2010 Prius C. 42 mpg

A new battery alone might not help your gas mileage much.
Slowing down might.

The C does best in suburban and rural driving where there is little stop and go and the average speed is around 45-50 MPH.
In those conditions, mine gets around 52, sometimes a bit better. (reported, I'm too lazy to manually check).

Next best is city driving; stop and go. I get around 45 there.

Last is highway. Mine doesn't do that very often but I expect what you report when running above 65 is about normal.
It will go down QUICKLY as you exceed 70.

 

42 mpg at 70 mph with AC running is pretty good, honestly.

 

Might want to check out the tire condition and pressure as well as the engine air filter.

 

Doublecheck your car and paperwork. The Prius c was introduced in 2012.

You might have a 2010 Prius, and you might have a Prius c, but you don't have a 2010 Prius c.

 

They did not make a Prius c until 2012.

 

Why the large drop? 10% due to what?

 

Engine wear.
10% is NOT a "large" drop......over say 10 years and 150K miles.

 

I have not seen that on other cars with similar mileage. Example - 2006 Honda Civic at 145K miles got the same mileage as when it had 30K miles. That's a lot of "engine wear."

 

Just because you have not seen it does NOT mean that it does not exist.
A really LOT of people these days seem to put way too much stock, and draw invalid conclusions, from just their own personal experience.

There are extra factors in play with a hybrid. As the HV battery gets weak, the electric part will contribute less to the total energy needs......and the engine may run more to try and charge it up.

Just simple common sense should tell you that a vehicle should lose some efficiency as it gets REALLY old........for various reason.

 

Hi Jose,

Are you driving on ECO mode or normal mode?
And about your vehicle, could you please double check the model, year and the capacity, or better yet post a photo and we will be able to tell what kind of Prius you got.

We Will go from there!

 

Your comments was not regarding the battery, it was engine wear. That should be common to both hybrids and non-hybrids. I get that batteries get weak and that hybrids are different, but 10% loss to engine wear?

 

Do a Dr Prius app run for your battery condition and go from there. My battery is factory from 2013 45,000km on the clock, my test show I have 87% life left.

My Prius C is getting 68mpg+ on the computer and on gas up the math adds up to 65mpg equivalent in km/l

 

Guess I should have been more specific.

I meant that as an additional item to be ADDED to the list that was already posted in the message I replied to.

While simple wear alone might not cause that much difference at any reasonable mileage........at VERY high mileages the loss of compression due to worn rings and valves often is a big factor.

 

I have to agree. Just made a couple hundred mile trip last night, AC & running about 75-80mph. Got right about 41 mpg.... The C's more happy with city driving and speeds around 50 or so.

 

You probably have a regular Prius. That mpg would make more sense for one in the conditions you describe. If you do indeed have a C (2012 and forward), and it was well cared for, you should be doing at least a little better than 42, but not much. Maybe high 40s with AC on.

There are so many variables. If this is your first hybrid and you are driving the car the same way you drove your previous vehicles then you're probably not far off. There are lots of techniques to help you coax better mileage from a Prius. A search of this forum will give you some ideas. Cruise control, unless the trip is primarily on flat roads, might actually get you worse mpg than you can get on your own after learning a few driving tips to maximize hybrid performance.

If you don't have access to the maintenance history and you have a mechanic you trust, it would not hurt to get a compression check, and at 77,000 you'll be approaching your first spark plug change before too long. Someone else mentioned getting the hybrid battery tested for remaining life with the Dr. Prius app. You should be OK with only 77,000 miles, but since it's out of warranty, it's a small price for the peace of mind. I have a 2012 C with 125,000 miles on it and just did the test. Was happy to see 85% life remaining.

I am not sure if it effects mileage, but hybrid battery cooling could effect overall life, so check to see if the battery fan is working and the vent is not clogged. Should be an access door in the rear passenger compartment. In the C it's behind the drivers seat.

 

Did you ever figure out what car you actually bought? You can input the VIN number at the Toyota website and it will tell you exactly what you have.

 

https://images.app.goo.gl/9ozd4q5cycKMWdz8A
This photo tells you exactly what you have.
Prius C sub compact
Prius Gen 3 compact
Prius v mini van
If you can fit a golf bag in the boot/trunk without putting the seats down... you don't have a Prius C.