Mileage

I don't think you are doing anything 'wrong'. Multiple short trips will keep your MPG low.

Bicylce to Yoga ? (Seriously)
Take the Prius's poor short trip FE as an offer to exercise a bit.

 

short trips really kill your mpg. when i lived 2.5 miles from the university i had a hard time breaking 42 mpg. now i'm up to low 50s with a longer commute.

the uphill drive on the way home also knocks down your mpg.

maybe an ev switch would help you out while you're going down that hill...

 

First off, don't get frustrated. I know it is frustrating, but I don't think you or the car are doing anything wrong.
For the first 5 minutes of each trip you will expreience mileage that is lower than norm as the system gets up to temp.

Just keep in mind that this is inherent in all cars (used to be called "Choke") but you are getting better mileage than most other cars under the same circumstances.

My commute is 30 miles each way, and because of this, I am able to average out the poor economy readings obtained at the begining of the ride.

If you haven't looked at the "New Owner Help" check it out here: MPG Help

Take a couple of long easy trips and see what you get.
Good Luck.

 

with a hill like that??? even i wouldnt do that. im a fair weather, flat terrain rider...

 

oh come on Dave. shift it into low gear and huff and puff your way up.

my typical track has a huge downhill in the beginning. which means what goes down must go back up to get to the car, even when exhausted from miles of riding :lol:

 

i do most of my riding on an abandoned railroad track that was converted to a walking/riding trail...so therefore, i officially can handle whatever grade a choo choo can...

that would be about what??...3% grade? if its more than that, i reserve the option to edit my last statement

 

short trips and the time between restart is what's killing your mileage just like my wife's last tank with multiple short trips and 2 restarts in the middle of one of them with 35 minutes in between. Result last tank averaged 33 mpg US. yet I've driven that car on long trips and made 54 mpg US. Evan and the others have nailed it. Dont' feel bad, it's the way it is and don't try the same thing in a H2 Hummer I'm sure it'd be about 7MPG Your probably a good candidate for a block heater if her time to leave is about the same every day.

 

I just want to get some clarifications. So your wife waits in the car for a min until the ICE come on? And then back out of the garage? For me, I just step into the car and when the "Ready" light comes on, I put into "D" and take off. I figure the thermal bottle will take care of engine warm up process.

That's strange. In my car, when ICE is warming up, if I don't press the accelerator pedal and the car is coasting around 15 mph, I get 50 mpg.

Make sure the emergency brake is released.

When she returned 2 hours later, the average went down from 28 mpg to 23 mpg? How is she powering off the Prius? Did she simply put the car in "P", lock and leave?

Dennis

 

You drive it in "D", right, never in "B"?

Uh, no. Turn on the car and drive away immediately. Do Not sit there waiting for the engine to start or stop, or whatever. Any time spent waiting for it to warm up uses energy while going nowhere; in other words, zero MPG for that time, which reduces the overall average MPG. The best way to warm up a Prius (or any car) is to drive it.

 

Engines don't have MPG values. A system of engine plus car plus driving habits yields an MPG value.

 

Rent a tiny car like a Metro or if you can a Toyota Echo. Use the car with the same routine and I think you will find it averaging about 25 mpg. Short trips are killer, especially with the all-uphill-return route. We also are getting low-mileage in spite of following all suggestions wrt air pressure, oil, etc.. This is because we do mostly short trips, a lot back and forth to the high school. Our typical route is the opposite of yours in that it's mostly uphill to get to the school and downhill to return. Our return route mileage is great, the car is warmed up and there are good glide opportunities. But it is negated by the initial, cold engine, uphill run. But hey, our Honda only gets 20 mpg in winter doing the same run, so we're not concerned.

Actually, for both of our current driving styles, a total EV vehicle or a Prius EV mode powered by a big LIon battery pack would be ideal. Someday soon maybe?

 

I put all my stuff in the car get in sit down do up the seat belt start the car and drive. I've never let my car sit and warm up unless it's 30 below F. Until then start and drive, if really cold drive slowly, if your burning gas that car has to be moving. I bought the gas to get places and if the car is sitting there it's off. I've had that though and used it for over 40 years of driving.

 

You need some alternative input data. Go take a longer drive!
Tool around the countryside for a couple of hours, and see how
your 5-minute segments stack up then.
.
_H*

 

Not a high compression engine? 13.0:1 is pretty high! It does need a break-in, too....but everyone else is right...the short trips and the incline are kiling your mileage. I just took a trip around town taking some Prius photos and I got my first 100 MPG bar in a long time by slowly cruising city streets.

Too bad all my pics came out bad because it's so muddy here right now.

 

We just picked up our 2006 Prius last Thursday, have driven it about 300 miles, and it is averaging 45.4 mpg. Still getting used to it, but love it so far. It seems easy to bury the gauge at 100 mpg once you get the hang of it. Central Illinois is pretty flat, though, so we don't have to contend with a lot of hills. I'm driving it to St. Louis in a few weeks, so I'll see how it does on the highway. Good luck on solving your problem.