It is not a problem it's a safety feature. When the reagen does not go below the first few blue bars it is because it is too hot out. It will always do this if it is too hot. I do not believe you need to stop the car to reset it, only get the cabin temperature down to the 80's. I will have to test this.

One thing is for sure, the NAH is not a good choice for folks in constant heat. The FEH may be better because of the extra cooling. I don't think the Prius or Camry have extra cooling ether.

 

FWIW, in Consumer Reports testing per http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...ient-cars-206/, they got 27 city/36 highway, 32 overall.

As for "EPA standards", you do know how cars are tested, right? They're not driven on a real road but instead follow a specific schedule and tailpipe emissions (I believe unburned hydrobarbons) are measured instead of actual gas usage.

See http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/how_tested.shtml and http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml. For model years prior to 08, they only did the city and highway test listed. Afterwards, the numbers are fudged downards by (IIRC) 10% for city and 22% for highway. For MY 08+ they added a bunch of harsher tests (bracketed by New Tests in red at the top).

Since hybrids can have their gas engines off for a fair amount of the city test, they (in the pre-08 method test) used to get pretty inflated results.

On that note, check out the PDF at http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledg...a-mileage.html. I did spot a mistake though. It makes the statement that the EPA measures the amount of carbon dioxide consued. That can't be right. Burning gasoline + oxygen produces carbon dioxide + other stuff.

I don't own a NAH (my mom has one) but I noticed your statement "I'm just sitting in traffic sometimes the battery seems to drain a lot faster." and your AC usage. FWIW, on my Prius which also has electrically driven AC, the AC compressor will create a MUCH bigger drain on the HV battery than not having it on. FWIW, people on Priuschat have done measurements and the Prius w/no AC running and sitting at idle on HV battery only pulls about 300 watts.

 

I have a Nissan Altima Hybrid and have also had problems with the fuel milage not being what they advertise. I picked up the car in october of last year and have logged 19,000 miles on it. My miles per gallon were 35 in october and tanked when the weather went really cold. The meter showing how much braking is going into the battery would rarely go over half way. My milage in winter went to 27mpg and that is trying to milk all the milage i can out of it. As spring arrived milage went back up to 32 mpg range. After getting the car serviced at 15,00 and them doing a tire rotation and brake service my mmilage went to 40mpg for over 100 miles. The car felt alot better and i did notice they had serviced a brown disc on the brakes. Since that time the car has gone back down to 32 mpg range. I documet all fillups so i know exactly what the mpg is at each fillup. The odometer is usually off about 10-15 miles compared to the gps milage and the computer milage is usually high by 2 mpg despite whe the car was new it was spot on for the first 2 fillups. So - if the car is hot it doesnt do well in mpg and if the car is cold it doesnt do well in mpg. Spring and fall is best bet for good mpg. The car when new had steering so tight it kept pulling to one side or the other instead of reseting to center but the issue went away after a couple thousand miles. The biggest issue I currently have is that the car power drops as if it is dropping power load. I accelerate to approx 45-50 and ease off the power slowly and the power eases off as it should till it hits the 50kw spot on the meeter and tehn hangs there and drops from there to zero forcing me to press on the gas to get the power back up to keep my speed at 45-50. I have had it in to the dealer several times about the issue and they acknowledge that it drops power but states it is suppose to operate that way. I have also called nissan about it and they state there are no recalls regarding such an issue. The car did not srop power when new but started when the temperature dropped somewhere in december.

Sorry about the long rant but i am curious if any other hybrid altima owners have vehicles that drop to zero power as they ease off the gas. I know this is not normal as it did not do it when new and still does not do it all the time. I would say 50% of the time it goes smoothly from 50kw to zero as it should. The other 50% it stops at 50 hangs there and then drops to zero.

I am not pleased with the milage as i beleive mine is sub standard and i am babying it to get it where it is.

 

Did you read my earlier post and all of its links? As for not getting the mileage "they advertise", the EPA numbers are the ONLY numbers that automakers are allowed to advertise. Blame the EPA testing methodology. Again see my post. Also see my post for what Consumer Reports got in their testing w/the NAH. Also read http://editorial.autos.msn.com/artic...umentid=435406 (this was written before the new MY 08+ EPA method went into effect), more specifically "Shortfalls in mpg occurred in 90 percent of vehicles we tested and included most makes and models."

Mileage drops on ALL vehicles in colder weather. That's normal. However, I know that my Prius (and my mom's NAH) have this interesting "quirk" that if you turn on the heater at all (temp above 60F) w/the fan above off, it will tend to keep the ICE (internal combustion engine) running. At the moment you turn the fan off, the ICE stops. Try it sometime after the ICE has passed its initial warmup period. This can definitely contribute to lower mileage.

Bottom line: don't turn on the heater when the ICE is cold UNLESS you're going to be in a state when the ICE must run anyway (hard acceleration or going above 42 mph).

Also, we have no idea what area you live in. If the area gets really cold, that will further hurt your mileage compared to say someone who lives in San Diego, CA.

As for "odometer is usually off about 10-15 miles" compared to GPS mileage, over how long of a period is that? Is that over level ground or are there hills?

As for power dropping off, I don't know. I haven't driven my mom's NAH enough to comment on that.

Without knowing the details of your commute (lots of stop and go and idling will kill your mileage as will hills), how long your drives are (short drives will kill your mileage), your tire pressures and driving habits, it's hard to say if your mileage is normal or not. Bad alignment can also cause poor gas mileage. A dragging parking brake will definitely hurt mileage. What did you drive before (on the same commute) and what mileage did you get? How did it compare to the EPA numbers?

Your type of post is pretty typical of newbies on Priuschat who are "unhappy" w/the mileage.

As for "babying it", what are you doing to "baby it"? There are certain things that some do that will HURT mileage. For example, trying FORCE and stay in EV mode isn't necessarily the best for mileage. Improper use of climate control can hurt mileage. Trying to pulse and glide when you need to exceed 42 mph is a bad idea since the ICE must run above 42 mph. The proper way to "baby it" for max mileage is to pulse and glide (keeping your max speed below 42 mph). See http://www.cleanmpg.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1224. That's how the 4 guys at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05220/550484.stm got 110 mpg in a Prius over a 1397 mile trip.

 

Nissan will probably run with these numbers just so they are not hit with lemon law legislation and false advertisement.

 

The ONLY mileage figures automakers can legally advertise are the EPA numbers. These numbers were obtained via their test method on a DYNO, NOT a real road and NOT via measurement of actual gasoline usage. It doesn't mean YOU will obtain such figures will driving on a real road w/your unknown driving habits and commute w/actual fuel usage.

Per the new MY 08+ EPA method, the NAH gets 35 city/33 highway, 34 combined. You can lookup figures for any vehicle at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/sbs.htm. You can read about the new tests at a high level at http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/ratings2008.shtml and the EPA says that your mileage will still vary per http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/why_differ.shtml.

Did you see my quote from Consumer Reports finding when referring to the pre-MY08 method? "Shortfalls in mpg occurred in 90 percent of vehicles we tested and included most makes and models." BTW, in the pre-MY08 tests, the AC was NOT used and if you look at the chart I mentioned earlier, the city test was 31 mins long.

Here's a shortfall example for a non-hybrid. The 06 Honda Civic received 30 city/40 highway, 34 combined on the pre-MY08 EPA method. Consumer Reports got 18 city/43 highway, 28 combined.

Here's some more reading for you about the new method:
http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...1005/overview/
http://www.edmunds.com/advice/fuelec...6/article.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/16/au...gewanted=print

 

Right, I know they legally cannot advertise anything but the EPA standards, but I do see the standards being revised because of these latest numbers. If hybrids cannot perform in extreme cold and summer hot temperatures then the auto industry will have to go back to the drawing board.

 

Funny thing is I seem to be missing the EPA figures in the opposite direction. I am currently at my camp in Maine where I got 40.6 mpg on the 175 mile hwy trip. All I had to do is stay between 65 and 70. Temp was 86F (according to the dash) and I had the A/C running the entire trip.

My tires are at the recommended 35psi, I change my own oil using Mobil-1 0W-20. I have 8500 miles on the car (purchased in January).

My mileage in town is usually higher, except in winter when it actually hits the epa numbers.

 

Yeah I noticed a lot of people on the East Coast get better mpg on NAH.

 

The method used in determining the # that goes on the window sticker was already recently revised, for MY 08+. The previous test had temp ranges for 68 to 86F w/no AC usage. Now they added a 95 F (with AC) and 20 F test.

As for "performing" the car works. ALL cars get worse mileage in cold weather. ALL cars take a mileage penalty when the AC is on. An example of something that wouldn't work in the US is the Nissan Extroid CVT that wasn't brought to the US (see http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/...t_drive_review) due to the low temps it might encounter here. I've seen working models in Japan at Tokyo Motor Show.

The values from the EPA test are NOT a promise that YOU will achieve them when driving on a real road under real conditions.

You need to do a few things otherwise it's just a bunch of griping. This type of complaint happens over and over on Priuschat.com, partly starting w/the poster's lack of understanding of the EPA mileage test in the first place along w/proper hybrid driving techniques and in some cases, killer terrain and short drives. Here are some things you need to tell us in order for us to help. I don't believe you've answered most of these questions but I've posed some new ones too.
- How long are your commutes?
- How hilly is your commute?
- Have you checked the air filter?
- Have you changed the tires from stock? (I assume no)
- How are you trying to hypermile and at what speeds?
- What viscosity of oil went in?
- Have you had the alignment checked?
- Have you had someone else who gets better mileage drive your NAH and vice versa?
- Are you driving in B mode and/or using Neutral at all?
- Have you had the parking brake checked?
- Has your commute changed?
- What did your previous car get under the same commute and conditions?
- How far into the blue are you when you're braking? Sudden stops and hard braking will engage the friction brakes, wasting some of the energy.

Their high temps might not get as high and their blend of gasoline is likely different than yours. See http://energyalmanac.ca.gov/gasoline..._gasoline.html. See my post at https://www.greenhybrid.com/discuss/...86/#post165979 about all the different gasoline formulations and the map.

Their cars also might be broken in more. I can't speak for the NAH, but it seems the Prius get a slight mileage boost at least twice after passing certain marks. Car magazines and car TV shows have experienced improved mileage in even non-hybrids after awhile.