my buddy sill maintains he gets much less than the EPA estimates on his Prius....and he is a very tame driver, no tickets, etc...

 

Does he live in a hilly area? It's noticeable for me when driving to certain places that I get much better mileage. If you can coast more often than not you get the high mpg, if you're having to give it gas to climb the hills, it's a noticeable drop. Driving to my in-laws always drags down my average. (just gives me an excuse not to visit!)

 

LOL classic haha

but nah, he lives in Fl, no hills here...just bumps on every single flippin road

 

I have a manual, and usually drive around with the windows down, sunroof open, etc, and hardly ever use the AC. But when I do use it, I can really feel it. I first notice the AC between my deliberate shifts, when it drags the engine rpms down and messes up my shift timing. And I notice it when accelerating in the upper gears, especially in 5th. I imagine that in an automatic going up a hill on the Interstate, AC could actually prevent the car from accelerating. The additional throttle required to offset the drag of the AC does affect the mileage.

 

But not anymore than the loud, giant parchute the xB becomes when all the windows are open. I always choose a/c over outside humid air. Ya gotta pay either way.

 

I notice these forums can become a great airing of the opinions, but the question remains is the mpg noted normal and can anything be done to improve it? My low tank was 24.9 mpg driving mostly 85 with 5 people, gear and the a/c on including long periods of idling. My high tank was 36.8 in a mostly empty, leisurely kind of way. That's a third difference.
I have noticed in some vehicles deviations in computers or components can make a huge difference in throttle response. In 2 identical Dodge trucks for instance, the computer alone was responsible for at least a 20% difference in power. I would suggest reprogramming the computer, 'flashing' it as it were. If the car is under warranty the dealer would likely do it for free just to get you out of there. I'm not suggesting the Toyota guys are guilty of the ridiculous errors that other companies generate, just a cheap or free way to eliminate one potential problem area.
Good luck

 

Entirely normal MPG. And an entirely normal variation between worst-case and best case. In fact, "24.9 mpg driving mostly 85 with 5 people, gear and the a/c on including long periods of idling" is excellent.

If you look at Consumer Reports, you'll see that for most cars the difference in their real-world tests between city driving and highway driving is often close to double.

If your car is turning in 36.8 when driving conservatively, there's absolutely nothing wrong with your car.

RichC

RichC

 

Does the Xb get better mpg with premium gas?

 

I donno, Mike^^^^. I've never put premium in my economy car. Someone please compel me to try...

 

well i must say, i posted this topic and since then i kinda took what all you said and made some adjustments. i drive about 25 miles to hollywood everyday for school, and its pretty much open driving because i miss peak traffic hours (thank god)... so i started shifting at 3000 and stopped doing 80-85 mph, more around 65-70 now... took a little getting used to but sure enough... my 26 MPG jumped up to 30.5 MPG!!! so thats what i think...

 

I close the windows over 45 mph.

 

No, but it can make more HP when floored. Do a search on knock sensor. Or PM me if you want detailed info.

 

It doesn't for me. It actually feels like it looses power too.

 

Well - I commented early on in this thread. Been getting consistently worse...Maybe somebody can reassure me on this one.

* We went on a long trip (11 hours each way) and seemed to do about 27-28 mpg (it was mostly 75-80 mph). This was 4 or 5 fillups.
* Got back and I'm using the xB for the 1 mile work commute (with a huge hill right in the middle...car does 3k for a bit). Work duties require very short trips around a very hilly college campus. Lots of stop and go. Was getting 26 mpg...then 24.

I just filled up @ 22 mpg. I realize my commute is short and uphill...and that I'm doing just around a college campus runs...but wow. Some of that 22 mpg was 60 mph highway to pick up friends a few time a week. This thing better pick up soon....I could have bought a car with more power and got better mpg.

Is this typical for these conditions? I'm slow on takeoff and easy coming to stops. Really confused here....dealer tag said 30 mpg in City.

 

Yours sounds like one of the ones that DO have something wrong. The worst MPGs I got was at the strip doing full throttle 1/4 mile runs with the A/c on. My MPGs only dropped to 27 for the day.

 

Not sure if anyone has commented on this yet but I read somewhere that a bad mass air flow sensor can contribute to poor fuel economy. Maybe thats something that could be checked.

Nyd,

 

You would think, but if it's not throwing a code the dealer won't investigate further. I think some of the people that are getting poor mileage need to swap MAFs with someone that is getting good MPG and see if it makes a difference. Or just have the MAF checked with an ohm meter if poss.

 

jethro b said,
I think some of the people that are getting poor mileage need to swap MAFs with someone that is getting good MPG and see if it makes a difference. Or just have the MAF checked with an ohm meter if poss.

That is a very good idea. It seems that there might be something besides driving habits at work here. I know driving habits play a big part, but if some can drive heavy footed and get 30+ while others drive like Granny and can't get 30, how else can we tell for sure. Unless we get 2 different drivers to run the same trip with the same car for an A-B type test.

 

I've decided that I'm going to take my brand new xB into the dealer this week and see if they can figure out what's up. I drive like a granny - and have the results from my post above. I was thinking maybe it was just a really hilly town...but I'm seeing more than a 25% reduction in advertised fuel economy. Something's not right.

I'll keep everyone updated. Hope I don't end up getting a different car - I really like everything about my xB (besides this problem of course).

 

i've been doing this for this tank of gas, low rpm shift, only going up to 65 on the highway (about 3200rpm) and no a/c. also keeping the throttle low with a slllllooooowwwww acceleration and at half a tank i was at 210 miles. today i just got to 300 miles with 1/4 tank left. lets hope for 400 miles in 1 tank!!