are my short trips really killing my mileage?

ok... read above...

stop trying to figure out the car and let it adapt to you.... you probably blip the throttle a lot and do a lot of funky things that get you "penalties" in the mpg world...

for one.. NEVER EVER USE EV... unless you're staring up in your garage and yo don't want to poison yourself... but turn it off as soon as you get out of that garage and start moving because everyone the car does for the 1st mile or so is basically don't only on electricity till the engine warms up.. if you drain that you have this huge net loss in the end because the ICE is spending it's entire time trying to charge off the pack so it can get it's torque back off the electric system (once the battery is in proper state of charge)

stop worrying about your speed... keep up with traffic and you'll probably get better gas mileage... try to drive this car as if it's completely normal.. in time with break-in and so forth, the car will tune itself (mildly) to the way you drive, accelerate, etc)

if you don't start driving it normal.. you'll never get normal gas mileage.

even the hyper milers started out with the "just drive it" technique because it's needed for the driver... a learning curve...

 

btw... rough streets do reduce mpg... more friction on the tires and more movement in the suspendsion which creates greater friction on the tires.... as you know, the streets all throughout LA suck...

you have the same tires as me... some get better gas mileage... in this city i expect you to get 45 or so.. maybe 40 to 45... anything more than that and you are blowing the doors off anyone else in the city mpg wise.... even the prius/honda hybrid meter maid's gas mileage is really only about 30mpg or so because of soooooo many stops... prius taxi's are the same way in this city

 

Use EV mode only to move the car within a parking lot and you don't want to start a warm-up cycle or to get it out in the drive way or similar other things. Otherwise, EV mode should not be used on a regular basis - as the Owner's manual says, BTW...

 

It's the short trips - no question. It would happen with any car though given your commute.

-Brad

 

trying to drive like a snail now, still doesnt seem to help!
Do not accelerate slowly, get to a cruise quickly and then maintain the cruise. Avoid braking, especially avoid rapid braking. Drive like you had no brakes, not no gas.
not sure but I just got my tires rotated and I know they checked the pressure, just the standard pressure Im sure they put in.
As a rule Toyota's reccomended pressure maximizes comfort, not gas mileage, you can go as high as the pressure marked on the side wall of the tires, I set the backs two pound under the fronts.
EV mode
EV mode is wonderful for moving the car around in a parking lot. Outside of a few niche uses, do not use it. All of your gas is being converted to electicity then back to motion. Extra conversions always hurt mileage.