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Best realistic MPG

Discussion in 'Prius c Fuel Economy' started by AWDstylez, Jun 17, 2012.

  1. dazeja

    dazeja Junior Member

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    I do mostly highway driving,,alot of it a week. I drive 150 miles a day and I have had three fill ups with about 90% highway, 10% city. I am seriously getting about 59.something each fill up. The last fill up I thought i only got 570 miles but then my wife told me that she drove twenty miles around the city and reset my trip meter. I don't use the EV or ECO buttons. How am I getting such good mileage?
     
  2. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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  3. jsfabb

    jsfabb Active Member

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    Speed Kills Gas Mileage! :)
     
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    How did you calculate that last tank without accurate mileage? It's hard enough knowing the MFD reads a bit high but when you start having to do extra math things can get out of whack.

    I agree with the others. Keeping your speed at 60mph and lower is like magic for mpg. :)
     
  5. dazeja

    dazeja Junior Member

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    A lot fo the highway is in a construction zone so I'm going 60 and below for about 40% of the trip. The rest of the way I'm going between 60 and 70 mph. The onboard computer says I'm averaging 54.5 on my highway trips and 60.1 in the city. But all I know is that I'm getting 590+ a tank. Does the tank have a reserve or something? In other words is it REALLY only a 9.5 gallon tank?
     
  6. dazeja

    dazeja Junior Member

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    I calculated 570 on trip meter B. i got the buzz sound and I was on my way to get gas. My wife then drove it changed it to Trip meter A and drove 20 miles. I just added the 20 to the 570 went to fill up and it took 9.1 gallons which is 64.8 mpg. Am I doing it incorrectly?
     
  7. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    ^^ Trip B should still update, even if Trip A is viewed.
     
  8. litesong

    litesong Active Member

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    Go to pure-gas.org for addresses, details & a great zoomable map to find the 5400+stations selling 100% pure(ethanol-free) gasoline in the U.S. & Canada. With accurate data, our 3 cars' mpg increased 8.3%, 7-8% & 5%. All engines are smoother, quieter & have a bit more power such that, less downshifting is needed to ascend hills.

    Fortunately, you have numerous stations selling such & several that sell 87 octane 100% pure gasoline.
     
  9. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    Entirely believable numbers. Expect a modest drop when construction is complete ;)

    You remind me of the first 5 years of Prius in the US, when people would outright call Prius owners liars when they reported 50-70 mpg. Amazing car, isn't it ?
     
  10. dellrio

    dellrio Im pretty much awesome

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    According to the service department at Toyota Des Moines, 36mpg hwy and 43mpg city is "pretty good". They will not look at the hsd without a warning light on the dash.

    I wish that I could just get my 2010 Prius Back - that thing was easily doing 50MPG daily, I dont think that the Prius C is a bad car at all, but there is no reason for it getting Yaris (1NZFE engine) mileage in a car with a Hybrid Drivetrain and essentially a more efficient model of the exact same engine (1NZFXE).
     
  11. Ashley7

    Ashley7 Active Member

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    :cautious:

    I would be so frustrated, I'm sorry. Do you plan to go anywhere else/any higher up? Tell them to come hang out here for a while, and see if they still think that's "pretty good." Compared to other cars on the road, sure, but not for a Prius.
     
  12. alfon

    alfon Senior Member

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    Our Prius never got less than 40 mpg on a tank, calculated, the lowest 40.7 mpg, which was during weather
    in the teens during the winter. Trip A is currently at 52.777, calculated, for nearly 4,000 miles.

    With the Prius C you should get at least 45 mpg, calculated average, espically in summer temps.

    I would see another Toyota dealership.
     
  13. dellrio

    dellrio Im pretty much awesome

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    It was extremely frustrating, I know most of the people they deal with dont know anything about cars - so that irritates me even more when they talk to me like I do not either. First thing he said was "We can not adjust you MPG, sorry that it is low but if there is no light on the dash we can not do anything - your car is fine." I know the HSD well, i have rebuilt the 1NZFE engine and I know that well, but most of all I know that I am getting Yaris Hwy mileage but paid $8,000 more than a yaris. My 2010 liftback I literally had to try to get numbers this low - the lowest I ever got in that car was 37MPG and that was with 4 people and snowboard gear heading up berthold mountain pass in 30 degree weather, but coming back down the pass my MPG was 99, and the full tank took me well into NE and finished at 62MPG.

    43/36/40 Is not acceptable for this car - I will give it a few thousand more miles, then I will really put the pressure on if I do not see any change, with every tank logged on fuelly - I should have decent documentation to back up my complaint.
     
  14. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    ^^ In your shoes I would take the car out for a test drive: 55 mph on a warmed up engine for 10 miles on level ground without wind.
     
  15. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I second this. It is a common test that is performed to rule out driving routes, styles and other conditions that could drive mpg down. At that speed you should be well into the 50s or higher. If not then I agree there is something terribly wrong.
     
  16. dellrio

    dellrio Im pretty much awesome

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    There is something wrong with the HSD or traction battery. I don't need to do a test drive to prove it, I have test driven this car for 1300 miles already and am coming out of a hybrid before this, I understand how the system works. The irritating thing is that Toyota will not look at it without an error code on the dash. My second job is 35 miles away on 55MPH 2 lane highways and country roads - I typically get around 40MPG on that trip.
     
  17. SageBrush

    SageBrush Senior Member

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    ^^ You are doing a standardized test drive for Toyota and the dealer, not to convince dellrio.
     
  18. dellrio

    dellrio Im pretty much awesome

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    The problem is that it does not matter how much information I give them, I have documented the issue - and they told me - "Unless there is a warning light on the dash - we can not do anything with the hybrid system."

    My response was - " Well I will continue documenting the low mileage online for everyone to see"

    I love this car but at 40MPG I will probably just drive it for a year or two then replace it with a Chevy Volt or Cadillac ELR.
     
  19. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    I realize you're not a noob but have you tried other dealers or getting corporate involved?
     
  20. dellrio

    dellrio Im pretty much awesome

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    I am going to give it a few thousand miles so I can provide a pretty good case and eliminate the "Your engine and tires are not broken in yet" canned responses. I have a pretty good relationship with another Dealer about 45 minutes away and I may go there eventually. My goal is to troubleshoot the issue myself first so that I can at least point them in the right direction - in the past I have found that is the best way to get things done. An example of this is with my S10 - I figured out my Throttle Position Sensor was bad (within warranty) took the truck to dealership and there was no code - they could not determine the issue. I instructed them to replace the TPS and if that did not fix the problem I would pay for the part out of pocket. They replaced the TPS - problem solved - covered under warranty - I would like to pinpoint the issue and go about this the same way, my thought is that there is probably a cell in the traction battery that is bad, but I will rule out everything else first. I am not giving up on the car, I really like the looks of it and can not wait to get it slammed on some DF210's.