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Why do I only get around 380 miles range for my Prius 2020 XLE AWD?

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Technical Discussion' started by Tianen Chen, Mar 11, 2022.

  1. Tianen Chen

    Tianen Chen Junior Member

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    As you can see from my attached files, with a full tank of gas, the range is only 380 miles. As of today 3/11/2022, my Prius 2020 AWD XLE has 40,438 miles in odometer. But it does not matter. Ever since I bought this vehicle new in Sep 2020, the range has never exceeded 400 miles according to the screen of the vehicle. I have been driven this vehicle all over Washington State, and primarily in southeast Washington State; Lewiston, Idaho; Puget Sound; Spokane; Tri-cities and between aforementioned places.

    According to the internet, the range for my vehicle should be over 500 miles.

    I get an average of 37.3 MPG for the lifetime of this vehicle.

    Owners of 2020 AWD Prius, let me know your figures. I assume XLE and LE in range and MPG are the same.
     

    Attached Files:

  2. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    AWDe does get reduce mpg, heavier Nimh battery, as well as a smaller tank so not sure if your expectation is for a regular Prius that has a bigger tank, lighter battery, and more mpg. Do you leave in the drive mode as economy, normal, or performance? Also what tires did you install? I wonder if the range takes account your history of efficiency. 37 is very low though. I typically average about 43 on my 2019 awde
     
  3. Tianen Chen

    Tianen Chen Junior Member

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    I made a mistake in OP. I got an average 47.3 MPG!
     
  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    projected range does not include the safety factor. your o/m has both the tank size and the safety amount when you reach zero miles dte.
    your mpg's are so subjective, it is impossible to say, see if you can find any averages online
     
  5. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    The AWDe has a smaller 10.6gal gas tank compared to the 11.3 gal tank in the regular Gen4 and PP. The displayed DTE (distance to empty) is not for the full tank of gas, but until the empty light comes on. If it has the same ~2gal reserve as other Prius, then it is based on ~8.6 gals of gas before empty light comes on. If you are getting a 47.3mpg average, then 47.3x8.6=406.78miles for DTE. I guess, 380-390 miles is close enough. Maybe AWDe may have more than 2 gal of the reserve.
     
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  6. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    I think that is a typo. The photo OP has posted shows 47.3mpg and 290 miles DTE.
     
  7. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    The advertised range is from full to empty while averaging the EPA rated mpg. Zero miles remaining on the display is a long way from empty. It's basically an indicator telling you to go get gas asap so you don't run out. But, in a pinch, I once went more than 100 miles past the zero mark. And I still had just over a gallon left. (I went 604 miles on that tank, btw and got 59 mpg.)
     
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  8. thomassster

    thomassster Member

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    yeah, that is right. I stated an error as well, which I get more closer to 48 mpg ever since lifetime of my car. I got confused with my winter average is about 43 driving in snow and winter conditions vs 50s in the summer. So 47mpg doesn’t sound unusual at all.
     
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  9. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

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    I wish I would have known this before my 1,200 mile single-day Prius drive. Drove me nuts stopping that often.
     
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  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    That’s poor, doubly so for 4th gen.

    can you describe your driving in more detail?
     
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  11. Mambo Dave

    Mambo Dave Active Member

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    He may be driving roads like I do, but I doubt it. I've only seen one other Gen4 Prius driver who drove that fast. Some gal in a silver one headed to Miami.
     
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  12. Tianen Chen

    Tianen Chen Junior Member

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    I corrected myself early on. The avg MPG is 47, NOT 37. You can also find the information in my attachment of the OP.
     
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  13. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sounds like you're good then
     
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  14. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Ok so something doesn’t add up. Note that the lifetime mpg of 47mpg that’s shown… we don’t know when that was reset.

    But since he bought it new, he should be the only owner and the 47mpg should be representative. And based on that, he should be getting 500 miles from 47.


    Can we see the Eco Diary? How are your monthly mpg for the past year or so?
     
  15. Tianen Chen

    Tianen Chen Junior Member

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    Turns out that AWD Prius has lower range than FWD, because AWD has a smaller gas tank. The AWD system takes up much space.
     
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  16. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    To elaborate on the good info @Salamander_King provided in post #5: Assuming an EPA average 49 mpg and hitting zero miles DTE with about two gallons left, that's (10.6-2)*49=421.4 miles to indicated empty and 519.4 till actual empty.

    The 47.3 mpg on the odometer is really more like 45 mpg. Plugging that into the above arithmetic gives (10.6-2)*45=404.2 to indicated empty and 477 to actual empty.

    DTE at fill up is pretty closely tied to MPG on the previous tank. So 390 looks like on the previous tank you averaged about 45.3 mpg and hints that there is less than 2 gallons left at "empty." The "over 500 miles" you referred to in the original post is for the regular Prius which, as you have discovered, has a bigger tank than yours.

    I don't know your driving style, but if it's typical of the way most people drive, you could get a lot more range from a tank simply by not tailgating and by braking sooner and more gradually. I'm not saying this is necessarily the reason for your lower than expected mpg and range, but that is usually the reason.
     
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  17. MIkeDr

    MIkeDr Active Member

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    I have this exact vehicle. Bought new 18 months ago. Lifetime is 50-ish mpg. When I fill the tank, the distance to empty is 400-500 miles.
     
  18. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Bah. I forgot about that. Thanks for reminding me.
     
  19. Tianen Chen

    Tianen Chen Junior Member

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    I have been accelerating fast according to the system rating at the end of each trip. At the end of each trip, I usually get very low score in acceleration, like one bar. I got very high score in climate control use because I kept my climate control at the lowest wind level most of the time. I am 6 ft 1, and I did not think slow acceleration help much for gas mileage, so I frequently accelerate from stop very fast.
     
  20. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    Depending on what is fast acceleration to you, that might not be a major problem. In fact, very slow acceleration can hurt almost as much as very fast. Both put your engine speed outside of its most efficient range. But what really kills it is late braking. Why throw away all of that expensive kinetic energy as heat and brake dust when much of it can be recovered by the battery for later use?
     
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