Hello, I purchased a 2003 Prius in Mid August because I live in LA and I had no air conditioning. I now have about 2200 miles on it... in that time I have averaged a pitiful 38 miles to the gallon!! I am very upset about it and getting NO HELP from the dealer. Yes, I keep the tires inflated correctly. There is no excuse for this kind of crappy mileage. I have taken the car into the dealer and they can find nothing wrong with the car and keep questioning my drving habits... I am fed UP!!! where is my 50 mpg????????!!!!! I take it there are others of you... besides the toyota shills who Im sure pepper this little chat... who are experiencing this????

I don't know what's wrong with your car. I purchased my 2003 last December and it now has about 9000 miles on it. I have about 300 miles on this tank of gas and I'm averaging 51 mpg on this tank (I reset the the mpg screen every time I fill it). Maybe you should try a different dealer.

I have 83,000 miles driving around LA and here are my thoughts. First problem could be not setting the AC on AUTO and/or on temps below about 68 degrees. The next is making regular drives less than 15 minutes. Both of these situations will bring on 32 to 38 mpg situations. Driving fast or up a lot of hills will not affect the mpg as much as the first two items. Driving technique can help your mpg. In city driving accelerate smoothly until the gas engine starts, then accelerate briskly to the speed limit, or a little higher if you dare. Let off the gas completely for a few seconds and then lightly step on the gas to maintain speed. Watch far ahead in traffic and coast wherever possible. When stopping, apply the brakes lightly and early. This gives maximum recharge time to the battery. Now, to test your car - Reset the consumption screen. Turn off the AC and defroster. Drive for at least 20 minutes (4 bars)at the legal speed on major roads in your neighborhood. If you'd like try 5 minutes of the drive on a nearby freeway. You should get a minimum of 42 mpg on this drive. It should most likely yield 45 mpg. If not, call me 949-683-1103. Dave

I would have to say that you will probably get no more than 42 MPG. Especially with LA driving. Don't use the screen to get you actual MPG. Use the old fill up method and determine how miles you drove to how many gallons you used. This proves to be more accurate as to what your getting overall. Dave

> I have averaged a pitiful 38 miles to the gallon!! What is your basis of comparison? All vehicles get lower MPG with the A/C running. Prius is no different. So the 38 MPG you've been getting with the A/C isn't bad, especially if you combine that with driving that doesn't contribute to efficiency. Using a high A/C setting, not using recirculate, short trips, driving fast (+65 MPH), overfilled oil, and timid acceleration are all factors that lower MPG, besides soft tires. So keep that in mind. Cooler weather should be arriving in your area soon (I'd hope). That should reveal a MPG improvement. Here in Minnesota, the need for A/C is significantly lower. As a result, I've been maintained a 50 MPG average for the 3 months this year. JOHN http://john1701a.com

Yeah, ask another dealer.....mine gets 44 even when wide open, hills, and A/C....I would be interested in various top speeds.....or is that too taboo? It was a passing emergency and I saw 88 mph.....Not usually a lead foot.....Anne

Nothing is going to change. I have a 2002 which is nearly two years old and my lifetime average is 36.7 mpg. I have followed EVERY recommendation made on these groups (tires 42/40, not using A/C, not riding the brake, parking brake is not engaged, fast acceleration, slow acceleration, etc.) My calculations are done using gas pump measurements, but the Prius display is very close, and it agrees with my calculations on a per-tank basis. If I do mostly freeway driving (55-65 mph), I can get upper 40's on mpg. There are no hills here (except for some speed bumps and overpasses), and the local driving is on streets with 35-45 mph speed limits), and this is where the consumption is worst, even after 15 minutes of driving. The ICE does shut off when I stop for traffic lights, but comes on immediately when I reach 7 mph, no matter how gentle I press the pedal. Sometimes I can go about 0.2 mile on motor only, but the charge indicator quickly drops to "half- charge", and then there is no more motor only propulsion. The ICE will always kick in at that point. Outside temperatures make very little difference past the first 5 minutes and it rarely freezes here. The dealer will not even honor the "free maintenance" that was promised with the car, as the original dealer went out of business, and another one opened up. The next closest one is in the next county, and they wouldn't even sell me a Prius when I was buying. After trying to look for a cause, I would say that it must be the low capacity of the battery or the computer insistance that the charge always be at the 3/4 charge mark with little tolerance. The motor is weak and cannot do any acceleration beyond getting to 7 mph, but it can maintain a constant 30 mph on a flat road for about 0.2 mile when the ICE kicks in to replenish the charge. Leo in SE Texas

> The dealer will not even honor the "free maintenance" that was > promised with the car, as the original dealer went out of business It sounds like you've got a dealer this simply isn't interested in servicing Prius. The free maintenance comes from Toyota itself, not the dealer. All the dealer has to do is request reimbursement. That's it. And the service & sales departments have nothing to do with each other. They should welcome the fact that you want to have the work done there. So if you really do have a problem, don't expect them to find it with their unhelpful attitude. Your best bet is to compare your Prius to another. Noticing a difference should be easy. I've driven a couple. Even little variations have been easy to notice. Also, if you actually want feedback, don't use this group. Use the big one... http://autos.groups.yahoo.com/group/toyota-prius JOHN http://john1701a.com

Make sure that your oil level is really not overfilled! And check this on level ground, after at least 15 min of having the car parked there. 5-8 mm overfill will reduce milage by up to 10-20%, also the wrong viscosity oil affects milage negative. What was your real milage vs. epa milage of your previous car? Regards, Richard

All this is especially upsetting when the advertising brocheure states.. Now you can get 566 miles on a tank of gas. to that I say.... I N Y O U R D R E A M S!!!

I'd check the Lemon Law......maybe there's a clause......

>The dealer will not even honor the "free maintenance" that was > promised with the car, as the original dealer went out of business, > and another one opened up. I'd write or call Toyota of America about this--the free maintenance is offered by Toyota, not the dealers. and I'll bet Toyota would be upset if they found any dealer not honoring it, whether or not that dealer sold you the car. As I understand it, the free maintenance "goes with" any new Prius sold. --Sundy (2002 Prius and love it)

You could if you plan on driving under 35 MPH all the time. Even on the freeway!

Hello Jim: My first post here. Doesn't look like you have received much help yet. I live in Claremont, CA, maybe not too far from you. If we can meet somewhere and drive each other's Prius', we might learn something. It sure seems like we can find a dealer where you can get your initial free maintenances, also. Call me 909-625-0700. I would have preferred to send this msg. by private email but this group does not offer that option, apparently. Doug Schaefer

Hey pals n gals GOOD NEWS I filled up my tank the other night and well shut mah mouth... I got 42.5 miles to the gallon... I dont know what the difference is.. perhaps it is that now I have 3,000 miles on the car so there is some kind of break in period who knows? Who knows dos tres quatro cinco seis. well there you go Jim

Anyone else having problems with batteries? I am now in the process of getting my second battery with just 37,500 miles.