1. Attachments are working again! Check out this thread for more details and to report any other bugs.

How did I do on driving the Prius? Any improvement?

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Main Forum' started by johnjohn15, Apr 9, 2020.

  1. johnjohn15

    johnjohn15 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2017
    13
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    San Diego CA guy here. I took the car to work where it took 20 miles in 30 mins while driving 55 mph 90% of time via hilly downward fwy, kinda like the attached image shown but backward.

    IMG_1733.jpg

    The first trip went 50.9 MPG. EV mode was used via coastal cruise control as well.

    Then when I drove from work to home, the image provided was the result and I’m quite happy about it...

    Until someone here on Priuschat said it not a good idea to drive the Prius on the freeway because the battery doesn’t get used via stop and go frequently, even when on EV mode or driving 55mpg. And if that the case, based on the details and image provided above, what improvement or recommendation work best?


    iPhone ?
     
  2. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,058
    5,783
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    It sounds like you have a good car and a good route, but I'm lost on the above portion. What good is it to have a car if it's no good to use on a freeway?

    I'm currently at 54.2 mpg in my 2007 with about 200 miles on the current tank. I drive about 22 miles each way to work. It's about 13 minutes from the house to the highway (25-45 zones), then 9-10 miles of Interstate 26 at 65mph (about 9 minutes), then about 6 minutes to the plant using 45 mph roads with a couple traffic lights..

    My experience with my route is mpg starts taking a noticeable hit on the highway once you venture above 65 mph.
     
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  3. johnjohn15

    johnjohn15 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2017
    13
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Re: you being lost on above portion, I believe that “someone” was emphasizing the need to have the brakes being regenerative to help extend the life of the hybrid battery. I could understand that but I don’t get why driving the Prius on the fwy is no bueno, even when driving 55mph.

    You sure are right. I used to achieve 43-45 mpg while driving 70-75mph on fwy and short trips on street as I always get 330-370 miles on a tank until last month that I decided to drive slow as 55 mph on the fwy. Voila! 50 mpg calculated from 4.4 gallons of gas that took me far as 225 miles. It fun to do that as well as running EVmode all the time. Yeah it slow but I have always stayed on the far right side of the lane and not one has had honked.


    iPhone ?
     
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  4. VFerdman

    VFerdman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    1,148
    1,171
    3
    Location:
    Western Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Deleted double post
     
  5. VFerdman

    VFerdman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    1,148
    1,171
    3
    Location:
    Western Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Just drive your prius like a normal car and go on with life. It's okay to drive your prius on the highway. It's okay to drive it on small roads. It's okay to drive it fast, it's okay to drive it slow. It's a car that is designed to be a car and it is really good at being a car. No matter where and how you drive, you'll still get very good fuel economy. What's not good for the prius in reality, is to NOT drive it. If a prius sits undriven for a long time the traction battery can suffer. Having low miles on a gen 2 prius usually means bad battery. Other than that, just drive it and enjoy good fuel economy. BTW, there is no EV mode on the gen2. It's a hybrid, not a plug in. It almost never drives on 100% electric. In fact, gen2 is designed to not be able to avoid using gas engines above 42mph.below 42mph you can kind of play with it and make it go all electric for a short time, but then it will fire the ice to top off the battery later. You are essentially robbing Peter to pay Paul. In general if you drive slow you'll get better economy, if you drive fast you will get worse economy. Just like a normal gas car.
     
    #4 VFerdman, Apr 9, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2020
  6. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,447
    3,751
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Maybe you could link to the post about which you're talking, so we can try to understand what the poster was saying.

    There is no reason not to take your Prius on the highway and no reason to go so slow. 60-65 should yield acceptable MPG.
     
  7. johnjohn15

    johnjohn15 Junior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 31, 2017
    13
    1
    0
    Location:
    Southern California
    Vehicle:
    2006 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Sorry if this sound dumb or noob but is 2006 169k miles on odometer with original hybrid battery considers a low mileage for it age?


    iPhone ?
     
  8. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,447
    3,751
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    No.
     
  9. VFerdman

    VFerdman Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 5, 2017
    1,148
    1,171
    3
    Location:
    Western Massachusetts
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Three
    Seems reasonable. I would be weary of a 2006 with say 45K miles on the clock. If you are getting good fuel economy and the state of charge graph remains in the upper region and not going up and down too much, then you are fine. I bought a 2007 with 175k back in 2017. It now has 225k and still on original battery.
     
    #8 VFerdman, Apr 9, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2020
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  10. TMR-JWAP

    TMR-JWAP Senior Member

    Joined:
    Aug 12, 2016
    6,058
    5,783
    0
    Location:
    Columbia, SC
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    Touring
    EV mode was used via coastal cruise control

    Is this the modification done on the cruise control circuit and activated using the cruise control stalk behind the steering wheel? IIRC, you had to pull the stalk toward the driver for 3 seconds to activate EV mode, or something similar?

    I had a white 2005 for a while that had the paperwork/instructions for that style kit being installed. I had assumed finding that paperwork in the glovebox meant that modification had been performed to the car, but maybe it wasn't since I could never get it to activate.
     
  11. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2013
    1,022
    1,182
    0
    Location:
    Wembley, London
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II
    IMG_2724.JPG

    With the quarantine lockdown in effect in London, I’m now working from home and barely get to use “The Spaceship” except for shopping trips, my weekly hospital appointment (I’m collecting autoimmune diseases ) and the odd sneaky cruise (after the hospital) down a long triple carriageway (and then home) where I’m very unlikely to be pulled over for breaking the quarantine.

    Well, I filled up on my last commute home 2 weeks ago, and have only driven 43 miles in over 2 weeks - but....my gosh!
    Look at my MPG for those 43 miles!

    Since the lockdown, the roads here in my corner of West London have been...empty!

    Further more, I’ve been perplexed to see the few cars on the road driving at well below the speed limit for once!
    Real shocker that.
    People driving carefully well under the speed limits and totally behaving themselves.

    Anyway, that’s my MPG from matching the calm and serene driving mode that’s suddenly descended on the empty roads of London.
    The real scary bit is - I wasn’t even trying....and I live at the top of a steep hill to boot.
    How the hell did I get back up there and still end up with these figures?

    I did have new tyres fitted recently (and it’s gotten much warmer since the quarantine began) - but doesn’t your MPG drop when you fit brand new tyres?!!

    My take away from this? Toyota did something extremely right when they designed and built the Prius Gen 2. If I’m getting this MPG in an 11 year old car (and no, I wasn’t driving down hill nonstop), they certainly did something right!

    Now I wish the roads were always this empty!


    iPhone 6s +
     
    dolj, Raytheeagle, srellim234 and 2 others like this.
  12. John321

    John321 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Nov 16, 2018
    1,104
    1,144
    0
    Location:
    Kentucky
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    Two
    Great job on driving and maintaining your vehicle! I think it is no accident that your vehicle gets this great mileage.

    Great vehicle + Great driving habits = Great mileage.

    I had a 2008 Prius with 140,000+ miles on it. It still averaged over 50 mpg in the summer when we traded it in in 2019.
     
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  13. sam spade 2

    sam spade 2 Senior Member

    Joined:
    Mar 31, 2018
    7,035
    2,780
    0
    Location:
    USA
    Vehicle:
    2017 Prius c
    Model:
    Four
    You should believe NONE of what you hear......and only half of what you see. :whistle:

    What works best is to drive it smoothly and not too fast.......and ignore all of the other advice about "tricks or techniques".
    If the freeway is your best route, USE IT. Just don't do 80 in a 55.
     
    srellim234 and Data Daedalus like this.
  14. qmanqman

    qmanqman Active Member

    Joined:
    Mar 29, 2020
    293
    108
    0
    Location:
    CO
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    One
    This car is great to drive on the highway. I drove 1400 miles across country with my daughter some years back and I spent like $60-80 on gas. I think we stopped 4-5 times for gas and each times it was like $15 to fill up. I was shocked every time and would just laugh.

    And BTW I had this puppy up to 90 a few times. Drives perfectly fine. I am actually pretty surprised at how solid of a car this is.
     
    #13 qmanqman, Apr 9, 2020
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2020
    Data Daedalus, George W and VFerdman like this.
  15. Albert Barbuto

    Joined:
    Oct 29, 2019
    102
    94
    0
    Location:
    Northeast USA
    Vehicle:
    2005 Prius
    Model:
    Base
    Data Daedalus, Jealously forced me to "recalibrate" your display...
     

    Attached Files:

    Data Daedalus likes this.
  16. dolj

    dolj Senior Member

    Joined:
    May 14, 2012
    7,447
    3,751
    0
    Location:
    Wellington, New Zealand
    Vehicle:
    2007 Prius
    Model:
    N/A
    Actually, that would be 58.4 MPG US.
     
    Data Daedalus likes this.
  17. Data Daedalus

    Data Daedalus Senior Member

    Joined:
    Jul 6, 2013
    1,022
    1,182
    0
    Location:
    Wembley, London
    Vehicle:
    2008 Prius
    Model:
    II



    iPhone 6s +