bad mpg with new 06

Guess 1) Tire pressure
Next - were there any other variables?

• Load in the car?
• Major headwind both ways this time
• Different tires
• Lots of little trips while in MI with the car cooling down in between
• Hit snow?
• Avg speed 70 MPH because you were doing 95 MPH 70% of the time and stopped getting tickets the other 30? *

* Don't do the math I didn't do any calcs

 

"New Driver/New Car" was my first impression, too. But duanerw says that (s)he got much better mileage on the same trip with their '05. This makes me think that "new car" is possible, but it appears that (s)he knows how to drive a Prius.

Also, having bought a Prius in October, I'll just say that I'm noticing for the first time that the summer/winter difference is really remarkable. The weather has been comparitively warm here over the last few days (highs in the mid-upper 50s), and our mileage has jumped from the low 40s (we take a lot of short trips) to the low-mid 50s. I knew it would happen, but to see it actually occur is awesome. I know that you (duanerw) say you did the same trip in your '05 in the winter, but might the temperatures been a bit warmer on the previous trip? Also, I'd definately check your tire pressure.

OK. Those are all of my thoughts for now.

 

Your '06 is not broken in yet. Give it 5-10K miles, as my lifetime mpg graph shows clearly:
[attachmentid=2542]

 

Handbrake fully released ?

Anyway, warm up the car for 5 minutes, and then measure FE on a 10 mile round-trip on the highway on dry roads at 60 mph on CC.

Less than 50 mpg would be something to look into further; 55 mpg is about right.

 

You are getting great mileage. Most people I know would kill to get that mileage. Consider, when traveling, I don't usually have the ability to get gas from my favorite brand or from a place I know. Winter gas in most urban areas is oxygenated, like E10. That will typicaly really tank your FE real quickly.

 

seems like this winter is not colder

and it would fit along just right with global warming

 

What determines this magic breakin point? I would expect breaking in an engine to be a gradual, fairly linear process. Yet your car's graph shows a dramatic change over just a month and at the 12,000 mile point. It's hard to believe that engine breakin could change that suddenly. And depressing to think that I have to wait until 12000 miles to see great mileage. Could this have been a direct change in car config, or temp or driving habits or all the above instead?

Whatever you are doing keep it up. It definitely seems to be working.

 

KTPhil,
You wouldn't happen to be an engineer, would you?

Husband's a mechanical engineer but in management for the past decade; you should see his retirement spread sheet!

 

Weird. I thought the inclination sensor was to tell the "guess" gauge how much gas you had left. I wonder how it affects fuel economy?

 

what jbarnhart said. :huh: