Hi guys, new guy to the forum. I'm a proud new owner of a 2007 Mag Pearl HCH (no navi) for about a month now. I 'm always trying to improve my driving technique. I averaged about 37.5mpg on my first tank and 3-4 tanks later I was able to get 42 mpg. One thing that I am pretty sure that kills my mileage is the final 3 mile, uphill, stretch that goes up a mountain. I read the great HCH faq written by Tarabell but currently not skilled enough to put a lot of it into use. My only triumph so far has been mastering EV-glide at 35-40mph.

I have a few concerns. I'd like to think that I am a conservative driver but it feels difficult to get good mileage in city. Ignoring mountain driving, I only usually get 37 mpg in city and have to take a lot of smooth back roads to improve FE. Highway driving has been even more difficult. I can't seem to get my FE meter above the 30-35 mark. My battery meter gets eaten up, leaving only 4 bars left. I need and do travel around 65 mph to be safe in traffic. So far I have logged about 1000 miles. I would say the split would be 700 in city and 300 high way. Is this behavior normal? Will I only see more improvement at the 5,000 - 10,000 mile magic mark where the HCH becomes a paragon of fuel efficiency?

A little bit more info. I have all my tires set to 32 psi. I use AC sparingly. Sometimes I get a weird squeak (farting) noise when I step on the pedal. I also hit a massive, way too large, poorly placed speed bump at 5mph with a sickening sound. I use about 7-8 gallons before filling up again. Sorry for the lengthy spiel but does anyone have any advice or comments? I'm worried that I damaged something during my driving. Anything will be appreciated.

Also, has anyone removed the Fuse # 37 from the fuse box to disable the DRL as described by Tarabell's article?

 

Pretty much in the same situation (had car under 2 months, and just under 1000 miles). Looks about like the numbers I'm getting.

I do mostly city driving with short trips. I use the AC. Occasionally have to climb a mountain. I try to accelerate and brake gently, but it doesn't always happen.

I'm no expert at all, but I doubt you broke anything.

 

One easy thing is to increase your tires to 40 PSI.
I think that improved my MPG 2 or 3.

Next drive as if your brakes had failed - leave a ton of room in front of you so you don't have to keep using the brakes.
When braking the hybrid system can only recover 30% of the kinetic energy.
That means 70% is wasted - which is better than regular cars which waste 100% as heat in the brake pads.
If you avoid braking you waste 0% because all the gas you use to get up to speed takes you more distance.
Again, avoid braking, avoid braking and then avoid braking.
Every time you brake think of it as a tiny failure, and use this to learn from.

Next get up to speed as slowly as you can stand.
I get out of the way of cars behind me when I can and use routes with fewer cars.
I try to be considerate.

About that last 3 miles up the mountain there is not much you can do about it, except take it as slowly as you can and try to not stop or vary your speed.

65 MPH uses a lot more gas than 55.
If possible stay in the right lane and go slower.
When I got a personalized license place that says something like:
GOINSLO
NOHURRY
PASSME
the tailgating and light flashing went down by 95% instantly.
People read the plate and realize I am not on the phone, I'm not putting on make up.
I'm going this speed on purpose.
Now they immediately pass me up.

 

Yeah, there is a learning curve--both for the car and the driver. I got ~41mpg on my first tank and 58mpg on my last tank (with about 7,200 miles on the car). After passing over the 3,500mi mark, things started to get a whole lot more efficient for me. I have changed my route some and driving style a lot, but I still live in the foothills of CO so every commute is constantly going up or down something. If possible, I take the most gradual climbs, and really try to glide on the downhills.

Tell me a little more info about your mountain climb at the end of your drive. Average speed? Multi lane? Twisty? How about the hill on the downhill side? How long can you glide the car on your way down? You might be better off focusing on the "low hanging fruit" of your commute instead of worrying about the hill. Focus on gliding as much as possible on the way down (even if you are going a little slower than traffic). I can usually average over 100mpg on a 4-5mi downhill leg but then the 35mpg on the way home balances it out quickly.

Oh, and BTW, I can't stress enough how important it is to reset your trip B every time you get behind the wheel and pay attention to it at various points on your drive. If you have a long commute, you might even reset it more than once per leg. The trip computer has been the single biggest FE helper for me because it's constant feedback.

Good luck!

 

I second Kristian's comments. I'm lucky I don't have a lot of in-town driving. I've changed my route to a 40mph country road rather than the 60mph US highway I took before. It allows me to go slower without aggravating other drivers. I'm up to 65mpg on my 40 mile drive to work as a result. Going slower ads about 15 minutes to my driving time, but I kinda like the slower pace. -tom

 

I have a question about setting the tires to 40 psi? I have heard many people on the forum upping their tire pressure, but is it safe? My tire is a Dunlop P195 / 65 R15 89S. It also says 44 psi max and lists another warning about not exceeding 40psi to seat the beads. Besides a concern about a blow out, is there also more wear and tear associated with the higher tire pressure?

The 3 mile road up the mountain where I live feels like 95% of it is uphill. It is also very twisty. I go about 20-30mph uphill. I go 30 on flat portions so I can use the momentum to go uphill. I have even nicknamed it the windy winding road. On the downward leg of the journey there are only two stop signs and there are only two instances where I have to push the gas pedal.

What I usually do is put the transmission into "S" and glide down until I get heavy regen. The regenerative breaking is sometimes funny. I am not always sure when it will come on. Sometimes I get maxed out regen only for the car to pop out of regen mode and send me speeding down hill .

I do understand that the IMA likes to be warmed up but because of the nature of the downward drive I only get a few bars on the temperature gauge before I hit the city. In second gear I can coast all the way down the mountain without using any brakes. I am able to charge the battery till it is full . I think the only thing that equals the beauty of a fully charged battery is achieving 100 mpg with the fuel consumption meter. Resetting the trip meter at home and then going down the mountain nets me a 157mpg over 3 miles. I think I may have to recheck that.

I also understand that 65mph is not the HCH's forte. I would like a slower pace journey. However, I really do feel that 65 mph is safe on the highway, as it also the speed that the cars in the right most lane go. The speed limit is 60, but I think cars in the middle go 70 and cars in the diamond go up to 75.

At times I am able to go 60 mph on the highway when it is less crowded.
But often, I get caught in a wolfpack of cars. Driving 60mph during that makes feel like I am the focal point of a lot of anger from monster trucks (trucks with raised suspensions), sport cars, varying types of SUV's and unmarked white vans (I'm not kidding and usually with ladders attached and a unidentifiable silhouette of a driver). I think I will just have to stomach losing gas on that part of the commute.

I'll take kristian's advice on resetting the trip meter more often. I haven't really though of that. I usually set it once and forget until I refill. I try to plan ahead so I can do multiple errands before going back home. This usually results in a 30mile round trip. Btw, I live in the Pacific Northwest of Washington. Sometimes it is calm and at other times it is a river of backed up cars.

I am writing way too much

 

Don't worry about the tires at 40. You're safe up to the sidewall limit. On the upside, it seems to improve handling and definitely improves MPG. Higher inflation (without OVER inflation) is better for the tire than under inflation... less flex and resultant heat.

On the downside, 40 psi will give a noisy ride. For me, it's a good tradeoff.

I live at the top of a 1.5 mile steep (8% grade) hill. It's a pain! I leave in the morning and go down with a cold engine that won't autostop at the traffic lights... and won't charge unless I use "S" (for the first few minutes). In the evenings I do my best to time the lights so I don't lose that all-important momentum!

For the highway, just find a nice slow truck to get behind. "Drafting"... at a SAFE distance... can get you additional MPG, too.

For the city driving, just leave lots of room in front of you (per Kenny's comments) and do your best to time the lights so they're green when you get to them.

Your MPG will likely improve at the 5,000 mark.

Oh... by the way, be prepared if you're in a harsh winter locale. You didn't state where you were from. If it's sub-zero country, be prepared for lower MPG. Same with +100 degree heat (a/c use, of course... and also disabling of the IMA to protect the battery in +100 heat).

Keep practicing and you'll improve! It's fun and you save $$$.

 

All the while, remember that whatever mpg you get, it's 15 mpg better than an equivalent gas-only car.

 

Those are the numbers I was getting when I first got my car, too. Just read what everyone here has to say and it will greatly improve your FE. If you are worried that you broke something on the speed bump, you can always take it to your dealer to check it out. Better safe than sorry.

 

Mine only goes to 150mpg. It's kinda funny to watch it when it's pegged there and not moving.

My route to work is a divided 4 lane road with a 55mph speed limit but people drive 65+ on it. I try to drive at least 45mph unless there is a red light in front--at that point, all bets are off and I go as slow as I want to. At first I thought I would get killed driving like that, but I'm still here . It's actually not that bad, and since I drive the same route at the same time every day, most of the other drivers have learned to just go around me.