Wanted. Small car.

[Mick F]

Smell gone.

Average fuel consumption seems to be stabilising at just over 57/58mpg. Down to less than half a tank now.
302miles done.

[francovendee]

Thanks.
I'll do that, but having already had a good look at stuff, I doubt that there's water lying anywhere ............. but I'll look.

We drove the Yaris yesterday into town and back, but it's been sat on the drive all day today, and it could well be left alone tomorrow too.
When we drive it again, we'll have a good sniff at it, but meanwhile, I'll investigate as you suggest.

My wife's Yaris (2009) has always had a wet dog smell when we've had damp weather and the car hasn't been used for a few days. It goes off after a few minutes but can be very strong. We've had it back to the dealers when it was new and they found nothing wrong. It originates from the ventilation system as the whiff is much stronger with the fan going. We recently had all the filters changed but it's made no difference. I wonder if the problem lies in the aircon as it's the first car we've had aircon or the smell.
It's been a brilliant car, never had one problem with it and my wife never wants to change it.

[comfortablynumb]

Glad you're pleased with it Mick. Regarding the fuel consumption, do you use any particular brand? I find that I consistently get an extra 4 or 5 mpg from my Yaris Hybrid on branded fuel (Texaco, BP, Shell etc) compared to supermarket stuff (Morrisons). I appreciate that branded v supermarket petrol is a whole new can of worms. Honest John reckons something about the Toyota Hybrid benefits from premium fuels too.
Regarding the aircon smells, it's something I've been aware of ever since I first had cars with aircon, but never enough to bother us. One time when sevicing my Corsa the Vx dealer used one of those aircon debug / freshener aerosols and it did smell good afterwards, quite cheap too if you buy your own from Halfords or similar.
Steve.

[barrym]

Glad you're pleased with it Mick. Regarding the fuel consumption, do you use any particular brand? I find that I consistently get an extra 4 or 5 mpg on branded fuel (Texaco, BP, Shell etc) compared to supermarket stuff (Morrisons). I appreciate that branded v supermarket petrol is a whole new can of worms. Honest John reckons something about the Toyota Hybrid benefits from premium fuels too.
Regarding the aircon smells, it's something I've been aware of ever since I first had cars with aircon, but never enough to bother us. One time when sevicing my Corsa the Vx dealer used one of those aircon debug / freshener aerosols and it did smell good afterwards, quite cheap too if you buy your own from Halfords or similar.
Steve.

Back in the 1970s I worked for Avon Tyres. They had test cars running virtually 24*7. It was claimed then by some that different brands were better than others, Mobil being the one I remember, by that sort of number, but on lower mpg, so better %.

They certainly ran very consistent route and speeds for wear comparison purposes.

[philvantwo]

Are you coasting down the hills Mick F?

[Bonefishblues]

Thanks.
I'll do that, but having already had a good look at stuff, I doubt that there's water lying anywhere ............. but I'll look.

We drove the Yaris yesterday into town and back, but it's been sat on the drive all day today, and it could well be left alone tomorrow too.
When we drive it again, we'll have a good sniff at it, but meanwhile, I'll investigate as you suggest.

My wife's Yaris (2009) has always had a wet dog smell when we've had damp weather and the car hasn't been used for a few days. It goes off after a few minutes but can be very strong. We've had it back to the dealers when it was new and they found nothing wrong. It originates from the ventilation system as the whiff is much stronger with the fan going. We recently had all the filters changed but it's made no difference. I wonder if the problem lies in the aircon as it's the first car we've had aircon or the smell.
It's been a brilliant car, never had one problem with it and my wife never wants to change it.

Try an air conditioning "bomb" as they are called. I've used one with success in the past.

[Mick F]

Answers:
The smell has gone. The car smells now of upholstery and leather.
The petrol we bought was Morrisons and later today, I'll be filling it up with Morrisons again.

With a hybrid, you always coast down hills.
You have no control of the engine at all. It's all automatically done, and going down hill, the system charges the battery by dint the wheels going round and turning the generator.

One thing that puzzled me until I realised what it was and why it was, is that if you open the driver's door - even without staring the car - that you can hear a motor running somewhere. After it stops, you can get out and then back in, and it's silent.

What happens is that the brake servo charges up. The car could very well be driven away on electric alone, so the brake servo needs a vacuum from somewhere, so it's created by an electric motor rather than engine vacuum like in a normal car.

[Bonefishblues]

You have a teeny bit of control over ICE/electric at slow speed via your use of the throttle - gentle inputs maximise time running without the ICE, which si always desirable.

I took it to silly extremes with my Plug in Prius - not putting the heater on (or the blower, as that meant mist-up) from start-up even in winter until I got onto the dual carriageway part of my journey, for instance, just to run on electric on the urban part of my jourmey. It did make a difference, but was a little bit daft - it gets you like that

[Mick F]

Yes, a bit of control, but hills require petrol no matter what you do.

............. unless you go in reverse, it seems.
We have a steep drive circa 25% for 100yds. Come up forwards, and no matter how slow and gentle, the engine flashes up.
Reverse up, and no matter how far you press the throttle, it only uses electric and NEVER the engine. Also, you can't go very fast in reverse as it seems not to allow you. I'm a good reverser, and it's a bit frustrating not being able to go swiftly backwards. However, it's absolutely brilliant for reverse parking.

Just filled up in Liskeard Morrisons.
318miles done.
26.4L of petrol - that's 54.76mpg
The trip meter said 56.4mpg

There's nothing to say that I got the top-up level exactly the same as all I did last time (and this time) was to insert the hose gun all the way it would go into the tank neck and wait for the first click-off, and then finish. Standing there gently trying to get a brimful is boring in the extreme. After four or five top-ups, we'll getter a better idea of the actual fuel consumption versus the trip meter consumption.

Home from Liskeard, the trip meter reads 63.6mpg after the reset at Morrisons.
This is main road A390 driving.

[Bonefishblues]

That differential displayed vs measured is about what I experienced with the Prius - always 1-2mpg optimistic.

I thought you'd be a little better than 55ish, but it's very journey profile dependent (but still a big leap from the 500, IIRC?) and still early days.

[Mick F]

Yes, a big leap in consumption.

I kept records for the 500 - I did it because I thought we'd get good figures, then kept on with it to show that they were terrible considering the zero VED.

Here's a screenshot of my spreadsheet latterly.

Columns:
Date, Mileage, Fuel cost, Filled up yes or no, Litres, Imperial Gallons, MPG figure since last top-up.

[Mick F]

PS:
Just done the arithmetic (via the spreadsheet)
Miles done 14,434miles
Fuel consumed 349.07gallons

= 41.35mpg

[thirdcrank]

PS:
Just done the arithmetic (via the spreadsheet)
Miles done 14,434miles
Fuel consumed 349.07gallons

= 41.35mpg

I think there's a section on honest john where you can input that kind of information.

[Mick F]

Yes, TC, there probably is. Do I want to do it?
I have all sorts of info about all sorts of stuff, so I could no doubt input it all.

I keep a daily diary and I'm seriously thinking that I should stop it. Just on the shelf next to me, I have diaries from 1990 to 2016, and on the coffee table I have this year's, plus one ready for next year.

Don't ask me what we have in the loft.

[Bonefishblues]

PS:
Just done the arithmetic (via the spreadsheet)
Miles done 14,434miles
Fuel consumed 349.07gallons

= 41.35mpg

The Fiat twins really are terrible aren't they - really illustrate the EU mpg Testing shortfalls.