Brand new Rav4 Hybrid owner here (bought at 8 miles last week) and I have consistently been getting a very low mpg over the last week, averaging 19 mpg. It's been extremely cold where I live - average of 10 F - and I'm forced to park outside...not ideal I know, but I don't have a garage. Still, I'm frustrated by the low mpg since a key reason I bought this car was to improve on my old gas mileage (2011 Nissan Pathfinder), and family members who also own Rav4 hybrids and live in similar climates have not had the same issue. The car's EV mode is "unavailable," and even though I've been driving short trips to and from work I would have thought I'd be earning better gas mileage on such a new car. My eco scores have been consistently in the 80s/90s, and my parking brake is most definitely off, lol. What's the deal? Should I take this back to the dealer and ask for service, or is this expected?
Brand new Rav4 Hybrid Low mpg
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Fritzy17
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I linked to that graph because I couldn’t find the one I posted, which is a screen capture from the Weber video where the hybrid powerplant is discussed. I did find that with a bit better recall of keywords.
It still shows the engine being the FKS, but in this case it also shows the peak thermodynamic efficiency at around 45 kw, which again based on decent guesses for coefficient of drag and frontal area, yield a speed in excess of 70 MPH with the ecvt running in its highest ratio.
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I'm new to hybrids and have a 2021 RAV4 XSE. I'm getting about 20 mpg for 90% city only driving under 40 mph. My daily drive is 3.3 miles roundtrip. I read that I'm not driving enough to get better mpg. Thoughts?
You are indeed not driving enough to get your engine to the optimal operational temperature. This will cause not only poor fuel efficiency, but also increased engine wear.
For your use case an EV would be just perfect (or a PHEV if you do need to make longer trips).
Reading all these posts tells me that as long as we're not fully retired and I travel frequently—around 45 miles on weekdays, with 70% on the highway and 30% in the city—the RAV4 Hybrid is a great fit, delivering around 35-39 MPG. However, once we fully retire, the R4H may no longer be used optimally and could consume more fuel due to shorter trips. This makes me think that when the time comes, it might be more practical to either retain our other conventional ICE vehicle or switch to a RAV4 Prime.
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Looks like you haven't read through all the posts because I am retired and have been averaging ~5 litres/100kms (~46 mpg) during the last 11 months.
I think the rav4 H is an ideal vehicle for a retired person. Most retired people have less income than working but travel more so the fuel cost savings are a + both ways. While under certain conditions hybrid fuel economy may appear to be as low as a comparable ICE vehicle the overall average will be substantially higher and this is what really matters. The more you drive, the more money you save!
So when we fully retire, we'll only be driving occasionally—less than 8 miles at a time—and the vehicle will mostly sit in the garage. In that case, will the R4H still be fuel-efficient? Will I still be able to get my current 35-39 MPG? We’ll still take road trips, but it will no longer be our daily workhorse like it is now. I guess the car is retiring too.
I think I'll cross that bridge when I get there. When we fully retire and have little to no daily travel, I'll observe whether the R4H remains fuel-efficient.
I believe lower overall maintenance costs are just as important as fuel economy, especially for seniors. The R4H features regenerative braking, which reduces brake wear. Its electric motor eliminates the need for a traditional starter motor and alternator—both of which have their own timing mechanisms—by handling engine start-up and energy management. Instead of a multi-gear automatic transmission, the R4H uses an electronic continuously variable transmission (eCVT) with a power-split planetary gearset, and it employs an electric AC compressor rather than a belt-driven one.
I believe lower overall maintenance costs are just as important as fuel economy, especially for seniors. The R4H features regenerative braking, which reduces brake wear. Its electric motor eliminates the need for a traditional starter motor and alternator—both of which have their own timing mechanisms—by handling engine start-up and energy management. Instead of a multi-gear automatic transmission, the R4H uses an electronic continuously variable transmission (eCVT) with a power-split planetary gearset, and it employs an electric AC compressor rather than a belt-driven one.
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As you get older you might find you actually use the car even more - attending medical appointments, dental appointments, physio appointments, podiatry appointments, shopping, visiting friends more often, going to cafes, picking up and baby sitting grandkids, miscellaneous trips, lawn bowls etc etc etc
In the 11.5 months I have had my 2024 R4H I have done 10600kms. Excluding about 5000km of road trips, that's 5600km in 350 days at an average of 16km (~10 miles) each and every day.
Excluding road trips the car is used on 4 or 5 days a week on average for any of the above reasons. That works out to (7 x 16)/4.5 = 25kms (~16 miles) round trips (on average) on the days the car is actually used. Some of those days might actually be shortish 8km trips to around 40-50km round trips.
An average of 25 kms/trip (~16 miles) is more than enough to offset the effects of running the ICE while the engine is warming up in winter. Our coldest mornings here in Melbourne, Australia, get down do "only" 0-3C, so we don't have the extreme cold other parts of the world experience.
Yes, you should unless you live in a climate where temperatures are significantly below freezing (0C). Consistent cold weather is obviously a very significant ball and chain on fuel consumption efficiency.
I am retired and have been averaging ~5 litres/100kms (~46 mpg) between refuels during the last 11 months.
I think you're right 😊. Maybe I'm just overthinking whether my R4H will still be fuel-efficient. I actually retired from service in December 2022, but I don’t really feel retired since I'm now working as a private contractor, and my wife is still two years away from retirement. As a result, I still travel a lot.As you get older you might find you actually use the car even more - attending medical appointments, dental appointments, physio appointments, podiatry appointments, shopping, visiting friends more often, going to cafes, picking up and baby sitting grandkids, miscellaneous trips, lawn bowls etc etc etc
When I retired many years ago, I was told by a counselor that I would be so bored not going to work, and I would drive my wife crazy being around the house all the time; thus I would need to get a part time job just to get out of her hair. The exact opposite is what happened; I've never been so busy in my life! Projects (honey do and otherwise), raising my kids, travel, etc.As you get older you might find you actually use the car even more - attending medical appointments, dental appointments, physio appointments, podiatry appointments, shopping, visiting friends more often, going to cafes, picking up and baby sitting grandkids, miscellaneous trips, lawn bowls etc etc etc
Today feels like a cold one for us - 55 degrees Fahrenheit and a little windy
Given the temps others are reporting here they would be out in shorts and a tee shirt where we live
One day this car gets 22-26 and the next it’s mid 30s
Not sure what to make of it all
People reporting that kind of mileage is one of the main reasons we bought this car
Closest we’ve gotten so far was maybe 37 but mostly mid 20s
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Not my experience at all. Also, driving R4P. Drove in Utah at 75-80mph. Got 36-38mpg on the way there because of the slight uphill going in to higher elevation. 44mpg on the way back. Las Vegas, 44 mpg there, 46 on the way back. Same story, slight overall elevation going there and slight downhill on the way back. Both ways doing 70mpg. The key is to have 0w16 oil and not what dealer puts in.
BTW switching from EV to HV for a short period of time is the worst advise you can possibly give. Engine should not run for a short time. It should get to the temperature every time it is turned on and it takes at least 5 miles.
If I anticipate I will run out of EV range I will drive 5 miles or more in HV.
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The sienna's dimentions multiplied drag (.28) COE come to 1,538.6 sq in. Rav4 (.32)comes to 1,565.12 sq. in.... that is about a 1.175% better than the Rav4 Prime, but weighing 7.5% more i assume you loose any areo benifets making up for the extra 325lbs.
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Similar. Drove 500+ miles each way @ 75-80 36mpg w/o any EV.
70 mph was about 42 until i gave up on long trips. around so cal i can get up to 47mpg with heavy traffic and a light foot.
We just need to burn up the EV that is forced to drain before we start or i could say on a 45 mile drive from pasadena to Yorba linda i obtained 60 mpg. That is starting in HV.. but the vehicle will burn off 15% of the "Full" EV if you want it to or not.
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If I go on a long trip and I have a full charge I drive until 42 miles left on EV and then switch to HV. The only difficult is to remember always switch to HV after every time I stop.
Which is more economical engaging EV until battery depletes or speed increases or just let it be on HV all the time?
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If you have full charge and start with HV in a few hours the battery will be depleted to 42 miles. After that it will stop depleting. That is done so the regen energy can go in to battery. So 10-15 EV miles will be wasted. That is why I start in EV and switch to HV after I drive 10-15 miles.
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Ah thank you, I worried about that. Damn I'm annoyed because I was told hybrid would be good for my driving needs. Is there anything I can do to help the engine out given that I'll probably have to keep the hybrid and continue on this path .
Not sure I'm up to purchasing an EV financially. Does the RAV4 come in EV? Would EV driving mode help with the hybrid gas mileage?
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