Love the car, but already considering selling it because so far I seem to be averaging around 33 mpg. My dealer says mileage improves after the drive train gets "broken in", but I'm unconvinced. I know Prius owners in my area who regularly average in the mid-40s, and since mileage is why I went hybrid in the first place, the disparity is killing me.

Any words of wisdom or advice out there?

thanks

Mark Robbins

 

When I first got my '06 Civic Hybrid, I was lucky to get 43 MPG and would pull 38-40. Though one from Utah to California yielded me 74 MPG for 380+ miles (my wife driving that time). Was regularily frustrated that I couldn't get good numbers. I live in a hilly area with more stop lights than you can imagine that you can guarantee I will hit every red evertime (except once I actually got a green on a light).

9,000 miles later I'm regularily pulling 53-55 MPG and 620 Mile tanks with a gallon remaining to burn (when I fill up at the pump I discover this). Each tank I fill up yields me a better average. I can even bumper-to-bumper traffic and increase if not maintain MPG, I can city drive horric terrains and at least maintain my MPG these days. I can freeway commute 15-30 miles and always gain .1-2.5 MPG.

I say, give it 45 days at least. It took me 70 days before I switched from low 40's to low 50's.

Thanks,
Shawn

 

Welcome,

Please tell us a bit about the conditions (weather, hills, wind, duration of trips) and perhaps we can shed a bit of light on why your mileage is low so far. Have you read some of the forums as to how to drive to achieve mid to upper 40's (or more)?
Under some conditions you won't be able to beat low 30's for instance. My commute is 2.2 miles with 7 red lights and I get low 30's in the winter. Nothing you can do about it. The engine doesn't warm up and go into autostop. Any time the engine is cold (the oil is cold) my car uses more fuel than after it has warmed up.

Good luck and stick with it a while.

Eric