Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I have a 2009 Toyota Camry Hybrid. For the first 6,308 miles I averaged 36.1794 MPG. I did not have a tank of gas that dropped below 30.836. Then all of a suddent I have gotten several tanks of gas that have dropped to 25.697 / 26.705 / 26.916 MPG. I had the car into the Toyota dealer and they did an examination that appeared to show nothing wrong with the Camry. I have been watching to see if the gas station that I buy the gas at makes a difference and Murphy USA & Kroger appear to be lower then other stations. Can the place you buy the gas or the driver have anything to do with the low MPG per tank of gas?

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

You don't say where you are located.

Cold weather can have a very adverse effect on MPG, as it does with any vehicle. It's just that in a Camry hybrid the MPG is much easier to see on a regular basis.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I am located in Opelika Alabama. I moved from Ledbetter Kentucky to Opelika Alabama last July 2009.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Did your driving change to a bunch of very short trips? I've found that FE takes a dramatic hit when average trip is < 5 miles.

One other area, not so easy to tell: a couple of years ago, several gas stations owned by one guy got busted for shortchanging their customers in amount of fuel pumped. The guy was paying off the inspector for a 'early warning' and would 'adjust' the pumps to be low. Made him extra $$$ and folks filling up there a few MPG short. Easy test is to fill up at a different station and see if it helps.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I would say that my short trips are all over 10 miles. I try to avoid any corner gas stations only ones like BP, Shell, Marathon, Sam's, etc.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I have read that the ethonal blended gas will reduce your fuel economy - any chance you started using the blended gas?

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

winter gas has mileage sapping additives, maybe the switch over got you?

see the FAQ in my signature for other answers to this question

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

My understanding is that almost all gas stations have some ethanol blended gas in it now, besides I was using BP gas in Paducah Kentucky with 10% ethanol in it, and I had no problems. I started having the problems the middle of August of 2009 so the winter gas issue should not have been a problem. I purchased the Camry Hybrid the middle of March 2009 and had no problems until the middle of August 2009. Most owner's manuals do not answer this type of thing. If the local Toyota dealer could not find anything then I doubt I could find anything in the owner's manual.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Common culprits...
Extra weight? If you travel alone as opposed to with a few adults with a full trunk your mileage can vary.
Tire pressure? Underinflated tires sap mileage
Heater? Engine runs to warm up the air for the heater

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Extra weight. I had the same weight in the trunk when I moved from Ledbetter Kentucky to Opelika Alabama and did not have any issues. I have had the Camry Hybrid into the local Toyota dealer twice since I have been down here and the tires and everything have been checked. I do use the heater for the winter weather, but the issue started in August 2009 when the weather here was fairly warm.

I really appreciate all the replies but I don't think that we have yet hit on the issue. The reason that I came to this forum is because the local Toyota dealer could not seem to find a problem. The only things that make sense at this point are the different gas stations that I stopped at during the moving process and the fact that my wife drove the Camry Hybrid for an extended time after she was in an accident with our Chevrolet Equinox. A difference in gas at Murphy USA & Kroger versus Shell, BP and a difference in driving habits.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Have you manually calculated the mileage?
I wouldn't rely on the onboard computers.
Only refill when the tank is nearly empty.
Slight variations and errors get magnified when you refill a half full tank.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I manually calculate every tank. I generally refill when the tank is half empty. From the purchase of the Camry Hybrid the middle of March 2009 to the middle of August 2009 I had no problem and was averaging over 36 MPG refilling the tank when it was half empty.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Can you post a clarification?

Did your mileage change only AFTER you moved?

If it is after, there could be a few things that could affect mileage...
- different type of commute, some are better suited to Hybrids then others,
- different types of roads. Some seem to have more rolling resistance than others, and your difference is similar to what I have observed just driving on different highways around here.
- try going back to Tier 1 gas stations for 2 - 3 tanks and see if your mileage returns.
- If your wife drives the hybrid like mine, it could be worth 3 - 5 MPG right there! :D:angel::zip:

An interesting puzzle...

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

About 30 days after I moved from Ledbetter Kentucky to Opelika Alabama. I tend to think that a different driver plus differing gas stations when I came down here. It seems to drop down and then go back up for several tanks of gas and then take a drastic drop again. I'm going to stay with Shell for several tanks and see what happens.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

We had a change in FE after my wife retired (she is the primary driver). She retired from teaching in June and the car was driven mostly in town instead of her old mix of 20 miles city and 20 miles freeway each workday. The FE dropped from between 33 and 34 down to real close to 30. At first I tended to blame her driving habits, summer gasoline, etc, but after a while I noticed that the best we got was the 30 mpg unless we went on the freeways - then it jumped back up to 34 to 35.

We live in a town that is all hills - on the foothills of the San Bernardino mountains. All primary shopping is at leas 1K feet below us, so wherever we go we are going either uphill or downhill, which distroys the fuel economy. I still love the fact that we get the 30 mpg but would really love to get to the rated 34 but don't think it will happen in Yucaipa!

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

When you are driving, are you noticing the engine turning off?
I'm not sure why, but there are times when it doesn't act properly.
Today I drove 25 minutes on the highway and then I sat at a security booth for about a minute (the heater was off) and the engine was running. I put the car in park and it still ran. It doesn't usually do that, but it did that today.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I lived in Loma Linda / Mentone California for a while so I know what it is like going up and down the hills in California. We have basically a low lying plain here in southern Alabama but the lack of the 35 miles one way to work each day could have an effect on the driving of the Camry. I do not have the engine turning off or on on a random basis. Just when I'm driving in start & stop driving does it go into electric mode.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I have seen that happen to me occasionally. I just let off the brake, let the car move forward a foot or two, and then in about 7-10 seconds the engine turns off. :confused:

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Since you fill up at a half tank, I'd recommend sticking with one brand for 5-10 fills. My reasoning is that you will only be diluting whatever gas you have in the tank unless you are willing to run the tank down to 0 miles remaining for 2 tanks. Also, do you fill your own tank? If not, the person filling it may not be filling it to the same (approx.) level and that could also cause mileage to go up (short fills) and then one time they fill it right up and your mileage drops.

One more thought, does the car's tank MPG follow your hand calculated MPG? ie. a constant discrepancy. While the computer may be optamistic, it should be consistent and it basis its numbers on fuel burned over miles traveled. If it is a inconsistent fill issue then your calculated and the car's MPG will not follow the same curve.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I don't know how the car calculates how much fuel you are using. If it miscalculates, the effect gets magnified if you're only using half a tank as the starting point. I'd say let it to until it's nearly empty (don't worry, you can easily get 100 miles once the yellow light illuminates. Calculate it manually, since that is the only way to know exactly how much fuel is being used. I love computers as much as the next guy, but I think the car is only guessing on the fuel used.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I do like the Camry Hybrid, but was surprised by the sudden drop in MPG for individual tanks of gas after having the car for 5 months with no problems. The MPG always seem to jump back up over 30 MPG with the next several tanks.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Big fluctuations in MPG.... the most exasperating thing about the HYCAM...

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Only if you let it bother you.
When I got the car, I was really interested in the mileage.
I monitored it closely, etc.
After a dozen tanks I realized I wasn't going to be able to retire from the fuel savings. Whether I get one level or another is only a matter of a few bucks here or there.
I know it gets better mileage than most cars on the road, so I enjoy it, but I really don't care if my mileage is up or down.
So, no..., it's not the most exasperating thing (to me).

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Overall, my TCH gets roughly three times the miles-per-gallon of my previous daily-driver vehicle. (The previous vehicle was a full-sized V8 truck.) So I don't worry about the difference between 33 and 37. Either one is a lot more than 12.

I do see a seasonal difference. During the hot summer air-conditioning season, the mileage drops off. During the "winter" (I live in Florida), the AC doesn't run so much, and the mileage increases. I wouldn't know about real winters, with snow and all. Haven't been that far north in a long time.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

My prior car was a Chevrolet Equinox which got about 16-18 MPG, so I am happy with the jump in MPG. But, if there is a sudden drop in MPG with no real change in driving habits then it is cause for concern. My changes in driving habits are 1) change from using Marathon gas to other gas stations 2) my wife driving the car substantially & 3) I don't drive 70 miles round trip to work any more.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I noticed a drop also.
Since we don't have frigid temperatures, yet, and the engine doesn't appear to be turning on more often than normal, I'll chalk it up to 'winter grade' gas.
Not an expert, just a guess, but that's my bet.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Did a 350 mile trip last week in temperatures ranging from -14°C to -22°C average speed 70mph average mpg 33.1 U.S. or 39.8 Imperial.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

You have two significant changes in habits which can really affect your mileage. Your wife driving and shorter drives.

My wife doesn't want to be bothered with the nuances of the hybrid so I don't let her drive it.

I find that I get my best mileage after driving for 20 minutes. Short trips are murder on good mileage.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I think you hit directly on the problem. The gas at the non-national brands you mentioned is usually not subjected to the same quality standards as the chains that refine their own. Kroger, Safeway, Marathon buy gas from the local distributor which could be very inconsistent or a mixture of various brands. That. coupled with a driver that is used to a full gas powered vehicle as opposed to a hybrid would make a world of difference. I've noticed a drastic difference in the way I drive my Camry from the way I drove my previous car. I suspect if you go back to name brand gas and back to being the full time driver, you may see your mileage go back up where it was.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I concur with h20doctor
". . . 2) my wife driving the car substantially & 3) I don't drive 70 miles round trip to work any more."
. . . I believe you hit upon it. My wife does not drive the our Camry like a hybrid, she drives it like an electric golf cart, on the accelerator or on the brake, nothing much in between. MPG rockets downward when we do that around town. If it wasn't for my 40 mile roundtrip commute, my MPG would not be consistently 39 mpg. So, for her, the better car is the Corolla 5-speed manual. The clutch gets worked out when you are an accelerator all the time. It kind of grabs your attention to modify your right foot because your left foot is getting a work out all the time

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Have a 2021 camry hybrid le. I have taken 3 trips from seattle down the coast almost to Calif. First two trips 58 mpg, Third trip started out good but coming back mileage dropped to 52. Same driving and second trip at 58mpg we even had 4 adults in the car. After getting back from last trip we then headed to AZ. The mileage continued to drop a couple more mpg till we got down to 46,1 mpg and the last 200 miles it did come up to 46.7.. A drop of 11mpg tells me something not right, same driver, same habits. So yesterday I took it in to Toyota, also for it's 5000 mile maintenance checkup, total miles 6203, and told them about problem. Was told that it's still within rated fuel mileage so there's no problem, the fact that I had been getting way better mileage was great but don't count on it. Anyway they did check it out and ran a "health" check on the car and all was fine. I see I'm not the only having this same problem. Just seems like to much inconsistantcy for no real reason. Any concrete thoughts?

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I fillup at pretty much the same station. Last time after mileage drop I filled up at Texaco and still no better mileage.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

You're comparing vastly different drives and drive conditions. Are you keeping track of mileage of every fill-up with miles traveled divided by gallons added, or are you just using the reported mileage?

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

First three trips down the coast were pretty much the same except second one we had two more adults that time. Drive to Az should have been better or certainly as good. Yes I do my own math also If you don’t find 11 mpg change unusual that’s fine but to me that’s doesn’t seem right to me.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Do you do it by the tank?

https://fueleconomy.gov/feg/PowerSea...=1&rowLimit=50

EPA rated is 51/53 with two users reporting 41 and 54.

The drag on the car increased by the square of speed, so 75mph has 33% more drag on the car than 65mph and that translates to significantly higher fuel consumption.

For the mileage values you are comparing, were they all at the same speed?

Elevation changes destroy mileage and driving style (even if same driver) in those conditions can account for huge changes. We take a 3.5 hour drive within AZ that involves a LOT of elevation changes during the drive (lots of hills) with a total elevation difference between the two to be a little over 5000 ft. We drive our Gen2 Prii that route every 2-6 weeks. We routinely lose 8-9mpg and get LESS THAN 40mpg vs. our normal commute driving a mix of Phoenix freeway and surface streets (48mpg),and it is the same both ways, i.e., we don't get better mileage "coming down the hill" because there are dozens of hills between the high point and the low point. Now if it was a steady decline of 5000 ft over 186 miles, sure, we'd see a difference. But it's up and down big 6-7% grades.

For the mileage values you are comparing, did they all involve the same elevation changes?

Use of climate control consumes additional energy. Did all driving have the same climate control needs?

My guess is that your answer to all three questions is "no."

Until you make an effort to conduct some reasonably controlled test in reasonably consistent conditions, you're comparing apples to rambutans. The dealership is correct in dismissing your concerns based on anecdotal comparisons of results in varying conditions.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Ya, I think the mountains all changed elevation and I think coming back on the third trip it was all up hill climb, elevation was over 12,000 feet when I got home this time, but don’t worry it’s back to normal now. Next time please read thread. What part of three same trips don’t you understand

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Don't worry. I'm not worried. It's not my car, and as you've discovered, now that your back to your normal driving, you're seeing results consistent with your normal driving, and comparisons of your non-normal driving to your normal driving are futile, and again, the dealership was correct in dismissing your concerns. You invented them. You've now discovered that your intuition that a "11 mpg change" is "unusual" is wrong. As I listed there are SEVERAL influences on mpg. It's more complicated than just noticing that you're getting different mileage.

What I don't understand is that you don't understand the concept of a controlled test. It's pretty simple. Unless you can document that the drives you're comparing were very nearly identical in every way: speed, # of stops, where stopped, rate of acceleration, ambient temperatures, HVAC load, weight, tire inflation, etc., you are comparing apples to oranges, and 10-20% variations may be normal.

Do a little experiment using only your mpg readout:

Select a 50 mile stretch of highway with as little elevation change as possible and no traffic influence.
Make note of ambient temperature.
Avoid use of HVAC if at all possible.
Accelerate to 65mph
set cruise
reset mpg meter
Make note of mpg meter just prior to hitting the 50 mile mark.
Repeat process in the reverse direction.
Average the to mpg reading - that's your baseline mpg for those conditions. No, we're not controlling the crap out of everything, but we're only measuring based on a consistent course and at 65mph hopefully with comparable ambient conditions. Averaging the two helps negate the influence of wind/small elevation changes.

Do it again at 75mph. You'll see a notable mpg drop.

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

It’s irrelevant now, the mpg has dropped to below 50 and so far nothing, city, highway, cruise control, 35 mph or 55 mph, over inflating the tires, no ac, heat, windows up, or everything else I have done seems to make the mpg improve. So why did I get 57-58 mpg for the first 5000 miles and then a dump and can’t even get close to 50 now no matter what. So you can’t accept that something is wrong but after over 50 years of working in this field I have learned that a significant sudden change indicates a problem and further inspection, diagnostic procedures and tests need to be done

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

I have a 2021 Camry Hybrid, and I do believe there is a mpg issue with this vehicle. Yes. I have read all the above posts, and I agree with all the suggestions for better gas millage. This is my 3rd Camry Hybrid, and I am very familiar with driving a hybrid. When I first purchased this vehicle in March of 21' I was getting between 48-56 mpg, in winter when temps were cold still. I even took the vehicle to the Pocono Mountains, and was getting great gas millage. Then at about 7,500 miles the vehicle started to drastically decline in mpg, I am now down to about 34 mpg. I took the vehicle to the dealer, and the dealer says they can't find anything wrong. With my past Camry Hybrids the most I ever saw the mpg drop was about 7 mpg in the winter months. There are definitely issues with the 2021 Camry hybrid, but I will not get into that here since this is mpg issues. Has anyone else experienced mpg issue with the 2021 Camry Hybrid??

Re: Toyota Camry Hybrid - MPG Issues
 

Thanks, let’s just hope that Toyota will take it seriously enough to at least research the problem rather than just dismiss it like we don’t know what we are talking about. Have a 1999 Dodge Dakota I bought new. At about 7000 miles it got hard to start after sitting a little while and then the idle went up and down between 800-3000 rpm until it warmed up then everything was fine. Dealer could find nothing wrong. Finally at around 80000 it quit on me and I towed it home. After some troubleshooting I changed the temperature sensor, which had totally corroded away, and it started right up and no longer is hard to start after sitting and idles like it is supposed to idle.