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My 2018 Prius Three is draining gas FAST

Discussion in 'Gen 4 Prius Fuel Economy' started by Chime, Aug 31, 2018.

  1. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    You win. :)
     
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  2. Starship16

    Starship16 Senior Member

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    The way I look at it.... Anything over 30 mpg is great gas mileage. So I'm not too concerned with the mpg on my Prius.

    It's a PRIUS, man. Just drive it! ;)

    (On second thought, I should have got a Corolla! $10,000 less, and gets 35 mpg? :LOL:)

    It's time for coffee & donuts. I hope you guys solve the OP's problem.
     
  3. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    sunday morning:sleep:
     
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  4. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i'll show you mine, if you'll show me yours.:)
     
  5. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Unless her 'fillups' are just in the 3 to 4 gallon range, I'd say that isn't enough to be the problem. While it could be a contributor, something else is still happening too. And the displayed 80 mpg isn't consistent with E85 FlexFuel.
     
  6. Starship16

    Starship16 Senior Member

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    Nothing wrong with her Prius.
    Operator error.

    Just drive it....
     
  7. RRxing

    RRxing Senior Member

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    Just like the old PEBKAC computer error - "Problem Exists Between Keyboard And Chair"

    PEBSWAP - Problem Exists Between Steering Wheel And Pedal
     
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  8. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    loose nut...
     
  9. Chime

    Chime New Member

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    Okay sorry for the late reply. I have some screenshots not sure if this will help. Also a question.

    I know this might sound dumb but how do I reset Trip A and Trip B? I've tried but it doesn't seem to reset for me.

    I also drove around a bit last night and today and have some screenshots; not sure if these will be helpful or not to figuring this out. And again, I'm sorry if I'm a bit slow at this, it's my first Hybrid, and my second car I've ever had, I never knew anything about cars and I'm pretty much living solo in Cali with not many friends and no family, so any and all research I've done has been through word of mouth + internet research. So I am trying my best. ><;

    I do park outside to answer that question. And I am looking at the mileage now instead of the gauge. But I do want to make a mention that my buddy driving along with me noticed that the gas gauge moved down even when I was drifting in EV downhill. Not in EV mode but just letting the car slide down a long hill and he pointed out that the gas gauge decreased during that time.

    Pic 1 and 2: Yesterday when I drove to work, excuse the dusty screens; need to buy a microfiber towel to dust it off later. Also.. dog.
    1535920860479.JPEG 1535920848343.JPEG



    Rest of the pics: Driving back + short detour along the way
    1535920847231.JPEG 1535920844861.JPEG 1535920844782.JPEG 1535920844190.JPEG 1535920844375.JPEG
     
  10. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Ahhh... You are still missing the most critical information we all on this thread want to hear. How many gallons of fuel have you put into the car for three so called "fill-up" during the 427 miles you drove. That is the only information you need to provide to us to determine, if your mpg is really that bad as you say it is.

    For resetting Trip meter you just press long hold (TRIP) button on the steering wheel while this Trip A miles is displayed.
     
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  11. Chime

    Chime New Member

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    Okay I didn't keep receipts of those fill-ups although I should've since I normally never keep them, at least on my old car. I checked my bank statements for the dollars spent but I don't remember gallons sadly.

    1st: $15.65 since the gas was already pretty full, the dealership never fueled the car before I drove it off the lot since their fueling station was capped for that day. So I still have one free refuel from them. And yes I let the fuel fill until it clicked, not sure if it was complete but the gauge showed full.

    2nd: $35.67 Tank was below half and filled it again until clicked and gauge showed full.

    3rd: $21.17 Filled again until full.
     
  12. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    OK, in CA, the gas is like $3.50/gal, isn't it? The total fuel cost is $72.49. So, that's about 20 gal of gas used for 427 miles driven. That makes approximately 21 mpg, which is way too low for a brand new Gen4 Prius. Since we don't know how much gas was in the tank when you first drove off the dealer's lot, this number maybe bit off, but gives us good idea that your mileage is much lower than what the car is displaying. If you are planning to do some driving from now till you are taking your car to the dealer, you can fill the tank now, and record odometer, and drive until right before you visit the dealer and fill up again and record odometer. (You can also use Trip meter but there is a remote possibility that the meter is off. Odometer should be accurate, though it could be off as well.) Calculate distance driven since the last fill-up, then divide that number by amount of gas in gallon the car took for the second fill-up. If your mpg is lower than 40 by this method, your car has problem. Keep all those records, and present them to the dealer.
     
    #72 Salamander_King, Sep 2, 2018
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2018
  13. jerrymildred

    jerrymildred Senior Member

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    And ALWAYS keep your fuel receipts. You rarely need them, but if you do need them, you really need them. If you get a tank of bad gas someday, you'll be really glad you had the receipt. Or, if you are having issues like now, you'll also be glad you kept receipts.
     
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  14. Chime

    Chime New Member

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    Okay I'll keep the receipts moving forward and fill up and keep track for a while. Another question is; should I be fueling E85 or just regular 87 fuel?
     
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  15. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    Regular 87 fuel only! Have you been using E85? I have no experience with E85, but there are some discussion on the subject on this thread. I don't know the actual effect of using E85 on Prius, but it is not to be used on Prius, that is for sure.
     
  16. Chime

    Chime New Member

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    On my gas cap it says up to E15 fuel only. For some reason I thought it said E85. M'bad. Just wondering the difference between E15 then and 87. And I've been using 87
    1535925405013.JPEG
     
  17. padroo

    padroo Senior Member

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    I filled my 2016 up one month ago today and the next time I drive it it will be going over 600 miles on this tank and I always run the A/C as much as I want. My driving is all local and none over 55 mph but just an example of what the Prius is capable if driven very easily.
     
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  18. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    E15 is ethanol content 15%. 87 is for octane rating usually used for Regular gasoline. In our region we only have E10. For E10 in our region, and presumably for E15 as well, there are different octane rating higher number is for premium gas and cost more, but it is well discussed here higher octane premium gas do not offer any benefit to Prius. Prius needs Regular gasoline with ethanol contents upto 15%.
     
    #78 Salamander_King, Sep 2, 2018
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2018
  19. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    87 - 89 - 91 - 93 is Octane rating. All are safe, though 87 is what you should use.

    E85 - E15 - E10 - E0 is Ethanol content. E85 is a NO-NO, just as the red slash says on the gas cap.

    Here is a pump image from someone else recently, from post #47 of this thread. While 87 is best for your car, any of the four on the right, in gray or blue, are acceptable. The one on the left, in yellow, 85 or otherwise, is NOT acceptable:
    [​IMG]

    The blue one, labeled Octane 88, is also E15. The gray ones are usually E10, though sometimes can be E0.
     
    #79 fuzzy1, Sep 2, 2018
    Last edited: Sep 2, 2018
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  20. Salamander_King

    Salamander_King Senior Member

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    So, have you been putting E85 into your Prius? Though I have no technical information to offer you, that might explain the way off mileage you are getting on your brand new car.