Why low mpg on 2013 prius 3?

Up your tire air to 40 front and 38 back.

SCH-I535 ? 2

 

Are you watching the Eco meter? Most of the time when I'm not in heavy traffic, I'm paying attention to that so I'm learning to drive differently than I normally did. I put my car in ECO mode when I first started driving it from day 1 and have never taken it out. The instant mpg indicator is also a good tool as you can really tell how pedal position will adversely affect the mpg as you press down. Learning to start out slower and let off sooner is a skill that takes some time to acquire but I figure that if I'm going to pay the price for this car, I want to get good mpg or shouldn't have bought it. The hardest thing to get used to is all the other drivers. Most of them drive "normally", speeding away from stops and driving 5 to 10 mph over the limit. It takes patience and determination to not be intimidated by that lifted 4x4 3 inches from your bumper but you have as much right to drive slow and safe as they do to drive fast and reckless. Learning to drive more efficiently can be looked at as a driving challenge and if you are like me, you like challenges. This website is a gold mine of information to try to wring out every mpg possible. Some of the advise, is priceless and others I take with a grain of salt but see what works for you. Good luck!

 

I put my car in ECO mode when I first started driving it from day 1 and have never taken it out.

I guess I don't understand this statement. I'm unable to " activate" ECO mode, it always has some statement to the effect that I'm exceeding the speed limit to use this mode. By the same token, I have no problem achieving 55mpg-88 mpg per trip and I'm able to keep overall mpg's above 52 based on the in car gauge. Overall mpg's close to 50... I think much of trying to " squeeze maximum mpg's" out of of this car is becoming accustomed to a new driving technique that is unique to a Prius and will develop quickly through use and this site.

 

The button above the shifter that is labeled ECO mode, when pressed a light is lit above the speedometer that says ECO mode and stays that way until use choose a different mode.

 

Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new | PriusChat

 

Thanks, I'll have to pay attention to the ECO light.. It may be there but I'm used to viewing bar gauge and keeping the bar at 1/2 or below; at 1/2 or below, the EV button lights up telling me I'm achieving a gazillion MPG's...

 

It sounds like you are pushing the EV button, not the ECO button. The ECO light should come on above the speedometer readout....different than the ECO on the system indicator. Driving style will really determine your mileage. Having the right tire pressure will help, but learning to use more efficient techniques will make a much bigger difference.

 

focusing on keeping the bar at half or below will drain your battery and reduce your mpg's because the ice has to recharge the battery. read up here on pulse and glide, then go forth and increase thine mpg's. all the best!

 

While you get accustomed to the car, don't try to keep it in EV. Let the car choose between EV and ICE. While not perfect, the car is quite good at selecting between them, and it is very easy for a newbie to overthink it and unintentionally sabotage the MPG. Drive 'normally' for a while to get an MPG baseline and some experience before trying to out-think the car.

This is not a true electric car, it is still a gasoline powered car. Getting a gazillion MPG for a half mile does no good if the next few miles have to burn a lot of fuel to recharge that battery.

And be sure to read through the questionnaire in Reply #6, and strongly consider posting your answers here. That will give us more clues to help figure out where you can improve.

 

Depending on where you are driving, most of the battery recharge will come from the regeneration system, not the engine. This will have a positive effect on MPG's. In any case, how can you glide without keeping the bar below half?

 

For flatlanders driving reasonably efficiently, most of the battery recharge will come from the engine, not from braking regeneration.

 

Good morning,

It sounds like you may be paying a higher warm-up cost:

• Start car when you first get in but keep it in "P" for the first minute until engine stops
  • The engine will start within about 10 seconds and run for about 60 seconds
  • The engine stops in "closed loop" mode, the most efficient, fuel-air ratio
  • Use this time for seat belts, radio/music/news, e.t.c.
• First 1-2 miles will be about 30 MPG
  • Use 25 mph speeds to minimize the first 1-2 mile warm-up costs
• Longest trip first to carry forward the heat from the warm-up

The Prius has two trip meters, A and B, and using one for 'trip studies' is a great way to compare different driving styles. I typically use "A" for the tank and "B" for shorter studies. So you might consider initially doing a 'day trip' study and vary just one aspect.

FYI, I concur that the tires should be fully inflated to the maximum sidewall pressure if you can. Some folks find it too hard. I'm using Toyota replacement, Sumitomo T4s, at 51 PSI, the maximum sidewall. I set my tire pressure threshold to this level (see Owner's Manual) and this helps detect when the dealer or service departments let the air pressure out. As the weather cools, you'll need to top off the tires every 60 days or so.

Although rare, you might consider having a wheel alignment check and adjustment. I found ours was a little off. It won't make a major impact on mileage but can help the tires last and trim out any latent handling challenges.

Bob Wilson

 

Also, if you set your tires to max sidewall rating ( I do ) don't forget to reset your Tire Pressure Monitoring System
(TPMS). See your owner's manual, it's simple and it makes your current tire pressure the reference point and then when any tire drops pressure 25% you get the alert icon on the instrument panel.

Also, I would NEVER sit and burn gas, making the worst pollution the car does, while letting the car warm up for a minute. That's Old School thinking.

Always turn Gas into Motion.

That's what the Prius does best.

Power up, select D, get out of your driveway in less than 10 seconds and make that stink away from your loved ones.
You are not stressing the engine in anyway doing this.

Also, that ECO button does nothing for your fuel economy. That is always a function of your right foot. Not those silly buttons.

 

Thinking the dealer had the car in ready during prep and cleaning and your average was very low to start, I'd fill up and do a reset to zero, then after three tankfuls you should have a better idea, but, paying attention to the speed limit is the best mpg getting device out there

 

Hi Bill,

I understand you are driving a Volt plug-in which has the option of driving at regular speeds, dozens of miles, using EV power. This owner's Prius has a significantly lower, EV range, less than 1/4 mile and speed under 9 mph on level ground when cold-soaked:

If he drives off in EV mode, considering he mentioned 'mountains, freeways', he is likely to put a significant load on the engine in "open loop" fuel mixture . . . the least efficient mode. As counter intuitive as it may seem, letting the engine O{2} sensors warm-up for "closed loop" operation can lead to better trip mileage because of a more efficient engine when under load. Regardless, this is something the user can test:

• Use 'warm-up to shutdown' on one day - record the MPG
• Do not use 'warm-up to shutdown' on next day - record the MPG

I used to think "drive off" was the best approach but I soon noticed it took extreme steps in the morning to minimize the warm-up costs. Then I remembered this chart with data from Ken@Japan:

Ken's data shows the car did not move for 120 seconds. The engine started within 20 seconds, ran at a constant rate for about 50 seconds, and then shutoff. Ken has been one of our best members sharing data with the Japanese Prius community. Regardless, this graph show the same or a similar control law of the user's Prius. Ultimately, owner testing is the 'gold standard.'

Try both approaches using a tripmeter to determine which gives a better result.

Bob Wilson

 

true glide is having the bar between charge and ev power. anything much further to the right, and certainly close to the half way bar is almost full ev, not glide.

 

Hi
Is it really good to do that for better MPG?

Thank

 

it should be, removing rubber from the road reduces friction. although reported results are mixed, i don't know of any actual testing that has been done.

 

Thanks