Sorry folks, I just have to share this news to every fellow Prius owner.
After 15 days long of ownership, I finally fed Woody ( name of my prius ) the first tank of gas last night. He was not completely empty but with 2 bars left.
I am sure both my husband's and my hybird driving technique still can use some major improvement, at least, it's a beginning. We made it to about 38 miles per gal.

Besides the most discussed "Pulse & Glide", is there any other tips can help to improve the MPG ? I found it usually suck up the most of gas in the morning when I first back out of garage.

Any info, input you can share will be greatly appreciated.

Prius Newbie.

 

My first fill-up came in at 39 MPG. I almost turned around to take it back but subsequent tanks showed it was "operator error" (trying to keep up with Texas traffic on an Interstate, +75 mph.)

You might start with the FAQ in this forum. I try to keep it current and would be happy to answer questions. Although I mention P&G, I'm not a great fan of it over the other techniques outlined.

Bob Wilson

 

Just a quick update for my current tank.

My husband for the first tank and reached 43MPG over the weekend, and I kept up and pushed to 45 MPG last night. Maybe the 2nd tank ( the 1st tank after dealership tank ) I got from Exxon does perform better because we are very routine ( boring ) people, always take the same route, change lanes at the same location....

I recalled seeing people posted Shell's gas somehow deliver much better MPG, but is it any different from the mom-and-pa Shell or the official Shell station ?

 

I am on my 3rd tank in my 2007 Prius. My first tank came in at 55 mpg and my next at 53 mpg. I use pulse and glide for my method of driving. I also stay right around the speed limit and do most of my driving in a rural area and mostly city driving. It is important to try to coast/glide as much as possible to get high MPG numbers. If a light is red immediately let off of the gas and coast in. Also, check your tire pressure. A good psi to keep your tires at is 42psi in the front and 40psi in the back. At a higher psi you'll get less rolling resistance and this psi range is still within the recommended pressures.

 

Hi,
Other folks had posted this so I started a gasoline study by measuring the ICE output as a function of fuel burn. This gives the specific energy per unit of fuel, Joules per gram. Without going into the details, two samples of Shell 87 from separate stations gave at least 11% more ICE power per gram than Conoco, Citgo, BP and Texaco. Shell 93 and Texaco 93 performed like the other 87 octane gasolines, about 11% lower than Shell 87.

I am refining my procedure to measure gasoline specific density, the weight per volume. There are credible reports and good science that specific density is a good measure of gasoline energy density and non-destruct testing using a gasoline scale hydrometer, will simplify testing. This will let me see if the generic stations are actually selling Shell 87 at a lower price.

I abhor credit cards and took pride in having only a debit card and one Visa card. But to gain a 5% discount on future Shell gasoline purchases, I now have one gasoline card, which I hate. As soon as the privacy statement comes in, I will see what I can do to limit liability.

Bob Wilson

 

That is about what I got on my first tank. Dealers often use very cheap gas, by the way.

There is a break in period. So don't worry too much about mileage for the first couple of thousand miles.

Running the A/C a lot can affect mileage. If it is not a really hot day, go to the Climate screen and turn off the A/C button. You can still leave the AUTO light set on.

Make sure your tire pressure is at the recommended 42 psi front, 40 psi rear. Some Toyota dealers are now delivering cars with that already done. But many others still use the offically recommended lower pressures. 42/40 is pretty efficient mileage wise. Going higher can make your ride harder. So there is a trade-off.

Extra fuel is used to warm up the engine for the first 5 to 10 minutes. So you will notice your mileage lower then, especially for the first 5 minutes. So people that take a lot of really short trips of only 5 minutes struggle more with mileage than those who take fewer and longer trips. Try to plan your trips to get as many stops and things completed as possible.

Remember also that the EPA numbers are not real world numbers. Much better numbers to go by are those that are reported by Consumer Reports. And they rate the Prius at an overall combined driving MPG of 44

I have 4,000 miles on my Prius now, and I am getting right about 43 - 45 MPG in city driving around town. On trips, I have been getting 49-50 MPG.

Being conservative in your driving helps too. But when it comes to how one drives, safety is by far the more important consideration than mileage. Same thing goes for a hot day. Don't boil in your Prius by not using the A/C, just to squeeze a couple more MPG out of it.

Anyway, give your Prius a few gas tanks to break itself in. You should get into the mid 40's shortly, even just using normal driving techniques.

Lance

 

My husband is a mechanic and he swears by Chevron gas. He says he has used it for years now and consistently gets better mileage and also has kept his Ford trucks to over 200,000 miles. So, of course I usually pay the extra couple of cents per gallon to buy from Chevron.
Just my two cents

 

What part of Alabama?

Chevron was not in my initial fuel test protocol so I just don't know, yet. Will keep you informed.

Bob Wilson

 

Tallassee, near Montgomery. Let me know what you find concerning Chevron gas.

Thanks!

 

Well, I got excited when my fuel gauge got to half way and I filled up. I did so slowly, and the pump didn't shut off. So I overfilled, got a burp, some gas on ground. Sigh. Anyway, I calculated 8 l/100 km or 29 MPG US or 35 MPG Imp. The dealer must not have filled it up as I did, because the MFD indicated I got 5.4 l/100 km or 43.5 MPG US or 52 MPG imp.
I'm currently into the 4.5 l/100 km area on the MFD. Not bad! Close to old EPA numbers.

The next fillup will correct the error caused by an initial short fill (and I'll be more careful to not overfill this time). They take off the pump stops here on self serve pumps, so I have to rely on memory and "accurate hands" to get the same flow rate each time.