2020 camry hybrid miles per gallon decrease

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Feb 13, 2011
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14
Location
NY
On my last gas fill up I only got 44 miles per gallon. My driving has not changed . I was averaging 51 to 53 miles per gallon before. I have 28000 miles on the car. Any suggestions on why the drop in mileage. I will be bringing the car to the dealer for inspection next and I will ask them to check it out.
 
It’s cold out and everything takes a bit longer to warm up, the energy content of gasoline varies about 4%, pushing through rain/snow covered roads requires more energy, any winds you may be driving into requires more energy to overcome, among a million other variables I can’t think of right now.
 
Are you manually calculating, or using the display in the vehicle. If the latter, switch to manual calculations if you're concerned about watching the MPG number. Do this over multiple tanks to more accurately track any changes.

Is it possible you filled up somewhere that uses a higher ethanol percentage than you're used to? Changes in idling times? Change in city/highway mix?
 
OP is in NY... it's january, and it didn't suddenly just get cold and the fuel just didn't suddenly switch.

I would check the tire pressures, air filter, etc. Or maybe you think the driving on the last tank hasn't changed, but it did
 
Don’t use one fill up as a trend. Wait until you have several fill ups and if the numbers still show decrease then you can wonder.

For now check the common things. Tire pressure for example. Cold weather affects tire pressure.
 
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On my last gas fill up I only got 44 miles per gallon. My driving has not changed . I was averaging 51 to 53 miles per gallon before. I have 28000 miles on the car. Any suggestions on why the drop in mileage. I will be bringing the car to the dealer for inspection next and I will ask them to check it out.

I seriously doubt they’ll find anything conclusive.
 
Wind really makes my mileage go down and I have the same vehicle. If you change tires to Michelin CrossClimate2s you'll take a big hit also.
I haven't noticed a big hit with the CC2 in the fuel mileage on my hybrid, compared to the stock Bridgestone Alenza Sport A/S
 
OP is in NY... it's january, and it didn't suddenly just get cold and the fuel just didn't suddenly switch.

I would check the tire pressures, air filter, etc. Or maybe you think the driving on the last tank hasn't changed, but it did

Air filter restriction has little to nothing to do with fuel mileage...max power output, yes, but not low power fuel mileage - at least on modern computer controlled throttled engines.
 
Did the winter gas just arrive at your station?

Did you just get new tires? My mpg still hasn’t returned to what my oem tires gave me. Tires make a large difference. I assume this isn’t the case or you’d have pointed it out, though.
 
If you’re talking about hand-calculated MPG, a short fill of fuel a tank ago and/or a heavy fill this fillup would be more than enough to explain the drop in MPG. Think of a pump that was overly sensitive and cut off a gallon before normal, and/or a pump that put an extra gallon in - that could explain it. A good indicator this has happened is when the gas gauge drops off F very quickly, or stays on F longer than usual (respectively).

But I agree with the cold weather/winter blend gas/more idling/fewer highway miles theory, as well. Just throwing out something I’ve observed.
 
Possibly related. I'm having trouble with 93 octane in NY. My car's knock sensors retard timing and utterly kill MPG if the fuel is not a true 93. I had one batch so bad, I got 16 miles from full to 3/4 and not quite 50 miles from full to 1/2 tank. It was so poor, and the car so slow, I couldn't finish a 60 mile trip to the airport on the last half a tank.

A little research led me to the FACT that organized crime is adultering the fuel, possibly diluting premium with regular and charging the station for premium. That explains why it happens at random local stations, and not anywhere else.

So when I see a massive MPG drop, I go to a station out of state. And walla! MPG is back up to 28.
 
Nothing to see - 10% drop during colder temps is perfectly normal for my Prius....every year.

How cold does it get in winter for you? You're in california so it could var wildly which is why I'm asking. Also, to put it into perspective, how hot in summer?

My diesel didn't get significantly worse mileage in winter, I guess whatever I saved when it was warmer the AC compressor consumed. I wonder how the gas powered version I have now will do (it is effectively the same engine as the diesel, but gas powered)
 
My diesel did its best mpg fall and spring, except one winter when I pulled out the stops and hypermiled. Summer was the worst, due ac usage.

Well, that, and I drove faster, as it was summer and I wanted to be home and thus outside, in the sun.
 
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