I need to know where did my gas mileage go? I used to get around 300 to 305 miles to a full tank and now I am pulling about 270 to a full tank. Anybody know where my gas is going? I dont leave my car running and walk away from it (too worried someone will try to steal it). Its still stock with a little over 7k on the odom. I let the car warm up (beings I'm temporarily in cold climate) before taking off. And I dont try to over drive gears or drive really hard. I am not too sure my I have lost the mileage. I know there has been posts about this but a search didnt find the answers I was looking for, if anybody can help I appreciate it. Do I need to take it too a dealer to have something done? Thanks in advance to all who reply...

 

If you let your car idle for a while, some of your gas is going there. You are burning gas but not going anywhere meaning zero miles per gallon. You also could just be getting used to the car. You probably don't even notice that you babied it when you first got it (shifting low, not doing any "spirited" driving, etc.), but are getting used to the car so you push it a little bit harder. Even if you still baby your car, I'll bet you drive it differently now than the day you drove it off the lot.

 

Yeah I do drive slightly different now compared to that first few weeks I owned her. I mean I still do baby the hell out of her but its not like Im well over the speed limit driving either. I drive speed limit or at most 5mi over due to the fact that my lisence isnt exactly clean. So I know its not fast driving..
Your prolly right tho I just maybe more used to the car and its shows more now. Also as far as idling the car its usually only for 3 - 4 mins I'm thinking thats not too long to burn off that much gas..

 

Letting the car sit and warm up before you drive off will drastically reduce your gas mileage. It's really obvious when I ride my motorcycle: in the summer, when I can start it up and ride off, I get around 50mpg. In colder weather when I let it idle for a couple minutes before setting out, my gas mileage goes down to about 35mpg. Part of the difference is also that I don't go on as many longer rides in colder weather, but that doesn't account for 15mpg difference.

--mark

 

I only get 270-280 from full to low gas light indicator.

I probably did get close to 300 at one time, driving like a snail though and try not to hit 3k rpm.

If the highway was still only 55mph then I think I can get 300 *haha*

 

Have you checked your tire pressure lately?

 

When you say you don't overdrive your gears...what exactly do you mean?

 

NO actually I do need to do that and I believe they are do for a rotation as well



What I mean by that is I don't wait until 5500 or 6000 rpms to shift, I shift around 4000 to 4500 rpms..

 

dude, check your tire pressure. These "thin" tires seem to loss air pressure pretty fast over the course of 4-5 months. You need to set them at 32/29psi front/rear. I heard it from somewhere that every 1psi loss, your mpg will become lower 5% or something.

 

what is your reasoning on shifting at 4000 - 4500 rpms? I shift at about 3000 and get about 300mpg. j/w

 

Recently I have seen gas mileage dropping. I use to get around 23-25 MPG but now i get around 20-23MPG. Im thinking because of the cold weather it burns more gas somehow. I leave the car warm up about one minute before i put it ondrive and i do think that does kill a little bit of gas. But its to cold hehe I also heard that cars drop few MPG on cold weather. Over here in seattle its getting real cold. Really unusual for seattle winters. Anyways hope this helps a little. I have an 06 automatic .

 

Did you change your driving route? I mean are you driving more city and less highway. If everything else is the same, then I suggest make sure you changed your oil if it's due. Changing gears at 4500 rpm all the time is gonna drop your mileage. If you change at 3000-3500 in local driving, you should see some increase too. I usually change at 4500-5300 rpm when I am needing to pick up fast, like entering the freeway or dropping the gear to pass. Other than that, I usually drive changing at 3300 rpm most of the time. It depends on traffic. I mean if you are stuck in heavy traffic there is no point in changing gears at 4000 rpm, cuz there no where to go with all that extra power.

Checking your tire pressure is also a must do. Lastly, are you using higher octane gas now? I think some cars get less miles on higher octane. I am not sure if the Tc is one of them. Anyways, I run 87, get about 330 miles per tank, meaning from full to fuel light on. I top off each time, 4-5 clicks. Usually 12.5 gallons to fill. The car holds 14.5 gallons, so that still leaves 2 gallons. I drive 40 miles a day, half city, half freeway at 70ish. I usually drop near 300 when I drive alot of city.

 

The cold thing does help out eumy it has gotten cold real cold here to (im in NJ) but I have noticed it more since the gas prices sky rocketed. My driving route hasnt changed if anything its gotten shorter since I dont travel as far to work anymore (got transfered). I paid close attention to my shifting and I shift between 3500 and 3800 highway around 300 city. I'm real **** about the maintenance of my cars and I have done my oil changes properly. I have been using the same gas all along too between 87 and 89 (manual says regular and thats what I been using).. I know Im due for the tire rotation so I will check pressure and rotate tires and then see on my next fill up..

Thanks to everyone who posted some suggestions.. I will check the tire pressure and rotate them and post up any changes. Thanks again guys..

 

I'm thinking other than some of you in really cold climates, you must either do a lot of stop and go driving, or you just can't drive.

I'm on my second tank of gas in my tC with a 5 speed. Not even broken in yet and I've averaged 27.4 MPG over 571 miles.

I drive a probably 75/25 mix of highway/city and my highway has been at varied speeds from 50-80 MPH, downshifts to 4th as part of the break-in, not letting the car run at any one speed for a long time.

Basically, not driving habits conducive to getting great fuel economy.

I have yet to drop much below a 1/4 of a tank remaining, using about 11.03 gallons on my second fill up to go 300 miles.

I expect things will get better as the car completes breakin, I drive at steady speeds on the highway with the cruise control, etc.

But if I can get 27.4 on average during break-in and mixed city/highway, I'm pretty sure I can beat the EPA specified 29 Highway with ease on any extended trips I take.

I don't exactly have a light foot either.

Why is fuel economy worse in winter?

1. Cool air needs more fuel, computer changes mixture.
2. Time spent in warmup
3. Winter Gas, many places have a winter mixture that is less energy dense than "summer gas"
4. Weather, you get worse mileage in rain and snowy conditions.

I notice a 5-10% drop in fuel economy in my Geo Prizm (A Corolla ya know) in the winter months.

So don't sweat it too much. Besides, it will take you a long time to burn up $17K in gas. The car is the most expensive part to driving, not the gas.

T