you can see that the temperature this morning was 46ºF and there was ice on the ground yesterday. In a word, I'm astounded. This is August-September mileage. I normally don't see that many near-75mpg bars except on the warmest of mornings. And I can't say that I'm driving him any differently.

    There are threads about getting your 12v battery replaced if you notice dropped mileage. Even with those threads, I had been putting it off primarily due to the cost of the new battery. Now that I've gotten the new one, I'm ecstatic with the improvement in mileage.

    Of course, I understand that it's much too early and that 77 miles is way too short to determine any kind of trend. But I can hope. . .
     

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    #1 TonyPSchaefer, Nov 16, 2010
  2. drees

    drees Senior Member

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    Would have been interesting to measure the voltage before/after the battery along with how much current was going in/out of the battery before/after, too...
     
    #2 drees, Nov 16, 2010
  3. usbseawolf2000

    usbseawolf2000 HSD PhD

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    That's a good sign. You got 6-7 years out of the 12 Volt battery?

    What was your voltage reading on MFD before replacing it?
     
    #3 usbseawolf2000, Nov 16, 2010
  4. Hal W

    Hal W New Member

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    I don't think it has anything to do with the 12v? More than likely just great driving or hippermiling!!!Getting better with age? :DH
     
    #4 Hal W, Nov 16, 2010
  5. nerfer

    nerfer A young senior member

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    Also, with the 12V being disconnected for a time, some settings might have been reset and that may have an affect (now it knows it's being driven by a hypermiler, so it doesn't have to be as aggressive in some things)?
     
    #5 nerfer, Nov 16, 2010
  6. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Nice! Can't say I noticed much of a difference with our new 12V (put in this past summer) but then again, I don't drive the 2005 as often as I used to.
     
    #6 Tideland Prius, Nov 16, 2010
  7. TonyPSchaefer

    TonyPSchaefer Your Friendly Moderator
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    I should have checked it but I didn't.

    Mileage had been going up over the years but then plateaued. I figured that was as good as it got. I mean, I hit 70 again this year. Man, I'm hoping this means I can push 75mpg next summer.

    I expected that. I killed the battery twice over the years and both times had a negative impact while it relearned how I drive. This was "right out of the box." I reset the mileage as I left the dealership (to remove their idling from the average) and drove 13 miles home at night, after a cold rain and averaged 72mpg. This was this past Saturday night which was when the cold front was moving through.

    One interesting note: my radio presets were all entered. At first I thought they might have started the car when they did the battery switch but the reverse beep is on again. And the radio "buttons" on the [AUDIO] screen didn't have the text information. I had to go to the individual stations to get the info to download. All I can think is that they actually reprogrammed all the radio presets. Ya think?
     
    #7 TonyPSchaefer, Nov 16, 2010
  8. uart

    uart Senior Member

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    Hi Tony. The MPG readout might not be accurate until it's re-learned all its settings. So you probably should check those new improved MPG numbers against some manual "at the pump" calculations.

    When I first picked up my 2005 Prius (S/H from dealers lot) the tank MPG was really low (about 39 MPG, probably from all the test drives) but unfortunately it remained low (40's) even after I refilled. I soon found however that my MPG's were actually pretty good despite the low readings. Over time it eventually seemed to learn my driving style and the displayed MPG got closer and closer to my actual MPH.

    You might just be seeing the reverse of this situation.
     
    #8 uart, Nov 17, 2010
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