Got Our White Package #2 on Saturday - How do YOU Use the Mileage Screens?

I don't use the mileage screens at all. I find them distracting. However, should you shoose to use them to improve your mileage, you should begin to get a good sense of when the engine is running and when the car is being powered only by the battery.

Try to maximize the time where the mileage is pegged at 99.9.

As for the dash rattle, try to isolate it by pressing on various dash parts while it's makig the noise. If you can isolate it, it can be fixed. It probably won't go away on its own.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(efusco @ Jul 31 2007, 10:51 AM) [snapback]488066[/snapback]</div>

Yes you can turn it off. Why? Keep the energy monitor up, that give you the BEST info on how to improve your mileage. I always try to glide (no arrows) whenever possible. I've had the car since June 8...3700 mile later I've averaged 53.6. The monitor will vastly help you improve on your 43 MPG. You'll be getting in the 50's soon.

 

Yes.
Press the "Display" button to the right of the MFD.
It is definitely not a bad idea to drive with the display off for the first while, as you get used to how it handles.
Besides, after that first tank, then you'll want to fire up the MFD, and start playing our favorite video game, Beat the MPG.

 

I am driving with screen off and my mileage is up about 2 mpg, for some reason, probably "feeling" the car more. I turn it on once in a while to "look at the bars", and never see anything I particularly need to know. My "bars" are always blue to green it seems. I found the a/c on/off and temps still display with screen off, as well as back up camera works. I don't subscribe to the theory of moderate acceleration improves mileage, mine seems to improve with easy acceleration. I drive about 60 mph on the freeways, always have. I am amazed that in stop and go traffic I get much higher mpg, 60-70 ?, so far overall average is about 53, but my car is very new still. I start and stop cold a lot which eats into mileage. From these good posters here I have learned to improve regeneration with braking, and not just coasting. I am enjoying the simplicity, for now, of using just the speedometer and gas gauge. Before Prius I wanted to know everything. The car as an appliance appeals to me more After Prius. Maybe that is why these cars are so popular, they appeal to many sorts of users.

 

I've found that after a while, it's easy to tell what the energy flow of the car is from the way the car feels on the road while driving it, and the screen is then only helpful in the sense it gives a measure of current MPG. As such, I get pretty much the same MPG with the screen on or off - though of course it's not really possible to tell with any real accuracy if that's true since the Prius is affected by even relatively small differences in driving technique. I generally leave it on, and just glance at it from time to time - with an average of 56.1 MPG at just over 4000 miles.

That's really why the Energy Consumption screen is so useful - it helps train you to drive in a more economical fashion and to get a better sense of how the car handles various situations. Ignoring it, or leaving it off will still result in excellent fuel efficiency because the Prius delivers that anyway, but using the information allows the development of techniques to get above average fuel efficiency for those that want it.