I am in the NY Metro area. I just never got that great gas mileage. I don't think the computer is actually reporting the right numbers to me. I think I only get about 500 miles on the 20 gallon tank. It is worse in the winter. It doesn't improve with city driving, although that is supposedly ideal for the car's engine. My computer ranges from 26-31. I have a little over 10,000 miles on the car. I was told the mpg would improve as the car ages, but I get a lot of unhelpful smug answers from the dealerships.

I did finally learn to get the car serviced where the dealership specializes in hybrids. Nissan will tell you which ones they are.

I wish I could hyper-mile, but I encounter largely mixed and a lot of stop-and-go traffic, and I think I have lost the thrill of playing with the hybrid, since there isn't much that one can do. I just hate spending so much money on filling the tank, and seeing it go down so fast.

On the other hand, the car works and drives. That makes me happy. I had a bummer of a German car, still sitting in my driveway.

 

What did you expect in terms of mileage and why? (FWIW, you can see what CR got at http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/c...-206/index.htm).

Yes, cold weather hurts mileage, and as a %, seems to hurt hybrids more. You can help negate that somewhat by grille blocking and/or engine block heater.

As for " I don't think the computer is actually reporting the right numbers to me", how do you know or not know? What do you get w/manual calculations? (miles traveled / gallons put in tank) Have you tracked these trip computer figures vs. maunally calculations over time?

What was your previous car and what mileage did it get over the same commutes and weather conditions?

 

One doesn't need to hypermile to utilise someof their techniques even in short bursts... though technically short bursts of exceleration are a no-no. Learning o get really smooth at start up makes a big difference in itself, as does learning to recognise when the car is cold versus warm running on full charge or low charge, and recognizing inclines whenever possible. the best mileage changer is still the driver.

I do not drive this car the way i did in my S2000, but i really enjoy the 600+ mile tanks. My computer tends to be off as well so i do calculations each fill up as well as logging the computer and it varies... uncertain why. Was off by 20+mpg my last fill up (which was only a couple gallons) so who knows...

 

Cwerdna wrote:

"Yes, cold weather hurts mileage, and as a %, seems to hurt hybrids more. You can help negate that somewhat by grille blocking and/or engine block heater.

As for " I don't think the computer is actually reporting the right numbers to me", how do you know or not know? What do you get w/manual calculations? (miles traveled / gallons put in tank) Have you tracked these trip computer figures vs. maunally calculations over time?

What was your previous car and what mileage did it get over the same commutes and weather conditions? "

Hi...still learning how to use this, btw:

The Bummer was supposed to get 20 in combined driving, ended up between 13-15 with premium gas.

I know that the numbers aren't being reported right, since my gas tank gauge shows something is guzzling away. I was trying to figure out how to do the manual calculations. You used to have a button and a read-out to help you on the older cars, now I quite haven't figured it out. Since my car was recalled, the fuel history screen isn't working properly. I have to take it back to the shop.

I don't know how to get grille blocking done, and I think the dealerships told me I couldn't get a remote start put in. I assume that's what you mean for an engine heater? I am still trying to sort out what another dealership did when they changed the position of one of my headlamps and stripped the adjuster. Nissan where are you supposed to be when we really need ya?

 

Please answer the above question.
Can you be more specific about what I presume is a BMW? Please state the make, model, year and transmission (e.g. 2010 BMW 328i automatic) and whether it's a convertible. Where do you get the "supposed to get 20 in combined driving" from and why?

How did you measure/calculate the 13-15?

You don't need a trip computer to calculate your mileage. You just need your odometer and # of gallons added. It'd be good to compare the two and track them over time to see how accurate the trip computer is.

Example:
Reset trip odometer and trip computer
Drive 500 miles
Fill tank completely (and consistently each time), record amount of gas added required, say 15 gallons
500 miles / 15 gallons = 33.3 miles per gallon

Compare 33.3 mpg to what trip computer reads.

Can you give more details on your commute? You mentioned mixed and lots of stop and go. How long is the drive? How much of it is highway, if any? Do you know the typical average speed? Can you estimate either how much of the time is spent idling/stopped or creeping along? Also, approx outside air temps would help and whether it's raining or snowing, when you get seemingly poor mileage.
I can't speak to the NAH, but http://priuschat.com/forums/knowledg...y-article.html is a good summary for 2nd gen Prius folks. I would NOT do it when it gets warm out. I plan to remove most or all of my grille blocking if outside air temp passes say 65 F. It's a good idea to have something to monitor engine temps. I have a ScanGauge (http://www.scangauge.com/).

No, remote start will not help. You'll just run the gas engine wastefully while not propelling you. I'm talking about http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Block_heater. Prius folks have found it helps w/getting the car warmed up more quickly and it costing them less in electricity than the gas that would've been burned up keeping the engine on during warmup cycle.

 

Just ran a trip into the mountains this past week from a few feet above sea level, in the Bay Area, up through Donner Pass (7500' or so) then down to Reno (4400') and up to Mt Rose (8900') and Back before making the drive back to the Bay area. Temps for most of the mountain regions were around 25-40˚F and my mileage for the first half tank was around 33mpg (calculated at a fill up in Reno @2.679/g ) then on way back by computer reads over 36pmg. Amazing to finally take my NAH through the mountains and while the CVT annoys the performance-driver in me, the car performed splendidly and climbed with ease. Will do a fill up perhaps this weekend or next week to check final 2nd tank mileage.

 

Here is a helpful hint for those winter drivers in the northeast. The heat runs on the engine, so when you leave your heat on and the engine cools down, the car will drop from EV mode and the engine will start using more gas. What I have done is when I get in stop and go traffic during the winter is to turn off the heat and instead turn the heated seat on. By not using the heat, more heat remains in the engine and I am able to keep the car in EV mode longer. As soon as I start moving past 45 pmg, I turn the heat on. The engine is running anyway, so it does not hurt my mileage. By using this technique, I can bump my mileage on a 45 mile commute to Boston from the low 30s to mid 30s. I am able to get more than 600 miles per tank. Other wise, I only get around 550 miles per tank. Dress warm and good luck this winter!!!