A123 Prius Plugin

Houston traffic involves a lot of sitting, a lot believe me. I want to at least be comfortable which was why I looked at this kind of car to start with. It was also listed as premimum recommended, not premium only. It will only run regular on the highway though. I have taken only one trip in it and it had barely 1000mi on it when I started, driving to Athens, Ga for my nephews greaduation (~1000mi) which turned into a family reunion. It got 26-28 on the highway and I felt like it working like it was supposed to (28 hiway rated).

But as soon as I got back home the mileage went away, I switched back to premium and a week later still with lousy mileage I took it to the dealer -ran a diagnostic and said there is nothing wrong - they tried to blame it on the gasoline sold in Houston, then they tried to tell me I wasn't driving the car far enough to get it up operating temp - I live 4.6miles from work.

I know of 3 of the same model cars at work burning the same gasoline I buy, but getting better mileage. Just for grins for a tank, I drove 15min away from work, turned around and then drove to work making the one way trip 16-18miles. Nothing changed, it gets an avg of 15mpg regardless and this is not brand either, I've tried Shell, Chevron, Sams, Citgo - makes no difference. I don't care what a diagnostic says, there is something wrong with this car - but try telling the service guy at the dealership that - they just look at you like you're stupid or something. I wrote Nissan USA months and months ago, but I didn't even rate a reply or a phone call.

I wish there was something I could do, but these are now ecu based and theres not much even a good mechanic can do without a diagnostic pointing you in the right direction. I'm not a dummy when I comes to cars, I did a ground up restoration on a 440 74 Ply GTX/Road Runner thats a show quaility car. I'm putting together a 71 Ply 360 Duster currently. I worked my way thru grad school for my masters in ME working as a Yamaha mechanic (factory trained) and I did a summer at a Chrysler Dealership as a mechanic before getting smart and moving to motorcycles - they're cleaner, you don't have to crawl under them and generally you don't get as greasy working on them. Paid just as much too.

I do know a guy that took a VW something and converted it to diesel and he makes his own biodiesel from restaurant cooking oil. He spends a lot of time doing that, but says his bio-d costs him about a buck a gallon. My buds Avalanche (sp?) gets better mileage than my Maxima, crap everybody gets better mileage than this sucker does, lol!! Donm't think I haven't tried doing something about it cause I have. I had to wait a yr to ease the financial hit on trading, but I'm looking currently and will be in different wheels end of the month. Wish me better luck!

[cart213]

Originally Posted by Duster_360

Brian, Ive done everything. I ran an entire tank where I never let the engine rpm get over 2200 - hvy with the pedal indeed. I got flipped off more times that week that I prob have been in my life! I ran a tank using crusie control only - as soon as I gently got to 30mph, immed on cruise. I drive no more than 40mph and know how to get this CVT trans to upshift early and lock in top gear. The rewards - maybe a 1mpg improvement. Whats frustrating is I know there's something wrong somewhere with the car. There are 7 of these Maximas where I work and they get 18 to 20mpg. But bottom line for todays top flight mechanic - if it doesn't show up on a diagnostic, then there is nothing wrong. I traded my 5spd truck which was getting 18s for this sucker. Very disappointed - won't own another one ever! Meantime while I'm shopping around, I'll try the neutral business, hadn't heard that one before.

There's definitely something wrong with your car. I used to have an 07 Maxima, and I got about 21~22 mpg on average. During the first ~1000 miles or so, I was getting 18~19 mpg, but then it increased once it was broken in. How many miles are on your car?

Btw, how are you figuring the mpg? Are you just reading the display screen, or are you actually calculating the amount of fuel used vs. the miles driven?

It got almost 6000mi - most of the time I leave it sitting in the garage and drive/ride something else. I learned early on the trip computer needs to be zero'ed whenever you want accurate data from it, but my gas mileage has always been mileage/gallons at the pump - what the deale calls tehold fashioned way. The number on the trip computer right now is 15.7mpg.

The trip computer is amazingly accurate, but only if you zero it and let it stabilize whenever you want a good number.

What caused you to sell yours?

[kulangflow]

I work from home.

I need to fill my 91 Accord's tank every six weeks or so because it averages 30+ mpg.

Sorry, I just thought I'd rub it in. Muwahahahahahaha!

[lutach]

Originally Posted by snellemin

Wasn't Lincpimp looking for A123 cells? Lutach need to find some new fets to go with a speed controller with this beast.

lol. You should see what I have planned out. I spoke with Artur (GriffinRU) about it. All I need to do now is find some investors as that project will need a lot of $$$$$$$. I have everything planned out.

[DrKnow65]

My work truck got 6-8mpg, put around 23K miles on it last yar and spent ~$8,400 (with time idling). I don't feel bad for any of you hahaha.

Oh yah, and while we're mentioning diesels, I don't care what kind of milage you get, THAT CRAP SMELLS BAD!!! anyone who owns a diesel should have part of their own exhaust pipe routed into the cab so they can share the pleasure with the rest of us.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Duster_360

Brian, Ive done everything. I ran an entire tank where I never let the engine rpm get over 2200 - hvy with the pedal indeed. I got flipped off more times that week that I prob have been in my life! I ran a tank using crusie control only - as soon as I gently got to 30mph, immed on cruise. I drive no more than 40mph and know how to get this CVT trans to upshift early and lock in top gear. The rewards - maybe a 1mpg improvement. Whats frustrating is I know there's something wrong somewhere with the car. There are 7 of these Maximas where I work and they get 18 to 20mpg. But bottom line for todays top flight mechanic - if it doesn't show up on a diagnostic, then there is nothing wrong. I traded my 5spd truck which was getting 18s for this sucker. Very disappointed - won't own another one ever! Meantime while I'm shopping around, I'll try the neutral business, hadn't heard that one before.

It was worth a shot...

On cruise I get worse mileage because the comp tries to keep a steady speed no matter what, so down hills it lets off the gas totally, but has to press a lot going back up. Doing it without cruise lets you build up speed slowly down hills so you have momentum to help you out going back up the hill. Not sure how hilly it is where you are...

Also, have you tried resetting the computer? I've been told that some cars "learn" how you drive and adjust settings accordingly. So, if you're a fast driver who likes to punch hard off the line, the comp adjusts for that, but mileage suffers. Might need to be reset so it re-learns your driving style. Don't know the truth behind this, but something to think about.

I noticed better mileage just changing over to a K&N stock replacement air filter.

The mechanics are probably finding nothing wrong because the car isn't throwing any codes, but that doesn't mean something isn't quite right. Any of the sensors could be a bit off and throwing off the computer - but not enough to generate an error code.

I had an old Contour that ran like crap for quite a while and was getting worse. The Ford dealer said I needed around $300+ to fix it. Well, at the time I didn't have that to throw away (on top of the $100 diag fee I spent for them to tell me that), so I looked at it myself. I found (by accident) there was a super fine layer of dust coating the MAF. Took a Q-tip and gently cleaned it. Ran like a champ after that and was FREE! And had nothing to do with what the techs were going to replace so their "fix" would've done NOTHING. I'm sure there are techs that know their stuff, but I woudn't trust them totally...

Good luck, hope you find your issue...

[glassdoctor]

Originally Posted by t-maxxracer32

both my parents own hybrids and i gotta say they are not what i thought they would be.

my dad has an 08 accord v6 and it gets MAYBE 22mpg in the city
my mom has an 08 civic 4 cyclinder and it gets on average 28mph in the city

they were each supposed to be 35mph in city and i beleieve 40-50 highway.

my parents paid over 75 thousand for the 2 cars and i honestly dont think the money was well spent.... they are not as gas efficient as i would have imagined.

These cars are not rated for 35+ mpg city... unless they are hybrids...

2007 EPA estimates city/hwy for basic model, 5 speed (best #'s):
accord 23/31
civic 26/34

The EPA estimates have always been too generous (but now it's been changed in 08 to more realistic #'s) and most people drive too hard to get the best mpg also. You have to drive like your grandma if you want the best mileage.



my .02
My Durango w/hemi can get 20mpg cruising easy at 55-60 mph but it drops to about 17mpg at 80 mph. In town it's probably 14-16 as a grocery-getter, and worse if you want to hear the hemi work a bit. Oh... and it's 10-13mpg pulling a 21' ski boat.

[cart213]

Originally Posted by Duster_360

What caused you to sell yours?

I didn't sell it. It was a lease.

Originally Posted by cart213

I didn't sell it. It was a lease.

Understand now, thanks.

Brian - Houston is FLAT! The tallest thing here is the interstate overpass built to go over the streets they cross. Yes, and prob the landfill is the tallest. We have no hills or grades to contend with. Cruise has gotten me the best mileage in the trucks I've owned and helped here, but only marginally, less than 1mpg.

I'm finishing a big offshore study and will have a break. The car is going back to the dealer and we're going to get this fixed. I have been emailing the owner of the dealership and he assures me he wants me to be happy with my car. Then I'm going car shopping.

Gas prices are likely to get worse before they get better - unless we have a world economic recession that puts the hurt on demand. With demand soaring, there is no telling where prices will wind up.

[Serum]

My company car diesel does a 50 mpg. (for the last 4000 miles that is) I think that would beat a prius? (real numbers, no theory)

we pay roughly 10 bucks per gallon now..

[BrianG]

Ugg, $10/gal! I thought it was high here at $3.33/gal (as of last Sunday morning)...

Being in Iowa, Ethanol mix gas at 89 octane is either the same price or less than "regular" 87 octane. If I happen to be shopping at Wal-Mart, I get the gift card, which entitles you to $0.03/gal discount at their gas pumps (Murphy's USA). Not a whole lot, but every bit counts I guess...

You guys have alternatives - mass transit. What passes for mass transit here is a joke and no real alternative. I'm glad I'm only 4.6mi from work, that gives me some choices.

[Serum]

mass transit here is the biggest joke you know. that's hardly an alternative. If i used that during the day, i would need at least 8 hours a day extra to cover the time it takes. It might be handy for connecting large city's, but other than that, it's useless, and far from perfect. The best mass transit system i know off is in Manhattan. The subways.. that's perfect.


I guess they tought you that at school, the same place they told you we all have wooden shoes and eat cheese.. :)

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by Serum

...I guess they tought you that at school, the same place they told you we all have wooden shoes and eat cheese.. :)

You don't???