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2008 and 2004 different mpg!

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by indpocket, Aug 10, 2008.

  1. indpocket

    indpocket New Member

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    i just purchased a 2008 prius and have a 2004 with 97,000 miles.
    the new one has nitrogen tires and is getting around 45 mpg--although
    on a trip to colo. and nm it got about 48mpg. the 2004 has just had its
    95,000 mi service and is getting 38 -40 mpg. my question is ,why the
    difference? i notice in the forum tires,oil and ethanol are popping up in explaning lower mpg. is there any hard data on any of these factors? any indication that age per-se has an effect ? note it IS 100-110 degrees daily
    where i live!
    thanks.
     
    #1 indpocket, Aug 10, 2008
  2. a64pilot

    a64pilot Active Member

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    I can tell you that filling the tires with nitrogen is silly at best. Worse if you paid for it. There is no advantage to filling your tires with N2.
     
    #2 a64pilot, Aug 11, 2008
  3. mshore6k

    mshore6k New Member

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    actully there is an advantage to filling tires with nitrogen. Less times to the air station to fill up. :mullet:
     
    #3 mshore6k, Aug 11, 2008
  4. F8L

    F8L Protecting Habitat & AG Lands

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    Maybe your 2004 has a bad auxilary battery?
     
    #4 F8L, Aug 11, 2008
  5. jdenenberg

    jdenenberg EE Professor

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    Are both used for the same driving conditions? Short trips lower your MPG significantly.

    JeffD
     
    #5 jdenenberg, Aug 12, 2008
  6. brick

    brick Active Member

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    This is a very good suggestion. I know for sure that Honda hybrids will suffer when the 12V battery gets weak because more energy is wasted charging it. While I haven't read much about it here, I can't think of a good reason why the same shouldn't apply to Toyota.
     
    #6 brick, Aug 12, 2008
  7. ctbering

    ctbering Rambling Man

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    My Prius came with tires filled with nitrogen at an nominal cost, of course. The purpose of the nitrogen versus air is to reduce the deflation that commonly occurs in weather fluctuations, specifically warm to cold. I wasn't told there would be an increase or decrease in MPG's. I was told the nitrogen molecule is larger and does not escape somehow like the air molecule from the tire. It sounded like it was good advice at the time of the buy.
     
    #7 ctbering, Aug 12, 2008
  8. mingoglia

    mingoglia Member

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    I know the local Jeep dealership in tow offers lifetime Nitrogen for $39 I believe. Pay once and you can bring your vehicle back to have your tires adjusted for free. It's a bit on the expensive side, but convenient for many people that want to check their air pressure a bit less frequently.
     
    #8 mingoglia, Aug 12, 2008
  9. richard schumacher

    richard schumacher shortbus driver

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    What are the tire pressures?
     
    #9 richard schumacher, Aug 14, 2008
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