I have kept a mileage log since day one so that I can compare to what I was spending on the other car and truck in our daily travels to work. So far 18400 miles on the clock, Lowest per tank 42.001 MPG Highest per tank 65 MPG Overall MPG to date from 3 miles to 18000 miles+ a hair over 48 MPG Compared to my truck which seldom went over 15 MPG, unless I was on the open road with a tail wind getting 19 MPG, I have saved enough money in fuel costs that it is making the car payments and the insurance payments on all three cars. Now that my littlest is in a full size car seat, there is only room for the two children and my wife, so we now have to take two cars if we want to go anywhere except work. I was considering a crossover like the Pacifica or Freestyle, but considering what the Prius cost me, I may just get a second one and just take two cars instead.
You are in IL? Point is, it is my understanding that the Prius was designed to be, 1st, a vehicle that puts out low emissions. As your weather gets cooler, you should notice your mpg falling as your car trys to keep the engine within a window where it puts out low emissions. When it gets cold enough, you may notice the engine running, when your battery is neither empty or full, and your car is not in need of it's power. I hope that fuel saving costs were not your only motivation, lest winter discourage you. Another benefit you should see with your Prius, as the years and miles go by, and that is a reduction in maintenance costs. Last year, my mpg dropped with the temp to near upper 30s, which put it near my 4 cyl Camery. On this forum, I read about and downloaded pictures of installing a water-pipe insulator to the front chrome grill piece on the car, which was said to postivily affect the mpg. Thinking about doing that this year, when I went to install the insulation, I noticed how the front of the Prius is made behind the grill, and changed my mind. I decided, instead, to mount a piece of plexiglass on the radiator, blocking the bottom 4 inches that was getting clogged with bugs anyway. Then the weather turned warm again, so it is too early to tell how that will affect my mpg. My 06 has 92K on it, and I drive it with the traffic, with heat or AC as needed, and the current avg, currently, seems stuck on is 52.2. My maintenance costs so far; Oil change and tire rotation every 5k miles. Mostly done by the dealer. Alignment check and wheel balance, every 30k miles. Original tires lasted to 56K, I replaced them with Yokohomas, recomended to me by the dealer. There was a TB on the Aux. Audio Jack when used with MP3 players, that affected me, audio jack upgraded under warranty. Clean and wash car when needed.
<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(rposton @ Nov 23 2007, 08:12 AM) [snapback]543174[/snapback]</div> Take another look at the radiator and be careful with your plexiglass. The radiator has two parts. The upper one cools the engine and the lower half cools the inverter fluid. It is two radiators, one stacked on top of the other. Blocking the lower half will not affect the engine but could be really bad for the inverter.
