Took my Prius in to Toyota Service...Question

Hi Margo,

If you are near Boston, you should have Hobbit give you a driving clinic and evaluate if its the car, or you just not being used to how it works.

The first thing to learn is the Prius accellerator pedal is much closer to the theoretical ideal, than in other cars. What does that mean? It means once your up to speed you need to lift very very far off it, to the point where the car just cruises along. In other cars, you need to hold the throttle valve open with the gas pedal. In the Prius its a by-wire system. The computer does this automatically. If you hold the peddle down like in other cars, the Prius is programmed to react for quick accelleration. Like say your trying to merge in downtown Boston. And then it never resets the transmission ratio and engine RPM for good efficiency.

 

Real keys to getting the best mileage out of your Prius are:

1) Proper tire inflation. Recommended is good.
2) No overfilling of oil. This will reduce mileage.
3) Cold weather will lower mileage. Combine that with shorter trips a real bummer. It takes the ICE longer to warm up and more frequent starts to maintain this temperature.
4) Running your defrost or heater on high will also have an impact on mileage.

Best of Luck!
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