This will be my first winter with my Prius and we have a driveway that's pretty steep. My last car couldn't make it up the drive and we had to buy snow tires and change them every spring/winter. How does the Prius do on snow and ice? I live in Illinois and winters here can sometimes be brutal....HOWEVER, with Global Warming, that is changing. Does the car handle ice OK? I'm mostly concerned with getting up my driveway though. Would winter driving be a good time to use the "B" on the stick? I would think so because you lesson the tailspin you get with friction brakes, right? The gear shift "B" just slows the engine? I'm just trying to prepare myself for the coming winter with my new car...which I LOVE, but get REALLY bad gas mileage (compared to everyone else posting here). Right now I'm at 31.9 MPG. I NEVER get above 33 in town, but I'm planning to implement the new-to-me "Pulsing and Gliding" I've been reading about on here. I'm anxious to see what I can do with that. The best gas milage I've gotten is 47 and that was on a day we were stuck in Chicago construction traffic for hours.

Anyway, can anyone tell me about their winter drives with their Prius? How do they handle?

Also, what do you inflate your tires to? I filled mine as per the inflation psi in my manual. I drive a 2006 Prius.

 

I have a 2007 Prius with Michelin X-ICE winter tires installed (I always prefer Michelins). The regular wheels and tires will return when when the ice and snow are gone. So far this winter combination handles very well - no concerns at all.

The 31.9 mpg is not too bad at all. My first tank got me 42 (already in winter weather) but we were doing cold start p&g, DWB and a few other tricks. I fear the reality is far more cruel and likely to force us into the high 20's even with the use of a block heater.

In any case, if you do not have a block heater I would humbly suggest you get one installed. It is really worth it.
Also, other more experienced Prius owners are likely to offer even better advice. In any case rest assured: the mileage you are getting is not unexpected with the very cold weather.

Cheers;

MSantos

 

Thank you for your reply. That's the mileage I got throughout the summer....33 max. I suspect the winter mileage will be even worse since it's been 50-60 degrees here and I'm down to 31.9 already.

I will get a block heater installed. Thanks for the recommendation. I appreciate your help.

 

Yikes. That is a little to low for summer mileage. In addition to what other folks may recommend I would suggest the following:

- Check your tire pressure. Many folks have it set at the maximum listed on the tire... some prefer to have it at 2-4 psi below the max listed. Ensuring proper inflation reduces road resistance and provides dramatic increases in fuel economy.
- Check out this article and this one too.
- Do read through the awesome advice in this forum.
- Avoid an aggressive driving profile and service the vehicle at the dealership according to Toyota's recommendations.
- And finally, consider a low viscosity motor oil like a 0w20.


Cheers;

MSantos

 

Welcome to the club!

This seems unusually low. You might start with the FAQ to make sure all of the basics are covered. Now for a few questions:

1) What is your typical route? (aka., distance, number of trips, speeds)
2) How long have you had your new car?

My first tank in my 03 Prius was 39 MPG . . . I briefly thought about turning around and getting my money back. But instead I started measuring performance and researching what others had learned. These are incorporated in the FAQ.

One of the best things was to start recording my mileage in the GreenHybrid database. This made it possible to measure the effect of each change.

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

ps. BTW, the Prius block heater is a little tricky to get. Folks are ordering it from Canada and getting the local Prius shop to install it can sometimes be . . . a chore. One of the easier modifications is to block part of the radiator but we can talk about this later.

 

Opps, I forgot to address these:
Really, "B" is used for descending long, steep hills. It lets the engine provide some the braking force to prevent overheating. I'll use it on steep hills only because I don't like to put my foot on the brake unless it is really necessary (steep as in if you slipped on an icy day, you would be at the bottom before you stopped.)

I live in N. Alabama and other than one patch of ice, didn't see much last year. The anti-lock brakes are great but there have been some reports of traction control 'doing what it supposed to do' but inhibiting rapid acceleration in poor traction conditions. I've not experienced it and it may be specific to your NHW20 model Prius.

In my case, I'm running 50/48 psi on tires with a maximum, cold temperature rating of 51 psi. My understanding is having the front tires at +2 psi improves the anti-skid and traction control. However, I've not really studied it. (Testing this could be . . . 'exciting.')

GOOD LUCK!
Bob Wilson

 

Thanks for the welcome! I'm so glad I found this place. I have many questions to ask.

My typical morning route is about a 2 mile drive (one way) to drop my son off at school, Monday-Friday and I drive 30-35 MPH....sometimes faster if we're running late, but an average would be 30-35 MPH. I make the same trip in the afternoon to pick him up. Then my driving is mainly in a 10 mile range for shopping, running my son to friend's homes and errands. Sometimes I get up to 50-60 MPH, but that's rare in town. In town driving is 30-45 MPH. I rarely do Highway driving, but that will change soon because I'll be traveling to Wrestling meets starting next month. I'm REALLY anxious to see what kind of mileage I get after that.

I bought the car in April.

 

We're here to help and feel comfortable with explaining what we know and if not known, helping to find the answers.

Owch! This is going to be tough but I have some suggestions:

1) Try to keep your speeds as low as practical on the way over. The car is trying to warm-up and by driving slowly on the trip over, you'll minimize the initial fuel burn. In your case, the block heater would help a lot but it is not trivial get one and have it installed.

2) One trick I've started using because my NHW11 03 Prius has a shifter handle, is to shift into "N" for glides and at stops. This lets the ICE run at the lowest possible fuel consumption rate. HOWEVER, it is not for everyone. I'm used to driving a manual transmission so this is almost second nature. If you have always driven an automatic, practice alone until it becomes second nature.

If at all possible, 'chain' these trips with picking up or dropping off your son. A series of short trips with 1-2 hour breaks will always give better performance than short trips with longer breaks.

Try to avoid 42 mph by either going say 38-39 mph or 46-50 mph. At 42 mph, the Prius control laws move from a very efficient auto-stop+Electric_Vehicle (EV) mode to a little less efficient engine runs all the time. The problem is everytime you transit 42 mph, you may trigger extra engine-stop and/or engine-starts that sip a little gas each time.

BTW, I do most of my driving, even in the city, using cruise control. It works down to 23 mph and has the advantage of avoiding 'nervous foot' . . . a lot of small changes that can lead to unproductive fuel burning. It isn't for everyone but I'd trained myself over time.

Although not frequently discussed, "defrost" can be pretty expensive in a Prius, even the newer NHW20. This requires running the airconditioner compressor, which takes energy. If the weather permits, don't use "defrost" unless you are getting 'inside foggy glass.' It works really fast so you can wait until it starts to show up. Otherwise, try to use outside air.

You may find my Prius page helpful with the MPG vs MPH chart. You have an NHW20 so use that vehicles curve for your expected MPG:

http://hiwaay.net/~bzwilson/prius/

Great!

Feel free to ask questions or send private notes if something seems a little funny. I and others will be more than happy to share what we know.

Bob Wilson

 

WOW! That is some great info, Bob! Thanks so much!

I learned how to drive on a Manual Transmission..a few *cough*cough* years ago and drove one for years. I think I'll be comfortable with the Neutral gliding thing. I'll give it a try and see what happens. That should be FUN. This car never bores me.

OK...42 MPH has been banned in the Prius. I'll avoid it like the plague. I do use my defrost all the time. That must be another big part of my low mileage. I'll turn it off.
Does using the heater cost as much as using the defrost? I have to turn on the heater in the winter....I live in Illinois and it can get very cold.

 

The heater is relatively 'OK' but one of the more common tricks is to use 'recirculate' to minimize having to heat the colder, outside air. This becomes a little tricky because it can lead to more humidity and a need to 'defrost.' In the winter, 'recirculate' can help keep the air from becoming too dry . . . a problem folks with sensitive sinuses have to worry about.

As for avoiding 42 mph, my rule of thumb is to stay about 3-4 mph below 42 mph or 6-8 mph above it. This roughly translate to 38-39 mph on the low side and 48-50 mph on the high side. Before going over 42 mph, I like to know there is at least a mile where I can cruise at 48-50 mph.

You are in for a treat! Let us know how it turns out.

Bob Wilson