I guess I've got a different point of view...I live in So Fla and in the last month or so my gas mileage has gone up (from ~50 to ~53) because I haven't had to have the air conditioner going full blast.

P.S. I'm new to the forum and my commute is mostly highway so I'm pretty happy with my MPG overall

 

Well, I just finished entering the first tank in my wife's new Prius. All in all, not too bad considering it is the first tank and we both drove the vehicle. However, we're getting ready for much worse mileage perhaps edging on the very low 30's (if we're lucky... but this is far better than the Acura EL which would get 18mpg in the colder months).

This will definitely have an impact on the GH DB average for the model... so my apologies to all Prius owners. On the other hand, it will be worse for the HCH-II crowd because I will likely enter a few more tanks over the winter for my HCH-II (my daily commuter).

Fortunately, our summers can be pretty long too, enough to hopefully have a higher overall average for both. But I admit, in weather like this we often talk about moving south for the winter: Just like the birds do.


Cheers;

MSantos

 

I have a 07TCH and have about 85K clicks on it. I live in the GTA in Canada.


My TCH mileage has steadily declined in the last few years.


1) I check my tire pressure to ensure that there is optimal pressure to drive good mileage


2) I keep my oil and filter change schedules


3) I change the spark plugs once every 3 years. The last one I did was in 2013.


I do not go to Toyota dealerships for gasoline engine maintenance.


During winters, I used to get at least 750 KM per tank (65L) till 2011 and now the mileage is anywhere between 600 KM to 625 KM in the winter . I reached out to Toyota Canada and asked them for guidance and they give me the official line that the battery warranty is 8 years or 160K KM. Big deal! That does not help me.

Have you guys a set of best practices for the NiMh batteries so that you can kick start it?

Or, is this a pure IC engine issue? My car does not leak oil as Toyota verified and told me so.

Do you need to drain out the batteries and restart it? Is there a simple way to do it? Are there any firmware updates that I may not have performed? How do I tell?

I am not too sure about the competence of the dealer network with electric vehicle parts.

I would appreciate any help from this forum on what I need to do to get my 07 TCH back to good performance.

 

Gradual mileage deterioration is typical of ICE issues combined with Hybrid battery decay. "Abrupt" mileage deterioration is frequently caused by battery deterioration through a given threshold where remaining capacity is too low to support high mileage in the current driving conditions.

ICE issues can be identified with a long drive on flat terrain at constant speed. If you still get good mileage in that situation, the issue is likely not ICE related as the Battery is barely used.

A change in the way the battery meter behaves is indicative of a deteriorated battery. Using more bars and moving between them faster is a sign of reduced capacity.

Is the ~20% reduced range accompanied by lower economy on the gauge?

I would not expect substantial deterioration in your climate with your total mileage.

If it turns out to be an issue with reduced capacity, the following product can recondition your pack, restore lost capacity and extend service life.

https://hybridautomotive.com/collect...ant=5576310404

Steve

 

Thanks Steve for your response.

My gut feel is that my batteries have become weak and it requires to be recharged.

Though the site you mentioned provides step by step instruction on how to do this with their kit, I am not comfortable playing with the NiMh battery pack. I did not find any service centers that will do this in Canada.

I am planning to take the car to my dealer and see what he says. I am not sure if they would try to rejuvenate my battery.

Thanks for taking the time to advise me on this option. Unfortunately I do not live in the US where these services are available.

 

I will mess my pants if the dealers do anything of value for you.

No codes = Nothing wrong

 

Steve,

I do not have any codes showing up. Nor any warnings on my dash.

However, my mileage sucks.

I agree that the dealer may do nothing on the electric side. However, if they tune the gasoline side and it gives me a few clicks more, it will be good.

I did a quick mental math and for the amount of driving that I do, (less than 10,000 KM per year), the fall in mileage is costing me about $150 more two years. I fill my tank once every month. I do not see any way of doing this electrical fix for that amount...