Prius (Gen 2) :: MPG Steadily Declining From High Of 48 To 43
Mar 21, 2011
I have a 2008 Prius with 83,000 miles. My battery has died twice; once because I left an interior light on and a jump start fixed the situation. Next time, about 1 month later, nothing was left on, and on start up all the indicator lights came on and I couldn't get my key out. A second jump start solved the problem. My concerns: I had the battery tested at the dealer and they told me it was fine. I have a warranty on the battery to 100K. Interestingly, my MPG have been steadily declining from a high of 48 on purchase to 43 currently. My driving has no changed. The MPG have gone as low as 40 recently. I am wondering if I am not getting a straight answer from the dealer about the battery? Anything else that might affect my MPG?
View 10 Replies
Advertisement
My 2007 Prius (72k miles) has been dropping in MPG steadily for the last 6-8 months. Where we would get a strong 42 mpg, we are now experiencing 34-36 mpg. After a 400 mile trip to the coast, we just experienced a 34 mpg average. 1 year ago, we would have seen 42-45 mpg on the same trip.
I had the dealership check it out, only to tell me the computer says nothing was wrong. This is the 2nd time I've voiced this concern about the car in 12 months. They told me to replace the tires. We did. No change.
I checked the 12v battery through system check on the display screen (method I found on this website). It was showing 12.4v for an unloaded battery. When i put a load on it, it dropped to 11.7v. Once I had it charging, it raised to 14.0v.
View 19 Replies
I think I'm getting the hang of this car after 3 months. My mileage has been steadily increasing as the weather has gotten warmer and as I've adjusted my driving a bit. If I drive fairly normally i get about 55 mpg (HSI, ~52 mpg actual). If I'm more careful I get closer to 60 mpg HSI. If I'm really careful I get over 60. My last tank was 61.8 (HSI), and 59.6 mpg from the fillup (see attached). I put 10.13 gallons in the car for 604 miles. I call that 60 mpg, and I'm pretty pleased. This is for a week of normal commuting which includes lots of hills, about 1/3 surface streets, 1/3 state highway, and 1/3 interstates with occasional stop-and-go. It is pretty hot here these days so the AC runs constantly. I have only seen my mileage get better with time so I haven't seen it roll over as the weather has gotten really hot, but that may be that any affect is counteracted by my learning to drive this car.
View 19 Replies
06' prius that I believe to be abnormal behavior. Just took the car on a 360 mile round trip. After about an hour of driving (Interstate 78mph) I happened to notice on the Energy screen that the car started to use the electric motor steadily for about 5 minutes of driving on flat terrain (Kansas). I watched as the SOC went from 5-6 bars down to 1-2 (purple). At which time the car started experiencing bouts of high rpm on level terrain/small hills. It stayed in this state for over 20 minutes or so of driving. It acted like it knew it needed to charge the hybrid battery, however the level never increased until such time as I exited the interstate and started braking. I am assuming that the HV battery should rarely discharge that much traveling at highway speeds on flat terrain.
View 19 Replies
Car is 2000 Corolla 4-spd auto at 65k miles (bought used 3 years ago). Replace CV axles about 1.5 years ago.
When I backed out today, I saw a red fluid in the snow. Also, my trans fluid has been slowly declining (I've been adding more in).
Where is it likely to leak from? Is the only place the output shaft seals? Would the mechanic be able to spot it out easily?
I saw some posts where the entire gearbox had to be removed (but i think that was for a manual trans)..I hope that doesn't apply to autos.
View 12 Replies
Normally when I lock the car, the red LED on the driver's door flashes quickly a few times and then flashes slowly whilst the car is locked. However, a couple of times recently I've noticed the LED is lit steady after I've locked the car.
What this means - e.g. is the car trying to tell me something isn't fully closed or something? The manual doesn't seem to cover the LED...
View 8 Replies
Gas mileage as stated by Suburu for the 2015 Outback (2.5 engine) is 25-33 with a combined of 28. Mine has never attained that and it has been steadily dropping. Now it is displays as 19 mpg. It is new and has just under 500 miles on it, and I read that the break-in is 1000 miles. That being said, shouldn't I be seeing better MPG than that?
BTW - I am hoping that I am just not being fair (to the car and to Suburu) and that I'll be up in the advertised MPG's soon after I hit 1000 miles.
View 9 Replies
I parked my 2010 gti at work this morning, walked away, hit the lock button, and noticed a red light on the drivers door that flashed rapidly then kept on blinking steadily indefinitely. i never noticed that before! so... what is that? the alarm? this may be REALLY dumb, but I did not know this car had an alarm!
View 3 Replies
This morning I started my car, which was parked on an incline, with the car in gear (manual tranny) without remembering that I had left the car in gear. So, when I started the car, it lurched forward when I took my foot off of the clutch pedal. No big deal. I started the car again, but now the check engine light and abs lights are on steady, and the VCS is blinking. The car drove normal all the way to work. When I got to work, I shut the car off and started it up again, but the 3 warning lights are still on.
Is there a re-set procedure for the lights that happens automatically, or do I have to have someone with a scan tool reset it?
Could there actually be something wrong with the car?
View 7 Replies
My 2001 PT Cruiser began to over heat today. By the time I immediately pulled off the road and smoke began to come out from under the hood. Once I stopped I heard a bubbling noise and watched as all my coolant steadily dripped onto the ground (almost a pour). What does this mean?
View 19 Replies
I have a 1984 Ford F150, has about 110,000 miles on it, been a outstanding vehicle. Recently, after I drive if for about 15 minutes, the vehicle feels like it's dragging something, like the brakes are slowing and steadily engaging without depressing them. And, along with this, a chemical odor is present. And if it is the master cylinder, does it make sense to repair considering the age of the vehicle and worth?
View 11 Replies
I recently acquired a 2000 Golf GTI 1.8 20v that came with a few preexisting issues, one of which being that the alternator will not charge the battery. I've checked my voltage while running "starting with a full charge" and it slowly but steadily declines from 12.09 to 11.0 over a 2-3 minute time span. On the dash the battery light is on and never turns off and my radio does not work at all "even with a full charge". I have already replaced my alternator, battery, battery cable, and the two relays in the engine compartment. The relays in the engine compartment were causing a "ghost" amp draw but that has been resolved. I do not have a 109 relay as I have read that this could be the culprit, when I examined the "under-dash" panel I found that my panel does not have one. I have also replaced the 30amp fuses in the engine compartment fuse box and cleaned the grounds.
View 11 Replies
I just drove the GLI from pa to myrtle beach for vacation. On the way back I noticed the temp was steadily rising while idling at a red light then at a gas station. Coolant level is fine. Thermostat, water pump, thermostat, and both temp sensors were recently replaced in the last two months.
So I know none of those things are a variable. Both fans never come on. I tried turning on the ac to get them to come on. But nothing. I read as much as I could on forums to find a solution but none applied to my specific problem.
Car is completely stock besides p flow intake. Has 153000 miles I'm pretty sure everything involving fan is original.
View 3 Replies
2 strange things my 03-04 explorer is doing.
(1) it keeps telling me I have a door ajar. the weird part is, if I turn the interior/dash lights off, it goes away, even after I turn them off and back on. Also, after doing that to get the message to go away, when I turn on my rear defrost, the message comes back on. I've sprayed the heck out every door with WD-40 to try and loosen a stuck switch.
(2) occasionally, when I turn on the rear heat, you can hear, what sounds like a relay, steadily clicking in the rear drivers side of the cargo area.
What either of the two issues might be?
View 4 Replies
My Jeep Commander 2006 (a problem vehicle until i had it repaired/much replaced by non-dealer service center, i.e., i know that these are 'finicky' cars on their best days), the engine light comes on steadily/not flashing indicating poor quality fuel. It did this 60mi after this last fill up at the gas station, and it did so after 60mi following the previous fill up. The engine light then goes off -as Jeep told me it would - after driving it about 60-70miles. this happened a couple of times last summer as well. I've tried going to different gas stations in the area thinking different stations would have different fuel suppliers, but what i noticed is that BP and Sunoco for example are getting delivery from same truck. ?: how can i determine quality of gas before I put it into tank? I always put in premium but it doesn't matter what the label says if the quality isn't any good.
View 7 Replies
When I purchased my truck 1999 F350 about 5 years ago, I was told it was on its third transmission since the awesome 7.3 diesel engine has 200,000 miles on it. At first I noticed that going up a hill with the truck empty would cause the tranny temp gauge to climb to 250 degrees F. Nowadays when I tow my boat or carry my camper, the temp gauge pegs over 250 and the overdrive light flashes steadily when I do any hill climbs. I have had the fluid flushed several times, and I have a large fan powered oil cooler too. I also recently noticed that the tranny heated up when the truck is just idling in place.
I just got back from burning man and during the 800 mile round trip the overdrive light started flashing at least 6 times and the temp gauge read over 210 the whole time, with it pegging over 250 during hill climbs. No fluid boiled out but I am very concerned that damage is being done.
Is it possible there is a clog in a line somehwere restricting the flow of oil? Or should I replace the tranny?
View 14 Replies
I have a 7.3 Excursion, 234K Miles, 4R100 Transmission. Today I was in a rush to take one of our dogs to the vet, when I hit overdrive going up a hill, it almost sounded like a clicking noise and I was steadily losing power. I came to a stop sign and put it in park and it started to develop a constant lope that was rough. Whenever I would step on the gas it would put out white smoke which it has never done before. I was able to take it a couple miles before it did the same thing except this time it shut itself off.
Recently I have been having transmission issues as it feels im losing first gear. A while back I noticed it would idle slightly in park every now and then. A couple days before this happened, I came to a stop and my truck started loping slightly and first gear IN DRIVE felt very very weak. I have recently replaced the cam position sensor as well as the ICP sensor. I'm at a loss, I plan to do a ZF6 transmission swap very soon and this is only making me panic even more.
I never dog the truck, take it mudding, etc. Oil is changed every 3-4,000 miles. I did however get it scanned a while back and I believe two codes came up for two pistons, also did an injector buzz test and they all sounded strong.
View 10 Replies
My gen3 has 200k miles and eats atleast 1 to 2 quarts every 2 to 3k miles what can I use...
View 12 Replies
I have a Gen II 2008 with 109000k miles. It seems when it gets hot here in Arizona (near 100 or >) that for a period of time driving home, the car will not shift into the next gear properly. I have to back down on the accelerator to get it to shift to a higher gear or whatever the trans axle is not doing. There are no check engine lights or codes be thrown. Is there a sensor that could be causing this behavior or are there internal clutches slipping. Oddly later driving home things seemed back to normal.
View 6 Replies
I got my first used oil analysis from Blackstone @ 48,000 km (roughly 30K miles). The oil has 8K km (or 5K miles). The dealer changed the oil so it's whatever they use.
The fuel comes back at 5.3%, whereas "normal" is < 2.0%.
Aside from that, other "unnormal" things include the Lead with a count of 9 (normal is 0), SUS viscosity is 50.9 (normal is 54-61), cSt viscosity of 7.54 (should be 8.5-10.8), and Flashpoint is 260 (should be >365).
View 8 Replies
This has been happening every once in a while and it has me puzzled. Sometimes my fan dosen't work and no air comes out of the vents whether on low med or high. It like the fan is broke.I will leave it on any speed and not air will come out but usually within 5 minutes or so it will start working. It happens out of the blue and I cant seem to figure out why or what conditions make this happen. I am a car guy and do all my repairs but I have not ever had a car with a touch screen HVAC.
View 14 Replies
