Total Mileage Between Fill-Ups

Or fill up when the fuel gauge has 2 bars displayed.
I have posted this before but I will repeat,
Posting the number of miles you can squeeze from a tank of fuel is encouraging stupid people to run their Prius out of fuel. Each time this happens the reputation of the Toyota Prius suffers a little and it is possible if they are totally brainless they will drive some distance on the battery possibly causing damage to the battery feeding anti-Prius people more ammunition for their troll patrols.

Filling at 2 bars on the gauge will result in the average driver stopping 2 more times a year for fuel, always waiting for the flashing warning may result in being stuck on the side of the road and/or a damaged battery. Your choice.

Running the petrol tank low will not use less fuel.

 

between 600 and 700 miles. But I'm kinda nutty :der:.

11011011

 

Thank you. I am very pleased with this car. You are correct. The warmer weather definitely has an affect. I am also blocking the top portion of the grill.

 

I live in the same area. If your parents drive the Prius the way they drive BMWs and the like around here, they won't see those kinds of numbers. Great car though.

 

I don't understand why you need a gas can in the Prius? Are gas stations scarce in your area?

 

I read somewhere, and it seems intuitively correct, that as the gas tank empties, MPG should increase since the car's weight is gradually lightening. So, in previous cars, in warm months, I'd usually drive until the gauge showed just below 1/4 tank.

In winter, I'd keep it filled, to reduce gas-tank condensation to keep up the weight, for traction in snow.

But the Prius sips gas so slowly, that I actually get impatient for getting gas by the time that the 4th pip drops out & 3 are visible -- @ 265-286 mi., or 48-49 MPG (combo hiway & short suburban trips).

2 more factors leading to my early fill-ups:

• The awful Priuschat stories of running out of gas.
• The only place I can get my favorite flavor of mints, is at the gas station.

 

when people refer to a "PIP", i understand that they're referring to the fuel level indicator. What I'm confused about is when people say "the very last PIP". What exactly is the order that the gauge indicates when you're low on gas. For example, a full tank = 10 lit boxes, half a tank = 5 boxes, low gas = 1 box, very low gas = 1 box + 4 or 5 little lines around that last box. Do each of those little lines around the last box reduce in number as well? or is the 1 box + 4 or 5 little lines the very last icon that you'll see before running out of gas. What I'm asking is, are "PIPs" the BOXES or are they the little lines AROUND the final box?

phew! i hope that wasn't confusing to read as much as it was to type.
thanks!

 

when you get down to one pip shortly afterwards it will start flashing, you will also get a friendly reminder on the MFD at startup that says Add Fuel. I personally think that the MFD should constantly display the warning. But it is best to do what one of the previous posters suggested and just fill up at 2 pips. I try to fill up every Saturday regardless, sometimes I'm empty sometimes I'm not.

 

Hi All,

I fill up on the way home, the day it drops to two pips. Sometimes that is just at 2 pips, sometimes its down to one.

In the coldest part of winter 330 to 350. If the warm weather holds (greater than 32 F for the evening drive) without heavy snow I should see 400 plus miles this tank. In the summer its never less than 500 miles, usually 550. And on occaision I have gone 600 miles on a tank.

The mileage does not change this much, its the tank. I remember two fillups in spring the first year I had the car. The first fillup I dropped down to 1 pip on the way into work, and got gas, it was 20 F. The next fillup I dropped to 1 pip just before I got the gas station again, only it was 55 F and in the afternoon, when the sun had been on the car all day. The car took a full gallon more of gas.

 

I drove from Rockford to middle Wisconsin. I achieved 49.7 mpg [winter] and made it almost 500 miles before filling up! I was really impressed, it is the best that car has ever done. A lot of it is due to achieving maximum efficiency on the hills. I run the throttle at 70% going up the hills and then coast/regenerate down. They also have a lot of small towns that are 25-35 mpg. [45 at the worst.] That allows me to cruise on electric through whole towns. There also isn't much traffic on your tail, so you feel free to drive however you want. I really enjoyed that trip.

 

I fill up soon after one pip is left, there's a gas station on each end of my 20 mile drive, so I don't worry about it.
Winter: 7 to 8 gals for an average of 350 miles per tank
Summer: 9 gallons for an average of 450+ miles per tank

My worst tank this winter was 48.9mpg, and that was cold weather combined with short trips. My worst tank last summer was 47.9 with 5 good sized adults going up mountains in 95 degree temps.
My average is 51.0 mpg for the past year, it should be even better this year, now that I know what I'm doing.

 

Our 2008 now has just under 5K miles total. We get about 420 miles per tank before the gauge shows one bar (not blinking). We're averaging about 47.5 mpg for the past couple of tanks. Our terrain is hilly, with a two mile climb just three miles from our house that starts the day off poorly. Without that hill I'm sure our average would be in the low 50s.

John

 

:crazy: 647 miles 79.2 mpg. :crazy:

11011011

 

It is possible in the right environment (he is in warm Texas) and with careful and constant attention to driving technique. I'll let him provide details, but he makes extensive use of pulse & glide. Favorable traffic conditions and routes are also key. Click on either banner in my sig and you'll see some tanks last year that approached his results.

Also search out some of the posts from VABeachPrius. He hasn't posted in awhile, but he was getting 1000+ miles in a tank last summer. Mostly pulse & gilde in relatively light traffic on flat terrain at low speeds.

 

Just took a trip to Indian Wells Tennis Garden..........my Prius has about 1,100 miles on it now...........total traveled miles is about 270 (round trip).

Had 4 adults, air cond ON, traveling about 75-80 mph...............from the 110 freeway to the 10 eastbound, straight to indian wells.

The computer said that i averaged about 47 mpg, but when i filled up, the old fashioned way of computation revealed 48.1. The morning temp was rather cool, and the afternoon temp was about 78-80 degrees.

From the Cad STS that i had before, this is great, but from listening to all of you state your mpg's, doesn't sound too good.

Incidentally, my real world mpg's in the city is anywhere from 37-42 mpg. I have NO problems meeting the EPA on the highway, but no where near the boasted 48. I just want to meet the mpg on the city. The temp is warm here in sunny so-cal.

I try to follow the advice,,,,,,,,,,,accelerate brisky (slightly, NOT gunning it), then coast or glide.

What are your comments? :flame:

 

Your highway mileage is pretty much what's to be expected at 75-80 MPH. I know you might find it a challenge on busy Socal highways, but the more you can slow down -- or better, find alternatives to the highways -- the better your mileage will be.

As for the city, it can vary widely depending on traffic and route conditions. Best case would be a steady speed at 20-25 MPH with no AC running. Probably won't happen in your neighborhood with those pesky red lights and fellow motorists. Among the worst cases would be stop and crawl through city streets with the AC blasting. The AC is electric, but as it runs the battery down, the ICE will light to recharge it.

Master the glide and learn to time it to begin as far in advance of a slowdown as safely possible. Coasting (i.e., foot completely off the go-pedal) is OK, but it is not as efficient as gliding.

Just hang out here for awhile, study the threads that address fuel economy -- I'd start with this one -- and learn to apply what works for you to your situation, city or highway.

As for acceleration, I'm not fond of the term "brisk." It means different things to different people. Instead, I suggest using an objective benchmark. In particular, if you keep your instantaneous fuel economy between half your vehicle speed and the vehicle speed during acceleration (or cruising, for that matter), you're likely keeping ICE RPM in efficient ranges.