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MPG 4MPG lower after Software upgrade/Recall

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by jl2013Prius, Jan 14, 2019.

  1. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Watch, theyll deflate your tires to 32 psi tricking you that you lost mpgs because of the software update.
     
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  2. RMB

    RMB Senior Member

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    Nah that wouldn’t be one of the causes, because I always request 38 psi front and back, and if they messed it up, I pump it back up to 38 right after. :LOL:
     
  3. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    It happened to a fella here in PC though :p

    Some tire place told me by company policy, they must de/inflate tires to car’s psi spec before giving keys back to customer. Where’s the get the job right the first time company policy :p
     
  4. BZzap!

    BZzap! Senior Member

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    The dealers policy is to adjust the tires during an inspection to the factory recommended pressure. This is due to liability concerns. Tire pressures are critical and every time the dealer does an inspection, the readings are documented. This is just a CYOA measure.
     
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  5. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    If you need some encouragement:

    95D384CD-F378-4A0B-8DDD-59C82DADFE09.jpeg

    The gas gauge is showing my consumption after 650 miles:).

    Wait til the next meetup for another reminder (y).
     
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  6. Grit

    Grit Senior Member

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    Talk about peer pressure.
     
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  7. RMB

    RMB Senior Member

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    So jello LOL! 650 miles and used about 2 gallons of fuel:love:

    Yup, but the good kind of peer pressure for sure!:sneaky:
     
  8. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    And that’s only because I forgot the charging trips the gfci if I don’t set the charging rate to 8 amps:cool:.

    I need a post it note to remind me so I avoid burning gas for no reason(y).
     
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  9. marvingloria2011

    marvingloria2011 Active Member

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    Man, that mileage is insane! I don't anywhere near that here in Winnipeg.
     
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  10. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    I’m definitely impressed (y).
     
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  11. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    Sounds like you need a new GFCI. At least in my house, the GFCI will hold 15 amps. 20 on the one powering my sump pump in the basement.
     
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  12. Raytheeagle

    Raytheeagle Senior Member

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    This is a work provided one ;).

    So I just deal with 9.5 hour charging, as I’ve been here a lot more than that recently:cool:.

    That is when I remember (y).
     
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  13. nicoj36

    nicoj36 Active Member

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    I was able to get my mpg back by performing a tune-up. New spark plugs, transmission fluid drain and fill, and oil change. And i was able to get my mpg back prior to doing the recall.
     
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  14. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    They cannot over or under inflate your tires, for liability reasons. But, if you already adjusted your tires,
    they are not required to change your tires. And if you tell them not to change the pressures, they are liable for doing unauthorized work on your car that you told them NOT to do.
     
    #74 ASRDogman, Apr 29, 2019
    Last edited: Apr 29, 2019
  15. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    For me, jury's out if the update had some detrimental effect. It might have, but not sure. We've been helping out our daughter with her backyard blackberry infestation, and over the weekend was putting on a fair amount of kms, close to 200 now IIRC.

    This was on a fresh tank with the trip meter reset. Very easy driving, purposely going the long way round to avoid hill climbs, top speed around 70 kmh. The liters per 100 per 100 km settled down, to a tug-of-war between 4.5 and 4.6, mostly 4.6.

    Which will likely translate to calculated 4.9, which is our lifetime average. So I'm thinking: c'mon, should be able to better than this. 4.9 translates to 48 mpg (US gallons) btw.

    Factors that might explain (besides the software update):

    1. New tires, 215/44R17 Michelin Primacy MXM4. Michelin does give them the Green-X badge, their LRR tag, but they are also brand new. I've got them around 35 psi all round. Keep in mind regarding that pressure, they are the low profile 17's.

    2. Ambient temperature: it's still cool out, which has a direct effect on engine efficiency I think, and: the car is monitoring the ambient temp, and maybe changing behaviors accordingly. Maybe sacrificing some mpg for less pollution? Not sure.
     
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  16. marvingloria2011

    marvingloria2011 Active Member

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    Cool! I've got an oil change scheduled in the morning. Maybe I'll swap out the spark plugs and clean my Tom's Racing filter out and see how that goes.
     
  17. marvingloria2011

    marvingloria2011 Active Member

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    This is great to know, since the majority of people here are from the United States. My overall average is a 6.5 L/100 km (calculated including the winter months of about -20 to -45 degrees Celsius and running 19" wheels during the summer months). This works out to 36 MPG with no effort to go the long way (which I should probably do for better mileage since it's 70 km/h there as well). Good to know.
     
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  18. nicoj36

    nicoj36 Active Member

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    Don't forget the tranny drain and fill. It's really easy. You'll just have to get a hose pump to fill it cause the fill-hole is under the car.
     
  19. cnc97

    cnc97 Senior Member

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    So I was monitoring the operation of the ICE today and I did see something different today. On flat level ground it went into electric only at 50 mph. Held it for almost 1/2 mile. 0 indicated ICE rpm. As soon as the road started uphill the ICE kicked in.
     
  20. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I generally just fish a hose down to the hole from up in the engine compartment from a funnel, and pour into that. You reach the fill hole from under the car, but it's on the side of the tranny.

    But I knew somebody with an Isuzu automatic transmission where the drain and fill plugs were both on the bottom of its pan. The fill plug was on a sort of stepped-up level of the pan bottom, matching the correct fluid level. You literally filled that thing up through a hole on the bottom.
     
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