High Mileage Tips for Toyota Prius and Camry Hybrid Vehicles

Many Toyota and Lexus vehicles use the Hybrid Synergy Drive system to obtain extraordinary mileage. You can use a few simple techniques to get even more mileage from these cars.First, a basic understanding of how they work. A (slightly modified) gasoline engine works like any other car. Mated to the engine is a pair of electric motors that double as electric generators, one large and one small. All three (gas engine, small motor, large motor) are connected together along a single, common shaft. This shaft spins a heavy belt that turns the wheels. There is no transmission.When you press your foot on the throttle, there's no cable that connects to the fuel in the engine as in other cars. Instead, the throttle pedal tells a computer how far down you're pressing. That computer decides how much gasoline to feed to the engine, and how much electricity to transfer from the traction battery to the electric motor to meet your request.If you drive hard, of course your mileage will suffer. If you drive conservatively, your mileage will improve, just like any car. But you can take advantage of the computers in these cars and get even greater mileage.Software learns your general driving habits and senses your current situation.

One system alters how long the engine's valves are open and closed, tailoring them to deliver power, economy, or somewhere in between. By consistently driving in a way that leans toward the 'economy' settings, software will encourage the valve timing toward economy (high mileage).When you take off from a stop, if you accelerate very gently, you can remain in electric mode and use no fuel. Don't obstruct other vehicles.Other software recognizes when you may be in slow or stop-and-go traffic. It will attempt to use the electric motor more than usual (and less fuel) since you'll likely be stopping soon.To deliberately force this infinite-mileage situation (since you'll be moving, yet use no fuel), take your foot completely off the throttle for two seconds. This shuts off the engine.

Next, gently press the throttle enough to match your current speed, then very gently press just a little more to maintain your speed or accelerate very slightly. You'll continue without using fuel, as long as you don't demand much more acceleration, you're not going uphill, and the traction battery doesn't get too low. The lower the battery gets, the more difficult it will be to stay in electric-only mode.The electric motor alone has enough power to accelerate very gently at almost any speed. If you want more acceleration, the gas engine kicks in to provide extra power. If you don't force it into electric mode, the engine generally continues to burn fuel, lowering your mileage.

Don't worry about running the traction battery down; whenever it gets low for any reason, the gas engine runs to charge the battery back up.Mileage suffers during cold weather. Winter-blend fuel gives all cars lower mileage. Also, running the heater draws heat from the engine, making it run even when you're stopped to provide you with heat. Blocking part of the grille in front of the radiator makes the engine run warmer. Some people use split pieces of foam that's used to wrap hot water pipes. Don't forget to unblock it when the weather warms up or your engine could overheat.

Software will recover more energy from slowing down and use it to charge the battery if you press slightly on the brake pedal (regenerative braking). If you slow by coasting along, that will also charge the battery, but not as much.Look far ahead for traffic signals and patterns. Plan your speed so you brake less and travel through intersections on green lights instead of braking and sitting at a red light. The steadier your speed, the higher your mileage.Avoid excessive freeway speeds. The faster you go, the worse your mileage. Your best combination of mileage and speed will be around 55 MPH, perfect for two-lane rural roads.