Road Trip over Mountains

OK,, I need a little straightening out here. We also toured all over Colorado this summer and went over 11 passes [ Monarch, Wolf Creek, Loveland, RMNP, etc.] and I used the 86 octane gas which was $.20 more per gallon as I was thinking that the higher octane gas was better for climbing passes. Are y'all saying use the lowest octane???

 

OK, thanks Ron, I somehow took from the ''Premium gas'' thread that they would climb hills, passes, better with higher octane. Stupid gas was high $$ enough for the folks in Colorado without paying an extra $.20 - $.30 per gallon. Gulf coast regions will spoil us on gas cost, I guess.

 

You can go down about 0.5 RON per 1000ft elevation gain. Filling up with 83 up in the mountains is fine for the Prius. Just make sure to fill it up with something higher if that tank will be taking you down to sea level. The 83 that you can get in Summit County at 10,000ft is like 78 when you get to sea level and that's no good.

 

I filled up with Regular throughout our recent trip to Yellowstone, Glacier, Minneapolis, Green Bay and back to Phoenix and didn't have any problems I'm aware of. Where it says 87 in the manual, I assume they simply mean Regular. If it's a potential problem though, I guess I need to find out what octane they use in Flagstaff and avoid filling up there if it's 85 and I'm heading back to Phoenix where it's 87. Since Flagstaff is 130 miles north, I would only use 1/4-1/3 of a tank before getting to Phoenix. I find it hard to believe using the rest of a tank full would do damage, but then I'm not an expert on octane.

 

I do almost the exact opposite route you took, except traveling different roads. We take a trip one or twice a year from Salt Lake City to Dallas. I've traveled most every common route - from taking I-80 East to Cheyenne, South to Denver, East to Salina, then South to Dallas, or heading South from Salt Lake to Moab, South to Monticello Utah, through the 4-corners area, and then through New Mexico and West Texas. I've traveled back home from Dallas up through Salina to Denver, only to find that I-80 was impassable due to weather (we are normally in Texas with family for Thanksgiving or Christmas), so we went west over I-70 into Utah and then home. Most of these trips have been in my TrailBlazer getting a horrible 21 MPG at best. Last Feb, we purchased a package 4, non touring with 130K on it. Slapped some new Ecopias on it and took a spring-time trip with the two kids. To say that we were fully loaded was an understatement, yet going the southern route, netted almost 49 MPG overall. We even had a better than 60 MPG tank going through New Mexico with a tailwind. I definitely feel small in that car compared to the TrailBlazer, and miss the storage, quieter ride, and better view of the road ahead, but the Prius was definitely a nice vehicle. What's amazing is that we spent less for that trip in car expenses, including new tires and fuel, than we normally do for just fuel in the TrailBlazer. With 200K on the clock, and a transmission that is nearing rebuild time, needless to say that the Prius is our first choice vehicle for these trips.

Utah is definitely pretty country with a wide variety of scenic elements. Glad you had a nice trip.
Doug

 

Ron, I so agree about the manual. They outline everything, like the displays, nav, etc., but they provide very little in the way of what the data means and how to use it to one's advantage. I think part of the problem is that so much in the manual comes from other vehicles and they've made it easier on themselves to print manuals, but harder for owners to understand just how everything works. We're taking a long weekend/holiday trip to LA (leaving Saturday morning and returning Tuesday evening). I just finished entering all our potential destinations in the Prius. I do this so I can access them while moving because I don't know how to find "Griffith Park Observatory" using voice commands. I get that I can say "Find next McDonald's" or "Find Next Costco" and get a list of each, but I can't say "Find Granny's Restaurant" when in Cody WY and get a destination. Even if I say "Find Next Restaurant" it will not display Granny's even if I'm sitting in front of it or just down the street from it. If I stop, Granny's shows up if I search POIs/Restaurants or enter Name/Granny's. The few examples in the manual for voice commands leave so much to be desired.

To be fair, I've never used voice commands with my Garmin, so I don't know how limited it is. I get that Toyota doesn't want the driver typing or having to look at the display too long, but it seems so simple to me to just activate every command by saying it. For example, if I press DEST on the display, the next screen of options is displayed. If I use Voice and say "destination", the same thing should happen for that screen and each successive screed. In this case, I should then be able to say "state arizona", "city phoenix", street washington" and "number 123" to enter the address. I should also be able to say "POI" and have that screen come up so I can then step through it with voice commands. That's the way I always thought voice commands worked on any device, but the Prius has shown me how wrong I was. I like that I can say "destination 123 lombardi avenue green bay wisconsin", but I don't understand not being able to say "find granny's restaurant in cody wyoming". I also don't know why I can't set it to display results along my route while the car is moving.

 

Also keep in mind that the manual is rarely to inform the customer or help them understand the function of the vehicle. It is to save Toyota money. Whether that be through reduced customer service calls or through fewer litigation suits. If you specify something, you are on the hook for it. Leave it out, or play it safe and you are better off legally.