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Yes I've read the "why don't I get EPA mileage" many times...mileage still stinks

Discussion in 'Gen 2 Prius Fuel Economy' started by DollyWest, Aug 29, 2015.

  1. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Who 'promised' that? Not Toyota corporate, they just put a 46 MPG EPA label on it. Not the EPA, they put a 'Your Mileage May Vary' disclaimer on their rating scale.
    Dealers are pretty much useless on this, and in reality that makes sense. 'Normal' means vastly different things to different people, and fuel economy varies considerably with various driving style, vehicle uses, routes, and driving conditions. The cost of labor needed for the seller to diagnose each customer's individual mpg issues, retrain them to drive for better economy, and bring their expectations in line reality, greatly exceeds their operating margin.

    I was greatly annoyed that my 1997 Subaru fell well below its EPA sticker (unlike a prior Honda), and that the seller brushed me off with similar comments. It would be another decade before I found websites about how to hypermile, allowing me to easily beat that old sticker. But the time and effort needed to do that made it clear to me why the sellers are unable to diagnose and train each customer.

    If you can fill out as much of this questionnaire as practical, and post the results here, it can give us more clues about your situation:
    Fuel economy complaints/queries? Please copy, paste & answer these questions, esp. if you're new | PriusChat
     
  2. HGS

    HGS Member

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    Have you ever changed your PCV? If it's blocked, this can cause oil burning issues.
     
  3. edthefox5

    edthefox5 Senior Member

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    To the op I didnt see if you bought the car new in 07 or its a used car for you. How many miles on the car?

    Alot of posters over the years complaining about low mileage. Here's an easy test:

    Find a nice flat straight stretch of road about 4 miles long with no traffic.Push the reset button on the mfd the one on the bottom right of the screen that resets the mileage indicator on the mfd. Zero that out. Get the car up to 50 miles an hour and set the cruise control and just let the car drive. Don't touch the brakes or the gas pedal. Just ride on cc. After about 4 miles what does the mpg indicator read? Should be around 52 mpg's.
    This takes the biggest variable out of the equation. Which is you.

    My wife mainly drives the Prius. She gets 38-40 mpg's. I can easily get 48 mpg's. Biggest thing she does wrong is drive it like any other gas car. Gas pedal on gas pedal off gas pedal on gas pedal off. No smooth transition from acceleration and de-acceleration. Engine constantly on & off. That is both hard on the vehicle and very wasteful of gas. This behavior is easily displayed on the consumption meter on the mfd.
    This type of driving alone can cost you about 10 mpg's.

    If you car fails on my test #1 the cc test I would service the car. Get the trans fluid changed and the engine coolant and especially the
    Inverter coolant changed. I notice an instant increase in mileage with new Inverter coolant.
     
  4. JayKabel

    JayKabel New Member

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    I know I'm way late to this, but I'd definitely ask whether the spark plugs have been replaced with OEM Iridium plugs. I just changed my synthetic oil, filter, spark plugs, air filter, and filled my tires, and I am getting better mileage.
     
    SFO and bisco like this.