Did a road trip to Utah from San Diego to visit 3 national parks(Capitol Reef, Arches, and Canyonlands). Added about 2300 miles to my car now at 113k total. Car handled great for all those miles. However, car was really struggling in Utah especially on I-70 with all the mountain climbing. My battery was only showing 1 purple bar most of the time. The longest I was driving with 1 bar was about an hour or so. I was scared the battery would fail but luckily it didn't car survived =). No wonder I barely see Prius's in Utah lol. Also never experienced a drive where there are so many deers crossing the roads..had a few close calls.
Sorry I didn't see this and reply earlier. Having driven that I-70 & I-15 route over the years and seeing the carnage that used to be live animals I won't even attempt the Denver to St.George stretch in the dark any more. It's bad enough in broad daylight. This post caught my eye since our 2008 is also a Gen II at 113k miles and we'll be taking our Prius on that route for the first time next week. We're taking I-15 to I-40 to I-25 on the way up but probably I-70 to I-15 coming back. We're you using the cruise control all the time or nursing the car in any special way? .
My 2007 Prius has spent all of its life with Utah as its home base. It has visited all the national parks in Utah and many of the state parks. Lots of driving on freeways and on mountain roads with none of the symptoms the OP reports. How much of a load was in the car?
I only used cruise control for about an hour. Did a lot of pulse and gliding to save mpg. Total gas trip cost $150 . Car handled fine it was only the stretches when climbing mountains was where the prius struggled and where the battery stayed in purple.
Thanks for the info. I've read other threads about how to tackle 70 and 15 so I have a bit of a driving plan for the trip. Your info just solidifies it little more. I'm not much of a P&G guy, especially with the rest of the family in the car. They are all too impatient for it. I pay attention to the energy screen but I'm not a slave to it. I don't allow it to distract me from the road or the beauty of the countryside. Besides, I know we'll get well over 40mpg round trip no matter what I do. Much better than the low to mid 30mpg ('07 Nissan Versa), 26 mpg ('02 Buick Rendezvous) and about 20mpg (1994 4x4 Chevy K-Blazer) I've had on the route previously.
