World's Worst Mileage?

Some updates for your latest questions, all you fine people--

To Grasshopper-- Yes, the right-hand bar seems to be performing as you describe. And while it's hard to figure an average, with all the movement in that bar, it seemed to me pretty consistent with what I was seeing in the three 5-minute bars. The stuff I described in my reply to Chogan (post #37). And yeah-- stock rims and tires. (Though wait a minute--I was checking the inflation regularly before the body work, but I haven't done it since. I did happen to do a casual visual check earlier today, and they don't look low at all. They look normal or maybe even a little high. But I'll try to remember to check them in the morning. Of course, the problem had started before the body work (and I'm glad I opened the case on it with Toyota HQ back then). So I don't expect much on the inflation front.

To Donee: No, the bad mileage didn't start with the body work. I was getting around 29 before the body work (with occasional periods as high as maybe 31 or 32) but mostly 29-point-something. One difference since then is that it's air-conditioning season now in Los Angeles. So that could account for some drop. As for the body work, it didn't involve the engine system at all. It did involve the left front wheel--and the linkages, etc., on that wheel were replaced as a precaution. But the alignment, etc., was tested since, they tell me. And I sure don't notice any pull or drag or anything-- no signs of a bad brake or alignment, etc. So the accident didn't start the problem. I had poor mileage before the accident, and somewhat crummier mileage now. (But I am running the A.C. now. I know you can always get slightly better mileage without A.C., but as I understand it, the difference isn't all that huge, the way it was on cars in years past. (The Toyota help line advisor at their headquarters in Torrance also mentioned that A.C. wouldn't account for performance this anemic.)

As for the issue of resetting the consumption screen at fill-up, my 2006 does do that automatically. The handbook says that it does that as long as you add some specific amount; I forget the exact amount, but it's somewhere between 2 and 3 gallons. (I do notice elsewhere on the forums people mentioning that the automatic reset can come a few moments after the fill-up-- the way it sometimes takes a minute or so in most cars for the gas gauge to register the new level.)

To Ohgreys-- no, I haven't done a manual check of mileage yet. I was making notes for one, but the repair work interrupted the previous fill-up cycle. Also, the body shop and the Toyota dealer did a bunch of test driving--around 30 miles--so even if I found my notes, I'd want to start fresh. Anyway, I have started my notes for the current cycle. I'll try to use as much of the tank as possible before refilling, for the best reading. Unfortunately, that'll take some time because I'm working on a big round-the-clock deadline--and I work at home-- so there won't be too much driving beyond the supermarket for a couple of weeks.

To Snooze Button (which is my favorite appliance, by the way): interesting thought about the odometer. I'll try to remember to compare it with some known distances, or maybe compare it to the distances given by the navigation system (though those are a bit iffy). It doesn't seem noticeably wrong, but who knows?

To OtterGuy, re your note:

Yes, that's exactly the sort of thing that helps me to figure out if the problem is my travel habits or something else. And it all stuff that I can mention to the dealer's service dept., too, as a comparison.

And finally, to Grasshopper again, re your observation:

I can kinda relate-- I mean, I feel that way about huge portions of my life.

Meanwhile, I still feel good about this car. I love everything about it except for this mileage problem, which I think may be a one-off issue. I know that really it's all about bringing the car in for service. Wish I could just take it in Monday, but it'll probably have to wait a couple of weeks, on account of work and also 'cause I'd like to do a manual reading on one whole tank, first. And maybe get one of those half-dozen other Prius drivers (all within like two blocks in my little Hollywood Hills neighborhood) to use my car for a day or two, for that comparison.

By the way, I had got used to those automatic door locks (that lock when you drive forward) on my previous cars, and wonder if anyone ever heard a special reason why this car doesn't have them, since it has so many other super-automatic features, like the keyless system. I don't know that I need it, I just keep being surprised that my door (or doors, depending) isn't locked. I guess I could consider the aftermarket one if I every really feel like I want it--but does anyone know if that might screw up the warranty? I sure don't need that.

Well, cheers, all.

P.S.: Did I mention that I am towing a battleship? Just a smallish, decommissioned one.

(Naw. Heck, I'm not even towing a bumper sticker.)

 

Hi--and thanks--kdmorse and donee.

Wow--that's interesting. I hadn't thought of that:

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(kdmorse @ Aug 13 2006, 02:53 AM) [snapback]302487[/snapback]</div>

If that's right, what had confused me was this part of the 2006 Owner's Manual:

I had figured that to mean that the reset by touching and the reset by refilling >2.6 gallons would have the same effect. But I sure wouldn't be surprised if that's a bit misleading. The owner's manual definitely has a few editing lapses (For instance, in the section on keys and doors. Some ambiguous or broken sentences like what you sometimes get when something is translated into English but not copy-edited.)

(Though I thought I remembered some people on other forums bemoaning the fact that they wanted to maintain long-term averages but couldn't--and people were advising them that they'd have to do it the old-fashioned way, by keeping a written record. Maybe that applied to different model years.)

IN ANY CASE...when I picked up the car after the repair work, all the other special settings had been cleared--like the radio presets, custom navigation settings, clock, etc. The sort of thing that happens when the electrical system is interrupted for repair work. Which was the case here: a headlight, a key sensor, etc., were worked on. (Everything had cleared but the odometer, that is; but I think odometers are specially protected to prevent tampering.) Oh, and when I picked the car up, the mpg reading was actually in the teens. So I figured it had been reset, and would go up. It did--but it leveled off and has been staying in the 23.1-23.5 range. When I last refilled the tank (after the repairs) I checked to make sure that the "X miles" on the consumption screen would reset. It did...so I didn't bother to press the reset button. I think I should leave it as is until my next fill-up, when I'll do the manual calculation. Do you think that's the right plan for now?

Anyway, I don't mean to belabor the whole issue. Obviously the important thing will be to see what happens when Toyota checks it out. I'm just digging around on the forum for any new ideas, because while corporate Toyota in Torrance tells me that I should definitely take the car in for diagnosis, the dealer service department in Hollywood has advised me that they can't think of much new they'll be likely to find, since they themselves just completed and checked out the electrical-system part of the repairs. (Though they're definitely motivated to try.) So I'm looking for all useful areas to suggest that they might want to look into, based on other drivers' actual experiences.

Here's a question for anyone at all: once you do reset the consumption screen, how many miles does it take any of you before your average mpg levels off in its most typical range? (I know this varies with changing habits, seasons, etc.) This time, mine rose slowly until it leveled off around 30-40 miles since the (seeming) reset. And it has stayed around the same for the following 50 or so miles.

Thanks to everyone!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(Godiva @ Aug 13 2006, 07:38 PM) [snapback]302797[/snapback]</div>

Hi Godiva--

I hope you'll accept my sincere regrets that I've been so frustrating to you.

The sad fact is that I haven't been able to leave the house at all since all this great information was first clarified for me yesterday. I have some people really counting on me to finish a long (and sort of overdue) writing assignment, and I've had to let that be the round-the-clock priority right now-- even though I'm desperately tempted and eager to hit the road and try out all the great suggestions I've learned here.

Also, regrets that with my head so wrapped up in work (this forum has been my only coffee break) I made a full-on lapse in neglecting to answer that key question from you, and Sarge, and Donee, and kdmorse. (And to whomever I've left out: be prepared for me to plead the same true--but dull--excuse.)

As it happens--yes, I did press the reset button, one time. It was somewhere between around main odometer mile 150 and mile 250. My best recollection is somewhere close to 200, but I didn't write it down. I haven't reset it manually since then.

(Didn't make a note because I actually reset it by accident, while trying to wipe dust off the screen. It definitely reset--and at the time, I was so frustrated! Mr. Brand-New Prius Owner here, I was dying to track my total mpg, and I thought this would throw it all out the window. Well, I'm learning a lot more about how that works now, I guess.)

It may--or may not--have been reset again when the electrical work caused everything else to reset. I was figuring that it did--but only because, as I mentioned somewhere, when I picked up the car after the repair it was reading in the teens; since then it rose to the current level and has stayed within that 23.1 to 23.5 range for some time now.

To cwerdna-- hi. Your information looks really pertinent...

...because it could explain perfectly the difference between the 29-ish readings I was getting before the accident and what I'm getting now. (What I meant by "not all that huge" was that the difference wasn't huge enough to make me want to forego air conditioning. And I promise not to cling to any hopes of the same mileage I'd get without A.C.)

To ajs:

The instant reading bar sure seems to be working exactly as you say it should.

Anyway, gang, sorry I didn't answer that pesky "reset" question sooner. And please know that as soon as the significance of a manual reset was clear to me, then had my answer been "no"-- had there never been any manual reset-- I'd have immediately put all my further questions on hold until I could try that. (Now I'm keen to reset it once again--intentionally, this time-- on my next drive.)

So the reasons I've kept fishing aren't that your help isn't appreciated or isn't used--just the opposite. It's awesome support. And since there'd been at least the one reset around the midpoint of my current mileage--and since the service manager at the dealership was welcoming, but wanted to advise me that he hadn't dealt with this issue before--and since the Toyota company people (the ones who first told me, sounds like something isn't performing right)--since they were also the ones who said, look on the forums: maybe someone out there has had the same experience--well, all that is why I'm keeping at it.

Clearly it's a puzzling situation--and Toyota says they're committed to solving it--but I have strong inkling that the answer may come from somewhere like here. Or at least some crucial clues--the stuff worth figuring and testing and eliminating before I take it in.

Like just now: cwerdna's note seems to have put at least one part of the puzzle neatly in place for me--the A.C. difference that I could only speculate about. That's pretty important. If we factoring that in, it means we now know at least that the performance has been essentially consistent before and after the repair work (which coincided with the start of A.C. season).

So, thanks for all the terrific, continued help...and whatever patience you can muster. Because of you all, I am...

a little less Lost In The Hills

P.S.: I think I should mention that I have taken 3 or maybe 4 one-way trips of 45-70 minutes on pretty open freeways, spread out over the 500+ miles. (I'm not counting return legs when the traffic was slow.) I wish I could tell you the exact mpg I was getting by the end of those trips; I think it was around 33-35mpg. In any case, I mention it because I guess it's at least some part of the overall average. (Or maybe not, if this is a computer problem...) Meanwhile, I've printed up a whole bunch of mileage record forms and put them in the car. I only wish I'd get a chance to use them, already!

 

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(DaveSheremata @ Aug 13 2006, 11:18 PM) [snapback]302893[/snapback]</div>

Hey, Dave. I was noodling with that last tedious, windbaggy novella when your note went up, so I didn't see it until after I finally posted, later. But I hear ya--and now I'm even more revved up about hitting that button right away.

Maybe I'll go do it in the morning--even though the car won't be leaving the driveway. At least it's a chance to sit in the driver's seat. When I was a kid, that seemed just about as good as driving. And it's another chance to use that no-key key...which still blows my mind.