I just purchased my 07 camry hybrid about 2 weeks ago. I have also been reading majority of the post in this forum. but i can't seem to get the fuel milage as most of you are getting. im averaging about 28 mpg, but has only been my 3rd tank. i see a lot of you well above 35. so am i driving this car the wrong way. i have been driving the posted speed limits. i dont "gun it" when the light turns green. any help for a newbie!

 

#1 learn how to drive lol!!

 

Where do you live? Is it hilly?

Do you take a lot of short trips?

I can get in the mid to upper 30s in middle NC, but no better. These people that are getting near 50 are either in absolutely ideal (non-real world conditions), or are lieing.

 

i live in san francisco with a 15 mile one way trip to work then occasional drive to san jose...

 

I typically get around 43-44 mpg(hand calculated, MFD shows 45 mpg) per tank. I don't need to lie on the internet, the same way I don't need to drive 60mph just to come to a screeching halt after 5 seconds.

If you want to improve your mileage the first thing you do is to map out your daily route. Learn how the street lights (if any) work. Learn/study the traffic pattern (left lane stops frequently for no reason, right lane is slow but steady). Try to use the least amount of pressure on the gas pedal when possible and ALWAYS coast to a RED LIGHT (don't panic because the mad man/woman behind you is trying to "outrun" you to the stop light). Those are the few tips I can give you for now. As time goes by you will learn other strategies on the highway by watching your "instant mpg meter" and trying to keep it between 45-55mpg, etc.

 

I apologize for my above wording. It was in poor taste. Peace to my fellow forum members!

I do know that I am doing absolutely nothing wrong, have tried all the tips mentioned, and will never get mileage in the upper 40s. I have only once ever had a tank that was about 41.

Also, see other threads. San Francisco is notorious for poor mileage.

 

Two weeks in a hybrid is still a short time.

35mpg in a Camery sounds pretty respectable.

If you look at the MFD in the Energy (?) mode - where it's telling you when the ICE, electric motor, etc is running, work to get in the glide mode and EV mode more.

There are plenty here that could explain it much better than I, but pedal work to coax the glide, EV, etc helps a lot. The pedal changes are subtle.

 

For San Francisco, 35mpg with a 15 mile commute is not bad. You will see noticeably better mileage when you take trips in the 20 to 30 mile range. Here are a few things that can help you get better mileage:

Look ahead and try to avoid using the brakes, instead coast to slow down when possible. On down hill sections, ride the brakes to slow down gradually instead of stopping all at once at the next light or traffic jam.

Accelerate at a reasonable rate past your target speed by a few mph. Then back off the gas until you can hold 45 to 55mpg on the mpg gauge. Going up hill, get moving, then back off and maintain your speed. Slowly accelerating up a hill kills mileage. So does speed. Avoid going over 70mph, and keep it between 60 and 65 on highways when safe for best mileage.

Mileage will improve if you air up the tires to 40psi, use ECO mode, avoid A/C or defroster usage, and avoid slow acceleration.

Force full hybrid mode by stopping while the warmed up ICE is running (tap the gas to force the ICE to start if needed) and letting the ICE stop after 7-10 seconds. Once in full hybrid mode, the ICE will almost always stop anytime you coast or slow down from any speed under 40mph.

 

Yeah, give it a little time, and as I keep saying, keep an eye on what you're doing that causes the FE needle to dip. You can't go 15 miles at 28 mpg without a fair chunk of low-mileage driving (or worse, idling!) to drag it down. So see what you're doing when you're getting mileage that will make it tough to do well. I think mapping out your route is probably excessive, that's something you can start looking into once you've got the basics down, but definitely keep a very light foot on the pedals, cruise control on the highway, coast when you can, to recharge the battery (and allow you to go further without using up gas), try to keep it in EV mode for reasonable stretches, as long as you don't let it use up all the juice so you kick back into idling mode.... It takes a little getting used to, and if you're living somewhere that's tough for high mileage anyway, it might not be as easy to pull the higher FEs. But people who are getting 45 regularly year-round live in warm climates, and.. well I see different things about terrain and driving patterns, but here I'm getting good mileage lately by cruising through some local towns instead of using the interstates, so I can mostly drive around 40 mph or less. Lets me slip between coasting and giving it a little boost easily.

And don't forget nash's advice about putting into full hybrid mode, that's saving me some frustration. Hate when the car's warm and won't stop idling!

 

thanks! going to san jose tonite i will definetly try af few of the tips./