really terrible mpg need help

[Vetterin]

i dont get more than 400km to a tank, thats 248 miles

If your 14km commute is all stop and go you might not see much better. Now if you drive highway you should have no problem getting 650km (400 miles) from a 15.6 gal gas tank.

[obermd]

XR and I created a pair of posts/threads that include a laundry list of items that can make or break fuel economy. His is applicable year round and mine is a cold weather addendum to it. Have you gone through these two posts to see if anything on them jumps out at you as a recent change to your car or driving habits? Both are stickied in the Fuel Economy sub-forum. Also, what engines and transmissions do you guys have? It makes a huge difference in fuel economy. Other than OP's opening post, we don't really have a feel for what your car should be getting.

[silvercruze1lt]

the 14km commute is all city but with a steady foot and all green lights usually
the car has the 1.4t and the 6 spd auto, i also follow that thread that you made on how to save fuel.

[XtremeRevolution]

These things go into closed loop quite early. It's not a old car that needs a minute or so.

I'd look into the usual suspects such as weather, tire pressure, any changes in usual driving routines/traffic, and letting other people use the car. Some folks are lead-foots that can't get good fuel economy if their life depended on it.

I'll have to check into this more, because from what I have seen, the car doesn't go into close loop mode until the ECT hits 160 degrees F.



With regard to the terrible gas mileage, it's actually not that bad given the fact that it's winter right now, with winter grade fuel, and the commute is so incredibly short. In fact, 20MPG is pretty good given the conditions. In a 10km or 14km commute, does the car even reach full operating temperature?

I'll bet your fuel economy will skyrocket once the weather warms up.

[ErikBEggs]

It sounds about right to me. These things don't get to full operating temp in city-only driving in the winter. Takes a good 20 minutes under those conditions.

[spacedout]

I'll have to check into this more, because from what I have seen, the car doesn't go into close loop mode until the ECT hits 160 degrees F.

I think this is correct. Also with the automatic the torque converter does not lock up until the 160-175degree range(I'm going by engine temp since I have no trans temp). When driving on the highway with the automatic you will notice the RPMs are higher than normal by about 400-600rpm, once the above mentioned temps are reached the RPM drops to normal.

[spacedout]

the 14km commute is all city but with a steady foot and all green lights usually
the car has the 1.4t and the 6 spd auto, i also follow that thread that you made on how to save fuel.

Without adding some highway to your route or eliminating stop signs/lights I really don't think you will see any improvement until the weather warms up.

My girlfriends weekly driving is 100% city with idling(remote start) & never fully warming up the car the DIC reads around 12mpg. Luckily I actually have to drive 30-60miles(about 70%hwy/30%city) round trip when I want to go shopping once a week which brings that poor MPG up to a more reasonable 25-30mpg.

[sciphi]

I'll have to check into this more, because from what I have seen, the car doesn't go into close loop mode until the ECT hits 160 degrees F.
.

I checked this morning on my ScanGauge II. From a 33*F cold start with the car sitting in 33*F air all night, the car was in closed loop in 30 seconds. Not sure on coolant temperature, but likely wasn't much above 70*F or so, if that.

[silvercruze1lt]

so what you guys are saying is that until its summer, it wont be getting any better

[MjC]

i honestly think somethings wrong, I live in toronto too and do 95% city driving with a load of stop signs, getting around 8.5L/100km