Mpg madness !!!

[mickyb37]

My 2000 GT runs like new, no check engine issues, smooth idle, new tune up, wires, air filter, etc. I drive mostly highway and country with the lightest foot possible. I can barely get 20 mpg. Can anyone steer me in the right direction with this. The car is rated at 29 hwy, I have never seen that.

[Bio248]

you should be seeing mid 20s with mostly highway driving. even with my heavy foot and mixed city/highway i was getting 22ish when my tune was in check.

[machinegunsquid]

Hows your tire pressure, tread, and alignment?

How many hills are in the area?

How old is the fuel filter?

How heavy a foot do you have? (If I'm trying to be gas conscious i wont go above 2500rpm)

You should be mid 20's or so, so to barely get 20 is a little strange

[mickyb37]

Since Ive owned it the fuel filter has not been changed. Have you seen a difference after doing so?

[Zef_66]

Well, couple things on this. One, the car was rated at 29mpg back when the EPA rating were a little overstated and not realistic. Can some people get that. Sure. But for the following reasons, you won't right now.

#1 - It's winter. That means winter blend in the gas which is known to run horribly. I am only getting about 22mpg right now on my daily drive. Summer blend is much better for fuel mileage.
#2 - It's winter. That means it takes longer when cold starting to get the car warmed up and into closed loop. Cold startups are terrible for your fuel mileage. Especially if you leave it idle for a while to warm up.
#3 - You live in PA. And that means hills. Drive it out west where roads are flat you will notice an increase in mileage.

Also, are you figuring your MPGs by hand? Or just on the DIC?

[mickyb37]

I do rely on the DIC but I have manually verified several times that it is accurate. Last summer when I purchased the car, I filled the tank and reset the DIC. After 300 miles or so the DIC was 0.1 mpg less than my calculation. Ive heard that winter gas is worse but never noticed this on any other car.

[ericspecullaas]

my DIC lied to me it said i was getting 33.1 mpg but im no where near that mark. how long are you let it warm up? theres a ton of factors that make you get low mpg.


1. punching it off the line = no mpg.

2. prolonged running (mainly in summer).

3. not letting it get to operating tempture.

4. flat tires will hurt your mpg.

5 HILLS going up hill will take more fuel than going down hill.

need i continue?

[theaceofspades]

I saw a maddd diff between the summer and winter. Probably around 435 miles per tank in the summer and I'm getting like 325 now mainly because I remote start the car and let it idle and mainly I drive city so it doesn't reach op temp

[CyxRyan]

I can notice a huge difference in gas from summer to winter!

[michaelb721]

I used to have a 2000 GT that would easily get 32 mpg on the highway going 65 mph. (Shouldn't have sold it either! ) Now I have a 1998 GT, and noticed my highway mpg was not very good, even in the summertime. However, I also noticed a "scuffing" noise from the wheels as I was driving slowly through town, and I thought my brake pads were rubbing the rotors. Got an occasional *creak* and -groan- going over some bumps too. Turns out I had a bad axle, and once it was replaced, I noticed a difference in mpg right away. Shooting for 32 mpg + again!

[mickyb37]

I used to have a 2000 GT that would easily get 32 mpg on the highway going 65 mph. (Shouldn't have sold it either! ) Now I have a 1998 GT, and noticed my highway mpg was not very good, even in the summertime. However, I also noticed a "scuffing" noise from the wheels as I was driving slowly through town, and I thought my brake pads were rubbing the rotors. Got an occasional *creak* and -groan- going over some bumps too. Turns out I had a bad axle, and once it was replaced, I noticed a difference in mpg right away. Shooting for 32 mpg + again!

Thank you!! I have exactly the same thing going on. I'll try to replace that. The sound has been irritating for months. I too was once able to get nearly 32 on the highway. I hope it works.

[michaelb721]

No problem, I just thought I'd throw the idea out there to see if it could help. Could have been the brakes or rotors or wheel bearings; it just turned out to be the axle on mine that needed the fix. Make sure before you spend your $$$.