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Only 500 miles, but good mileage so far

Discussion in 'Prius c Fuel Economy' started by Gasoholic, Feb 17, 2017.

  1. nwawolff

    nwawolff Junior Member

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    Do people check their mileage manually, i.e. miles/gallons vs. assuming display is correct?


    Posted via the PriusChat mobile app.
     
  2. Gasoholic

    Gasoholic Junior Member

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    Sure, I check it each time I fill up. So far, not enough data to be absolutely sure about the accuracy. Maybe a few more fill ups will give me some answers.
    Gasoholic
     
  3. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    I can't speak for others, but I'm a bit CDO about fuel economy so I reset my "Trip B" odometer at each fill-up after noting the fuel economy and distance reported for the previous tank, and I enter those along with the actual litres pumped into a spreadsheet. So I have an excellent record of actual and reported fuel economy for the past 2+ years that I've owned the car.
     
  4. ShaAnn

    ShaAnn Member

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    Wow I love the MPG you guys are getting....I average 44 MPG each month as I drive four miles to work each day and back.....very little freeway driving...I have tires rotated as needed....my percent electric is 30...I use regular gas.
     
  5. jscoot

    jscoot Junior Member

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    From what I've read, and my own limited experience, the display mpg is exaggerated. I think it is currently ~2 mpg higher than actual for the time I've owned the car (I reset trip meter B when I bought the car and haven't touched it since).


    I fill the tank each time, note the total mileage at each fuel-up, and divide elapsed miles by gallons purchased.

    I used to do this by hand on older cars, now I use Fuelly's gastracker+ app on my phone.
     
  6. Gasoholic

    Gasoholic Junior Member

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    OK, after 2 more fill ups and the math shows that the MPG is approximately 3 mpg too high in the display. However, my overall mileage for the car now shows that 50.6 mph combined in town and highway, is the average over 1600 miles. This is right on the vehicle estimate for combined driving, so I am quite happy with that number.
    Gasoholic
     
  7. roadrunner

    roadrunner His (blue) and hers (black).

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    Same here with my Prius c. It reads 3 mpg over the actual. I have now owned it for 5 months, and it has been perfect, best vehicle ever for me.
     
  8. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    Here in Canada the display shows fuel economy using the Metric standard of litres consumed per 100 kilometers traveled (l/100km). By that measure too, the car is about 5 to 7% optimistic - when it shows 4 l/100km the car actually consumed about 4.2 l /100km as measured by fuel pumped into the tank.
     
  9. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    My 2010, if it reads 4.5, calculated will be 4.8 or 4.9.
     
  10. davids45

    davids45 Active Member

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    G'day,
    It's not related to Coriolis effect (affecting petrol/gas swirling in the car's tank) as I get the same slightly optimistic result reported by the car here in Oz.
    I'm curious to see how much petrol consumption may increase in my five-months-old Prius 'c' as we come into winter here.
    Well, what we call 'winter', in deference to the Canadians on PruisChat.
    David S.
     
  11. ShaAnn

    ShaAnn Member

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    I am now getting 47.5 MPG...much better then colder months......I drive three miles to work....smile
     
  12. rowekmr

    rowekmr New Member

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    Gasoholic how many miles on your car? I also just got a 2016 C and was getting in the low 50's today on my maiden trips. I wasn't sure was that the avg for the tank or the trip because it constantly adjusted itself.
     
  13. davids45

    davids45 Active Member

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    G'day rowekmr,
    Which 'Trip' setting are you using when comparing your fuel consumption?

    On my Oz 2016 'c', Trip A and Trip B display the usage since the particular Trip was re-set to zero. I use (reset to 0) Trip A for a country drive and Trip B for each tank-fill.

    My 'c's ODO gives a 'running average' of the last 5(?) minutes consumption reading while the car is being driven, so varies quite lot, particularly in a hilly area with high-usage uphill and low usage downhill.
    The 'from start' first km (or mile) can be pretty high as the car is warming up the ICE, for example, but then quickly drops as the electrics take over more of the propulsion. Bit like using the 'choke' on an old fashioned car when starting the engine until it's warmed up?

    After turning off the car (pushing the 'POWER' button), a consumption display for the travel from last Power-on to Power-off is displayed for a short while.

    The North American 'c's may be different as you seem to have more models.

    David S.
     
  14. Gasoholic

    Gasoholic Junior Member

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    Just over 2000 miles right now. 50 mpg combined is still what I am seeing. This includes using the AC in town and on the highway. The only trip that reduced this slightly, was a trip up a mountain to 6,000', the wife drove it. But that only affected the average by under .5 mph, so the 50 mpg is still real. Mine s a Prius C 3, all factory stock.
    The trip A or B show actual mileage for that trip. Drive Info display, shows current mileage, from the last start. If you never reset Trip B, you can keep a continuous average from Mile 1 there, use Trip A for actual trips.
    Gasoholic
     
  15. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    Yes, the fuel economy display shows the average for all of the driving since the last "reset" for whichever "trip" you're currently displaying. You reset the value for Trip A or Trip B by holding down the Trip button on the steering wheel while the information for that trip is being displayed. If you hold down the Trip button while the "Odometer" is displayed then it switches the speedometer display between km/h and MPH.

    But are you sure about what the "odometer" display is showing you? Because when the display is set to show the odometer, my 2012 Prius C shows "from start" and displays the average fuel consumption from the time that you turned the car on, not for the last 5 minutes.

    I reset my "Trip A" display each day to show the total distance and average fuel consumption for each outing I make, even if that outing means turning the car off while I'm in a store or out doing some activity. And I reset my "Trip B" display at each fill-up so I can see what the average fuel economy and distance was for the last tank of gas. Comparing the latter to the fuel economy measured by actual litres pumped usually shows that the display is a little optimistic (i.e., reports better fuel economy) than the actual value I get via the pump measurement. The display value usually show about 5% better fuel economy than I actually get.

    I'm a bit CDO about fuel economy, so I actually record all this info in a spreadsheet - thus I can easily tell what my lifetime fuel economy is from the spreadsheet without needing to record it in one of the "Trip" displays. So far my lifetime actual fuel economy (as measured at the pump) is 4.35 l/100km (about 54 miles per US gallon).
     
  16. davids45

    davids45 Active Member

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    G'day Sean Nelson,

    You're right about the ODO display - it simply displays the fuel consumption 'from start' until the car is turned off. It then begins again from 0 when the car is started again. It's non-cumulative, whereas Trip A and Trip B are cumulative until re-set.
    (The '5 minute' display is part of the 'fuel consumption screen' - sorry for my confusion. That screen's on p107 of my car's manual which says this is one of the displays turned off by default - p109 to turn them on, which I haven't.)

    David S.
     
  17. Sean Nelson

    Sean Nelson Active Member

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    Ah, yes - that's the bar graph showing average fuel consumption over each 5-minute interval for the last half hour(?) or so. When you have that screen selected the 5-minute intervals show the same values no matter what you've selected (Odo/Trip 1/Trip 2) in the top portion of the display.
     
  18. ericmj

    ericmj New Member

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    Bought the 2017 c two last week, had to fill up when I had one bar left on the gas gauge. I went 400+ miles, 56 MPG avg from 1 mile. Filled up the tank with $22... :-O gas was 2.99 in socal
     
  19. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Hah, only $1.29.9 (can) up here. Per litre. :oops:
     
  20. TinyTim

    TinyTim Active Member

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    A 4th generation Prius 2016+ can at best do 60mpg on a tank of gas. There are people who drive down mountain passes or hills for hundreds of miles that I am sure can get well over 60mpg on such a trip. For real world in city/highway everyday driving on non mountainous terrain, 60mpg is the best you can hope for. Summer driving means 10% better fuel economy because there is no ethanol in the gas until Nov. 1st.

    I can consistently do 58-59mpg without much effort or trouble on a tank of gas. Your tank should go between 500-580 miles. Unless you like to live dangerous and carry a gallon of petrol with you. Trust the Prius computer it gives you an extra 10-20 miles beyond what the trip computer says you have left.

    If people see it differently. Please post two or three tanks and the range you have on your trip computer proving otherwise. It's best to have your auto air set to 67-68F in eco mode. These are pro tips. I keep one of the trip computers that will show over 1000 miles and the average MPG. Those kinds of screen shots show real world MPG. Anything over 2000 miles with MPG is another good indicator of real world MPG.