Hello,

I'm new to this forum and don't bash me too hard.

I got the car used at a dealership...got a great deal on it.

On my computer, it's telling me that I avg. 33-35mpg. I drive 50/50 city/highway. I cleared the computer last night...

Is there something wrong with that? or it takes a few hundred miles for the computer to register the correct MPG?

Thanks guys!

 

Ed,

You might want to take some time and read some old threads about how to maximize mileage. Hybrid mileage is VERY dependent on how they are driven (very light throttle on acceleration and cruising), how long the trips are (short trips are a KILLER), wind, rain, battery pack charge, etc, etc. Some of these factors you can eliminate with driving techniques, some you just have to live with. It also takes a few hundred miles of watching the IFG (instantaneous fuel gauge) to get a bit of feedback on your driving technique. It took me 3-4 weeks before I really understood how the actions I was taking (driving "normally" for my old car) were killing the mileage on the hybrid. The computer will register the correct MPG immediately (within a small margin of error).
Good luck and enjoy the learning experience. I'm sure in a few weeks You'll be doing much better.

Eric

 

Thanks Eric

yea i just read a few post on the driving techniques to max. mpg. I'll trying them out on my way home from work.

 

Welcome to GreenHybrid.com.

If the computer was never reset before you got the car, you might be dealing with some one else's bad mileage. Remember, the more miles on the car, the harder it is to move the mpg.

If you reset the computer, (TRIP A and TRIP B). You can now get a measure of how YOU drive the car.

I keep TRIP A for my tank mileage (i reset it every tank) and TRIP B for my lmpg. TRIP B rarely moves, now that I have 60+k miles on the car. When it ticks up, it's time for a celebration!

Since the car is used, don't forget to check the air pressure in the tires (I run my Bridgestone B321s at 44 psi, some run the Dunlops at 50 psi). And a check of the air filter may be in order.

Otherwise, enjoy, adapt, and hypermile!

 

Make sure your air conditioner isn't accidentally on.

 

Mid 30's is pretty decent. I doubt there is anything wrong with the car.
CR is bitterly criticised here for the low numbers they report on their city loop with Hybrid cars;i.e. 35mpg Prius (2004-2006) and 26 mpg 2006 Civic Hybrid, 16 mpg HH. However if you drive the Hybrids like normal cars,and do pure city driving with lots of short trips, these numbers are about right. Your mid 30's is roughly what you should get if you drive like they did to produce the 26 city and 47 hy that they reported;the average would be 36.5 mpg.
CR drives the cars they test like a "normal","average" driver.They don't coast,they sure as hell don't pulse and glide, they don't get off the gas early.My guess is that they drive fairly hard using either the brake or the gas pedal and rarely having their right foot on the floor. Most people drive in exactly that fashion-gas-brake-gas-brake-never gas-coast-coast-coast.
Hybrid owners are not normal; they don't drive normally or in any way that vaguely approaches average. A new Hybrid owner who drives normally will get CR type numbers. Now if they get bitten by the MPG bug, they will start up an initially steep learning curve,and the MPG will go up. If you adopt those techniques you'll probably add about 5 mpg over the next few months.
The mpg numbers you see in the real life records kept on this forum aren't representative of all Hybrid drivers.They-we-are MPG FANATICS-NUTS! There will always be reporting bias in these types of surveys. The really committed fanatic reports, the casual drivers don't.Look at the bottom 10-20% of the surveys. Those folks are probably close to "normal" drivers.
We have folks who draft at speed to improve mpg.The drafters are probably reformed car-truck-auto fanatics ,so they are probably very adept at doing this,and it is probably reasonably safe for them to do it. Heck, a lot of normal drivers tailgate as closely because they are daydreaming, or angry, or just unaware of stopping distances.
Your numbers are normal. The numbers you see here aren't "normal."If you adopt a few tricks your mpg will improve 3-5 mpg over time.Luck,Charlie

 

In my experience the big influencing factors are, in order:

1) Weather
2) Driving Style
3) Traffic / Route (city vs. hightway)
4) Car condition (tire pressure, etc.)

You'll read a lot about all these here. Just keep in mind - rain and cold hurt FE (Fuel Economy). New tires (in my opinion) do not help. Look for them to become less sticky between 500-1000 miles. I believe that one common trait we all had with our cars is that it took some time to adjust to everything. You'll be surprised at how damaging some of your old habits will be. Takes time to get used to a different driving style. Give it time - I wouldn't read anything into your FE data for the first 1K miles. Enjoy your new car!

 

I would add topography along with weather (or would you group that with Traffic/Route?). For example, the current hill I live on, based on computing trip segments, consistently reduces my mileage by 10% per tank, as compared to living at the base of it. No amount of driving technique, tire pressure, etc. can make up for that. In fact, most of my driving, highway and city, is done on hilly terrain. One good thing though is that even though my absolute MPG is not as high, I am getting the most benefit out of the hybrid system compared to a gas-only car by recapturing braking energy on the backsides of all those hills. Most gas-only cars in my area with similar trips get reduced mileage as well, but can recover none of it.

 

That's a good point. I might have included that in traffic / route, but it is a significant factor. I have a few long hills on some of my routes where the battery expends to the point where I'm going uphill and recharging. Makes a big difference.

 

No kidding. I live on a similar hill, with similar results; it doesn't help that there are stop lights and stop signs on the way up and down the hill.

Ironically, there is in fact a way for me to increase my commute MPG -- by going on a five-mile detour to sneak up the hill from the back. So my MPG would increase, but I would nearly double my commute, and end up using significantly more gas overall. Thus inflating my MPG bragging rights, but wasting more oil.

Pride and ego being what they are, I am sorry to say that I actually considered changing my commute in this way. But thankfully I came to my senses, and now I just take the hit.

So if you are disappointed in your MPG, remember that all these factors that have been mentioned will play a part in what your ultimate MPG will be; and everybody's resulting MPG is going to be different, by as much as 10 or more. So don't sweat the final value, just enjoy the car, and enjoy getting 20-30% better MPG than you would in a non-hybrid civic.