I am getting terrible gas mileage and no clue why

[deshariau]

Hi- I am new here. I bought a used 2011 Chevy Cruze 1LT in August of 2012. I have been only averaging 16.7mpg in town and 28 on the highway. I drive on average 33 mph in town for an average distance of 25miles/day. ON the high way i drive 90miles a day 4x/week. I have been putting in the middle gas (not the super cheap stuff) and getting bad gas mileage since i bought it. This is very frustrating for me as I traded in a 2008 avenger for this car due to the gas mileage and my avenger got better mpg than this car does... any suggestions?

[obermd]

Automatic or Manual? The manuals are better for fuel economy, but your numbers are low for either.

Have you taken a look at How to Get Better Fuel Economy After reading the first post in XR's thread take a look at Winter Impact on Fuel Economy and Mitigation. Both are stickied in the "Fuel Economy" sub forum.

The other big issue we have seen with the Cruze is inconsistently and incorrectly gapped spark plugs coming from the factory. Take a look at http://www.cruzetalk.com/forum/57-ho...ark-plugs.html, GM's Official Statement Regarding Spark Plug Gaps, and Confirmed - do not change spark plug gap if tuned.. The final thread only applies if your car has a Trifecta or Vermont Tuners tune on it. I run my plugs at 0.035" per the original GM maintenance spec for the 1.4T engine, which is the one you have.

Welcome to CruzeTalk. Other than low fuel economy how do you like your Cruze?

[Hoon]

Obermd those numbers are so horribly low i doubt it's driving style or transmission choice or plug gaps.

16.7mpg in town is insane. I'd expect that on a race track. No fault codes or issues with the car? Check engine lights, etc?

[obermd]

Hoon, I suspect you're right but if deshariau can rule out the easy issues then we can start helping with the more obscure ones. My actual guess would be it's an Automatic that hasn't been reflashed with the current ECU firmware. It could also be fouled plugs or any number of other things. Something's not right but the links I provided will get 90% of the potential issues reviewed and addressed. Even without the CEL light being on, doesn't the car store codes that can cause problems?

Deshariau, if your Cruze has less than 36K miles on it it should still be covered under the GM bumper to bumper warranty. In that case I would recommend calling GM and complaining about the significantly low MPGs as a drivability issue. GM will create a service ticket and direct you to your dealership. Take the service ticket number from GM to your dealership (it helps get some dealerships off their lazy ...s and dig into the car further). Even less than 100K miles you should still be covered by the powertrain warranty, but at this point that would be iffy for getting the warranty coverage. If you're in a emissions control area you could also take your car to have an emissions check done (not all dealerships have the ability to do this) and if it fails emissions there is a GM warranty for 7 years/70K miles for anything that causes emissions test failures. Cars that fail emissions will also exhibit poor fuel economy because they are literally sending unburned or incompletely burned fuel out the tail pipe.

-Mike.

[SVTC]

Did you ever get the issue figured out? I drove mine mine 5 hours while doing 70-90MPH and got about 30mpg. I am now getting 20 around town, not what I was expecting.

I am wondering if my tire pressure is low/unbalanced or if something else is wrong with the car. I got a flat tire after owning the car for 3 days (there was a nail in the tire and it was not fixable because the inner walls were worn)

I was on my lunch break and one of the tire pressure monitors said that the back right tire was low, I got out checked it and it was fine. So I cleared the tire pressure system and it said it had to be serviced... thought ok I will get that done after work.. went back to work.... came back out 4 hours later and drove about 50 feet and noticed that my FRONT RIGHT tire was completely flat... I ended up getting a new tire at the dealer and had them reset the system (didnt realize they charged for this!). The tire pressure on the one that was replaced is at 34 PSI the other two are at 37 and I think the one is at 36...

Thoughts? Suggestions? I have only driven it about 50 miles around town so its a small sample size but I am very concerned. Any input would be greatly appreciated!

[obermd]

SVTC, your dealer ripped you off when they charged you to reset your TPMS. If you replace a tire you must reset the TPMS. This should be part of the mount and balance procedure (final step after being put on the car). You definitely want your tires to all be at the same pressure, if nothing more than for handling. Once again your dealership fouled up. They should have adjusted and balanced the pressures in all four tires as part of the tire replacement. Best option here is go get a portable 12V tire pump and keep it in your trunk - then use it to maintain your tire pressure.

I don't know which trim/transmission you have, but 30 MPG at 70-90 MPH is good to reasonable for all trims except the ECO MT. It's significantly low for the ECO MT. Once you get your tire pressures straightened out start monitoring your fuel economy again.

[sciphi]

30 mpg at 70-90 mph is pretty good.

For around town, if your average trip is 3-5 miles and the car is stone cold, 20 mpg is doable in this cold weather.

What year, trim, and transmission? That will have a LARGE impact on fuel economy.

[spacedout]

Did you ever get the issue figured out? I drove mine mine 5 hours while doing 70-90MPH and got about 30mpg. I am now getting 20 around town, not what I was expecting.

You did not indicate where you live, but in cold weather with my 1.4T automatic those numbers are normal. Summer time I get 24-30city, 36-42mpg highway(45-65mph). Above 70mph the MPG really starts to fall, as with all cars. 70-75mph I usually get 30-34mpg.

[SVTC]

Sorry about the lack of detail. I live in memphis (its about 35-38 degrees right now) I have an 2011 LT RS with auto transmission and 16" wheels

[spacedout]

Sorry about the lack of detail. I live in memphis (its about 35-38 degrees right now) I have an 2011 LT RS with auto transmission and 16" wheels

2011 cars had a 36mpg highway rating & were geared much lower than the 2012-2013 cars. The newer cars gearing change gives them 2mpg higher highway rating of 38mpg.

My 2012 automatic is running 2,000rpm at 58mph in 6th gear, I believe I am around 2,500rpm at 72mph. According to this older topic the 2011 cruze automatic is running close to 3,000rpm at 70mph. 2011 1LT Auto Hard Shifting, 70 MPH RPM=3000