MPG Help First Post New Member

Welcome to the Prius family and to this forum Lower mpgs are common in cold weather and hot weather. Don't worry, it will improve with time and milder weather.

 

Mostly short trips, use of heater, A/C, maybe low tire pressure, Winter blend gas (?), very cold Winter temps contribute to reduced fuel economy.

 

In winter you'll notice a bigger difference depending on trip length as well because the warm-up phase takes much longer. So combining errands is particularly helpful. Usual tip: if you can, go to the farther place first and work backwards to give you the best warm-up.

Tire pressure is a big issue. Make sure you keep it adjusted through the year for the coldest current temperature you experience and you'll benefit in relatively warm temperatures. Many of us who get better-than-EPA economy use pressures above the door. I think I'm currently using 40 front/38 back. Higher pressures sacrifices some grip and softness of ride for better fuel economy. You can experiment gradually raising the pressure to and find the pressure that best suits you, but you should always keep it at least at the pressure recommended on the door.

Cold air is denser and harder for the car to move through. Slowing down should make a bigger difference in winter.

Keep out of the red and in the white, you get nothing in this game for, er, never mind. Keep out of the power zone if you can. Top of the ECO is efficient for acceleration once you're warmed up but try to go a little easier on it at the start of your trips. (Same as a conventional car, but the Prius takes longer to warm up). But also, don't try hard to drive in EV mode. You're better not to try than try too hard. It's good to accelerate a little from stops in EV (maybe up to 10mph on the flat) but then get on the gas. Electric mode is a way to allow the Prius to turn its engine off when you need so little power that it'd be very inefficient to use an engine.

Grill blocking is an effective and cheap way to help warm-up. The general method uses foam pipe insulation .

Finally, don't worry. My tanks have been down into the 40s since mid-December and I make an effort on fuel economy. Mid-November to mid-December it was around 51/52mpg. We first bought the car in late December 2009 and I didn't manage a 50 mpg tank until mid-March, and that was in a mild winter.

 

Welcome aboard.

There are many threads on here that talk about the loss of mileage in colder temps. One post that somebody put up on the topic made a lot of sense.

It mentioned something like if you had a car that got 20 MPG in summer, if it went down to 16 MPG in the winter, you lost 20 percent of your gas mileage. I have had several cars in the past that fit that description.

However, if you lose 20 percent of the 50 MPG that you get in the Prius, you lose 10 MPG bringing you down to 40 MPG. I am experiencing that exact thing right now.

Having bought your car cold weather, you will be pleasantly surprised when spring and summer arrive. Enjoy your car!!!

 

What sort of trips are you doing? Short run errands with cold engine are worst for mileage. Suggestions: blockheater, grill block, combine errands, stay under the speed limit, accelerate gently.

The owners manual has one, works when fully warmed: lift your foot off the gas then gently re-apply. As often as not this will get you running just off the battery, as long as you keep the fuel economy bar to the left of center.

 

I would run 40 psi front tires/38 rear any day in that car. Combine trips, use as little heat as possible, drive easy on gas and brakes.

Not that you do this, but it cracks me up when I move over for someone else who's pressing from behind, they speed up to go past ... and they are heading into a red light with other cars waiting. Happened yesterday with someone in a minivan. What a waste of gas and brakes.

Some people like to hurry up and get to the red light .... asinine.

 

I live in Wisconsin. The outside temperature has been around 20-25 degrees F. These extreme cold temperatures kill my MPG. I average around 40-42 MPG is extreme cold...I cant wait until summer. Or should I just move to warmer climates

 

Please answer the questions at http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii...-answer-these-questions-esp-if-youre-new.html so that we have info to go on.

 

Sometimes I assume people just want to get past my tortoise before the light.

It's a lesson for the entire motoring world but it's particularly beneficial to a Prius driver because of regenerative braking and the Prius' ability to turn the engine off.

- When approaching traffic lights try to time the green light. You learn sequences at lights you travel through regularly. To time the light you'll often have to lift off the gas early and even touch the brake to slow down. But slowing down is better than stopping. If the light's red and there are cars waiting allow extra time for each one. 2 seconds is good, a bit more on uphills. As cycledrum's parable explains, even if people are impatient behind you, unless they're turning you're not slowing them down. Timing lights well saves everybody gas and helps traffic flow.
- If you know you're going to have to stop, get off the gas as early as you can (remembering to be courteous to those following). With your foot off the gas the Prius can turn the engine off.
- When braking avoid heavy braking. Don't allow the regeneration bar to fill up all the way. Once it's full you're braking heavily and the Prius will use the hydraulic brakes. Avoiding use of the hydraulic brakes reduces wear and allows you to recover more regenerated charge. However, remember that it's better not to brake than to regenerate.

 

I think you nailed it when you said it's been cold! Whatever you were driving before I'm sure suffered low mpg's too in the cold weather. Because you're new to the Prius, you'll have to adjust your driving technique to improve your mpg's. Read up on the various threads - the PC forums are a great resource for you to achieve the greatest efficiency and pleasure out of your new Prius.:thumb:

 

i was getting 65 mpg in the fall. as it has gotten colder, it has slid to 50. course, it's 7 degrees tonight. if you have only dropped 10%, i think you are doing well. as for getting 45 in the fall, that's probably average around here. there are many factors you can study here if you want to improve. all the best!

 

Welcome Aboard!!!

Don't worry. You'll be in the 50's in no time.
Been there.

Your car is fine, and as you read some more and the weather improves, so will your MPG.

Good Luck!

 

Yep, winter is a pain! Read about grill blocking, tire pressure and engine block heaters as things that can moderate your cold weather blues! Just two more months and mpg's will head up!

 

Congrats on your new Prius and welcometo PriusChat.

All the replies certainly indicate that your post is a bit too vague to give specific help especially for something like MPG's where the variables are almost limitless. I suggest you read more related threads and then repost when you have more details that may contribute to your MPG.

I've had my Prius since May and I've seen my MPG range from 45 to 62. My current average is 52.6 over the last 8,000 miles; even that is down due to our extremely cold, icey winter here in the Carolinas.

Happy Motoring,

Tom

 

Here in the Northwest rain is nearly everday during the 8 months of
winter.

I have noticed that wet roads, espically standing water, is a hard hit for MPG's.

When roads are dry, and even temps in the 30's, its fairly easy on trips to average in the low 50's MPG.

But when temps are in the high 40's to low 50's with rain it is nearly impossible to get 50 MPG. MPG is usaully low to mid 40's.

This is with 10% Ethanol gas, required all year long here in Oregon.

al

 

I"m a new Prius driver too and I'm just expecting it to get better with time and the warmer weather. Just got the car earlier this month and on my first full tank right now. Averaging 34 mpg, but my average speed is only 19 mph. I'm mostly driving 3 miles to work and home on a cold engine (and hitting at least 3 comlete stop lights in the process). When I've been out on longer adventures, I see the mpg creep back up. If I'm still at 34 in March, I'll think there is something wrong.

 

The short drives and stops will kill your mileage. You should consider grille blocking in the winter.

 

I too am only getting in the mid to upper 30's mpg. And yep, I also have a short commute of 6 mi, with lots of stop lights and stop signs along the way.

Also, my tires were not inflated enough -- today I went to the gas station and inflated them to 41/40. They were around 28 psi, if the gas station gauge is correct. I can see I will need to get an air compressor and my own digital gas gauge and check tire pressure every 2 weeks or so.

The temps are slowly coming up; we're around 50 degrees. I use Eco mode and keep the heat off, as much as I can. I'm also practicing pulse and glide. It can be challenging at times because very slight but long hills really affect the car's ability to do the glide part of the equation. I watch the HSI meter and try to keep the car within the regular bar and not up in the PWR area. I notice it does go up there sometimes just to maintain speed on these slight inclines. And we're talking speeds of 35 - 45. But I coast as much as I can and try to take advantage of every downhill opportunity I get.

My best average mileage so far has been 39 mpg, but that's before I inflated the tires. Haven't gone anywhere today except to the gas station air pump and back, a round trip of 2 mi!

And, I only have 385 mi on the car, so it's not broken in yet.