I have a 2012 Toyota Prius C with 35k miles (yes, I do a LOT of driving).
I use non-ethanol gas EVERY time and get 47-50mpg. This is pretty good considering I dont drive the car like it should be driven (slow take offs), I drive 85mph on the interstate for 50 miles each way to and from work, 5 days a week. Occassionally, the mileage will drop, could this just be a bad batch of gas or does my fuel system need to be cleaned?
Other discussions I have read suggest that if the car runs fine, there is no need for the service. They mention a slow start when turning the car on. Well hybrids dont sound the same as a regular car when you turn that key. You barely hear a thing when starting a hybrid. And I only have 99 horsepower on this thing so sluggish starts are a part of my daily drive. Its also a push-start so there is no key to turn to “feel” a slow start.
Toyota is suggesting I get a $170 fuel induction service but from what I have read (on this site and others) it doesnt seem to be necessary. The car isnt even a year old!
This is a typical un-needed money maker for the dealer.
They make more profit on things like this than they do selling new cars.
You’ll find no mention of “induction service” in the owner’s manual maintenance schedule.
A bottle of Chevron Techron fuel system cleaner in the gas tank every 1-2 years will help keep things clean.
It might be helpful to get the throttle body cleaned at 100K miles.
A mileage drop could be from bad gas (my mom’s '10 prius went way down after a tank from Safeway, went back to normal when she went back to her usual brand with same driving same temp) most of these services are just profit makers for the dealer
If you are driving 85 mph on the freeway for 50 miles, some drop in mpg is expected. The faster you go, the less your fuel economy, as the wind resistance your engine needs to overcome increases rapidly at higher speeds. Also on longer freeway trips you’re not able to take advantage as much of the electrical drive efficiencies, so again that would cause your mpg to drop a bit.
So pay att’n to when your mpg drops. If it happens during long trips at high speeds, that’s to be expected. If it happens about town, when other similar trips about town it doesn’t happen, then that is more suspicious of a problem.
Sometimes an induction cleaning can be necessary although I don’t think it’s called for in this case.
It sounds like they’re just trying to pad the service department gross sales tally for the month.
As to mileage drop, a headwind could certainly cause that. One service school I had to attend in Texas led to my choice of flying or driving to San Antonio. I chose the latter and was given a Subaru demonstrator to make the trip in.
This was in the wintertime and going down the Subaru got around 37-38 MPG. On the way back the weather had really turned off cold with winds howling straight out of the north at me the entire way back. The best mileage on the return leg was 22.
When our familys Mazda Protoge started having issues with the throttle body my dad dropped it by our Independent shop and after he told the mechanic what the car was doing he pulled off the intake hose, marinated the Throttle plate with cleaner, and sent Dad on his way without charge, unless you are experiencing some sort of issue a bottle of Techron will suffice
i am also underappreciated and i agree that it is nice when someone comments on your work.
one more question - are the people answering the discussion questions certified mechanics? car enthusiasts? both? hope i dont offend anyone by asking, i certainly appreciate the advice either way.
I have always gotten excellent diagnostic advice on cartalk mainly from guys who service their own vehicles and know what they are talking about. Cartalk community is the best on the net.