Wow! This is really interesting, and I appreciate your taking the time to explain it. I understand most of what you are saying. I submitted this post because I really don't think I'm getting the mileage I should. 29.9 MPG since I got the car 15,000 miles ago is not what I expected. But, as you said, maybe I should just enjoy the car.

Thanks again.

 

The mileage you get is very dependent on the type of driving you do. The car will do everything it can to get up to operating temperature, so if you your trips are short the mileage will be terrible. I don't use the Camry to commute because I work 3 miles from home and the MPG for the trip doesn't even get off the bottom of the scale. But it will do 40MPG or better on vacations involving long drives on two lane roads (moderate speeds and few stops).

 

I set the AC to 78 degrees and 3 bars on the fan graph for the first couple of miles. I have found if I change the temp up or down (forget which) it will automatically turn the circulate button to OFF. Then the AC is now running pulling in hot outside air. I keep a eye on the circulate button anytime I move the temp setting. I do turn the circulate button back ON.

Once the cabin feels cool, I move the temp up to 79 or 80 degrees depending on the outside temperature. To most that sound rather warm. Our outside temperature was 106 this evening when we drove to town. The outside humidity was 8% according to the weather records for the day. (is due to the 4300 foot desert elevation around here)

I forgot to mention, once the cabin has cooled those first few miles. I lower the fan speed to two bars on the graph, which keeps the cabin comfortable.

I do keep my air control set to ECO on all the time. (if set to Hi or Low temp will turn the ECO off)

I have also had times where the engine would not shut off at a red light. I figure the AC is in a cycle cooling the cabin down to maintain the preset temperature.

 

If you're getting 29mpg, that's low for TCH, but as already mentioned, type of driving makes all the difference. Short trips really kill your mpg, since the engine never really gets fully warmed up and therefore you never get to benefit from hybrid drive. From my experience, on longer drives I get from 35 MPG to as much as 50 MPG, depending on traffic, weather, wind, speed etc. Shorter trips (3 miles or less), often enough I don't even get to see first bar on the display.

 

I had my dealer disable the climate control's ability to control recirc mode. It's a simple setting. Now *I* decide when it should be on or off. I am MUCH happier now, as I believe the car OFTEN picked the wrong mode anyway.