[AndyV]

I just took delivery of my 2004 Tideland Pearl #9 and am thrilled by it. Except for my wife's complaining that IT NOT GREEN I have nothing but good things to say about the first week of ownership. Coming from an engineer, it's a great testimonial to the quality and ingenuity of this vehicle.

But I do have one suggestion regarding the mileage meter. The way it's set up, average miles per gallon is displayed against equal time periods (every five minutes, a new bar with the average mpg for the last 5 minutes). It would be much more informative and useful if, besides average mpg for equal time periods, it could display average mpg for fixed numbers of miles (this number being settable). In other words, the avg mpg bar would update after every 1 mile driven (or 2 miles, or 5 miles, etc.). The cumulative MPG displayed at the bottom of the screen would then be the average of the 6 displayed bars. The way it's set up now, the displayed MPG has no ralationship to the "area under the curve" because you have no idea how many miles were driven during each 5-minute period.

If there are other "geeks" out there who follow what I'm talking about, do you agree with this? I'm hoping that what I'm asking for is already possible and I've just not pushed enough buttons yet, but I think it's not.

If anyone from Toyota is reading this, please consider this for a future feature if it's not already in the works.

 

[V8Cobrakid]

I fully agree with you. I myself dont really understand the plus concept of MPG per time period. It is amusing i guess. Most would call it a game. The actual usability of it is very low though. With the way the display currently is, i'll still devide the gallons i've added to the miles i've driven since last fill up.

 

[Daniel]

I agree.

But I'm not sure I care all that much. I think the average mpg per tank is more useful, because it covers a longer time-frame.

What I'd like to see is an average mpg reading associated with each of the two trip meters, so I could get the mpg for any given trip.

 

[Rick Reece]

Considering its just software updates the MFD mpg average should have multiple options. The time and distance above are nice but for equal fuel consumption periods (1/20th of a gallon) would allow you actually average two segments. The Honda Insight with two trip meters that show mpg, a segment display that shows mpg and a car lifetime mpg display has a lot more flexibility in this regard. Have fun, RIck

 

[mrv]

The only good thing I can see for the time period, is that most people tend to think in time periods, and not about how many miles they have gone. you can see what effect your driving style over the last period of time has had on your MPG. it's useful to see that short trips from a cold start will give you low MPG, whether you only drive down the block or you get on a highway and go 5+ miles in the same 5min time period.

 

[TauZero]

Tangential comment:

You can get a bluetooth connection for handsfree alling while driving (which you shouldn't be doing anyway), but you can't use the bluetooth connection to download performance data.


OK, I confess, I'm a data junkie who just wants more and more numbers to play with, but is there anyone else here who would want to be able to download spreadsheet compatible data that includes, say MPG and average speed in 5 minute averages, or even more stuff?

Tau Zero

 

[evil_attorney]

It always seems like the first five minute consumption bar is displayed in less than 5 minutes whenever I drive. Is this just my imagination? It seems more like 3 minutes before it's displayed. After that, the bars seem to be displayed in five minute intervals.

 

[RSnyder]

It always seems like the first five minute consumption bar is displayed in less than 5 minutes whenever I drive. Is this just my imagination? It seems more like 3 minutes before it's displayed. After that, the bars seem to be displayed in five minute intervals.

It seems like 5 minutes in my 2001 Prius, not sure about the 2004. Maybe you could get a patient passenger to stare at a watch for 5 minutes, or bring along an egg timer and set it to beep in 5 minutes just as you start the car.