Max MPG readout

No, nothing has changed. You are probably confusing the miles driven and mpg

 

If you test drove a standard Prius without any kind of display mod, there's no way for you to see more than 99.9. That's the highest the display goes. 300 MPG? I don't know where you saw that.

You probably need to get used to the car before you can get higher mileages. At first it'll be easier to get higher mileages on the highway because it's fairly straightforward. Just drive it like any other car on the highway, but avoid acceleration, and you'll get close to 50s.

In the city and surface roads, that's where you'll need to learn the proper technique, but it's also where you can get 60, 70 MPG depending on various factors.

Do a search for pulse and glide. It's the central technique for getting high mileages on the Prius at speeds < 40 MPH.

 

you really must be mistaken. Trust me, maybe you were seeing extra digits? Not sure what to tell you, be nothing has changed with the Prius as far as the fuel economy.

-or-

Toyota made a special Prius and didn't tell us and you happen to test drive it, which I very highly doubt

 

In town can be very tricky. Driving consistently at "in town" speeds would yeild you great results, but there are those few things that tend to put a damper on that - stop signs, stop lights, traffic..etc. The biggest killer is starting from a dead stop. The more you can avoid that, the better.

 

I think the biggest killer is short trips, meaning 5-10 minutes. It doesn't give the system enough time to warm up and you burn gas for the whole trip.

 

Curious I get mpg numbers like that on my ScanGage. I am not sure if that is how the mpg data comes from the CAN Bus having been calculate by one of the ECUs or if it derived from other information and calculated in the ScanGage.

 

Just on a separate instrument that you plug in the CAN Bus the readings are generic. The ScanGage is a generic aftermarket device. I have never seen the MFD do that 99.9 is the highest I have seen. The ScanGage displays it with more digits. I was just thinking out loud as to if the MPG data on the CAN Bus was sent with more significant digits and then displayed by the MFD as 99.9 anytime you are at that figure or above or if both the ScanGage and the MFD calculate the MPG on the spot from other data.

 

I hear that as the car breaks in, mpg will increase. I've experienced this to a small degree (I think), but still only have 1800 miles on my car. Part of the break-in is of course driver break-in...but I keep hearing stories about some point for most longer-term owners where mpg jumped some. And there's also the effect of inflating your tires to 42/40 (instead of 35/33), that added a couple of mpg for me.

-Roger

 

both you and your wife are seeing things that none of the Prius driver has ever seen

 

Maybe, but have you ever tried to push a car by hand?... the most energy is getting the wheels moving.. once they're rolling its easier to increase.