Hi everyone,

Here's a bit of a question...I have an 05 Prius from Nov 05 and just
moved. When I lived in my previous location, I was getting between
48-52mpg regularly...like clockwork.

Since I moved, it's dropped to 39-42...quite a drop. I am taking
similar roads as before (mostly highway) and my mileage will not
improve...I tried different gas stations, new oil change (I use Mobil
1), checked the tire pressure. Nothing...

I'm getting a bit frustrated, because nothing has changed except where
I live and that can't be the only factor for the mileage change...

I have 22,500 miles on the car, and was wondering if any others had
similar experiences or solution suggestions?

Thanks...

Temperature different where you are now than where you were then? Winter
gas (with 10% ethanol) vs. summer gas?
--
Peace,
BobJ

"Rich" <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166803813.544986.278250@42g2000cwt.googlegro ups.com...

Temperature...no, not colder by much, maybe 3-5 degrees max. When I got
the car it was winter time and was getting 50mpg, so that's what's
concerning me. I wish there was a reboot of the car, maybe it would
reset anything that has adjusted itself.


Marilyn & Bob wrote:

"Rich" <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166803813.544986.278250@42g2000cwt.googlegro ups.com...
It may seem a long shot, but there was at least one report of a similar
economy drop after the car was serviced. It seems the parking brake was set
too tight; operating the parking brake forcefully a dozen times or so
cleared up the problem.

Otherwise, is it possible the drop is from terrain near your new home,
sucking down gas during the first mile or so of cold driving?

Mike

Rich wrote:

Are your trips shorter now than at the old location ? Efficiency is poor
for the first 10-15 minutes so if your trips are < 30 mins then this
tends to drag down the average MPG quite considerably.

Paul

I think it is due to the locale and not the car.

Where I live, I get around 42 mpg.

If I venture to the San Francisco area it jumps to around 50 or better.

I go back home and it drops.

It's been consistant in its behavior so I no longer doubt the car, but the
area has more impact.

B~

"Rich" <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166803813.544986.278250@42g2000cwt.googlegro ups.com...
Alignment?

I would guess a combination of temperature and local driving conditions.
My economy dropped by 10 mpg between September and December. The only
difference is average temperatures in the 30s instead of 70s. Also, the
first five minutes or so of driving can have a huge impact if you do
mostly fairly short trips. If you sit at lights a lot or go uphill in the
first few minutes, your mileage will really suck and it takes a lot of
driving under more favorable conditions to make it up.

Ill Eagle wrote:
Should I be letting my car warm up on colder days to minimize any gas
sucking from driving?

No! When not moving you get *zero* MPG. The first thing a Prius engine
does is run continuously, to warm up itself and the catalytic convertor;
it does this to minimize hydrocarbon emissions. You might as well be
moving while it does this.

The best way to warm up any car (including a Prius) is to drive it,
gently for the first few minutes. When the cabin heater starts working
then it's warmed up.

richard schumacher wrote:
Gotcha...I thought that too, but you never know.

I still wonder if I need the car serviced though...when I first got the
car, the engine would shut off much faster when I stopped, now
sometimes it doesn't shut off at all, especially at stop signs. I used
to slow down, and feel the engine turn off and I'd coast on batteries,
then accel. on batt and continue to run on them for a while...now, it
seems when I accel. from a stop sign the engine almost immediately
starts, or at least more frequently than I ever recall. And I can tell
you truthfully that I am making an effort to not push the accel. to
much to "test the waters," but no difference.

Thoughts?

richard schumacher wrote:
Gotcha...I thought that too, but you never know.

I still wonder if I need the car serviced though...when I first got the
car, the engine would shut off much faster when I stopped, now
sometimes it doesn't shut off at all, especially at stop signs. I used
to slow down, and feel the engine turn off and I'd coast on batteries,
then accel. on batt and continue to run on them for a while...now, it
seems when I accel. from a stop sign the engine almost immediately
starts, or at least more frequently than I ever recall. And I can tell
you truthfully that I am making an effort to not push the accel. to
much to "test the waters," but no difference.

Thoughts?

Rich <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote:

Last winter, I modified my route to extend how long I drove at 25 mph
until the blue 'coolant' light went out. This made a significant
improvement in mileage:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/

This year, I learned about a thermistor hack for my NHW11, 03 Prius, and
have been testing a manual version. So far, it looks to be pretty
effective but I'm trying to get a microprocessor version working to
capture some quality data:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/pri_temp.html

Bob Wilson

In article <1167329384.512796.108300@i12g2000cwa.googlegroups .com>,
"Rich" <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote:

Is the weather 20 degrees colder now than when you first got the car?
When did you last check the tire pressures?

If all operating conditions are truly unchanged, then yeah, might as
well have a dealer check it out.

Bob Wilson wrote:
Wow Bob, those are some really detailed stats...nice work. I did the
modification with my commute distance and added and extra 12 miles, and
it does help slightly. I went from 38-39 mpg to 42 mpg. My climate
change since moving is ~7-10 degrees colder than before, but if that
makes such a big deal with respect to the overall mpg, I might look
into the hacks you've mentioned, because my last car (Honda Civic) got
33mpg, and makes me doubt the Prius a bit. Just a bit.

I also have 23000 miles on it in 13 months, and have done the following
things: oil changes at ~6500 miles using Mobil 1 10W-30, tires have
been rotated 3 times and that's pretty much it. I don't know if there
is something from Toyota (or myself) that needs to be "maintained" at
this mileage, but it's starting to look like it though...

Thanks again for the stats...

"Rich" <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1166803813.544986.278250@42g2000cwt.googlegro ups.com...
Higher elevations tend to reduce mpg. Did you not read "Limited
Participation" post replies?

mark_digital© wrote:
Higher elevations would be a factor except I live 5 minutes from the
beach...even before I moved, I was very close to sea level. What is
this "Limited Participation" you are talking about?

"Rich" <jazzersaxman@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1167492817.212248.324620@a3g2000cwd.googlegro ups.com...

mark_digital© wrote:
Higher elevations would be a factor except I live 5 minutes from the
beach...even before I moved, I was very close to sea level. What is
this "Limited Participation" you are talking about?
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Two doors down ;) you'll see a post from Greg. Subject line "Limited
Participation"

For awhile, mandatory alcohol mix was suspended because it couldn't be made
fast enough. Maybe that's why you got such good mileage. Believe me, fuel
mixture and altitude plays havoc on all vehicles not only the Prius. While
I was vacationing in Colorado my fuel efficiency dropped drastically. A
Toyota dealer there said everyone is affected but don't realize how bad
because they don't venture too far from home. For them it's normal. He also
said if I planned to stay I would start seeing better fuel effeciency in a
few weeks. The last day heading home I traveled 500 miles from the Great
Lakes to Massachusetts. Once I reached the lower elevation of NY I
immediately felt a better response.

There's also a possibility your batteries are taking longer to get to the
warmer more efficient state simply because early sun isn't there. Days are
going to get longer by what, two minutes each day? Before you know it, the
ambient temp and sunlight will catch up to each other and you'll be back to
52 +. The thing to remember is everyone's mileage suffers in the cold
climate. Don't compare someone else's summertime MPG. It's also probably a
one time fluke and that's the tank they remember and talk about.

"mark_digital©" <976-XXX@comcastnot.com> wrote in message
news:sv6dnYocPLisUwvYnZ2dnUVZ_ompnZ2d@comcast.com. ..
Maybe I'm lucky. Here at 7000 ft our two 2002s manage upper 40s to lower 50s
around town until the winter gets here.

Mike

"Michael Pardee" <michaeltnull@cybertrails.com> wrote in message
news:1M6dnfrVnf5efQvYnZ2dnUVZ_u6rnZ2d@sedona.net.. .
I don't know where 'around here' is but like I said, if you're there long
enough...
The dealer said I would see upper 40's but not anything like I was getting
back home.