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Worst Gas Mileage - I think I've got the record!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by douglasjoseph, Mar 22, 2005.

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  1. douglasjoseph

    douglasjoseph New Member

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    hi folks. my first time posting here.

    My 2005 prius, which is now up to about 2500 miles, has NEVER exceeded 35MPG average on any tankful. I've read all the forums, and I think I may hold the record for worst tank. It would be literally impossible for me to get above 45MPG.

    Does anyone have any advice? Here's a few facts:

    1. I live in LA, so cold weather isn't a factor.
    2. I've tried regular and premium gas, without a measurable difference.
    3. I drive conservatively, though I doubt I'm as crazy as some of the folks on this board. I don't floor it, and I don't race.
    4. Even on the freeway, I'm not seeing over 45MPG, and that's going below the speed limit with a light foot.

    Is my Prius broken? Should I call Toyota?

    doug
     
    #1 douglasjoseph, Mar 22, 2005
  2. olends

    olends New Member

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    what is your tire pressure?
     
    #2 olends, Mar 22, 2005
  3. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    Doug:

    Yeesh something is *not* right here. I can see at -40 in Winnipeg traffic.

    Tire pressure, front end alignment? Otherwise beats me ... though I have to admit my fuel economy didn't take an appreciable rise until I had 8,000km (Almost 5,000 miles) on it.
     
    #3 jayman, Mar 22, 2005
  4. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    35 in LA is terrible. There are a lot of people in your area with a Prius...let one of them drive it with you for 30 min or an hour....good chance to meet someone new AND to see if there's a problem with your car. And, you should drive their car and see how you do on a similar route. That will help determine if the problem lay with the Prius or the driver.

    In the mean time....
    Read My Article in the Knowledge Base to see if anything sounds worth checking.

    I would, indeed, check the tire pressures. check the oil level. Go to your dealer and have the alignment checked.

    You didn't mention the length of your usual commute/drives...short trips are often a big factor.

    I suspect much of this has to do with your driving technique...it doesn't necessarily take a lead-foot to get low mileage, someone who brakes late and accelerates fairly hard or drives close behind the car in front of them requiring lots of little speed ups and slow downs over a period of time will have more trouble than someone who just accelerates hard from a stop.

    If things still seem out of whack and you can and should check with your dealer for problems.
     
    #4 efusco, Mar 22, 2005
  5. douglasjoseph

    douglasjoseph New Member

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    thanks for all the tips. i'll check the alignment and tire pressure, though i doubt those are the issues (the car is practically new...).

    re: commuting, how does that impact mileage? my commute is very short - 1 mile each way, downhill one way, uphill way back - at low speeds...

    my mileage does MUCH better on the freeway, but again, it's still not in the 50's.
     
    #5 douglasjoseph, Mar 22, 2005
  6. Danny

    Danny Admin/Founder
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    Your short commute is definitely part of the problem. The Prius increases its MPG ability as the engine warms up, and with only a mile to drive, the engine isn't getting anywhere close to warmed up.
     
    #6 Danny, Mar 22, 2005
  7. madams

    madams New Member

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    Absolutely! Those short trips are a killer. I can get better than 60 on trips lasting an hour and I am on surface streets (not expressways) on the expressways I usually average around 50. But if I run up to the food store and back (2 miles round trip) and that is the only trip I make that day then I'm lucky to get 30.
     
    #7 madams, Mar 22, 2005
  8. douglasjoseph

    douglasjoseph New Member

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    ok, well, you guys have been super-helpful.

    i guess my choices are stick with 35MPG or get a new job farther away. :p

    i'll report back...
     
    #8 douglasjoseph, Mar 22, 2005
  9. MiamiMurphy

    MiamiMurphy New Member

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    Hi -

    Here is some additional input re city driving:

    I live and work in Miami - my drive to work is around 12 miles on surface streets, bumper to bumper traffic - it takes me 45 minutes to 1 hour to go each way. My average is around 45.8-46.7 miles but I really try and drive to economize.

    I am going to have the air pressure checked - everyone said to, I just did not have time last weekend and I have only the my Prius since 3/6/05.

    ML
     
    #9 MiamiMurphy, Mar 22, 2005
  10. coloradospringsprius

    coloradospringsprius Member

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    The only slight satisfaction you can take in this is that (1) you'd be getting even worse mileage in a conventional car, and (2) a major reason for the low mpg the first few minutes is that the Prius is heating up the catalytic converter, so you're polluting much less than in a conventional car.

    I rarely get more than 25 mpg the first five minutes of driving; sometimes it's closer to 20. It's much better the next five minutes, but rarely hits 50-plus until I've driven 15 minutes or so, unless the car was already warmed up. Fortunately for my mpg, my "commute" is so short that I nearly always walk to work.
     
    #10 coloradospringsprius, Mar 22, 2005
  11. efusco

    efusco Moderator Emeritus
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    Yup, yup, yup...that short commute is your downfall...no doubt about it. You're not even out of the warm-up phase before you get to work...the single most efficient time in the prius.

    Also, just b/c your car is so new doesn't mean the tire pressure was set right at the dealer (and most of us drive with pressures set a bit higher (read my article!). Also, the majority (I think that's more than fair to say) of cars alignments are off, at least a little, coming off the ship and they are not checked by the dealer before it is delivered to you.

    Still, in your case, it is the commute.

    Just for grins, and to reassure yourself, go for a nice long drive somewhere, just for fun one weekend. Somewhere that you can luxuriate on country roads at speeds b/w 35-55mph. Have a picinic and drive home.

    I'll donate 500 points to your cause if you don't have an average MPG of more than 50 for that trip!
     
    #11 efusco, Mar 22, 2005
  12. dnbinfv

    dnbinfv Junior Member

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    Doug,
    You don't have the record for the worst gas mileage. My husband does.
    We're a 2 prius family, I average around 50 mpg, he's averaging 33 mpg. Like you he does very short trips, the up side is that he was getting 8 -10 mpg in his old van.
     
    #12 dnbinfv, Mar 23, 2005
  13. hdpigott

    hdpigott New Member

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    I hate to insult you, but are you driving in "D" and not "B"?
     
    #13 hdpigott, Mar 23, 2005
  14. popsrcr

    popsrcr New Member

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    [My 2005 prius, which is now up to about 2500 miles, has NEVER exceeded 35MPG average on any tankful.

    While I don't think our MPG is that bad (we avg. 42 or so) we don't have those 60s either. One thing that helps, and is usually suggested by the experts here, turn off the AC if you don't need it. I was really shocked to watch MPG go up about 4-5mpg.

    The best we've seen on a long trip is 50.
     
    #14 popsrcr, Mar 23, 2005
  15. HTMLSpinnr

    HTMLSpinnr Super Moderator
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    I can say that long commutes on flat roads really do help. When I was living in Orange County, I had a 12 mile commute, down hill one way, up hill the other. My average was 44-48mpg. Now that I'm in the Phoenix area w/ a 36 mile one way commute, my mileage has exceeded 60mpg on a single trip, and about 59mpg overall if I'm careful. On my current tank, I have some highway trip back from California, and a couple of commutes where I set the cruise at 70mph and my average is still 53.8mpg right now.

    Part of my improvement however may also be AZ gas vs. CA gas, as well as my higher tire pressures (which I used in CA), and now my use of Synthetic oil.

    On a slightly related note, I was able to avoid getting CA gas on my trip to CA from AZ by filling up at the AZ border on the way in and on the way back. Even with a horrible head wind lowering mpg to 44 on the way in, I could still make the trip to about San Bernardino and back to the border along I-10 w/o refueling.
     
    #15 HTMLSpinnr, Mar 23, 2005
  16. seeh2o

    seeh2o Prius OG

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    The hills are mileage killers, too. I live in Los Angeles in the hills around Dodger Stadium. I get great gas mileage when I'm on the flatlands and on th 5 freeway, but as soon as I go through Elysian Park (either direction) I can see the numbers going down. I average about 42-47 normally, but on a trip up to Oxnard I got 52 roundtrip, it was great!

    Weather really does make a difference even here in our temperate climate. My mileage goes up in the summer (even with the a/c blasting) and dips a bit in the winter.
     
    #16 seeh2o, Mar 23, 2005
  17. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    my drive is about 2.5 miles (too dangerous to bike even though i would like to) and i get about 40-45 mpg.

    somehow i manage to coast through half the drive on electric, although some days i have trouble getting it into ev mode. depends on traffic.
     
    #17 galaxee, Mar 23, 2005
  18. bookrats

    bookrats New Member

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    Y'know, a 1-mile commute would explain a lot of that; I'm still struggling to get up to 50 MPG on a regular basis, because most of my commutes are 2 miles, with some 30 mile commutes tossed in to "spice things up".

    On the other hand... just think how infrequently you visit the gas station!! :)
     
    #18 bookrats, Mar 23, 2005
  19. jayman

    jayman Senior Member

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(galaxee\";p=\"75053)</div>
    Isn't that ironic that as pedestrians or bikers we have to share the road with poorly guided 2 ton missiles (Cars)?

    There was a good documentary on car safety - Crash Science - and apparently in NYC the majority of pedestrian/car fatalities were crossing *with* the signal.

    It's not just drunk/stoned drivers, most are just not paying attention and that should be frightening.

    So yeah, if I have a choice of doing something good for me - walk 4 blocks - or drive, I drive. I've witnessed car/pedestrian crashes, they are not pretty.
     
    #19 jayman, Mar 23, 2005
  20. galaxee

    galaxee mostly benevolent

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    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(jayman\";p=\"75125)</div>
    It's an especially nasty thought when you have no health insurance and your bike is worth half your monthly income! That would really screw you over twofold. I get my exercise at the gym where it's safer.
     
    #20 galaxee, Mar 23, 2005
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