I'm still in my first week of using mt TCH and I seem to be getting better mileage when I use the highway, even through there is lots of traffic, but it's mostly steady with few stops.

 

The highway forces us to drive more efficiently using the techniques previously mentioned; Specifically, 1)No frequent starts and stops & 2)Minimal brake usage.
If you can figure out how to maximize those conditions within the city limits at city speeds of 25-35mph, your mpg will surely increase.

 

well i guess i just have to do longer driving trips i went to san jose last night and back this morning. things i learned...

1. the car is more effecient going 68 mph than going 65 mph.
2. the slow lane is more practical and gets you to the same point.
3. gas in san fracisco is 3.29 while in san jose it's 2.86!!!!
4. minivans should not be allowed to drive more than 70 mph!

so with all this i was able to achive 42.7 mpg per the fe and the tank avg was 38.2. so much better.

thanks guys.! and Gals!!!

 

nash pretty well nailed it, but I have two points of refinement.

1. Accelerate briskly, but not with the pedal all the way to the floor. Overacceleration can also cause a drop in FE. As a rule of thumb, I start at around 10 MPG and rapidly get to a range of 20-25 MPG on anthing near level. If it is uphill, you need to be a little more aggressive - remember that it is the TIME spend in low MPG that harms FE.

2. When starting to reduce power after the initial acceleration, back down fairly quickly on the pedal. The rate of the pedal change seems to relate to the ratio that is initially set by the ECU for the PSD. At speeds above about 55 it will go right to a point where the sun gear is very slow or reversed (heretical mode). This is equivalent to a very high gear ratio, (sort of like overdrive), but you don't need to worry about the ICE RPM being too slow because the ECU will prevent it by either fine-tunig the PSD or demanding some short-term power from MG2.

 

I had to "teach" my sister to drive her TCH to get the same mileage I'm getting. It takes a much "softer foot" and allowing the car to coast a lot more. That said, my sister lives in Portland, OR and takes this fairly steep road through the mountains on her way to work. On the trip home she climbs and has to stop a number of times. This would kill the gas mileage of ANY car. Last time i was in San Fran, it was pretty hilly, so that may be part of the issue.

Another thing, remember that one of the MPG rating on the display is per tank. The other is MPG per trip (that's the one with the bar graph). The only time I get the super great mileage on the tank reading is if I travel all highway from pump to pump, like on a long trip. But, when I check the trip MPGs it is often much better than the tank MPGs - i hope that makes sense.

I have also found that if I take my time and practice, my mileage has improved. In other words, I am getting better mileage now than I did a year ago, and that's because of my behavior and not the car.

 

Hey One1Cat!
Congrats on getting a TCH! I chuckled as I read your postings since I live just down the road from you in Pacifica. And yeah gas is definitely cheaper in the South Bay. If you aren't going that far, the Arco at 92 and Delaware just off of 101 is usually the cheapest on the upper peninsula here.

Want to add to Nash's and other suggestions, this tip. Just before you are ready to crest the hill ease off on the gas and let your momentum carry you over. This really helps me. And checking your route and alternatives for longer non-signalized downhills like Edgemar grade coming into Pacifica is great for mileage and battery charging.

 

I prefer the 3 lane to the 4 lane, since I drive with Cruise Control on. There are too many cars going in and out to effectively stay with Cruise in the #4 lane.

Cruise control when no big hills really helps your FE.

 

Yes! I keep thinking about mentioning this tip myself! My way of putting it is basically take your foot off the gas just a little bit _before_ your natural tendency. You want to push it all the way till you get over the crest, but any meaningful uphill ground you can cover in EV mode has to be a significant benefit, and you can generally coast or just push in EV mode to get over that last bit of hill without losing much/any meaningful speed. Think of the FE you're getting on those uphill stretches, and what is it--10mpg? 5? And compare that with what's technically infinite mpg? There's this one hill I hit on my way home that has a traffic light at the top, at a 5-way intersection, and a short light, so I'm pretty much guaranteed not to get a green light there. I get a silly little thrill trying to EV mode all the way up it (or as much as I can, occasionally slightly heavy on the pedal and it kicks on the gas for a second) so I can use 0 gas instead of having low FE on the way up--it's reeeally slow going but that's one place people behind me are usually not in a huge hurry, so I just don't care! But yeah every low-FE situation where you can reduce or eliminate the use of the ICE makes a significant difference. And the hill thing is something I hadn't seen anyone else mention explicitly before--glad to see I'm not the only one!

 

This is great advice!!! Thank you for taking the time to compose this reply. THanks!!

 

Great advice! Thanks for taking the time to post a reply!