Just bought my new 2014 Titanium Hybrid model and...

[rowlj3]

So I just bought a new 2014 Titanium model. I love the car but I struggling hard with gas mileage. I feel like I'm driving like a grandma and I can seem to crack 32-36 mpg. I've reset the avg mpg trackers and attempted to just roll around my neighborhood but it seems any time I do anything more than a crawl the ICE kicks on. The manual says it should only be coming on with "considerable acceleration."

 

It was an expensive machine so I guess I'm wondering if mine isn't up to par with others (I go through this with every expensive gadget I buy, but usually can find someone else with the same gadget or phone so I can play with it to be sure they're the same). Or is it just because it's cold (although I've been driving around with zero heat, radio or anything else on)?

 

I've tried reading tips and tricks, but after a day of driving and trying different tactics I can't break a 38 avg for more than a mile or 2. I'm sitting here reading that some of you are averaging 45-50mpg and I'm just wondering if it's achievable with my car.

[mwr]

I'll start the questions by asking what is the temperature in your area?

[corncobs]

I'll add the question how far you drive? The post indicates 1 to 2 miles in this case 38 is normal and not bad.

[jeff_h]

And how many miles are on the car? If you just bought it, probably not many... also a factor.

[tr7driver]

And the titanium has 18" wheels, that will limit your mpg. Most of the folks reporting consistently high mpg are driving SE's with 17"

[Easy Rider]

 

I've tried reading tips and tricks, but after a day of driving and trying different tactics I can't break a 38 avg for more than a mile or 2. I'm sitting here reading that some of you are averaging 45-50mpg and I'm just wondering if it's achievable with my car.

Have a little patience.

 

Cold weather hurts mileage.

 

A new car needs some "break in" time.

So does a driver with his first hybrid.

 

Realistically, I probably get about 38 with mine overall.

More in ideal city/rural conditions, somewhat less on the Interstate at or above 70.

 

The battery is there to "help" the gas engine when needed. This is NOT an electric car.

100% of the energy expended comes from the gas engine, one way or another.

[rowlj3]

I'll start the questions by asking what is the temperature in your area?

 

It's not too cold. It's been 45-30f.

 

I'll add the question how far you drive? The post indicates 1 to 2 miles in this case 38 is normal and not bad.

 

The trips I've been taking are around a small city so about 10 miles each. Currently averaging 34 mpg total.

 

And how many miles are on the car? If you just bought it, probably not many... also a factor.

 

The car has 70 miles.

 

Took a 10 mile trip to drop off a friend at a train and averaged 35mpg by the end. Is this typical?

 

I'm using the view that shows KW, EV and mpg gauges. How do I best use these gauges? In other words is there a certain point on the EV gauge where ICE kicks on? A certain speed which that gauge it goes up? Certain KW level which is best for ICE if it has to be on?

 

Side question off of that which I haven't fully understood, What exactly are the KW and EV gauges showing?

 

Thanks for the replies! Love the car!

Edited January 5, 2015 by rowlj3

[Waldo]

 

It's not too cold. It's been 45-30f.

 

 

The trips I've been taking are around a small city so about 10 miles each. Currently averaging 34 mpg total.

 

 

The car has 70 miles.

 

Took a 10 mile trip to drop off a friend at a train and averaged 35mpg by the end. Is this typical?

 

I'm using the view that shows KW, EV and mpg gauges. How do I best use these gauges? In other words is there a certain point on the EV gauge where ICE kicks on? A certain speed which that gauge it goes up? Certain KW level which is best for ICE if it has to be on?

 

Side question off of that which I haven't fully understood, What exactly are the KW and EV gauges showing?

 

Thanks for the replies! Love the car!

 

Sounds like you are looking at the "Engage" screen and you want to be looking at the "Empower" screen. Empower will show you exactly where the ICE will kick on. Just hit the down arrow once.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Waldo

[Easy Rider]

 

Took a 10 mile trip to drop off a friend at a train and averaged 35mpg by the end. Is this typical?

 

Yes.....probably.

I don't think I remember ANY of the MPG counters that automatically reset for each trip so have you been manually resetting one to zero ?

If not, you are seeing a running average and once it stays down for a while it is hard to get it back up. (No viagra jokes please.)

 

There are a LOT of factors involved. The most important ones are: Speed, acceleration and frequency of stopping. A lot of stop and go will KILL your mileage no matter what you drive or how you drive it.

 

With 70 miles total, you are worrying about this MUCH too soon.

Please read the other threads on here about getting better gas mileage.

I think there are a LOT of them.

 

P.S. You can't really do much, if anything, to "make" it switch to EV mode. It will do that on it's own when the time is right.

Edited January 5, 2015 by Easy Rider

[jeffo65]

And the titanium has 18" wheels, that will limit your mpg. Most of the folks reporting consistently high mpg are driving SE's with 17"

 

You can still average consistently in the 40s with 18" wheels. My wife does it consistently.

 

Where are you located? Are your trips in the city, on the highway or country roads? Is your area flat or hilly?

 

All of these make a difference to the MPG gained.

 

Just keep driving and it should come to you.

[hybridbear]

Congrats on your purchase & welcome! Check out the Hybrid Tips & Tricks section for more data about how to get good MPG. As others have commented there are many factors such as temps, tires, driving style, etc. Check out the coaching screen to see how you're doing. Braking gently and accelerating reasonably are big factors. Try to keep both of those coaching bars near 100 and you'll get good gas mileage.

[Griswald]

 

It's not too cold. It's been 45-30f.

 

 

The trips I've been taking are around a small city so about 10 miles each. Currently averaging 34 mpg total.

 

 

The car has 70 miles.

 

Took a 10 mile trip to drop off a friend at a train and averaged 35mpg by the end. Is this typical?

 

I'm using the view that shows KW, EV and mpg gauges. How do I best use these gauges? In other words is there a certain point on the EV gauge where ICE kicks on? A certain speed which that gauge it goes up? Certain KW level which is best for ICE if it has to be on?

 

Side question off of that which I haven't fully understood, What exactly are the KW and EV gauges showing?

 

Thanks for the replies! Love the car!

Set the left screen to Empower. There will be a blue outline on the screen, that is the available "electric" you have to work with. It changes based on how the car is moving. As you get moving, a full blue bar will show up and it is based on the demand you are putting on it eg. pressing on the pedal. The secret is to keep the blue bar from crossing the top of the blue rectangle for as much as possible. It will always cross it at some point, but thats because the gas motor charges the battery. The more you can keep the car in the Blue, the less you will use gas to move.

 

Second, the white bar is the gasoline motors power demand, if you try to keep the white bar at or just above the second tick mark as much as possible, that is putting a low demand on the gasoline motor resulting in low fuel use. Don't fret if you need to get up to the third bar every once in a while, but most times you will be able to get up and moving with less than two and a half bars.

 

Those two things will get you driving the hybrid the way it was intended to be driven, that and staying at the speed limit or a few MPH over MAX. You won't get a ticket, you will be less stressed and you will save gasoline. Also, it seems to not like to be granny driven, but not high schooler driven...somewhere to the low side of that mix seems to be best.

 

After you figure out the correct technique, there are many tricks to optimize your driving style (anticipating hills and stops, regenerative braking, coasting, running at highway speeds with the battery fully charged, etc.) but those require that you really understand what a hybrid does.

 

Its not really that hard, its just different.

Edited January 6, 2015 by Griswald

[acdii]

Trick I learned, use as little battery as possible when accelerating, and above 45 MPH. Below 40, you will want to pulse and glide, using ICE to get up to speed, and EV to keep it at speed. Also time your lights so you dont stop, but coast to them. Keep acceleration to 2K or above. Anything below that and you waste gas. Above 3 and you waste gas and battery. When on the interstate, keep the ice going, and get the battery charged up as high as it will go, which is usually about 80% of the bar, and you will be in the 40's cruising at 65 MPH.

 

Anything above 70 though, expect no more than 38 MPG.

[Griswald]

The engineer in me says that since electric motors have their strongest torqe output at their slowest speeds, and a gasoline engine doesn't make torque until it gets running 1500 to 2000 rpm, that the most economical way to use a electric/gasoline combo to get moving is to use the electric motor from a stop but switch to gasoline when you get moving over 10 or so miles per hour. That gives the advantage to the electric motor at low speed and the gasoline engine at over 1500 rpm or so.

 

So acdii is correct, engineering-wise.

[Easy Rider]

Trick I learned, use as little battery as possible when accelerating, and above 45 MPH.

What that ALL boils down to is: Use as little energy as possible......always.

It is possible to be counterproductive though, like trying to prevent it from using battery when it wants to.

Slow and steady wins the MPG race.

[mwr]

the most economical way to use a electric/gasoline combo to get moving is to use the electric motor from a stop but switch to gasoline when you get moving over 10 or so miles per hour.

That's exactly how my FFH normally operates.

[mwr]

use as little battery as possible when accelerating

You may be right, but nevertheless I love it whan my FFH accelerates from a stop using mostly battery. Smooth and quiet. I'd prefer to have it choose that mode by default. I wonder how much of a hit, if any, it would cause to mpg...

Edited January 8, 2015 by mwr

[tr7driver]

mwr, you should test drive the Energi. The electric acceleration is great, but it also pushes you to some "bad habits" like spinning the wheels again.

[mwr]

mwr, you should test drive the Energi. The electric acceleration is great, but it also pushes you to some "bad habits" like spinning the wheels again.

I'm sure I'd love it except that (1) I park outside and have no place to plug it in and (2) I wouldn't be willing to have that small a trunk. But I sure would like an option of "accelerate using EV-mostly when possible".

[Hybrider]

You CAN use EV-only to accelerate from a dead stop in the FFH, you just have to accelerate very, very gradually. ;)

[corncobs]

You CAN use EV-only to accelerate from a dead stop in the FFH, you just have to accelerate very, very gradually. ;)

And the guy behind you needs a lot of patience :)

[TonyHzNV]

I just followed Griswald's tips in post #12 and I started getting crazy good mpg. And I have 18" wheels too. Keeping the blue bar within the blue rectangle like he said or the white bar at or below the 2nd tick mark on the Empower screen really works. Look at these two pics I am posting. One is my trip to work this morning, the other is my overall average mpg screen. I'm working on hitting 50. I think it can be done. FYI, my drive to work is fairly flat, about 2/3 city Street (at 45 - 50 mph), and 1/3 Interstate Hwy at about 65 mph. Temp was about 47°F. And like Corncobs said, the people behind me need lots of patience! ?

Edited January 9, 2015 by TonyHzNV

[corncobs]

I just followed Griswald's tips in post #12 and I started getting crazy good mpg. And I have 18" wheels too. Keeping the blue bar within the blue rectangle like he said or the white bar at or below the 2nd tick mark on the Empower screen really works. Look at these two pics I am posting. One is my trip to work this morning, the other is my overall average mpg screen. I'm working on hitting 50. I think it can be done. FYI, my drive to work is fairly flat, about 2/3 city Street (at 45 - 50 mph), and 1/3 Interstate Hwy at about 65 mph. Temp was about 47°F. And like Corncobs said, the people behind me need lots of patience! ?

Nice!

 

Don't try using the EV during acceleration it's a waste of energy. Start rolling in EV yes but then engage the ICE by going over the blue threshold. Accelerate up to speed limit while keeping the white bar around the 2 bar mark (HVB arrow needs to point up). Once at speed ease of the throttle and let her go into EV and cruise along.

 

This way you don't stress the patience of the guy behind you too much and still get great MPG.

 

It's all up the each individual condition but this works for me very well.

[TonyHzNV]

Nice!

Don't try using the EV during acceleration it's a waste of energy. Start rolling in EV yes but then engage the ICE by going over the blue threshold. Accelerate up to speed limit while keeping the white bar around the 2 bar mark (HVB arrow needs to point up). Once at speed ease of the throttle and let her go into EV and cruise along.

This way you don't stress the patience of the guy behind you too much and still get great MPG.

It's all up the each individual condition but this works for me very well.

OK, I'm still learning here so thanks for the tip! I'm trying to read through and try as many things as I can in these forums. There is just so much helpful information to go through. You know, this kind of reminds me of when I was in flight school. You go to academics every day and then go out to the flight line and try to hover, but you just can't seem to keep that darn helicopter within a couple of football fields and you make your instructor EARN his money. But then one day, somewhere around the ten hour mark, something "clicks" (for some of us anyway) and everything comes together and you're hovering like you've been doing it all your life! Just takes a little knowledge and some practice. But you know, my class started out with 65 students and only 17 of us made it through flight school. Those other 48 guys just never got "the touch" and were eliminated. My point is that if you want to fly a hybrid, then you should probably go to hybrid school and learn as much as you can about the systems and how they work and interact with each other and learn what you can from the more seasoned hybrid pilots. Then, practice practice, practice! These forums sure look like hybrid school to me so I'm really glad to be here and that you all are here to impart your wisdom as well. Like with flight school, I think we have to face the fact that not everyone will end up a "qualified" hybrid pilot, but the Forum will give them the best shot at becoming one! So, to all you "seasoned" hybrid pilots out there who are giving of themselves to teach the rest of us, I sincerely thank you! Now please fasten your seat belts for takeoff! ☺ Edited January 9, 2015 by TonyHzNV

[machoman1337]

I generally find that if I'm going a short distance (< 4 km) and the battery is less than half charged, the engine will be on for 100% of the trip at full power and my fuel economy can actually appear to be worse than that of a non-hybrid. E.g. today I drove 1.7 km to the grocery store and it reported a 10.5 L/100 km (22 mpg) consumption for the trip. However on a longer trip (e.g. my 19 km commute to work), there are more opportunities for the battery to charge and for the hybrid motors to actually do their job independently, and in those scenarios, I can actually beat the advertised fuel economy, especially if downhill driving is involved (I get 4.4-4.8 L/100 km on my downhill trip home after work, which is 50+ mpg!)

 

Also if your car is equipped with navigation, it'll gradually memorize your most frequent routes/destinations and activate "EV+" mode when it can, which basically increases the time it spends cruising on EV mode.

 

Just give it time, and maybe take a road trip, and you'll start seeing results. When I first bought my car, I reset the fuel economy reading and was averaging 7-8 L/100 km in mostly downtown stop-and-go traffic - this is actually hitting below 30 mpg. After shipping my car from Toronto to Vancouver, and a few weeks of mixed city/highway commuting, I started getting 5-6 L/100 km - now we're talking :)