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Buying a used prius c - MPG from start reads 22.5. Should I be worried?

Discussion in 'Prius c Main Forum' started by kinshuk, Sep 12, 2016.

  1. kinshuk

    kinshuk New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
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    Location:
    gardena
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    The seller has assured that the prius c gives him about 50mpg. The screen shows 39k miles with 22.5 MPG from start. Is that a red flag?

    Any insight or suggestions are welcome.

    Thank you so much.
     
  2. mark schofield

    mark schofield Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2013
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
     
  3. mark schofield

    mark schofield Junior Member

    Joined:
    Dec 2, 2013
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    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    there should be 3 trip displays. trip A, trip B, and odometer. the odometer selection will show total mileage since new, and "from start" which means since the car was last started.(like ten minutes ago). toggle the trip button to trip A and trip B to see what the mileage is since the last fill up.that should give you a picture of what the mpg is.
     
  4. kinshuk

    kinshuk New Member

    Joined:
    Sep 12, 2016
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    Location:
    gardena
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    Thanks Mark. That value (since last trip) is shown as 47 which is good. I was just wondering why the overall MPG from start shows 22.5. Thank you.
     
  5. w2kpugsly

    w2kpugsly Junior Member

    Joined:
    Jan 27, 2014
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    Location:
    san diego
    Vehicle:
    2013 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    I wouldn't worry too much about it.

    In contrast, The seller could have stopped the car ,turned it off, then started it, and drove around slowly (in electric mode) and it would have shown 50+ mpg.

    Take it on a test drive and see what mileage you get when you drive it.....
     
    #5 w2kpugsly, Sep 12, 2016
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2016
  6. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

    Joined:
    Dec 30, 2014
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    Location:
    Vancouver, BC Canada
    Vehicle:
    2012 Prius c
    When you select the odometer display, the fuel economy is shown "from start" - in other words, from when you most recently started the car. "From Start" does not mean "from when the car was new". And since the car gets its very worst fuel economy immediately after startup (it has to run the engine in order to warm it up even if you're not moving), it's very normal for the "from start" fuel economy to be poor until you've driven it for several miles (or kilometres).
     
    orenji likes this.
  7. priustexasbob

    priustexasbob Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2010
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    Location:
    arrakis
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius c
    Model:
    Two
    you have to remember the from start is a running average; say you start off heavy acceleration you'll have 15.0 mpg, then you level off and your instantaneous mileage might be 55 mpg but your from start might show 35 mpg (averaging 15 mpg and 55 mpg)
     
  8. InPriusLove

    InPriusLove Member

    Joined:
    Sep 3, 2015
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    Location:
    California, US
    Vehicle:
    2015 Prius c
    Model:
    Three
    It runs low (to high over a trip) like that if it starts with the ICE engaged, and it runs high (to low over a trip) if it starts with the battery engaged. Not to worry. Sometimes my car says 8 mpg since stsrt. You would think yikes, but it builds up.
     
  9. orenji

    orenji Senior Member

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    Vehicle:
    2010 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    It starts off - engine cold with low MPG, as you drive it and the engine warms up, you will see the MPG rise. You will see this occur on a daily basis.