I just purchased my 05 prius, I live in NYC and I noticed that when I drive my MPG flucuates often, I have only driven the car 20 miles , but the car says that my average MPG is 17. If Im driving the car goes anywhere between 9 and 99.9, but most often hovers around 23-35, I guess I was expecting it to be more like 45-55. Is this a problem
First of all, welcome to Priuschat and welcome to the wonderful world of Prius ownership. Now, there are a few things you need to understand. And I'm only going to skim the surface. I'm sure someone will not resist the urge to delve into more detail. You have to think about the average. Sometimes, when you have a heavy load - such as acceleration - your current MPG is going to drop. This will make you average drop. On the other hand, when you are coasting, your mileage will increase as high as 99.9 like you mentioned. This will make your average go up. In the course of 20 miles, the slightest MPG increase or decrease will totally affect your average. Think of it this way. You're in NY. Let's say a rookie Yanke batter gets lucky and hits 2 out of his first three times at bat. That's great, he's batting a .666 until he strikes out and drops to .500. A .166 swing is huge if you compare it to a seasoned veteran who has been batting for years. The veteran could strike out ten times in a row before dropping that much - or hit ten homers in a row before increasing that much. The fact that you have driven 20 miles in your car makes you - and your current tank - a rookie. Sorry, but that's the facts. After you have put about 400 miles on that tank, you will find that even when you nurse it to the limit of your abilities you might only see a .1 increase in average mileage. Now, like I said, there's a whole bunch for you to learn about the Prius. You've made the first correct step by coming here. What I tell all new members is simple: go to the archive (top left navigation box) and start reading from the oldest post to the newest. Here's a good place to start: http://priuschat.com/forums/archive/o_f/f_...4000/index.html You will very quickly come to speed and become a veteran prius driver. Again, welcome to a whole new future.
gotta agree with Tony... you aint drove enough to make any evaluations. first thing you should do is increase your tire pressure. maintain at least a 2 lb more in the front, but most here run anywhere from 38-44 front. that will help a lot. now you havent told us how you got that 20 miles. now if that is all in one trip, you need to practice to get better mileage. but if that is more than one trip and this will be your typical use, you may only see a small improvement. very short trips dont allow the ICE (gas engine) to warm up properly and will run inefficiently until it does. but keep at it. you will get better. i have nearly 16,000 miles on my car and have improved nearly 20 mpg from my first few miles.
Your mileage will vary on any given trip. What you want to look at is the overall mileage. I 'd say the minimum to get a good idea (at least to start) is a full tank. But then you should track your long term mileage over the ongoing life of the vehicle. e.g. I just drove over the Sierras from Carson City, Nv to the SF Bay Area...4000 ft. up, 8000 ft. down and 210 miles. Right now I'm averaging 58.6 mpg. But that will drop when I go back because of the increased climbing. Based on the car's past mileage, I suspect it will be around 50 mpg when I pull into my driveway in Carson City. I've found that my Prius doesn't get great mileage until it has warmed up. This is stressed in the driving manual. This is why Toyota recommends combining errands into as few trips as possible. Finally, your mileage is going to vary with your driving habits. If you are leaning into the accelerator and braking hard, your mileage will suffer. The energy screen is a very good teacher. By paying attention to it, you can learn how to optimize your mileage by modifying your driving style. So give your new ride a chance to show it's stuff and keep an eye on your energy screen. I suspect your mileage will improve greatly. B)
