So I've had my Camry Hybrid for about 3 weeks now, and I'm not getting nearly the gas mileage I had expected. My average on my first tank was 24.8 mpg! I knew it would take me awhile to achieve the results that some of the folks here have been getting, but this is a little ridiculous. I got the Camry strictly because of the gas mileage; with these kind of results, I might as well have gotten the Jetta that I really wanted but felt too guilty to buy!

Please forgive this newbie disillusionment--I'm sure it will pass. BUT, my big question is, what am I doing wrong? I've tried to follow the guidelines in the manual (drive at the speed limit, brake gradually, etc. ) but to no avail. Is it me? Is it the car? Will it get better?

Any insight would be appreciated...

Sabrina

 

Hi Sabrina,

You did make a great choice in a car (and color...mine is JasperPearl also!) but you do need to learn to drive it a bit differently from other cars. Also, the terrain makes a difference also. I will never achieve anything above 35 mpg on a tank around here because of the hills.

In driving it though, you can't expect to get good mileage with jack rabbit starts and stops. You need to learn to ease into your acceleration and watch ahead for stop signs and stoplights and glide into them. Put your display on the one where you see where the car is getting its energy (I've forgotten what it is called but it is the one with the wheel, the battery and the engine). Also, watch the instant readout on the left which shows your current mpg: the higher the number it is the better, and if you can get it into "E" mode then terrific. Oh, and use your cruise control whenever possible. You will get much better mileage with that as it only uses enough energy to keep you going at the set speed and doesn't waste any extra, which you can easily do with keeping your foot on the gas.

There are some here who use a 'glide' method but I haven't never perfected it and find it kinda weird...but read through those posts and give it a try.

Like I said, I live up a small hill. It is only 3 miles from work I can practically coast to work but hardly ever get 25 mpg going home. I figure it is still better than what I was driving before.

Hope you can try these methods and ones that others suggest and report back. You do have to keep an eye on your driving all the time, and give yourself a pat on the back when your car tells you EXCELLENT when turning it off.

Barb

 

Sabrina,

I live in Florida where it's really flat and relatively warm. My commute to work is about 16 miles. In my tank and a half, Ive found that the first half of my daily commute I'm getting less than 30 MPG, but by the time I'm pulling into the parking lot, I've averaged over 40. If you live in a cooler climate, your gas engine will run more until summer. As discussed, hills are a MPG killer and if your commute is less than about 10 miles, you'll have a tough time making up the lose from the warm up. My commute is along 45 MPH roads, but if I'm in traffic, I'll only do 40 once it's warmed up so that it'll run in the electric only mode. If you're on interstates, again, it's tough to get the MPG gauge to sit at 60 or EV. When you read about the MPGs folks are getting, it's more about where they live and what type and how far their daily commute is rather than just driving technique or "having a better car". My wife has a Prius that she gets about 50 MPG with. When I drive it over the same commute as the TCH, I got over 65 MPG, but she has a far shorter commute than mine. I hope you can figure out why you are getting less based on this dicussion.

Brian

 

Thank you so much for your replies. Geez, I wish I had visited this forum BEFORE buying the car. My comute is 1) 2.5 miles long, 2) full of hills, and 3) in Minnesota. Grrr!

What do I do now?

 

Sabrina,

Summer is coming and that will help. When you go out on longer drives than just going to work, you will see better results. The good news is that when plug in hybrids come out, you maybe ready to trade up and then never need to buy gas again with only a 2.5 mile commute!

Brian

 

Sabrina, although it doesn't feel like it, you are probably getting better mileage then that Jetta would on the same trip.

A block heater would speed up the time needed to bring the engine up to full temperature, but the engine also runs to bring the catalytic converter up to temperature for emissions reasons. I'm not sure that you would hit that point on a 2.5 mile commute.

The TCH works best after everything is up to operating temperature.
I have about a 15 mile commute and take the occasional longer trip. The cold weather knocks 10-20% off my mpg depending on how cold it is. I've found that the TCH works best at 60-80F and on trips of more than a few miles that allow you to run at 35-40 mph or 55-60 mph.
For me, the more highway driving I do the better mileage I get. My best was a 63 mile mostly highway trip one evening at 70F where I got 47.7 mpg.
If the hills aren't too bad, on good weather days have you considered a bicycle for the 2.5 mile trip?

 

These are the vehicle-related changes I've implemented with the goal of improving fuel economy:

1. Pump tires to 42/40 psi (front/rear)
2. Install block heater
3. 0W20 synthetic oil
4. Shell gasoline

The block heater helps a lot for short trips (my commute is 10 mi). There have been times where, after the initial ICE startup, my car has gone immediately into EV mode after pulling out of the driveway. That never happened before unless I had driven earlier in the day and very recently. It's nice to have averaged 40 mpg after only 1.5 mi.

 

Mileage varies by a lot of factors. See this attached PDF file showing my mileage database which shows, average trip length, temperature, etc. When things start warming up you will see better MPG. Also, the TCH odometer, at least on my car, read 1.4% lower than the actual miles. I created an adjusted column to allow for that.

 

Your mileage will also improve after the car is broken in. That happens after 5000 mi. or so. I suspect in your case, it's mostly the short trips. Short trips kill mileage in any hybrid. You're still getting at least 30% better mileage than you would in a non-hybrid under the same conditions.

Winter is also a big factor. The anti-Prius (see below) can get as high as 12 l/100 km in the summer on the highway, but in winter in the city it burns 17-18 l/100 km. That's a big range. Yes, it's not a hybrid, but use the comparison.

 

The culprit is right here in your post...short commute, cold weather and hills. A block heater would help but with a 2.5 mile commute it may not do much . Your car is probably barely, if not at all, getting up to operating temp. I would suggest taking a couple of longer trips during the week or on the weekends. That will give the car time to warm up and you can practice getting it into EV mode. Another suggestion is while driving to work let it coast as much as possible (take your foot off the gas) especially going down hill. Accelerate up the hill and just before you reach the top of the hill slowly let your foot off the gas and let the momentum carry you up to the top and let it coast down the other side...You may even try to feather the gas while coasting downhill so you can pick up speed and allow the momentum to carry you as far up the next hill as possible. Obviously you want to impede traffic as little as possible but it can be done. As mentioned above you do have to learn to drive the car to maximize your mileage. There are many good posts in this forum to improve mileage. Spend a day reading and take a trip and try them out. Good luck and don't be afraid to ask questions.