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3rd fuel up. A little disappointed with my fuel economy

Discussion in 'Prius c Fuel Economy' started by hur00003, Jul 25, 2012.

  1. hur00003

    hur00003 New Member

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    So i just finished my 3rd fill up. I'm averaging 48mpg. I drive with eco mode on and am very conscious about driving in EV mode. I suspect there are 2 major problems.

    A) I live on a huge hill, which is great on the way to work (75-80mpg) but on the way home, i'm getting around 38mpg

    b) My average distance is 6 miles a trip.

    Is anyone else frustrated like i am?
     
  2. gmcneil05

    gmcneil05 Member

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    Don't try to use EV as much. If your battery is low when you NEED the extra power the ICE has to work harder.
     
  3. happywithmyc

    happywithmyc New Member

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    Im at 711 miles at 40 mpg average. I drive 15 miles each way without traffic 73 mph average downhill 43 mpg and up is 39 mpg. if i keep the ice at 1/3 or less on the ice eco meter the instant mpg meter says im getting 50 mpg or better but i never drive long enough to actually see it. Around town I can ice pulse and drive in ev mode throttle position for almost any time I want below 41 mph. I drive in eco mode all the time. never ev...Im sure if i drove in traffic or not in the fast lane i would see great results.. but don't think so with 73 mph action ever.. unless a strong tailwind and or some downhill inclination. i read this forum prior to ownership thinking i was going to be flying around on the freeway and or at least 65 mph and getting 46 mpg, not yet.. will see
     
  4. crebble

    crebble Member

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    Well, think about it this way, you are getting 38mpg uphill! I don't know what kind of mpg's you were expecting, but anyone who drives big hills and freeways (like me) struggles to hit even 50 mpg.
     
  5. Jason dinAlt

    Jason dinAlt Member

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    Well, it's hard to do anything about the hill. (You could move. :)), but you're right, the trip length is not helping. The ICE runs on a cold start until it's warm, and if you try to avoid it, you are working against the computer - and it's smarter than you are. Combine trips, run errands on the way to and from wherever you are going, etc.
    Also, it's a bit hard to actually answer your question since you never state what fuel economy you are getting. Individual trip mileage is more or less meaningless. Use a service like fuelly (there are several) to help track your overall fuel economy. It's the average that counts. And your average (from the little data you give) is 59 mpg! So why in the world are you disappointed?
     
  6. xs650

    xs650 Senior Member

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    48 mpg with an average trip length of 6 miles is not bad

    As others have said, don't overuse EV mode. Let the car decide when to run off the battery and when to use the ICE, the car is pretty smart about doing that right. By using EV mode a lot you are not only hurting your fuel economy by a bit, you are putting extra wear on your battery.
     
  7. hoarybat

    hoarybat Junior Member

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    I have a huge hill when I goto work and on the way down the first 1-2 miles it is mostly downhill of course it is the opposite when I get back. I don't give a $X%XXX who is behind me so I did not exceed the limit. When I hit the hill on the way home I was easy and I ended up at 93MPG on my second trip. <20 miles RT but still good. Here are photos of my trip. I'm not sure what your doing but what was your ECO SCORE? It tells allot though I was Hypermiling tho which makes a huge difference: My first PRIUSC Hypermiler trip Wow | PriusChat
     
  8. hur00003

    hur00003 New Member

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    I got my 48 Mpg from fuelly.... I don't know how to add the fuelly to my signature.

    Also, I never turn on EV mode, but I try to drive where EV will atomically turn on.
     
  9. ftl

    ftl Explicator

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    Log in at Fuelly, click on your vehicle name to bring up the detail page.

    In the right-hand column, find "View all badges and stuff you can share" and click on it.

    Find the box with the BBCode for either the large or small banners. Highlight the code in the box and copy it.

    At PriusChat, go to your Profile page and click on Signature in the left-hand column.

    Paste the BB code into the signature box and click on Save.
     
    Robert Holt and tonia taffaro like this.
  10. owayneo

    owayneo Junior Member

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    Thanks.
     
  11. Rich Prazuch

    Rich Prazuch Chicagoland

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  12. Rich Prazuch

    Rich Prazuch Chicagoland

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  13. Nic Lechner

    Nic Lechner Junior Member

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    Your biggest FE limitation is your travel distance. The C does pretty good on hills if she's already warmed up (after 5 miles) I only have a 5 mile commute to work and I can hit over 90 on the way there thanks to my block heater, but the trip home I'm lucky to get 45.
     
  14. cmstlist

    cmstlist Member

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    Are there routes you can take that allow you to accelerate more slowly up the hill, especially without people behind you (as they'd get annoyed)?

    I know that when I take the big uphill on my way home from work, on a street where cars expect me to get up to speed, I really have to gun it to avoid annoyance. But there is another route where I can do about half the ascent on a quieter residential street with a lower speed limit, and then afterwards the next half of the ascent is stretched out over a much greater distance. This route is slightly longer but dramatically more fuel-efficient.
     
  15. tonia taffaro

    tonia taffaro Junior Member

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    i'm on about my 5th fill up and i cannot get passed 44 mgp. i do not go up any hills, except the entrance to the interstate. i drive about 110 miles a day at 80mph most of the time. i've recently tried the ECO mode button to see if that would make a difference but my wife keeps turing it off. :mad:. any suggestions?
     
  16. Ashley7

    Ashley7 Active Member

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    44 mpg doesn't seem bad for spending most of your time going 80 mph... But I rarely drive on the highway, and certainly not at that speed, so I can't say whether it's low or not.
     
  17. alfon

    alfon Senior Member

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    Try driving at 65 mph on the highway, were legal of course. I believe at 80 mph your
    mpg's will really drop.

    We just got back from a trip to Joseph Oregon and several hundred miles of Interstate Highway
    84. Even though we had a pretty good load, my wife, and all our gear, at least 500 lbs combined,
    we managed at least low to mid's 50's mpg, even with the AC on, temps were 90-100.

    Speed was at legal posted 65 mph +or - 5 mph.

    I am pretty sure the Prius C should get about the same.
     
  18. tom & lisa s c

    tom & lisa s c Junior Member

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    im in canada i drove down the 401 to toronto 60 mph with the cruse on and the air 2 people with some gear and i got 3.9 litres per 100k or about 60 mpg us gallon on the tank i got 4 litres per 100 or about 58 to 59 mpg .I find the car won t pull really good #s in the city unless you drive longer
     
  19. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    That is actually better than Bob Wilson's Updated MPG vs MPH chart for the 2010. It shows only 40 mpg indicated, 38 mpg calculated at 80 mph.

    For better mpg, slow down.
     
    bgil likes this.
  20. homeless

    homeless Junior Member

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    I had similar results with the OP. My first tank was spent on all city miles with the average 5-6 miles/trip. The calculated MPG was 45. After I started commuting more and mixed in more highway miles the MPG was 50mpg. I am on my 3rd tank and filled up with E0 fuel. It has helped a little bit (2-3mpg) on my daily commute. Of course it costs $.30 additional per gallon.