Toyota 2003 Prius Owner's Manual page 29

How to save fuel and make
your vehicle last longer,
too127.
Improving fuel economy is easy–just take
it easy. It will help make your vehicle last
longer, too. Here are some specific tips
on how to save money on both fuel and
repairs:
D
Keep your tires inflated at the cor-
rect pressure. Underinflation causes
tire wear and wastes fuel. See page
219 in Section 8–2 for instructions.
D
Do not carry unneeded weight in
your vehicle. Excess weight puts a
heavier load on the engine, causing
greater fuel consumption.
D
Accelerate slowly and
Avoid jackrabbit starts.
D
Avoid continuous speeding up and
slowing down. Stop–and–go
wastes power.
D
Avoid unnecessary stopping
braking. Maintain a steady pace. Try
to time the traffic signals so you only
need to stop as little as possible or
take advantage of through streets to
avoid traffic lights. Keep a proper dis-
tance from other vehicles to avoid sud-
den braking. This will also reduce wear
on your brakes.
D
Avoid heavy traffic or traffic jams
whenever possible.
168
D
Do not rest your foot on brake ped-
al. This causes premature wear, over-
heating and poor fuel economy.
D
Maintain a moderate speed on high-
ways. The faster you drive, the greater
the fuel consumption. By reducing your
speed, you will cut down on fuel con-
sumption.
D
Keep the front wheels
alignment. Avoid hitting the curb and
slow down on rough roads. Improper
alignment not only causes faster tire
wear but also puts an extra load on
the engine, which, in turn, wastes fuel.
smoothly.
D
Keep the bottom of your vehicle free
from mud, etc. This not only lessens
weight but also helps prevent corro-
driving
sion.
D
Keep your vehicle tuned–up and in
and
top shape. A dirty air cleaner, improp-
er valve clearance, dirty plugs, dirty oil
and grease, brakes not adjusted, etc.
all lower engine performance and con-
tribute to poor fuel economy. For longer
life of all parts and lower operating
costs, keep all maintenance work on
schedule, and if you often drive under
severe conditions, see that your ve-
hicle receives more frequent mainte-
nance.
CAUTION
Never turn off the hybrid system to
coast down hills. Your power steering
and brake booster will not function
without the hybrid system running.
Also, the emission control system op-
erates properly only when the hybrid
in proper
system is running.