[conniejo56]

I am considering buying a 2005 Prius

Can anyone give me an idea of the actual mileage you're getting? I've heard that the 60/51 is way off from what drivers are actually getting.

(I drive mostly highway speeds 45-60mph to and from work -12miles, and then just miscellaneous around town errands)

Any other info I need to know in making my decision. (Other vehicle I'm considering is Toyota Matrix)

 

[BOXOUTBM]

My average after 4500 miles is 50.2. It certainly varies from tank to tank. My current tank I am only getting 46.4, but I have been driving like a maniac and not really watching my MPG. My best tank so far is 52.8. Even at 46 or so miles per gallon, you are still getting a lot better mileage than the Toyota Matrix.

 

[dgstan]

There's a lot of info on this subject if you want to search around.

Personally, I've been averaging about 48 MPG. This is "real world", about 50/50 freeway/city. I usually run about 72 MPH on the freeway. If I drop it down to 68 I can get over 50 MPG, but it's not worth the near-death experience of having a Hummer inches from your rear bumper.

I also use the AC whenever I feel like it. I imagine this knocks the MPG down somewhat.

The other important factor is that I live in a hilly (not mountainous) area. The people who consistently hit 60+ MPG are flatlanders. Also, if you're in Washington State, you will probably see worse mileage during the winter due to "winter formula" gas.

Like any other vehicle, the EPA estimates are about 20% high.


DGStan

 

[Darwood]

MPG

I am average just over 50 lifetime.
On our 100 mile trip to our cabin, we always get around EPA.
Otherwise, we drive about 50/50 hiway/city and get about 53 in nice weather or 48 in cold weather or if we use AC a lot in hot weather.

I am impressed that I almost always beat EPA going over 70 up to the cabin. As for city driving, we've never had a strictly "city" tank and our city trips are usually shorter, so I expect to not get EPA. I am very pleased by the mileage as it has exceeded my expectations.

 

[Tideland Prius]

Summer averages so far has been around 50-53mpg. Winter averages around 45-47mpg

 

[kirby]

Think you should do quite well. I purchased a used '02 which is only rated at 51/45 and have been doing better than that - although this is summer and I understand there is about a 5 mpg penalty for cold winter weather. I have been averaging over 50 mpg and that includes my 17 year old daughter driving it who bottoms the mileage out at below 40 at times. Personally I average 52 or better in mixed city and rural driving. When I did a highway trip from NJ to Long Island that had highway travel for 85% of the trip, which I would say half was at 55-65 and the rest at 65-75mph I got over 54 mpg that tank. So, you should do at least as well as I do!

Remember there is also an mpg penalty the first 3-5 minutes of driving as the engine warms up and favors low emissions over fuel economy.

 

[ehurtley]

I'm probably a good one to base off of, since I'm just South in Portland, so I drive in the same conditions you do. (I drive an average of 55 miles a day, about 70/30 highway/city in the Portland Metro area, including the occasional commute to/from Vancouver.)

As my .sig shows, I have averaged a little over 45 mpg in almost 20,000 miles. It is getting better, though, as in the last month (since June 13th,) I have had 18 days where my mileage was over 50. My overall average since June 13th is 50 mpg even. (My lifetime mileage is low because I drove a full car to Nebraska and back in the Winter, and averaged a dismal 41.21 mpg over 3126 miles.)

As mentioned, either way, you'll do better with a Prius than with anything else. (Other than maybe a Honda Insight.)

 

[KTPhil]

After 12K miles, I'm at 45, plus or minus 1-2 mpg. Lots of high-speed freeway, lots of suburban stop and go (both bad for mileage), very little country road or boulevard cruising (which would be much better).

 

[coloradospringsprius]

Different drivers have wildly different mpg experiences with the Prius. Some mileage killers include short trips, lots of stopping and starting, high speeds (though the Prius is amazingly efficient up to about 60 mph), aggressive driving, low temperatures, low tire pressure and the lamentably common oil overfill. If you drive 12 miles each way at 45 to 60, you should do well - maybe not EPA mileage, but 50 mpg or so. It is considered insane to move farther from work just to increase the mpg on your commute.

At 4,600 miles, we're getting 52.4 mpg according to the pump and 54.5 according to the computer. Our mpg drops every time we have to do stop-and-go driving, and improves every time we get a nice long stretch of freeway.

 

[woodstock]

Hi All -

I'm new to this forum.

After 5,300 miles, I had to make a visit with the dealer regarding the milage. I have been getting only 35.6 MPG. The car is an '05.

The car went from getting 39MPG to 42MPG, then dropped off to about 35MPG. I am wondering if I have a defective battery. The engine kicks in when the car is doing a mere 7 MPH.

Interestingly, and this seems to be a theme in the hybrid world, the dealer's attitude toward the problem was very stand-offish. It was like, "35 miles per gallon? What's the problem with that?"

I will report after the dealer does their thing.

Tony

 

[richard schumacher]

1. Check the oil monthly and right after every oil change. Too much not good, too little very bad.

2. Check tire pressures whenever the average outside temperature changes more than about 5C/10F degrees and adjust as needed. Tire pressure should only be checked when the car has been driven no more than one mile in the previous 30 minutes, so that the tire temperature is close to ambient. (Some of us cheat by using 42/40 PSI front/rear, higher than Toyota recommends but still safe for the original tires and more economical. Ride and handling are affected.)

 

[KTPhil]

It's normal for the gas engine to come on below 10mph, expecially in traffic where you get going quickly from the light. It takes a VERY light foot to keep it electric only, and doing so does not necessarily translate into better mileage (since the battery enrgy used must be replenished fby running the ICE anyway).

Still, 35 is awfully low. Short trips?

 

[woodstock]

Thanks for the feedback.

Well, here's the results from the dealership:

"We checked your car and there is nothing wrong. It is getting 45 miles to the gallon. So, we don't know what to tell you."

First of all, for any one living in Southern California - don't do business with Frontier Toyota at the Valencia Auto Mall. Their sales is not so bad, but their service is run by a bunch of thugs.

Secondly, I have no idea what to do. I have been closely monitoring this car since mile one.

I am finding that I just may have to figure some things out for myself. I will check the oil and the tire pressure. Interestingly enough, the drop off in mileage occurred with putting in synthetic oil.

Thanks again.

 

[Ray Moore]

Lowest tank- 440 miles @ 41 MPG. Full load, 76-81 mph climbing in mountains.

Highest tank- 818 miles @ 65.1 MPG Commuting to work, just me, little to no AC. 31 miles one way.

Most tanks- 56-60 MPG Usually around 650 miles on a tank.

Current tank 230 miles at 58.2 MPG. Heavy rainstorm knocked it down. 100 degree days with mega AC doesn't help either.

Lifetime average- 53.5 MPG.

Driving strategy- slow down, drive the speed limit, don't hinder traffic, minimize use of battery to power vehicle when accelerating and coasting. You can tell when you are asking the battery to provide significant energy to power the car. A little is not too bad but a lot is inefficient.

Maintenance- Use only three quarts of Mobil1 at oilchange, 42/40 psi in tires, maintain clean air filter.

 

[gasik1417]

Thanks for the feedback.

Well, here's the results from the dealership:

"We checked your car and there is nothing wrong. It is getting 45 miles to the gallon. So, we don't know what to tell you."

First of all, for any one living in Southern California - don't do business with Frontier Toyota at the Valencia Auto Mall. Their sales is not so bad, but their service is run by a bunch of thugs.

Secondly, I have no idea what to do. I have been closely monitoring this car since mile one.

I am finding that I just may have to figure some things out for myself. I will check the oil and the tire pressure. Interestingly enough, the drop off in mileage occurred with putting in synthetic oil.

Thanks again.

there's gotta be something wrong then. I know most people say just drive it, but if you want +50mpg you have to baby it. That means not gunning it and not flooring it. Do the speed limit. I suggest letting someone else who has a prius around you drive it for a day and see what kind of milage they get.

 

[coloradospringsprius]

ConnieJoe - Be sure and check the GreenHybrid database at:

http://www.greenhybrid.com/compare/mileage/

It's unscientific, but it's remained remarkably stable over the past five months as the number of 04/05 Priuses has doubled. The middle 50% of Greenhybrid Prius owners get from 45.3 to 50.8 mpg. From reading hundreds of mileage postings here and at other Prius forums, that strikes me as a reasonable middle range.

Woodstock - what sort of driving do you do? Since you don't live in, for instance, the arctic, the only way your mileage would be normal is if your trips tend to be very short (it's unusual to get more than 35 mpg in the first five minutes), or have lots of stops and starts, or you drive VERY aggressively. Otherwise, something almost has to be wrong.

 

[Ken S]

4500 miles on a 2005 in SE Florida A/C set to 78 (which really seems plenty cold)

My trips are all generally very short 2 - 3 miles...and I get around 40/mpg.
Trips on Fl Turnpike or I95 where speeds are 70+ less than 40
Trips where I can stay around 35MPH for extended periods are the best with MPG over 50.

Oil is below the Full Line
Tire Pressure is 40/38

 

[evander]

I've had my car 4 months and the best tank I've had is 46mpg. That was interstate, decent weather, driving about 65mph, and no heat or AC. Usually I have VERY short trips, stop signs, accelerations, and now in our extreme heat, AC. I'm getting more like 41mpg. Each morning that I start my car, with the AC, I immediately lose .1 or .2 mpg from the previous day. Over 3 weeks before a fillup, that's a lot of lost mpg. which cannot be recouped without a longer trip. At first oil change next week, I'll have extra air put in tires to see if that makes a difference. Hope so. Would love to see a tank of 50mpg.

 

[mrv]

Some further reading:
http://www.toyota.com/html/hybridsynerg ... ng2004.pdf (near end of Spring 2004 newsletter)

* Prius Fuel Economy: Explaining the EPA Ratings
Toyota explains what the EPA ratings actually mean, and lists ways
to improve your MPG
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toy ... sage/71431
http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/Pri ... ssage/2742
http://www.priusonline.com/viewtopic.php?t=1079
A brief description of the EPA test cycles is here:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/info.shtml#estimates

* Can I expect to get over 50MPG in the new Prius?
(see question #6): http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/2005/prius/faq.html

* Prius Fuel Economy Factsheet:
http://www.toyota.com/images/vehicles/p ... conomy.pdf

More MPG tips are in the Prius User's Guide:
http://john1701a.com/prius/prius-userguide.htm

Gas Mileage Tips from the EPA:
http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/drive.shtml

There are also more MPG tips in your Owner's Manual.


I also suggest reading the following article (with plenty of citations
for source data):
http://www.bluewaternetwork.org/reports ... ehood2.pdf
"FUEL ECONOMY FALSEHOODS: How government misrepresentation of fuel
economy hinders efforts to reduce global warming and US dependence on
foreign oil" by the Bluewater Network, 2002


(BTW: it's more helpful if you tell us what your tire pressures are,
when you last had service (and how that went, i.e. what grade of oil
and how much did they put in), what the weather is like in your area,
the terrain, speed, and length of your usual trip, how much cargo you
usually carry, and what your temperature controls are set to...
along with your driving style, and how your previous vehicles fared
against their EPA numbers. there are a lot of factors. and dealers seem to like setting the tire pressures too low...)

There is a Prius MPG calculator for the Classic Prius, but
I don't think anyone has recalibrated it for the 2004+ Prius
yet, but it should give you some ideas where you might be losing your
fuel economy:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-prius/message/6299

 

[c4]

Even driving the same route, two different drivers can expect to get different mileage on a Prius- it just seems to be very sensitive to driving style... The former owner of my Classic Prius could never get better than about 40 MPG on the car, even in the summer, but I'm consistently getting 47 MPG, and have had as high as 52 MPG (again, on a Classic).. The difference? He "just drove it", while I tend to pay more attention to the MFD as I drive and to use the feedback to help lower fuel consumption.. Same car, same city and similar routes, but major difference in fuel consumption!

IMO, all the various driving tips *can* work, but they may have limited success if you use them "open loop", ie, just drive as per some set of recommendations without using the MFD actively for feedback.. For instance, a slow smooth start might be suitable for one type of intersection, but a faster start might be more fuel efficient for another type. Another example: driving a constant speed is generally a good thing, but on the Prius, you often get better mileage if you allow the speed to vary up and down a few MPH while trying to keep the fuel consumption within a target range (which is generally how I drive- I choose a target MPG that I want to achieve and balance speed and acceleration to come as close as I can to that target- ie, I'm not trying to get the *best* MPG all the time, simply to achieve a target (in my case on the Classic, it's 47 MPG/ 5.0 L/100km)).