jonmanch

With the colder weather in the NE, is anyone experiencing lower mpg with the ES 300h? We have had several cold days here, and my mpg seems to be going down. My driving habits have not changed.

CurryPot

Normal. I've ran mine through one winter already. You can track it at

http://www.fuelly.com/driver/currypotter/es300h

Scroll down to see the tracking each month and you will see the hump in summer and dip in winter. Fairwell 42 MPG, see you next year.

lesz

Other than doing lots of stop and go driving and possibly very aggressive driving, the major factor that can cause mpg to drastically dive is very cold temperatures.

The major loss of mpg happens during the time when the engine is warming up to its normal operating temperature. Once the engine does warm up, decline in mpg should be minimal. Thus, if your driving trips are generally quite long, the effect of the cold on mpg will be reduced. But, if you are taking lots of short trips and parking the car long enough for the engine to cool off, the mpg decline will be much greater.

I find that my best mpg comes with temperatures between about 55 and 75, when the car can warm up quickly and when there is no need to use the air conditioner. When temperatures drop into the 35-55 degree range, I see a relatively minor drop in mpg. When the temperatures drop to the 0 or below range, mpg takes a real nose dive.

jonmanch

Thanks for your input. I thought perhaps the engine had to run longer to keep the heat going in the car. Glad to know this is a normal experience.

Arty101

Also to what Lesz says, fuel blend changes to winter blend. I think they blend in more ethanol, which isn't as fuel efficient.

jim256

It's not only heat to give you comfort, but also to keep the catalytic converter and engine heated in the optimal range to minimize CO.