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EPA MPG difference between 2010 and 2011-2015?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Unresolved_ERR, Apr 25, 2021.

  1. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Thanks for this. Note that Fuelly drop in 2015; think that’s due maybe to the higher tension piston rings. So for Toyota to get more mpg brownie points, previous model years are more likely to start runaway burning oil.

    I think Fuelly is the most honest evaluation: it’s based miles and gallons reported by many owners.
     
    #21 Mendel Leisk, Apr 26, 2021
    Last edited: Apr 26, 2021
  2. MelonPrius

    MelonPrius Senior Member

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    I was hoping that the '14 and '15 would have similar MPG. But the figures lead me to believe that my '14 probably didn't receive the new pistons/rings (March sale date).
     
    Mendel Leisk likes this.
  3. Unresolved_ERR

    Unresolved_ERR Junior Member

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    Huh, that's wild. I got my 2010 used just about 9 months ago. Granted, it didn't even have 90k miles on it at the time (I've almost got it to 100k now) and according the Dr. Prius app, when my battery has 8 bars (efficient braking off the highway to school for me, which is 75 MPH, will typically pull it up to 8 bars) that the battery has 75% capacity, so I assume that to mean that the battery has 75% of its charge left.

    note that the EPA does estimate the rest of Gen III's as 48 MPG, thanks to testing differences, So that's what you'd expect (obviously you've hit below that though).

    I know a lady at my work that owns a 2011, and she says she usually gets 40 MPG; but when I follow the ECO indicator (keeping it on unless I need the extra power for safety reasons), I get 60-70 MPG in the summer, 70-80 with Pulse & Glide, 50-60 in the winter (unless it's REALLY cold, I'll get to that), 60-65 with Pulse & Glide.

    When I drive "like a normal person" (following traffic, accelerating as fast as everyone around me) I still struggle to get it below 50 MPG. That's in the summer. In the winter it does get more like a 40-50 MPG range, but the average comes out to 45 still.

    You may remember when Texas had its entire electrical grid frozen during the ice storm a few months back. Oklahoma had that too, except our grid is connected to the nation so we generally had more minor shortages. During that cold week(s?), where the temperature was something like 5F to 15F (-15C to -9C), I typically got 25-35 MPG, 40 at best, as a result of heating the cabin, engine warming, and mostly running the defroster for forever without going anywhere thanks to 4-6 inches of snow on the car. Still easily better than the 2013 Corolla I was driving beforehand would have gotten.

    I would put it up to traffic differences, except there's the lady at my work who gets similar numbers, so I have no idea. The Prius has been better in gas mileage than I would have hoped, although part of that is because (as a younger person) I genuinely hate engine roar, so I tend to be light on the pedal anyways so that I don't have to hear that. Given that, I am also very excited for practical BEV's. Maybe an EV Prius with Toyota's incoming Solid-State batteries...
     
  4. wr69

    wr69 Member

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    i went from 2010/2013's to a 2014, but it has the newer 2015 pistons and rings. I'm still sorting through all the variables like tires, battery, etc., but my hunch is there may be some truth to this pistons/rings theory, to the tune of about 2 mpg. its winter now and tough to gauge MPG, especially since the fuel blends might be changing in our state. But I think there is something different with the 2015 engine.
     
  5. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Google “Fuelly Prius”, specifically 2015 vs 2010-2014. IIRC the consensus was about 0.2 mpg drop for the former.