only 30mpg on my 2008 prius - why?

When I stop getting good mileage, I check the air in the tires. Because the tires are "heavy duty" due to the weight of the battery, etc. the tire pressure is often set lower than it should be. When I put more air in the tires, make sure not more than rated on the tires, I always get better gas mileage. Also, it wouldn't hurt to take it to a toyota dealer, under warranty, and they often can tweak it to improve performance. If it does not start to get at least 45 miles/gallon, something is wrong. Watch the guages, learn to drive more evenly, and steady on the gas pedal. You will get better performance in time. Don't settle, sometimes,, a new battery is needed. Also, I just remembered if you are carrying extra cargo, think weight, it will also lower the mileage,. resest the readout each time you get gas, you don't need high octane. I've had mine since 2002, and still get 47mpg avg, it's great in snow and sleet, just a little slippy in heavy rain.
good luck, S

I have 142,000 on my 2004 Prius. I commute 56 miles per day in mixed Chicago traffic. My driving technique is "aggessive survival" so the cars available performance is well used. I am around 42 mpg for the life of the car.

Do you have LRR tires at the correct maximum poundage for the rating inside the driver door? Is the air cleaner new? Does the car coast well, maybe you have brake drag? Does your <40 mph mileage when you barely touch the pedal at +60 to 100 mpg on the screen?

Check the above and correct if you can. If still getting poor mileage, see a reputable Toyota dealer and run engine diagnostics, something is wrong.

bought a 2008 prius and live in new york city. i thought i would get better mileage in city rather than hwy, as advertised. while taking 200 mile trips my mpg hovered around 45. when i started city driving it started dropping and is now below 41 mpg. am not an aggressive driver and will not rabbit start, most of the time. i only have 5000 miles on car. what am i doing wrong. what can i do to get better mileage

I've had a 2008 Prius since late April and I live in the NYC area. Most of my driving is street driving (about 15 miles a day) and I have NOT found the claim about better mileage in street driving to be true for me. I generally get better mileage on the highway. I read someone's opinion on one of these threads that the Prius battery just isn't strong enough to deliver on the stated street mileage claims. I don't know, but overall I'm very happy with the car.

Since May my monthly mileage averages have ranged between 41 and 47. This month, however, I'm doing about 34. My tire pressure is fine, I'm not carrying extra cargo and I think I'm a "Prius-friendly" driver, so I attribute to the sharp drop off to the well-documented (on this board, at least) winter mileage reduction. In general, the vehicle just doesn't get its best mileage in cold weather. Here's hoping for a mild winter.

Jay

Please define exactly what you mean by "short drives". Our Prius gets terrible MPG until it's warmed up - about 5 minutes.

Have you taken any long road trips with it?

We have a 2007 Prius and were getting 46-49 mpg average. Put new Goodyear Fuelmax tires on it and the mileage dropped to 40-46. Exchanged the tires for Michelin Energy Saver and now we are getting only 33-35 mpg. Help someone. What's going on?

I'll check the maximum psi. The tire dealer did say 32psi. We just put Michelin Energy Saver A/S tires on it. Tire dealer says they are the best for a Prius. Next step if more air doesn't work is the dealer. Sigh!

Thank you for your reply!

The first problem would be California is an E10 state. Ethanol in gas drops your mileage.

I'm going to take a wild guess on LA freeways, you probably aren't speeding down he road at 75mph. But you probably have a lot of stop-and-go rush hour traffic. All cars get better mileage when maintaining a speed.

Minimize AC usage, especially when I stop and go traffic. It runs your battery down. I also try not to run mine when the outside temp is below 78F.

Check your tire pressure and air filter.

Gliding does significantly improve mileage. It may not be "cool" enough for you. But if you want to improve your mileage, it can only help.

For all cars, how you drive affects mileage significantly. Pull up some websites on hypermiling. If you want to maximize your mileage, practice them. After two or three months, your mileage should significantly improve. But because of the E10 issue, you may never break 50mpg.