Gasp - from rural to urban driving my MPG dropped a lot!

Until you are used to driving patterns, just ignore it. It's far more important that you are safe, and don't get in an accident.

Once you are used to driving on the West Coast, you can drive more hyper-mileage-y.

Oh, and I assume you've checked your tire pressures, and have changed out your air filter, etc.

 

Check out different routes as well. Hal

 

I agree with Rae. Just drive it and don't bother with pulse and glide stuff. Bay area traffic can be difficult but unless you are making very short trips you should still be able to get 45mpg or higher once you are used to the area. You can always ask what other Prius drivers in the area are getting. In Berkeley there is a Prius on every street. lol

 

There could also be some temperature related stuff going on here. I'm assuming it's a fair bit warmer in Berkley than New Hampshire. The A/C is probably working a lot harder.

It's also probably worth checking that all you coolant levels are good and that your getting good flow in the inverter coolant reservoir. Ditto for the rear battery cooling fan.

 

Berkeley (and the SF bay area) is not hot like the Central Valley and Southern California. You probably used the AC more back East.

The mpg does seem a bit low - I would check the 12 volt battery to see if it was replaced. It's time to replace it. A low 12 volt battery will cause the ICE to run full time to bring the charge up.

If you live high up in the Berkeley Hills this could be a factor. The Prius has to work extra hard to get up those hills. But, my wife gets 39 to 44mpg in her 2008 with lots of short trips.

The good news is the good independent hybrid garages we have in the bay area.

 

How long were you drives before in time and length? What % was city vs. highway? Lots of stop and go? How about all of these now?

If you have short city drives, that WILL kill your mileage. Some parts of Berkeley are quite hilly, which will also hurt. See ConsumerReports.org - Most fuel-efficient cars for what CR got.

As for city vs. highway mileage, it would help to read what goes into the tests. See http://priuschat.com/forums/other-c...uth-about-epa-city-highway-mpg-estimates.html

Answering http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-ii-...-answer-these-questions-esp-if-youre-new.html instead of just the questions I posed would help.

 

Those drives that are under 10 minutes will kill your mileage. Notice that the first 5 minutes, in many cases will yield crap mileage, esp. if the car has sat overnight or longer. What you describe does sound like a recipe for not so good mileage.

How long were your previous drives?

As for hypermiling, see Beating the EPA - The Why’s and How to Hypermile - CleanMPG Forums.

I changed my 12 volt to the Optima Yellow Top w/kit from elearnaid.

 

Yep I agree with this. I average about 55 MPG all up, but the first five minutes is often about 45 or less.

BTW. What's the weather doing in the northern hemisphere right now? Just entering Fall? We're just getting into spring here in the South, so my MPG's are starting to increasing a little right now.