While most of the emphasis I've seen on improving fuel economy seems to focus on warming the car up quickly in cool/cold weather, I seem to be experiencing significant mpg drops at the other end of the spectrum.
View 8 RepliesGrill blocked today for the first time and have a couple questions.
Temps have been dropping more these last 3-4 days and have noticed my MPG dropping as well so I thought I'd try grill blocking.
Tempts have been and will be high 30s-low 40s in the morning and upper 50s to mid 60s for the high.
At first I just wedged the pipe insulation and drove one trip. I didn't feel comfortable that it would hold for the long haul so I added zip ties.
I used two pieces of pipe insulation 1/2 inch copper / 3/8 inch iron. Up close it looks like 2/3 or 3/4 of the grill is covered.
My two questions:
For fWT, at what temperature should it not exceed?
At what outside temperature should I remove the pipe insulation? In the Phoenix area, temperatures rise in March and sometimes we will have a short period of warmer than normal temps in February. I just want to make sure I do not cause overheating.
Winter temps are dropping my mpgs from 51-53 mpg to the 44-47 mpg range. Snow, rain, slush puts drag on the car, as well as temps in the 20-40s causing the ICE to run more during warmup and during the 15 mile trip I make daily. Also mpgs in town on 1-3 mile trips are dropping into 29-33 mpg range. I guess the Prius isn't made to thrive in cold temps. I don't know if there is much I can do about it. I did remember to raise the pressures in my tires which has dropped also.
View 19 RepliesEvery time I turn the car on, the "from start" fuel economy reading resets to 15l/100k. After driving for a while it goes down to 4l/100k but then resets back to 15 once the car is turned off. Is there any way to get it to stay at what it finished at?
View 11 RepliesI have a 2008 prius. Usually it gets me around 52-55mpg, I've had it since January. Since a couple of days ago its not giving me anything above 49. I know thats a normal number, but considering the fact that its usually quite a bit higher I'm wondering what the cause of the drop is. Also around the same time, when I pull out of my driveway I notice what appears to be a bit of water leakage. Its under the vehicle in the front center, and it only happens when I start the car for the day and pull out of my driveway (its on an incline).
View 4 RepliesI am wondering about how fast to accelerate for maximizing fuel economy. I understand with the P&G approach that you don't want to get up to speed too slowly. The question is whether it really is more efficient to go ahead and get up to speed or stay within the ECO guidelines? In particular, I find that getting up to highway speed especially that it can take quite a while to get up to 70 mph without having it going into the power range. It seems like it is better to get up to speed and then back off to go to the high efficiency mode.
View 16 RepliesI got prius i-tech Australia (should be IV or V in US). I just noticed this morning that my fuel economy is better when I got 6-7 bars on battery level, and worsen if i only got 2-4 bars. Is it just my imagination or any explanation for it?
View 8 RepliesLast week I switched my wheels and tires out from OEM 15 x 6 wheels with 195/55R15 Good Year Fuel Max tires to 16 x 7 Drag DR9 wheels (16.55 lbs.) with 205/50R16 Good Year Fuel Max tires. ( I wanted a different look) At first I didn't notice any change in mpg's, but that soon changed. The temps went down into the 20's for lows and 30's for highs. I went from 48 - 50 mpg to 41 -43 mpg in just a few days. I assumed that the drop was due to the cold weather. This morning I decided to check the tire pressure in the new tires. 32 psi all the way around. I asked the guys that installed the tires to fill them up to 44 front, 42 rear. I guess that never happened. Anyway, I looked on the sidewall of the tire to check max pressure and I was shocked (51 psi). I ran 44 front, 42 front on my old set, because that was what I was advised to do.
View 13 RepliesI knew when I bought my car it wouldn't get optimum mpg as no car would with the many short trips I have to make every day but I have 5000 miles on it already and have averaged approx 46 with all the city and highway combined.
I took it into Toyota last week for the tire rotation and ever since it has been horrible. There were 120 miles on the tank and I refilled because I couldn't stand to see it staying around 39 on the computer. I have never seen that before. I checked the tired and they had brought them down to 32psi so I put then back to 40/38 and refilled.
Not noticing much of an improvement, sadly. Hovering at 40 mpg still. Weather has changed a lot. Temps much higher daily mid 80s to low 90s. This is my first summer with the car and yea the ac has been on nonstop with the higher temps.
When I go out to do errands around town (I live right in town) I get horrendous gas mileage. Now, I understand gas mileage is high at the beginning of a trip, but for this long and this high and under these circumstances? I'm getting ABOVE 10l/100km when I have 80% charge available (for americans, that's disgustingly high MPG like, pick-up truck high), AND my foot is completely off the gas. Literally, coasting, or braking, and I'm still sucking up gas. What the heck?
Is this just because it takes a certain amount of time for the engine to run no matter what or something? I still don't see any reason for me to be eating up all that gas when my foot isn't even on the gas AND most importantly, I have charge available. Feels pointless for me to use my car for what I use it for 70% of the time, which is for quick errands around town at low speeds. Thought the prius was suppose to be a superstar for this kind of thing.
I am the owner of a new 2014 Prius Two as of three months ago. I have really been enjoying the car, and it is certainly more friendly at the pump than my old Chevy Tahoe. I have a question as to why my mpg has been getting worse of late.
View 19 RepliesSo I bought a used 2010 Gen 3 with ~26,000 miles on it in July 2013. I started out getting 48-52mpg depending on where I was driving. I live in Raleigh, NC and I did notice a drop in drop in MPG over the winter ranging between 44-48mpg but the mpg never rose again as the months warmed and I averaged 44-46mpg for most of the summer. After changing my tires a few weeks ago I've dropped to about 40mpg regardless of where or how I drive. I bought Pirelli P4 Four Seasons 195 65R15 91T and have them inflated to the levels recommended by Toyota. 35/32 or something like that. Is it the tires or is there some other possible issue?
View 19 RepliesTypically here in the Phoenix area the coldest it gets in the morning is mid to upper 30s for about 2-3 weeks in dec/jan for the low and 50s for the high. Half of November, Jan, Feb & March temps are around 40s for the low & upper 50s-60s high
With these temps is it worth grill blocking?...and how much of a MPG gain would I get?
Have had my 2011 Prius all of 4 weeks. Followed PC for months before the purchase, practice pulse/glide regularly and have really change driving habits to increase MPG. First tank was 51 MPG, than 48, 46 and now 45. each one was 75% city driving, 25% freeway.
View 19 RepliesI have a 2013 Prius V and my mpg averaged about 43. Now after about 13,000 miles it has gone down some to more like 41-42 and even 39. Once on a mostly highway trip it was down to about 34. Last summer it got 51 mpg in Colorado!
How to get better mileage. I once heard about a feathering technique with the accelerator but I don't know if I understand it.
Curious? Looking for if the generation 4 Prius' has less road noise and better acceleration?
My generation 3 is quite noisy inside.
Have not purchased a Prius yet as I have a TDI awaiting results of the lawsuit. I am wondering over the last week or so, Vegas has been really hot. Just wondering how the new battery and the MPG is holding up in the Vegas heat.
View 19 Replies2006 gen II base w/ about 90k miles. Jump in, big scare triangle with multiple other dash lights. POA80 and PO319 codes. Traction battery fail. Fortunately, I was just under the warranty limit (8yrs).
View 19 RepliesWhen using the active cruise control, the acceleration is heavily influenced by the driving mode, with as you could expect eco being more relaxed and power going full steam ahead whenever possible.
View 4 RepliesAfter my electric water pump was replaced under the recall my mileage went from 45 mpg to about 30 mpg. Part of this might be due to new tires and cold snowy weather (CT !) but I have never seen such a drastic drop in performance (2005 Prius).
View 12 Replies=this is my first summer to own a prius, and I noticed this last week that my fuel economy seems to be slipping. I am averaging around 42 MPG instead of my usual 49. Only reason this worries me is I've noticed the car is charging the battery a LOT, and it's not uncommon to have my MPG drop down to the low 20's on a flat road if I am lightly accelerating.
View 8 Replies