Prius: My Mileage Cut in Half

Mileage has cut in half since 6 months ago. The weather has turned very cold, and this video outlines the differences from summer to winter.

[michaelhead]

You have one of the best practical Prius video series I have seen.

[jwbraman]

I drove an 2007 135, 000 miles over 5 yrs and became a non-famous hyper-miler :)
I learned that the HOTTER the better for mileage. Got over 1000 miles on one tank (71mpg avg) on a long trip during a heat wave. Stop and go interstate traffic is awesome for mileage as you average about 20-25 mph and just glide while others speed up and hit then hit the brakes !! LOL

[rooternook]

Thanks for the very informative video. I like your honesty, you provide true real world videos on the Prius.

[Hucklebuz]

In order to protect the hybrid system, the hybrid system oil has to heat to specific temperatures before it works and you can then drive on electricity only. I believe there are three or four stages with specific increasing temperatures. With each set specific increasing temperature, you are able to drive on electric only at increasing speeds. When the highest temperature is reached, you can drive up to 45 MPH. In the Winter, it takes much longer for the hybrid system to warm up the necessary temperatures. The time it takes for the hybrid system to warm up depends how cold it is outside. If it's cold and your trip is short, the hybrid system likely will not be able to warm up enough. On longer trips, the hybrid system will eventually warm up and be able to drive on electric. One way I check if the hybrid system is warming up, when it is warm enough for the car to go into EV at a stop, I turn on the heat. If the car starts up, it has not reached its maximum temperature. If you turn on the heat and the car does not start, you know the hybrid system is warming up more sufficiently. Until the hybrid system is fully warmed up, I will turn off my heat at stops lights so the engine shuts off. Again, the engine will only turn off at a stop when the hybrid system has reached a minimal temperature. In summer, my MPG has been up to 58 MPG. In Winter in single digits, My MPG can be in the 30's. Still, that is better than most other cars at anytime of the year.

[moose]

I bought my 2017 Prius at the end of Nov so I can't wait till the warmer months to see the km mileage improve. Right now I can get 600km to a tank driving in Sport mode all the time.

[realmarcosortega]

Today I noticed the same thing while driving my 2016 Prius Three to work. Now down here in East Texas we are nowhere near as cold as where you are at, but my average MPG in the Summer was a nice 58-60 MPG. In today's 30* weather, I was struggling to get 40 MPG. It stayed at 38-39 MPG with little traffic on the highway I was on. Once I got closer to the city and traffic started to pick up and slow me down from 70 to 65 MPH, I started to get 42-44 MPG and it pretty much stayed that way till I got to work. And this was with having the defroster on to melt the frost off my windshield and side windows and then once that was done, I switched the heater to Auto to keep me warm for a little bit and then turned it off for the last 35 mins. of my drive to work. It's an hour and 10 min. drive to my job.

We'll see how well or worse my MPG will be on the way home tonight when I leave.

[aspecreviews]

Just picked up a first generation Prius! It's a black 2003 model. I've noticed that even when it's 75-80 degrees outside, the gas engine HAS to run for the first 3-5 minutes to get everything up to temp, and then the engine stops only when you come to a complete stop for 5-10 seconds. After that, you're in full hybrid mode, and can drive in EV up to 40 mph. It's addictive watching the energy flow on the little screen, and having the instant torque (more torque than a 2003 Acura TL!) right off the line from the electric motor!

[Thresholdmoment]

prius driving for maximum mileage depends primarily on driving habits. doing the speed limit (or less) and using cruise ctrl as well as proper tire inflation. and regular maintenance. a heated garage will keep the components warmer also.

[jonservice]

I just got to take my 08 Prius out in the snow/ice, my experience is much the same as your 2016. MPG is about 30-35 but at 60mph fully warmed up it was doing 40mpg. Traction control is very aggressive on my car and keeps you from driving like an idiot unless you slowly build up the speed and make a fast move which is foolish.
Keep the videos of the Prius coming jettlash1000!
I wish someone was doing this with the Prius Prime.

[jaredlupton]

I used to have a 2010 model prius II. It would get about 40 mpg in 10-20 degree weather. Now I have a 2016 II eco model, and driving at the same temperatures, it still averages around 50. I've seen 48 to about the low 50s, and after 10-15 minutes of driving it will start to average over 50. I've had trips where even in the cold it gets in the mid to high 50s at those temperatures. Pretty amazing with the Nickel-Hydride battery system. Great technology.

[rabbitruck]

I consistently enjoy your Prius videos. Thanks for taking the time to make and share them. Don't let the occasional rude, snarky, and passive aggressive poster in the comments get you down--some people were raised by wolves and have no couth. Keep up the nice work. I'm looking to pick up a Prius in the not too distant future, probably a Two.

[schmo]

ya, winter here gets down to -30 and have had 8 weeks of -15 or lower. mid March and gonna be -24 in a couple days. Canadian prairies.

my optima hybrid rated for 35-40 mpg has been getting 28 combined.

just covered grills and hoping for a 10-20% increase.

[bradleymckinnon]

I use to walk in very cold temperature and my cell phone would die because it froze, letting it warm up in my house it was back at half battery. the reason the battery is no working is because it's not warm enough to work or charge. if the battery dies it cannot return so Toyota has it run on just gas till the cabin temperature is adequate for proper battery operation.

[awdxg]

amazing video. My highlander hybrid can't keep up 32mpg of mixed driving from the summer. Now in winter i"m getting 22 to 24mpg mixed.

[Augownage]

Another thing to be aware of is battery temperature. If the battery is very cold, even if charged to a high level, the hybrid system will not pull much current from it or allow it to charge fast during braking. It can take 30 minutes to two hours of driving to warm the battery into the ideal temperature range at winter temperatures. Running the heat a lot will allow the battery to warm faster, as the cooling fan near the rear seats will suck in warm air, helping to warm the battery.

[AbcDino]

Yup, I noticed that too, although I live in SoCal so our temperatures are ridiculous compared to yours, our winter is mid 40's to high 50's. I commute 60 miles per day. Going to work I have a ten mile 400ft climb, followed by a 15 mile 1, 000ft drop, and obviously reverse coming back from work. Going down to work I am getting high 60's to about 80mpg, depending how I drive. Coming back up after work, I average 60-62mpg. Since our "winter" kicked in, I've noticed the battery engaging less and later, but considering mild temperature it has only affected my mileage by about 5%. Unrelated to colder weather, I noticed that I have to "pump" my gas pedal to force the battery to kick in sooner. If I feel it should be in the EV mode but it isn't, I quickly depress the pedal all the way, and press it back to about where it was, and often the EV mode would kick in right away.

[mcqueenfanman]

To get your MPGs back do this, run a hot air intake and block most of the radiator grille. Cold air is much denser and the maf sensor sees this, so it has to add fuel to maintain the proper air/fuel ratio. I use tape to block the grille so it's easy to remove, this helps get the car up to and keep temp ever when the heater is going. The heater is kind of a radiator in itself.Running it can cool the engine it very cold weather.

[sleekitwan]

Okay, I think I get it now. Most ICE cars, the system simply ‘is’. Sure, they try to warm the engine etc, but the range of controls at the car’s disposal are minimal - a thermostat preventing coolant going the radiator route and obvs not having the electric or wax-pellet/viscous cooling fan coupling start up. Between the commenters and your video, I see that excessively cold weather, might make the Prius hybrid work very hard during an entire short-ish commute, to get the Prius systems up to temperature. It’s like a horribly convoluted warm-up period. I have only had my older gen 3 from February this year, so it’s missed the worst of winter, and it was said to be a mild one anyway (hmm, didn’t feel like it with energy prices).

This probably explains why I’ve been able to utilise the battery for the first time, to do at least the mile or so promised by Toyota and even at 30mph, where previously it dropped me out saying the acceleration was too much. But, I am certain my car was stood awhile before I got it also. IE the battery has begun filling-up to the full range of bars, which it didn’t do for the first couple of months I had it. But, mine has returned 45mpg consistently, in almost any conditions, with varied driving including flat-out in places, in short bursts. That’s UK mpg, so it would only be 41mpg or so in the US. That’s actual measured fuel consumption. The dash says 48.3 mpg. Thanks for the info, Toyota feel they’ve been able to introduce hybrid versions of every vehicle now, so I guess the Prius has in some ways accomplished its mission as we now are 6 years past this video uploaded. Or perhaps, it’s only the first 20 years, ‘phase 1’. Take care all.

[Edit: To put this in perspective, this 45mpg, my previous single time I got 45mpg, was once back in 1989, in a compact Honda-based car, with a 1.4 16-valve engine and a very sleek aerodynamic body shape. It was terrible for 4, 000 miles from new, then suddenly began to produce enough power, and the economy hit 50mpg on a 1, 000 mile trip around France. But that was the only car to do this. And my last car, a 2.4 litre 5-pot Volvo V70 automatic diesel turbo, managed 44mpg in perfect conditions - open highway/motorway driving to Scotland and back, engine etc well-maintained. BUT, it was high mileage and had what us Toyota Prius drivers would call an ‘old-fashioned friction-plate & slush-box’ auto transmission. If Toyota had told me, their Prius was a new kind of automatic transmission, quite distinct from CVT as we know it with pulley-cones etc, and that this new design of auto transmission had no wasteful elements like friction plates, torque convertor, etc, I’d have bought one ten years earlier. But instead it was billed as a hybrid and all the other transmission stuff that’s always been what ‘killed’ my high-mileage used cars, being rendered obsolete by the Prius, never seemed to get mentioned. Oh well, I have one now, it’s a great car, it’s just not what some people have grown to believe a car ‘should’ be.]

[layziebone]

MPG decline is typical. Once the outside temps are above 55 F your mileage will increase... I have a '16 Prius 2 and live in the southeast, still been able to average over 50 MPG on a tank.

[DavidFox]

Having the heater on also impacts the engine running while stopped. Typically if battery has power, the engine won't run unless the heater is turned on.