Help increasing 06 Prius gas mileage
Created September 20, 2006, at 12:00 am by Anonymous
my prius seems to be stuck at 53 MPG, how can I increase it even more???
I have 5k miles on it, and got it serviced yesterday, oilchange and everything.
Any suggestions? please email me @ with "Prius" or "MPG" in the subject. thanks
David
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I'm sort of disappointed. My Prius is stuck at 40-45 mpg for around town, This is a lot lowere than the 60 mpg on the sticker in the sales lot.
Consumer Reports estimates far closer to reality. I'm getting around 44, mixed city & highway with 2900 miles on my '06. Wife's lead foot could be the prob...
Wow, man! 53MPG is not good? The actual mileage greatly depends on the way you drive but yours is absolutely fantastic! I would assume you are doing better than 95% of the pack. With all honesty, that's about two times better that you could have gotten from a regular compact car, anyways.
I think you can actually SHARE some secrets of frugal driving, not looking for anybody's tips on how to do better.
I am stuck at 47MPH (mostly highway). I am looking up to you to teach me how to do better:D
Cheers,
D~
Check out my Prius Blog
David, 53 is great, I really try to get max mileage and average 49 mph combined hyway and city. I have 6500 miles on my 2006. Robert Helms
Hey everyone!
Sorry for the long absence, but now my 06 prius is at 10500 miles and hovering at 47 MPG, still good right?
fuelzilla, you have AIM or yahoo?
You are doing great and shouldn't worry about it.:) I average 47 mpg and have abt. 12,500 miles on my 2005.
Your mpg sounds good to me. I'm driving around town, mostly, and averaging 48 to 49. My Mercury Villager 99 with only 35,ooo on it, and I might add, regret selling, only averaged 20mpg. Letting it go for $10,500 irks me that I did that. Biggest worry for my wife is she heard the Prius magnetic field is cancer causing. Any words of wisdom, anyone....
My recommendation is:
Press the brake very gently at high speed, then more and more when the Prius slowes down.
Here is a graph:
http://www.hybridsynergydrive.com/en/regenerative_braking.html
It is the MG2 acceleration graph, http://www.hybridsynergydrive.com/en/electric_motor.html
but flipped.
53 MPG is not bad at all. Here are some tips that helped me improve my gas mileage from 43.3 MPG to 62.1 MPG.
1. Don't go over 65 MPH on the freeway. The fuel efficiency drops drastically between 65 and 70 MPH. You will get the best gas mileage at 55 - 59 MPH.
2. USE CRUISE CONTROL on the freeway. You WILL see an immediate result with this.
3. USE CRUISE CONTROL in the city as much as you can. You can get on cruise control at 25 MPH or above.
4. When you accelerate, don't slam on the gas. Go easy and gradual. If you are at 25 MPH or above, you can use the "up" and "down" shift on cruise control to accelerate or decelerate.
5. If you see a red light ahead of you or when you KNOW you'll have to stop soon, let go of gas and start coasting. The less you have to rely on the brake to stop, the better gas mileage you get.
6. You won't get as good gas mileage when your outside temperature is below 40 F or above 90 F. The idea temperature is between 50-70 F.
On your next trip, try going steady at 57 MPH with cruise control on the freeway while having your "Trip Information" on your screen and see what it tells you. I think it will raise your eyebrows. Good luck :)
On this tank of gas, I have gone 620 miles with the average reading 61.7 and I havent even started using the last fuel "bar" yet. I have almost 20k miles on my 2006 Prius. Like almost everyone I've heard talk about, I have experimented with trying to find the best gas mileage. I have 2 secrets: 1) I drive in "neutral" as much as possible and 2) when I drive on the highway, I draft behind big semi trucks, or just a big truck/suv can help too, but not as much as a semi truck.
I drive mostly in the city and usually dont go above 50 miles per hour. I dont have a lead foot and accelerate at a casual pace. What I mean to driving in "neutral" is by looking at the energy monitor, the one with all the arrows. Once I slow down to 40 miles an hours, I carefully place my foot on the gas until there are no arrows at all. This is tricky and can take a little get used to, but since I've started doing it, my MPG has finally gone above 60, and is still climbing. It was always dancing between 56 and 58. Now every time I drive my car to work (26 miles), it keeps increasing another .1 to .2 MPG.
When I do drive on the highway, I drove from West Palm Beach, FL to Jacksonville, FL and drafted almost the entire way. My MPG rose from 57 to 60 by the time my trip was over. When drafting, a lot of people say it's not safe, but I found that you dont have to draft 10 feet behing the semi's. I'm far enough away that another semi could fit between me and the one I'm drafting on. I cruise at 70 miles per hour and watch as the average MPG actually goes up. The yellow bar graph is solid at 60 to 65 all the way across.
It takes discipline and patience, but it works.
I just bought my Prius 2 weeks ago and after 1082 miles I'm up to 51 MPG. I was worried after the first tank of gas I was only averaging 46 but have paid attention to my driving style and watched the average go up gradually. My driving is a mix of highway 2-3 days a week and around town the rest.
glenn
The prius actually has 5 modes of operation as far as I can tell:
1. For fast accel its uses the gas and electric for more torque
2. highway it uses gas only mode and charges the battery at the same time
3. electric only mode you can cruise and enjoy great gas mileage
4. regen mode is crusing down a slope with the gas pedal released
5. is a special mode, when you release the gas pedal and the arrows on the energy screen go black. In this mode you will not use gas or electric.
47-48 mpg around town
55 highway
NJ
2006 Prius
Toyota and/or the dealership is NOT who makes the 61mpg guestimate, it is the EPA, and it is estimated at optimum performance levels, as an average, not an absolute every time figure. Jeff if you would look at the other MPG estimates out in the REAL world and compare them with what the vehicles HONESTLY are getting, trust me, you have got a winner with your Prius!!!
Mike
I've owned my Prius since September last year and have done over 14,000 miles. I managed to tip (avg) 60mpg when the weather picked up, but now run at 59.5. I know it dips with AC or heating on!
When I start in the morning, I let the car run stationery until the engine cuts out and then start my journey - this has improved the early morning MPG.
When I come to a junction I throw the gear into B early on and then brake gently to increase the battery charge. Don't leave it too late to put back into D or the engine will cut back in. When the Battery is over 80% charged, she'll run at over 70MPG whilst cruising without over draining the charge.
Also check the tyres regularly, if theyr'e not even, this will also reduce the MPG.
I've had my 2007 Prius 5 months, have about 5500 miles and have consistently gotten ONLY about 35 mpg in town. On rare occasions when I do highway, I average about 47 mpg. When I first questioned my Toyota service center at about 2,000 miles, I was told there was a break-in period. Now at 5500 miles, I'm told there's a 15,000 break-in period! Everyone who has written here talks about GREAT mileage well before 5,000 miles. I just took it in for its first service and asked them to check it and they said there was nothing to check for mileage -- just be patient. What gives?
1. Only drive downhill.
2. When you get to the bottom of the hill, sell the car and start over.
My 2006 has 26500 miles. My overall average is 49 mpg. One interesting observation is that I drove to the Grand Tetons in Wyoming last summer and then back thru Idaho and Oregon and then home to Pismo Beach, CA last August. I was amazed that my average for the trip was 51 mpg. I wasn't exactly going slow thru the long desert runs in Nevada and Idaho. It took me a while to realize that the oxygen sensor was probably cutting back on fuel mixture when at altitude. Yes, I am an engineer, nuclear.
Ive read quite a few posts on people not happy with their gas mileage so Im going to share my secret and dont worry I cant get rich by sharing this with anyone but you can do your own homework before you take a chance on it.
I have a 2000 Toyota Avalon XLS and a 2001 BMW X5 3.0 and for the past 2.5years I have been using Pure ACETONE in my gas tank after every fill-up, dont freak out its not going to blow up your engine or anything like that, it will not burn your cylinders!!!! So how much you ask for every 10 Gallons of Unleaded Fuel use 3oz. of ACETONE only, nothing else, it cannot be mixed with any other solvents no other additives, you should see somewhere around a 25%-40% improvement on your gas gauge. So your asking why does this work, well its really simple and I think the big oil companies should be mandated to add Acetone to their supply line so its already at the pump when you fill up. Gas has a high surface tension, that is why you get buildup in your engine and carbon deposits, because much of the gas passing through is wasted and never combusts completely, when you add ACETONE you chemically reduce the surface tension of gas and the best part is a tiny bit goes a long way, it literally makes your gas a lighter substance for lack of a better word and it burns or combusts more completely with ACETONE, and finallly ACETONE is alot cheaper than spending $5+ for fuel additives everytime you fillup. REMEMBER!!!!
3oz. ACETONE for every 10Gallons of fuel, this will also work on DIESEL but you only need 2oz. of Acetone for every 10Gallons of fuel.
ENJOY saving money, feel free to thank me all you want I accept compliments only no donations, LOL!:-)
Poor advise. Don't EVER go below the stated speed limit. I recently took a course on driver safety and the damn instructor wanted to spend 30 minutes chastising drivers for going over the limit. All the while I'm looking at his handout that shows drivers who were UNDER the limit/driving too slow, were the NUMBER 1 CAUSE OF ALL ACCIDENTS, BAR NONE. I repeat, going below the speed limit is the number 1 cause of all accidents on the road today. Keep up with the flow of traffic. Don't forgo safety for mpg. If traffic is too fast for you, get off the interstate and take a different route. It's safer.
And, from personal experience I've found the largest factor in determining gas mileage in a Prius is the use of climate controls. The fan in particular. Try setting your temp, then put fan on lowest setting. If you need to cool/warm up quickly, set fan a little higher, then down to lowest setting after a few minutes.
There are no statistics that show that. But it is a popular urban myth.
Well, actually speed never killed anyone. It's actually massive deceleration, usually caused by stopping that generally kills or injures. I suppose you could say that the massive decelleration generally puts you below the speed limit, probably at least at the time of injury (TIC).
I don't think this really supports Mabulok's assertion though.
I will say, however, that I feel much less safe driving 55 mph on California's freeways than I do at the speed limit or higher though - not that I do that very often.
I've been driving a rented Prius around New York the past week. I've done everything wrong.....driving it like a taxicab. Had the heat cranked up in the cold, with a high blower setting. Filled it up today.......getting 45 mpg. I thought that was really very good. Nice car....fun to drive.
I was just told by a dealer that gas mileage falls significantly in the winter because gas is reformulated for the colder months. My '06 is getting low 40s. Normal is mid-40s...
I have an 06 prius and get 51 mpg. I do mostly hiway driving. It all depends on how you drive the car in order to get 50 plus mpg. It is not the most comfortable car on the market but I did not buy it for comfort. I do a lot of driving so it saves me a bundle at the pump. I am considering changing my oil to synthetic type oil. I read someone elses article that did this and gained another 3--4 mpg.
To repeat what was said earlier:
Dealers like to blame oil companies for bad winter mileage. But that's not true.
Real fact is that ALL gasoline fueled engines get half their normal mileage when they are cold. Engine does not get full economy until it is up to operating temperature.
Obviously, in winter it takes LONGER for the engine to get up to full temp, therefore poorer MPG. Especially on short trips under 10 miles.
It's just a fact of how gasoline burns. At cold temps you have to dump ALOT of fuel into the cylinder to get it to fire.
Impressions of Driving 2008 Toyota Prius
Weaknesses:
1. NIMH battery, twenty-eight 7.2 volt modules and holds a charge of 6.5 amp hours. Not powerful enough, gas engine kicks in at the first hint of any serious demands.
2. Visibility – good up front, but very bad on the rear sides and rear. I live and drive in a large city aka “combat driving,” it’s difficult to see when someone is flanking you even if you turn your head and look. With all the twitchy lane changers, you can get killed if you can’t see what’s going on. My car has been slammed into 3 times over the last 10 years by idiots, one uninsured.
3. Backup beeper – extremely annoying. How do you turn the $!@&!! thing off?
4. Can’t turn headlights on, must use driving lights during daytime, or else the dash lights, like the speedometer, will dim so much that you can barely see the display, even with dimmer all the way up. Is there an override that’ll fix this?
5. The speedometer and fuel gage, etc., are stuck in a hole at the very front of the dash, so the passenger has little idea what’s going on. Move it out a bit so everyone can see this.
6. Idiot lights, no RPM indicator, no temperature gage for engine, no oil pressure, etc.
7. 1.5 liter engine, slightly underpowered for some interstate highway hills, acceleration a bit lacking at highway speeds. Overall performance is Ok, but if you have to go up some Interstate hills, you’ll hear the engine kick down, twice, and it revs up pretty high, more than I like to see.
8. The center dash controls for climate, display, etc. Too many button pushes to get something simple done, like recirculate/circulate, and turning AC on or off. Just to go from recirculate to circulate air, you must push three buttons. (change the display, push recirculate, push display button again.)
9. There can be a very slight hesitation upon taking off from a stop light due to the engine startup. You can also feel it “surging” at highway speeds sometimes as it’s trying to decide which engine to use, regenerative charging, etc.
Positive:
1. Leg room, nearly identical to Camry. I can’t stand the Corolla for this reason, legs hit steering wheel even with the seat all the way back, and then must extend arms straight out with elbows almost locked to reach steering wheel. This is a huge plus, enough to make me not want to buy it otherwise. The car’s shape or unusual look or styling has no impact on my buying decision. If this changes to Corolla dimensions in a future model of the Prius, I won’t buy a Prius.
2. Fairly quiet, smooth ride, wouldn’t be afraid to drive it long-distance, pretty decent road car.
3. Surprisingly roomy.
4. Gas mileage exceeded my expectations; I recorded 48, 49, 52, 54, 37 (severe Santa Anna headwinds for 200 miles) and 49.2 mpg, with most of those miles being highway miles at up to 75 – 80 mph, about 10% city miles. At lower speeds, 40’s, 50’s and some 60 mph driving, gas mileage went as high as 54 – 56 mpg. If you really babied it, slow acceleration and keep it down to 60mph, I believe you could get at least high 50’s mpg.
5. There are some people in the oil exporting nations that lie awake at night and fantasize about methods to kill Americans and destroy America. I can’t stand the concept of sending truckloads of money to these folks. That said, even if battery technology isn’t where it should be, why couldn’t the Prius operate on 85/15 Ethanol to allow further significant reductions in gas usage? How difficult can that be?
#1: The batteries are evolving. The biggest problem is getting a battery pack to last 100,000 miles/10 years. Toyota hopes to offer more powerfull battery packs to allow "plug-in hybrid" operations.
#2: I drive trucks for a living, so I am used to using my mirrors (unlike most motorists). With 3" round spot mirrors added to the lower outside corner of the rear view mirrors I have absolute 360 visibility, no blind spots. But you DO have to use the mirrors.
Complaint #3: see http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-userguide.htm
on page 4 is the directions to disable the backup beeper. Lots of other helpful hints as well.
#4: The display should be variable up to full brightness with lights on. I drive around all day with lights on. Check the "display" settings on the center display. There are default settings for both "day" (no headlights) and "night" (headlights on). One of the settings may be set too low. If not, see dealer, the display should be able to go to full daytime brightness with headlights on.
(this WAS a problem with my old Honda, would only go to half brightness max, when headlights on).
#5: I'll give you that one. But how often does the passenger need to worry about the fuel gauge?
#6: Google "ScanGauge" After market instrument display that plugs into computer plug, and velcros to dash. You can program it for your choice of parameter display.
#7: Engine is designed to operate at high RPM, don't worry.
#8: Controls on steering wheel take care of 90% of climate controls you should need to use. AC on/off, fresh/recirculate, temp up/down, defrost mode on/off.
#9: It's a HYBRID, not a race car! If you are looking for jackrabbit starts, high speed acceleration and a sexy VROOM sound, you bought the wrong car. It gets 50MPG+, has very good handling, and a relatively roomy interior. On the plus side, Al Gore's son did get caught racing the state troopers at 100MPH+ in a Prius.
We have been getting around 40 mpg based upon actual gas consumption, while the console shows 44 mpg. Have others experienced this difference?
I've been getting around 42-45 mpg. But on longer freeway drives I'm closer to 50 mpg.
We're having a cold summer here in Seattle though, and it's killing my mileage. It takes longer for the car to warm up, the engine idles, and my mileage plunges. Sigh...
It must be that those consuming alcohol are frequently those driving slowly (hard to see the lines if you're going too fast while inebriated).
We're in about the same mpg range as most report. After 2.5 years and 43,000 miles we are overall 45.6 mpg. The Achilles heel for our mpg is short trips, 5 to 10 minutes, in low temperature weather. During the November- March time we get about 39 mpg overall. During May-September we get around 50 mpg.
Summer long distance road trips give us around 52-54 mpg, while our infrequent multiple series of trips to downtown Chicago on the rush-hour Eisenhower tends to register in the high 50s.
One two tank fill-up while driving the up and down hills highways of southern Yellowstone Park at 45-50 mph gave us a combined average of just over 77 mpg. I guess the hills and speed just properly matched the engine and battery performance.
Any idea how the Prius does at altitude? I live in Colorado at about 6500 feet and commute to places as high as 8400 feet. My Tundra is only getting about 15 mpg.
Thanks.
2008 Prius Pkg 2 bought 3-26-08. Now has 1650 miles on it. We have ranged from 48 to 52 mpg with a lot of short <15min. drives. Almost never get on a highway which does NOT have traffic signals.
So far our impressions are all positive. Took a while to figure out how to drive to improve mpg. Probably the two biggest things we have found to increase mpg is to think ahead and use cruise control. We now look as far ahead as possible to anticipate traffic signals and anticipate whether we will have to stop or not. We use the cruise control everwhere where it is safe to do so. On non-hybrid cars we found the use of the cruise control improved mpg approx. 10 percent and assume the same savings with the Prius.
With gasoline around $4 / gallon we love the miserly ways of the Prius!
2006 Prius has 72K miles and is averaging 48-50mpg during the summer (mostly 70+mph highway driving) and as low as 43mpg in the cold Michigan winter months.
Short 5-10 minute trips are killers for mpg.
We bought the car to save money on gas when it was selling for $2.25/gal. Now at over $4.00 per gallon, the Prius is money in the bank.
57 IS DANGEROUSLY SLOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep tires to max specs.
I found a 94 octane gas combined with my slow starts and coast to red lights driving = 60+mpg in my 2001 Prius.
A little faster downhill and coast up hill using battery as long as possible.
Turn a/c off going up hill but use fan, and a/c back on at crest of hill.
Watch battery/engine monitor and jack rabbits to the rear; just let them go; you can usually coast passed them at the next light.
52 miles per hour highway
45 in town.
The difference between 52 miles per hour and 70 miles per hour is around 16 mpg.
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