Long Termers & Bad Fuel Economy

[Jan&tone]

Hi all

I can't understand all the fuss about the supposed lack of economy on the pries.... I've had a gen2 t spirit for 2 years now and regularly return 58/60 mpg on motorways and even managed 65 during two weeks on the isle of wight... It's easy really... Usecruise control at 69 on motorways and a light right foot otherwise... Take the institute of advanced motoring test as well, I did 13 years ago and regularly got 50mpg from my '02 1.8 avensis

[Jan&tone]

Oops just noticed two things...

First my car is the prius, my wides is the aygo which arrives on Wednesday 23rd.... I noticed on the left hand side of the page where it says what car we registered under....

[Jolly English Gentleman]

Oops just noticed two things...

First my car is the prius, my wides is the aygo which arrives on Wednesday 23rd.... I noticed on the left hand side of the page where it says what car we registered under....

That's alright. Two Toyota's are better than one - we've got a Yaris as well in the household.

[Jan&tone]

Oops just noticed two things...

First my car is the prius, my wides is the aygo which arrives on Wednesday 23rd.... I noticed on the left hand side of the page where it says what car we registered under....

That's alright. Two Toyota's are better than one - we've got a Yaris as well in the household.

lol - it's taken me 7 years to wean her away from a suzuki alto - hopefully the aygo will last just as long! I did enjoy the test drive though, much more comfortable than the alto.... not as good as the Prius though, although I wouldn't have expected it to be!

[vishalpal]

I do on an average 220miles a day on my Gen3 and most of it is on the motorway cruising at 85-90mph. I do use the pulse and glide technique and consistently get between 56-61 mpg. Never tailgate and try my best to use the throttle and brakes as gently as I can.

I guess one can get the best from this vehicle once adapted to it driving it for some time. Don't treat it like a race horse a rally sprinter and it will return the best economical figures it can to you.

Of course most importantly is the regular toyota defined servicing and proper oil that will ensure you are never out of pocket for fuel.

[Jamesverso]

I think the journalist doesnt like hybrids and wants to hold them up as pointless by getting average mpg out of it.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Of course most importantly is the regular toyota defined servicing and proper oil that will ensure you are never out of pocket for fuel.

Don't get me started on the correct use of oil by the dealers :censor:

[Fluffmeister]

Of course most importantly is the regular toyota defined servicing and proper oil that will ensure you are never out of pocket for fuel.

Don't get me started on the correct use of oil by the dealers :censor:

I bought a litre of oil for top ups from my dealer on Saturday. Said to the parts dude "Can I get a litre of top up oil for a 2010 prius please?) He pops up a litre of 5w30 onto the counter. I say "that's the wrong type mate, it should be 0w20 for a Prius", luckily the service manager was stood there and put the parts dude straight after the parts dude said something along the lines of "oil is oil" :)

All in all though, I find the dealer pretty good.

[vishalpal]

My Gen3 has currently done 22K miles. On both the occasions I have serviced it so far at the dealer, I hand in the 0w-20 engine oil that I buy from outside. After all the nightmares that some of you guys have posted regarding the wrong kind of oil that is used on the Gen3, I prefer not to take any chances. My dealer happily obligies to use the engine oil that I supply. I usually supply them with 5 litres of the oil and whatever is left over is gladly returned back to me. I will continue to do the same as long as I own the Gen3.

It's a different story now whether they really use mine inside the workshop area or something else, but atleast I am not charged for any oil.

[Sagitar]

I bought a litre of oil for top ups from my dealer on Saturday.

I'm surprised to hear that your engine oil needs topping up.

I have had mine since last September and it shows no signs of using oil.

I cannot remember when I last had a car that needed extra oil between services.

[Fluffmeister]

I bought a litre of oil for top ups from my dealer on Saturday.

I'm surprised to hear that your engine oil needs topping up.

I have had mine since last September and it shows no signs of using oil.

I cannot remember when I last had a car that needed extra oil between services.

Does not hurt to have a litre sitting in the boot just in case. Mine has not needed topping up it's just a precaution. Out of town I do tend to drive mine like I stole it to be honest, the fuel saving is handy but not all that important. I bought it through my business so was only interested in the taxation benefits, I am a petrolhead at heart. My previous Octavia vRS burnt a little in the first 5k or so miles then settled down and never needed topping up again. 0w20 is like water, and even though it's fully synthetic I would expect to burn a little off in the first few thousand miles.

I am working near the Nurburgring in July so will be nipping over for a few early evening laps as I have some left on my Ring card, so that should be fun :) I just hope my Cusco underbody brace and strut brace arrive before then. I am expecting fuel consumption to drop and to burn a little oil :)

[Mkuk0]

Ooooh ragging a prius round the 'ring.....thats sounds like fun. Be sure to report back on the experience!

[kevin h]

My Gen3 has currently done 22K miles. On both the occasions I have serviced it so far at the dealer, I hand in the 0w-20 engine oil that I buy from outside. After all the nightmares that some of you guys have posted regarding the wrong kind of oil that is used on the Gen3, I prefer not to take any chances. My dealer happily obligies to use the engine oil that I supply. I usually supply them with 5 litres of the oil and whatever is left over is gladly returned back to me. I will continue to do the same as long as I own the Gen3.

It's a different story now whether they really use mine inside the workshop area or something else, but atleast I am not charged for any oil.

Where's the best place to get 0W20 oil?

did you use a dealer or source from elsewhere?

[Sagitar]

I topped up today in preparation for a long trip tomorrow.

I caught the in-car computer telling fibs again.

It was showing a tank average of 59.2 m.p.g.

The reality, from Fuelly, was only 55.7 m.p.g.

I am not disappointed with the actual figure - I have done only short journeys since the last top up and have been using the air-con freely - but the errors annoy me.

[Grumpy Cabbie]

Or is the car actually telling the truth and the fill ups vary slightly due to expansion of the tank, the car not being level when refueling etc? I think the true figure lies somewhere between the two. Perhaps the overall average is the best indication?

[S.J.C.]

Or is the car actually telling the truth and the fill ups vary slightly due to expansion of the tank, the car not being level when refueling etc? I think the true figure lies somewhere between the two. Perhaps the overall average is the best indication?

I agree with 'Grumpy Cabbie', but would also add, the fuel economy can easily be affected by when you stop filling the tank. Obviously you need to stop filling at the same time each fill up,stopping on the first click on the pump and then brimming the tank next time could afffect you average by a couple of miles per gallon quite easily.

[Sagitar]

Or is the car actually telling the truth and the fill ups vary slightly due to expansion of the tank, the car not being level when refueling etc? I think the true figure lies somewhere between the two. Perhaps the overall average is the best indication?

I agree with 'Grumpy Cabbie', but would also add, the fuel economy can easily be affected by when you stop filling the tank. Obviously you need to stop filling at the same time each fill up,stopping on the first click on the pump and then brimming the tank next time could afffect you average by a couple of miles per gallon quite easily.

Thanks to you both for your responses. I'm not sure how much of a study you have made of statistics, but for what you postulate to be true, then sometimes the in-car computer would over-estimate and sometimes it would under-estimate. It has never once under-estimated. The error is always in the same direction - it always makes the mileage look better than it really is.

[Jan&tone]

Hi all

Yesterday morning I topped off my Prius at tesco's, drove 8 miles on the a13 to pick up my son and grandson, then a13-m25s-m3 and then local roads to Legoland at Windsor.

Returned via local roads to m4/m25s/a13 -178 miles in total.

This morning I again visited tesco's - same pump and topped up again ready fora trip to Cromer next week 14.5 litters (oh I wish they'd bring back gallons) computer show 60.2 mpg which I think ain't bad with 3 adults, 1 7 year old and various items of picnic gear.

Cruise control at 69 on all motorways n dual carriageways with a few bursts up to 75/80 to overtake where necessary...

First timeI'vehadit over 60 mpg in nearly2 years so there's hope yet. !!!!

More practice in the wife's Aygo after lunch....

[Ancient Nerd]

Thanks to you both for your responses. I'm not sure how much of a study you have made of statistics, but for what you postulate to be true, then sometimes the in-car computer would over-estimate and sometimes it would under-estimate. It has never once under-estimated. The error is always in the same direction - it always makes the mileage look better than it really is.

I don't know if the following helps, but the table below shows all fill-ups for both GenII and GenIII, where I've filled the tank, and got a computer mpg for the full interval.

Both systems report optimistic mpg. However, the GenIII gives more consistent data, but with an average 7% higher than reality. The Gen II was only 3% high on average, but with a much greater swing from minimum to maximum

                   Gen II     Gen III
Miles               39416       23997
Fills                  71          58
Average error         3.0%        7.1%
Minimum              -6.2%        2.1%
Maximum              13.6%       11.6%
Standard Deviation    4.37%       1.89%

[Chris Dance]

Went to Weston-Super-Mare last week end and recorded 62 MPG on the journey down and 59.9MPG on the journey back. Air con was on most of the time. My car is a GEN 2 T Spirit. I was driving at about 70 most of the time as I used M4 and M5.

[johalareewi]

Thanks to you both for your responses. I'm not sure how much of a study you have made of statistics, but for what you postulate to be true, then sometimes the in-car computer would over-estimate and sometimes it would under-estimate. It has never once under-estimated. The error is always in the same direction - it always makes the mileage look better than it really is.

The Gen3 does seem to err on the generous side.

There are a couple of sticky threads on the Prius chat forum where MPG stats are posted and compared...

http://priuschat.com/forums/gen-iii-2010-prius-fuel-economy/

[johalareewi]

For the record, did my first 500+ mile tank over the weekend in my gen3. Prius mpg was 63.2 and the fuelly calculated mpg was 60.8. Aircon working overtime too. :D

[Sagitar]

The Gen3 does seem to err on the generous side.

Further confirmation this morning. In-car computer showing a tank average of 70.1 m.p.g on fill-up. The calculated figure (from Fuelly) shows 64.5 m.p.g.

[wooski]

Another update from the CAR and Autocar.

CAR have just given up and are now apparently getting 39mpg out of their's. They even clain that the air con starts the enginer which it doesn't (the air con - like everything else on the G3 - has its own electric motor specifically to stop this from happenning). In short the guy hates the car and loves the BMW diesel he is also driving. I suspect he speeds too long at the other side of 80mph and always has the power mode on. Normal drivers (esp owner drivers) just dont drive like this.

Autocar on the other hand have turned over a leaf and are now driving the car "within the speeds limits" to see what effect it has. Surprisingly the driver ackowledges that keeping to the limit is not actually taking him much longer to get to work. He's more relaxed etc. They should now start to see over 50mpg.

I still think the HSD works best in urban environments.

[johalareewi]

...They even clain that the air con starts the engine which it doesn't (the air con - like everything else on the G3 - has its own electric motor specifically to stop this from happenning).

If you leave the aircon for long enough, the HV Battery will get down to 2 bars and the ICE will start to charge it back up (to 3 or 4 bars AFAIK). Can take a while for this to happen but happen it will if the aircon is left on while stationary in READY mode.