Some Questions

1. Yes, most people always set the e-parking brake. Doing so will eliminate the rock.
2. Don't know.
3. At the least, 45 mpg. I have a Gen II, drive it pretty hard, but still average 52 mpg. Bay Area terrain and weather.

 

Depends on MANY factors such as trip length (short trips esp. in the city are killer), speeds, weather conditions, the driver, tire pressure, etc. See Most fuel-efficient cars for what CR got.

Your mileage will fall as it gets colder and rise again in the spring, as it does on all cars.

 

^^^ as man says it depends.

Unless you drive like a complete yahoo, or have a bunch cold starts with really short <5min drives with new Gen III you'd do on par or a couple miles over EPA rating of 50MPG, 52-53 w/o effort. A little bit better after break in.

I am not a hypermiler, but I get ~58-62 in ECO. Key is avoiding using full throttle acceleration (keeping it in ECO band) and maximizing regen braking. Of cause Michelin Energy Savers help, but EP20 aren't bad too.

 

I have an '11 Prius IV and DO have to put forth effort to get 50 MPG. If I find myself driving carelessly it will drop to 46 MPG. I've yet to drive a tank of gas that averaged over 50 MPG and I'm on my 6th fill up.

 

If, like me growing up, you live in a rainy part of Washington or Oregon (say, over 80 inches a year) You will spend a lot of time throwing up road spray with your tires, this will reduce your MPG quite a bit. So will running headlights all day. (which I recommend, safety beats gas mileage) Recognize this as a penalty to your lifestyle.

 

1. This comes from play in the parking pawl. It is not a problem. The normal cautions are appropriate about using the parking brake in adverse conditions, such as steep hills.

2. The Gen III Prius has a reported problem with touchy or grabby brakes in reverse. A search of this site will reveal a lot of discussion, but no solution.

3. Typically 45 to 55 mpg, but it varies immensely depending on trip length, speed, and conditions.

Tom

 

The Prius doesn't have a conventional transmission with gears so it uses a parking pawl to lock things up. Hard rocking on it is not recommended and the parking brake should be used.

Reasons for pulsing that I'm familiar with are: warped brake rotors, an out of balance wheel, or a bad shock. None of these would make sense on a new 2011 or only in a reverse direction. I'd have a dealer check it out.

Having owned a 2010 for a year now, I've seen anywhere from 38-58mpg which depends on many variables.

 

Follow Toyota's schedule, not the dealers:
Toyota Parts and Service

Don't try to decide whether you're on an incline or not. Just set the parking brake every time. The annoying rocking will go away, and it's safer to have both the parking pawl and the brake holding the car.

 

Same experience here.

 

Set the emergency brake before you take your foot off the brake when shutting down the car, solves the rocking, just push the power button, it automatically puts the car in park, no need to push two buttons. Relax, from what you said the car seems ok, also if you drive it without trying for good mileage you should expect mid 40's in mileage.

 

The engine is going somewhere between 0 and 5200 RPM, and Motor/Generaator1 is going somewhere between -10,000 and 10,000 RPM once you turn off the car they wind down to 0 RPM. And since you have turned off all the fancy computers that normally balance all this, you can feel a gentle rocking against the parking pawl as it all slows to a stop.

If I ever parked on an incline, I would use the parking brake.

BTW, you can just hit Power and the car goes into Park as well.


Here is your maintenance guide, the 5000 mile/6 month service is on page 39
http://www.toyota.com/t3Portal/document/omms/T-MMS-11Prius/pdf/MY11%20Toyota%20Prius%20WMG.pdf

(I drive my 2009 Gen 2 about 30,000 miles a year, so yes, my 5000 mile/6 month service happens every two months)

 

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1. I believe this may be the transaxle searching for the parking prawl.
2. Is it possible you're feeling the shudder resulting from the gas engine engaging?
3. I drive in normal mode and see 43 mpg on short trips and 53 mpg on longer commutes.