Poor City MPG - 28!!!

It's too early to say that you have a problem car. If you've only driven 34 miles, then you have no idea about the true lifetime mileage for this car.

28 MPG is far too low, even at this time of year (cold will always drop your MPG). Still, if you drive only for a few minutes at a time, you will see very poor mileage. My first 5 minutes these days shows MPG of under 25 MPG. The next 5 minutes usually tops 50 MPG. The average of those is not very impressive, and that is all you are experiencing. Once you drive the car for more than 20 minutes at one stretch, you'll see significantly better mileage.

Plan a trip that takes you 10-15 miles away from home -- go out for a special dinner! You'll see your mileage improve on the way out. If you have a very short stay, you should get even better mileage on the return.

Suggestions for increasing your MPGs in cold weather:

1. Controlled Heating. Don't set your heat on Auto, but set it at one of the two lowest fan speeds. When the heat is off or at the lower fan speeds (not on Auto), then you'll notice the engine turning off at stop lights. Here is where you start saving some gas! Cost: Wear gloves.
2. Grill Blocking. Do a search on PC for "grill blocking" to find out how you can slow the flow of cold air over your engine. Follow one or more of the suggestions! This will make a real difference in your first 10 minutes of driving. Total cost: $4 to $10.
3. Engine Block Heater. This is probably the best way to help keep MPGs higher in cold weather. You can be brave and install it yourself (again, do a search on PriusChat), or you can have it done at the dealer's. The block heater itself runs $50 to $60 (not installed). You also could check with the folks in the Wisconsin Prius groups to see if they will have a meeting where block heaters are being installed.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Elvis4u @ Nov 26 2007, 01:20 PM) [snapback]544334[/snapback]</div>

In addition to everyones suggestions, I would recommend scheduling yourself for a 30-60 minute trip at a modest speed. Halfway through your trip, reset the multi-function display and see what your active MPG is in the last half of the trip, when the car is warmed up. This is the sweet range you want to reach and operate the car in most of the time.

In the morning, the best thing you can do for the first 1-2 miles is keep your speeds at 25 mph, say by driving through the neighborhood. This will give the car time to warm-up and reach an engine efficient temperature before putting a heavier power demand on it. Once warmed up, the car will be much more efficient (as that 30-60 minute test will show.)

I believe there is a hybrid club that meets in Madison, WI but I haven't seen an announcement since September. You might check the "Events forum" here and possibly over in "GreenHybrid.com" to see if anyone has called for a meeting . . . or even ask if anyone one is meeting.

Don't worry, if you learn to drive efficiently in cold weather, you'll be positively amazed come the Spring.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson
ps. My lifetime average is 52.5 MPG for over 35,000 miles and I don't P&G except in the first 1-2 miles of neighborhood driving . . . but that is another story.

 

Also you may want to click over to the active consumption setting on your display to see where your battery is. With that cold a temp it should be in the high blue area or over into the green. With that much idling the battery keeps topping itself off.

There is always the possibility that you have a problem with the charging system, but I doubt it. I have never had a 30 mile average that is below 36. I was doing about 90 when I got that average.

Try the earlier suggestion of a longer trip and keep a light touch on the throttle.

More time in the saddle and then give us more information....

Thank you!

 

10 minute trips at 34 degrees? 28 MPG sounds about right.

You will get better mileage with longer trips and warmer weather.

 

Short trips with cold ambient temps is the surest way to get poor mileage in any vehicle, but it is especially noticeable in a Prius, because of the instrumentation and your expectations.

Try this, as an experiment.
1. Go to a place where you can drive at a steady 50 to 55 mph without stops and as flat and level as possible.
2. After the car has warmed up, look at your bar graph (shows mpg in 5 minute increments).
3. Look at how low the early bars are (when you were starting out cold)
4. After cruising for at least 20 miles at a steady 50 to 55 mph, look at the most recent bars - they should be 50 mpg or more

More advice: Leave your car in the energy flow display (can't remember what they call this, but it is the alternate of the bar graph). Start paying attention and you will see how you can drive more efficiently. See how early you can remove your foot from the gas peddle so that you cut fuel consumption and increase energy recovery to the battery. They say that the Prius brakes recover energy, but brakes are energy dissipation devices. The best way to recover energy is while coasting (before applying brakes).

Your driving is a perfect example of why we need pluggable hybrids. Your short trips should be all electric so that the ICE does not need to warm up. Electric motors have good starting torque with no warm-up.

 

Mileage killers: -
Short trips
cold or hot (air con and heater)
heavy braking
mountainous terrain
heavy loads
low tyre pressures
bad wheel alignment front AND REAR.
wet or snowy roads.

Can you tell us how your mileage in your last car compared to the EPA figure for it?
Loads of information on site, take a look around.
I tried a search here http://priuschat.com/index.php?act=Search&...oor+consumption

 

What kind of mileage did your previous car get under the same conditions? By the time I get my Prius, I will have 2 years of mpg records from my Corolla, so I will have something to compare to for all kinds of driving conditions. A lot of my driving is under the same conditions as you. I get about 22-23 city in the Corolla with short trips. I am considering an engine block heater for the Prius myself, but I guess I will want to try it without one first so I can have some data to compare.

Let us know what happens when you try it out on longer rides. Have fun experimenting!

 

I am eagerly reading responses to this email. I just purchased a 2008 Prius. I have driven 219 miles and am averaging 33.3 MPG. I am trying to figure out if this is normal because the car is brand new or if there is a concern. After reading these responses I am expecting much better gas mileage. Is my car getting this low gas mileage because it is brand new? Many of my trips are under 15 minutes. I have the auto set on my climate control.

IF SHORT TRIPS ARE KILLERS FOR MPG, HOW COME THE LISTED MPG'S ARE HIGHER FOR CITY DRIVING THAN FOR HIGHWAY DRIVING??????? :blink:

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(grn eco @ Nov 26 2007, 08:15 PM) [snapback]544486[/snapback]</div>

i have an new 2008 and get 52 mpg....somethins wrong, also your description says package 9...that is incorrect

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(grn eco @ Nov 26 2007, 08:15 PM) [snapback]544486[/snapback]</div>

Because the EPA uses a 31 minute, 11 mile test with 75F outside air temp. Running between 0 and 56mph is basically within the Prius "butter zone" for fuel economy. Running 3-5 mile trips in cold weather with the automatic climate control set to 72F is completely different.

 

Make sure you're not driving in B mode. I too have a short commute (5 mi) with 13 traffic lights and some decent changes in elevation. I get mid 40's in the winter and mid 50's in the summer. Last winter the temps were consistently cold and there was a substantial amount of snow on the roads for a lot of that time. My worst tank was 42 MPG and that's because I had a half flat rear left tyre. So definitely check your tyre pressure. The effect that it has on MPG is substantial. You'll get the hang of it. You don't need block heaters and grille blocks to get great mileage (though, they can really help you get spectacular MPG). Short commutes do make it a lot harder though.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(wile-e @ Nov 26 2007, 02:27 PM) [snapback]544401[/snapback]</div>

90 mph? Where in SW Washington is the lightly patrolled highway that allows one to drive 90mph?

 

My Prius has the same problem getting 9 mpg when engine is cold and going up a small hill. And averages 25 mpg even when I am coasting on flat road (again... cold engine).

Try finding city/backroads trip for 30mins or more... and you will see that "city" mpg averages is not bad... even with some stop and go.

Since you indicated that your road trip is getting good mpg, that means your battery and car is not the problem. It is your usage pattern that is the cause.

Oh.... that is the reason for getting the engine block heater (and blocking the grill) to help the engine keep warm.

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Elvis4u @ Nov 26 2007, 11:20 AM) [snapback]544334[/snapback]</div>

How far do you go in those ten minutes?