Left my Prius on all night recently. In the garage, so didn't need to use smartkey to lock it, or I would have known it was still on. MPG has diminished. Will this fix itself?
Welcome, priusism. Cool name. Not to worry. Your mileage is always an average, and will improve once your car is actually moving while burning gas.
Thanks, hyo silver I've actually been driving it a few day since, and my mpg, usually mid-40's, has been mid-30's. I take it by your reply, however, that you don't think I've done any permanent damage. We do get spoiled with the stingy gas usage, don't we? One way to look at it is this: If gas costs $3.27 U.S. per gallon, as it does in my area, then PriusFolk are paying about $1.64, or less, considering that we fill up about every other time, compared with most drivers. It just doesn't make any sense, other than making oil companies richer, that all cars aren't hybrids. Prius sacrifices nothing in terms of room, speed, performance, bells, whistles or beauty. It's a very cool car.
G'day priusism, Welcome to PC. I mostly agree with that but I did have to borrow my dad's Ford Maverick (Nissan Patrol) to tow a car and trailer from Melbourne to Adelaide last week. But as long as I can borrow or hire I have no need for a big thirsty car. Even though dad's car runs on LP gas I was shocked at the cost of fuel for the trip. Prius would have done the return journey for about $140 worth of petrol but the Maverick used up $400 in LP gas even though gas is half the price of petrol! Only thing is if I took the Prius I couldn't have towed the trailer back.
A precautionary safety note, in case it happens again: If it's been on all night, the engine has come on intermittently (as you can figure from your lowered MPG) to keep the battery from getting too low. (There are residual current drains from the vehicle's electronics even if no accessories are on.) This of course creates a carbon monoxide risk in a garage or other closed space.
when I get our of my car with my smartkey in my pocket and the car is still running it beeps externally several times to make you aware that the car is still powered on. i only do this on purpose when i step out to check the mail or run back into the house to grab something I forgot, but the beeps should alert you that you left the car on, so if you ever make this harmless mistake again you'll know what those external beeps mean
*Always* lock the car, no matter where you park it. If you have SKS and the car left ON or a door is open (which will drain the 12V battery) it will give a long warning beep. (People without SKS just have to be more careful.) Locking the car is not only for security, it's to help avoid You-Big-Dummy events such as this.
Ignorance Becomes Knowledge I'm still getting used to the "New Tech." I took my dog ot the vet in wife's Prius the other day. Got dog out. Smar key in pocket. Pushed door lock pad once. It beeps. No locky. Repeat x3. No locky. Try same x3 wih remote. No locky. Just beeps. Wth?! I guessed dead battery in fob, deal with later. I recogn I was really focused on dog to vet mindset. 20 mins later I get in car, get hooked in and notice.... the ICE is purring away. DOH, lesson learned: push the big button before...and after! I suppose if it was stolen, they shouldn't ever turn it off. LOL
Yeah, I've made that mistake, too. I'm also in the habit of pushing the button and seeing if I've done everything right. One thing I've noticed is that the hatch sometimes doesn't close completely, and if it's not completely closed, the car will 'complain' with a long beep as well when trying to lock it. Still learning...
Since it was burning some gas during the night, the lowered MPG will not "fix itself." That gas is burned and gone. Don't worry about it. Water under the bridge. Enjoy the car and try not to make the same mistake again. Find a different mistake to make next time. Me, I seldom make the same mistake twice. There are so many mistakes to make that I can always find a new mistake to make.
