Losing MPH

[onthemove]

We are in our 1st summer after buying our used '07 in January, car now has around 70,000 miles. I had been reading how the MPG goes up in the summer but ours has gone down from 35 to 31 mpg. Use to be that after filling the tank we would see the mpg reset with a very high number and then adjust down the further we drove but now it resets with a very low mpg and creeps up to 31 mpg.

Is anyone else loosing mpg now that it's warmer? Another question I have is, when the engine is at idle, the mpg gauge is at zero, could that be producing the lower average? Seems to me that at idle the gauge should show high mpg and then drop down as you throttle up.

Thanks for your input.

[snookwhaler]

I have noticed that anything over about 90 degrees hurts our mileage because the A/C is running more often and the battery requires charging more often. On the days it was 99 degrees it was the worst. But, it depends on where you are driving. Around town is bad when it is hot outside because the A/C sucks all the juice out of the battery and there is no way to charge it back up quickly.

On the highway does not seem to be as much of a problem. We have gone from 36-38MPG down to 35-36MPG. I have to drive 80MPH and punch it often to get it below 35MPG.

At the current price of fuel if you travel 500 miles the difference between 31 and 35MPG is only about $5 to $6 (depending on what you are paying for fuel). Not that big of a deal.

[ukrkoz]

if you have nav uniy, stop resetting mileage. just let it be. it is believed that is the only way to have true mpg readings.
i bought mine march 2010. guy claimed 36mpg. by mid august, she was doing 42.5. winter brought it down to sometimes 35.
it was very cold weather here, but my mpg already crossed 38 today and is constantly climbing up. 4-5 days gives a tenth of a mile up.
i virtually do not use a/c, i have window visors+tinted windows. don't forget ECO button too.

[WhiteSands]

Originally Posted by onthemove

We are in our 1st summer after buying our used '07 in January, car now has around 70,000 miles. I had been reading how the MPG goes up in the summer but ours has gone down from 35 to 31 mpg. Use to be that after filling the tank we would see the mpg reset with a very high number and then adjust down the further we drove but now it resets with a very low mpg and creeps up to 31 mpg.

Is anyone else loosing mpg now that it's warmer? Another question I have is, when the engine is at idle, the mpg gauge is at zero, could that be producing the lower average? Seems to me that at idle the gauge should show high mpg and then drop down as you throttle up.

Thanks for your input.

I also have a '07 TCH with about 33,000 miles I bought when new. I live in the high desert in southern new mexico. I get very high mph mainly due to the very dry weather out here. The humidity near year-round is from 2% to 15%. It's rare for it to rain in our part of the state. I have found the lower the humidity the higher the mpg.

Zero mpg at idle. I only look at my mpg when fully stopped at a red light or stop sign. I keep my foot firmly on the brake hoping the engine will shut-off within 5 to 15 seconds. If yours don't on a good charge, press you ECO button just to the right of the fuel-door release button. It's very important your engine shuts-off at red lights when your traction battery is showing a 80% to 90% charge. When your mpg meter shows 0 mpg when stopped, it's pulling your mpg down.

About the AC, recirculate and ECO..
I also noticed anytime I turn the AC temperature knob, it turns off the recirculate. Their may be a fix for this, but if I do any temp adjustment, I simply press the recirculate back on again. I think others mentioned keeping the ECO set to on. When on, ECO will appear in the center of you temp window. The ECO will cancel if you move the temp to full HI or Low for any reason. This includes the heater with the ECO. Leave the recirculate set to off when using the heater.

The AC should pull your mileage down about 2 to 3 MPG. Here were I live I can be comfortably cool at 79 to 80 degrees inside the car once the AC has cooled it off. The cooling takes 4 to 8 minutes depending on the outside temp. Days over 100 degrees I do have to set it to 78 degrees. I set the fan to 2 bars on the graph window for normal cooling.

If you live in a area of 40% humidity or higher you may have to run your AC colder at around 75 degrees.

About gas mileage - I use gas from the toptiergas.com/ list. Use the Retailer link for the list. Four or five top car manufactures spends millions each year looking for the best brands of gasolines to use.

Keep you tires inflated to 35 psi or higher. Best to measure them at night after they have cooled-off for a few hours.

Driving at speeds of 40 for EV and 45 mph with the engine running gives me my best results, usually over 50 mpg. This greatly improves the mpg if you have areas where you can safely drive those speeds. I use the cruise control all the time, even in town, although our red lights are spaced out about a mile apart. I pull to release the cruise anytime I see a red-light up ahead. Coasting to red lights helps the mpg. Easy takeoffs also helps, but only if your not holding up traffic behind you.

Be sure to use the recommended oils from your factory manual.

Remember as you drive your TCH, the non-hybrid cars around you are getting around 16 to 22 mpg in the city.

As times goes by you will learn to drive the hybrid. It's not like driving a gas-powered car. If you do, your mileage will be rather low. It took me a year or so to learn to bring my mpg up. Reading in this and some other hybrid forms, I learned a lot about improving the mpg.

[RedruM]

I find with my TCH if I drive it the way I drive most cars then I get 30MPG.
This driving is hard take offs, hard stops and well over 80MPH highway and city average 55MPH.
This same driving in my NON Hybrid corolla gives me 24MPG.

If I use all the Hybrid technology and drive fuel effiently in the TCH I get 42MPG easily.
This driving is easy take offs, speed limit everywhere, easy braking and ECO on, A/C set just to 24celcius, not sure what that is for you americans but i think its 78F.

If i drive my corolla the same way I get 32MPG.

over all HYBRID all the way from now on. I love the mileage, and well the mileage, and the look of the front bumper cover, I have the 2010 TCH. everything else on the car I cant stand, the drive is soooo grampa drive, seats arent very comfortable, and the build quality is crap compared to my 1992 Camry LE V6, but that was Japanese built and the TCH is american built so ya.

I cant wait till the venza comes in HYBRID, thats the next one for the family 100%.