Vehicle Gas Consumption - Accurate?

 
I was wondering if anyone has verified that the gas consumption
information provided by the Prius displays are valid.  Have no reason to
doubt they are, however I find I do have to ask.

Thanks

Danielle

 

They are not.  They are indicators, not gauges.

Do the math for yourself to see where yours lies.

 
They are reasonably accurate.  Mine usually reads + or - 2 mpg for a
full tank.  Try to be consistant about how full you fill the tank.  If
you squeeze in enough to get to even dollars when you fill it will
cause one tank full to read high and the next to read low.  Over all
it averages out.

 On Thu, 26 Apr 2012 16:47:27 -0700 (PDT), Bruce Richmond


And, if your Prius has a bladder tank like my old 2004, you will find
that the pressure of the fuel dispenser makes a big difference in how
much gas you can get in.  My county requires vapor recovery nozzles
while neighboring counties do not.  I used to get from one half to one
gallon more in a fillup when filling up in a neighboring county.  That
makes it hard to do consistent measurements.  My newer 2010 does not
have the bladder tank.  The bladder tank was an interesting idea, but
I am glad they did away with it.  One time on a trip with the 2004,
the bladder must have folded in such a way, that I could only get 5
gallons into a nearly empty tank.  The next fillup was normal and it
never happened again.

Pat

 

You should never, EVER do the measuring across different pumps.

Go to the same pump across fillups, preferably at the same time of day,
if you want to have a reasonable presumption of any kind of accuracy.