POLL : what MPG are you getting in your gen 2

Is there a way a person can "change" his / her vote? This thread / poll has been up a long time. When I first saw it and voted, Mithril was averaging abut 48.5 lifetime. But now he's getting "dangerously close" to going above 50; which means the vote would change from "45-50" to "50-55". I sure would like a chance - if possible - to CHANGE my vote, as might many others here at PriusChat. Moderators ... ???

 

When I replied to that poll it was last summer, and I had been getting mid 60s. Then I changed my tires and winter came on, and MPG dropped back to winter levels (mid 50s). I am just now getting back to the Summer maxima of 65-70. I didn't realize it was a "lifetime" poll then, and put in 60-65. I felt a bit embarrassed, since I clearly didn't rate it on a lifetime basis.

But if I'm allowed to exclude the first 15-20k miles (break in and the benighted period before I started P&G), I can say I almost qualify for the 60-65 range over the last 69k miles. I'm at 59.8, and will reach Nirvana by early August at the latest!

Its been beautiful hypermiling weather here in E Mass, and my last 2 tanks were upper 60s.................

 

I'm getting about 44.1 mpg and that's driving the car normal speeds, I try hypermiling when I'm driving home fro
Work at 5am but I start falling asleep lol.

 

I had my best tank MPG at last fill up, 48.8! Considering my route, It's getting better.
I have been driving the wife's HyCam while she is back east, It may take a bit of practice, I find I can achieve good numbers. It is a much firmer driving car. But I really LIKE it!!!

 

2004 gen II just did 160 hw driving miles. 57.3 MPG warm summer day 88*

 

over the last 800 miles it's 60.4 mpg

 

47-55 mpg highway
~45 normal city
~33-37 hilly city

 

32-38

My Prius is broken I guess

 

I would check the 12 battery and the air Pressure in the tires, before I would decide the entire car was broken.

 

Done all that and more. Took it in to a preferred hybrid specialist, they said nothing was wrong, I got it back from them and the car performed just like when I was getting good milage, then a few days later, it went back to getting terrible MPG, high revs, lack of power, SOC drops super fast (full blue to 2 red bars in 2 minutes with little to no A/C on) again.

 

58mpg for 5 months.. 90% of town running

 

I am no expert on the Prius, other's here know a lot more than I do however there is a lot of information concerning your comment above. If your car is going from the top (green) to bottom (red or pink) in just a couple of minutes when the car is warmed up (not in the first five minutes of operation), I would suspect a problem with the traction battery. I do realize you stated "blue", and not "green".

Considering the fact that your car is seven years old with unknown amount of mileage and considering that your car is being driven in a hot climate, your battery is being stressed. Until it throws a code (lights come on in the dash), all hybrid specialist's are going to say "nothing is wrong".

If you are into P&G for maximum mileage and are one who tries to extend the glide by holding a little more pressure on the accelator (go peddle) therefore using the traction battery to run the electric motor (MG2) while gliding, the battery will drop rather quickly. But even that does not explain the low mileage you are getting.

I would check and or clean the MAF sensor, and check and or clean the throttle body. I would also check the air filter and or replace it. Those are simple jobs that anyone can do if they take their time and use the proper tools. You might want to consider changing the PCV valve also. That is not a easy job, but can be done if you have the time and patience. There is considerable labor involved to replace the PCV valve due to the location of the valve itself. If your mileage does not improve after that, then I would suspect that the battery is close to the end of it's life cycle and will need a repair or replacement in the near future.

Many here on PC recommend top tier fuel for the Prius. If you are not burning that, you might consider changing to a top tier brand. For more information concerning Top Tier Fuel see the following.

Top Tier Gasoline

For information concerning cleaning of the MAF Sensor see Post #2 of the following.

Cleaning Mass Airflow Sensor Instructions | PriusChat

For more information concerning the throttle body cleaning, take a look at hobbit's write up on the Gen 1. The Gen 2 is similar, but is has been redisgned. If you google "Prius throttle body cleaning", you will find additional information.

TB cleaning

Further down the road, you might consider changing the traction battery itself. Reinvolt is not far from you and is well respected. They seem to be leading the way in remanufacturing of the Prius traction battery. They are far cheaper than a new one from Toyota.

Remanufactured Hybrid Vehicle Battery Packs

The only other thing that is coming to mind is your tires. LRR tires do produce better MPG than non LRR tires. Furthermore running maximum air pressure does help the car's MPG. 42 Front & 40 Rear is suggested by several here on PC.

List of LRR Tires: Low Rolling Resistance replacement tires: Current List | PriusChat

If you have any doubts concerning your tires and MPG, I suggest you read the following that a fellow PC user posted recently.

Recovering good mpg after service -- Help! | PriusChat

One other thing that is coming to mind is the age of your 12 volt auxilliary battery. If it is weak, the engine will run more often to keep the little battery charged up.

Bottom line is this, there are many factors that affect mileage in the Prius. It begins with driving habits, and continues on to the mechanical aspects of the vehicle. Hence the YMMV statement that many tend to use.

You will have a hard time finding any hybrid specialist that will say the battery is bad without a code showing up. However a good mechanic with a understanding of how the battery works could take the time to check the cells, busbars and what have you within the battery itself. Today, most "technicians" rely on codes generated by the vehicle. They don't use old school thinking any more. Their thought process/training is to replace assemblies rather than to repair the individual part.

I won't say your Prius is broken. What I will say is there a lot of possibilities and explanations as to why your MPG is low. Bottom line is this. You need to decide how much you are willing to invest in your Prius to restore the mileage, or whether it is time to move on to something else. I can easily get 39 MPG and less if I don't use all the tricks of the trade when driving our Prius, on the other hand I can get better than the EPA estimate if I put my mind to it. I usually average around 45 unless I P&G. P&G will raise it up to 50-60 depending on driving conditions.

With all that said, I too will say YMMV. That does not mean it cannot be improved.