California Fuel

Do you mean the CARP/EPA mandated MTBE? Someone figured that there are at least 4 different blends of gasoline required in California, and only in California. I think the cost of special blending is what drives up the cost of California gas.

 

Looks like more than just CA.

http://tinyurl.com/8y2f8

 

although ethanol doesnt have as much power as gas, its not that much of a drop in mileage. WA also uses E10 (10% alcohol) and i figure that i am only losing less than a mile per gallon overall. my mileage aint that bad. right now im sitting on a 57.8 mpg tank with 200 miles on it.

 

I live in California and have a new prius with about 1500 miles on it. I read with interest people getting 50+ mpg. I can't! The best I have done so far is 45 mpg with an overall average of about 42mpg. I have driven it slow ,fast, in the slow lane ,fast lane ,downhill, uphill, in sunlight ,moonlight ,starlight, foglight, and clear daylight and I never get 50mpg. Maybe, it's my driving or my wifes driving...maybe its people exaggerating their mileage to justify their 25,000$ expenditure. Maybe, it's Governator gas but I can't get 50 MPG no matter how I drive.
Paul R. Haller

 

And I'm upset because I can't get 60 mpg yet! I expect I don't for the same reasons many in CA can't get over 50: traffic and lots of stops. If I lived in the country I think I could get over 60. But I have lots of stops on my commute which is too short as well. I go just over 10 miles and there are more than 10 traffic lights. These hurt really bad in winter when the engine keeps idling. I get the impression CA has faster speeds as well, than here. 55 is the speed limit on the fastest road I generally drive on. Some drive it at 70 or more, but most traffic is 55 to 60. But at night it can get bad coming home.
I find the Prius handles traffic jams fine if it is a smooth flow at 20 mph.
But 0 to 20 to 0 to 20 for miles totally destroys my tank mpg!

 

It's the driving.

I have driven over 11,000 miles. My worst tank was 46 MPG, my best 53 MPG, most were between 48 and 51 MPG and the last three (six weeks worth of driving) were just a hair over 50 MPG with ambient temperatures from the high nineties to the low three digits with the air conditioning set at 76 degrees.

I drive about a 66% / 33% mix of suburban and freeway traffic (including a lot of stop and go during the rush hours). My best single trip was about 69 MPG over a 17 miles drive on a Saturday afternoon between the west San Fernando Valley and Beverly Hills on the 101, 405 and Sunset Blvd.

 

In my case, I commute 94 miles a day; 34miles at 62mph freeway, 30 miles slogging at less than 30mph traffic, and the balance at 38-55mph on 'limited access' parkways. My commute starts at 1700ft elevation to sea-level and back to 1700ft. there are several 2 and 3 % grades and one 2 mile long 7% grade. I use cruise control religiously as well as 'gravity-overdrive' when safe.

My car has 1682 miles on the odometer and the first fill consumed at a rate of 44mpg. My last tank (today) was at 47.4. Intermediate rates have been as high as 50.9. I am light on pedal pressure, and most times am able to ease in to the throttle.

I tried the 'brisk accelerate to speed' method and it seemed not to hurt the overall calculated mpg.

As it has been 97F+ for most of my Prius ownership time (purchased on 15 JUL 2005), I almost always have the A/C on AUTO and set for 76F.

To the best that I can (safety, etc.) I anticipate stoplights, and then gradually resume speed with the cruise control or the pedal on the 1+1+1 increase method.

Someday I am going to try going a week without looking or 'trying' to see what difference it makes. As I get my fuel on a Navy base at 5-10 cents a gallon less than the civilian stations, I tend to fill up on Mondays and Fridays and so have not 'stretched' the tanks limits.

Am I happy with the mileage? I am ecstatic!! Compared to 30 mpg on my turbo Beetle, 20 mpg on the Venture van, and even the 47mpg on the HCH, the Prius wins handsdown. I will go so far as to say that even if the Prius got only 42mpg average, it is preferable to the HCH at 47 because of the other attributes it provides-power, size, comfort, utility.

 

My MFD reported fuel averages of 49 and 50 MPG on the two tanks I got in CA (one in Victorville, one in Roseville). It's almost identical to what I got in the midwest, but noticably better than what I got on canadian fuel.

MR. Haller: Your mileage should improve after the Prius is fully broken-in. I'm sure mine will go up, and I've already got 5300 miles on mine.

CA dropped the ethanol fuel requirements in their fuel a few years ago, which reduced the premium fuel's octane level from 93 or 92 to 91. Alaska dropped the ethanol requirements altogether, so now the best we get is 90.

 

I've got 54.6 mpg on my display right now and just passed 500 mile on this tank. My first 500 mile tank. There are still two pips showing.

Now my car is only 4 months old. I don't consider it broken in since it doesn't even have 3,000 miles on it yet.

This was an unusual week for me. I had to commute to La Jolla and back for a class every day. And this is the first week I've really been practising the pulse and glide technique.

Paul, I'd say it's the driving, either you or the wife or both. It could also be your route. Terrain and distance. Also, your car is new. You will see an increase in mileage as the car breaks in.

Now that I'm really learning to drive the car, I hope my mileage will continue to go up a bit after I get my first oil change (and it's not overfilled anymore) and after I pass the 5,000 mile mark.

I have a drive to L.A. and back this Wed and it will be interesting to see how that comes out.

BTW I thought that California dropped MTBE.

And that hype about California gas being more expensive to produce is just that. It's a marketing strategy for the companies to really make a profit off of California. San Diego has some of the highest prices in the country consistently. Why does is gas in San Diego more expensive than L.A., San Francisco, Sacramento, etc? Does San Diego require more additives than the rest of California? Do we get our own special blend?

I don't think so.

 

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Paul:
I also live in California. Last weekend I went in for 5K service at the nearest Toyota dealer. The service manager told me that most of his customers are getting the high 40s mpg. That is the norm. If you go with the flow of traffic and keep up with other motorists, high 40s is what your will get. My commute is about 16miles in SF bay area traffic. I am getting 47mpg, average since new.

BTW, after 2500miles, you'll see a small jump in mpg. That is what I have observed. :lol:

 

My commute is pretty short - about six miles. I average around 42mpg each way. This evening I had to drive to work to drop something off (after picking up my car at the airport), bought gas, and then returned home. I averaged 50mpg on the return trip. I think this shows the effect of a cold engine on short trips. On the same return trip, but with a fully warmed-up engine, I got nearly 20% better mileage.

 

You generally cannot look at mileage for a one-way trip - you have to look at the round-trip, especially if you live in an area with steepe hills like where I am in Northern Jersey. I average about 50-52 mpg in my '02, but that is comprised of 60+ mpg one way and about 38-40 mpg the other. Climbing hills takes power. On the highway I typically get over 55 mpg. I try NOT to use EV except on short flat runs or in stop-go traffic. I know this is contrary to what many suggest. But keep in mind all electric power ultimately was derived from gasoling with several losses in the conversion process. What I do it keep the display on the mpg screen and anytime the instantaneous mpg drops below 50mpg I think to myself "is there any action I can take to improve what I am doing". This approach rather than worrying about an I using EV or charging the battery seems to consistantly yield the best mileage. And you have to admit that 50+ mpg is not bad for a classic Prius!

 

Thanks for all the replys and encouragement. I live in Walnut Creek and my wife commutes to Hayward every day. She drives from the house to 24 west through the caldecot tunnel to highway 13 to Hayward. Its about 30 miles door to door each way. Average speed is just about 70 MPH and then city driving for short periods at each end. Average temp has been consistently around 90-100F. Air is always on.
I still like the mileage at around 42 but 50 would be great. I think it may be the speed and ac on all the time that's killing the MPG... and it may still need to break in a little.
Paul R. Haller

 

E10 has been the gas here about a decade now.

My lifetime average is 48.9 MPG.

My current tank displays 56.5 MPG.

What's the problem?