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My mileage sucks...

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mileage sucks
10K views 43 replies 23 participants last post by  spacedout 
#1 ·
So, I think I am just looking for confirmation, but I am going to ask anyhow.

I just got my 2013 Cruze LTZ auto a few weeks ago, has approximately 700 miles on it at this point. My mileage has been horrendous about half highway driving right around 60-65 mph and half driving around town, but no stop and go traffic jams or anything. I have hit right around 25mpg for the first 2.5 tanks of fuel. That doesn't even equal what my 2011 Scion TC auto was doing (26-27mpg).

I hope it's something that will improve as the car gets "broken in" a bit? I bought the car expecting to be in the 30+ range, since I had a 2003 Corrolla manual transmission that got me close to 35 in similar driving. I believe they both had similar EPA ratings.

Thanks for the help guys.
 
#2 ·
I've lived in Amherst and driven all around the Buffalo region. Most of the traffic there is stop and go, and when it's not stopped it's speeding. 65 mph is about the slowest one wants to go even on the 290 or the 90. And don't get me started on how many moronic traffic lights there are on Transit or Niagara Falls.

Also, we just went through some very cold weather, and your car is brand-new. Given the traffic, the weather, and a new car, 25 mpg is typical. Give it a few thousand miles to break in and warm up. Your fuel mileage should come up into the low 30's by springtime.
 
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#42 · (Edited)
I've lived in Amherst and driven all around the Buffalo region. Most of the traffic there is stop and go, and when it's not stopped it's speeding. 65 mph is about the slowest one wants to go even on the 290 or the 90. And don't get me started on how many moronic traffic lights there are on Transit or Niagara Falls.
Everyone in Buffalo, NY needs to just accept the fact that our gas mileage sucks because our city is all stop and go everywhere. F**k Transit Road, Main Street, Niagara Falls Blvd, Colvin, Sheridan Dr, Delaware, Maple, Dick Road, Union, did I miss any of the hellish death trap light infested roads?!?!?!

I only broke 30 MPG commuting when I lived in Grand Island and worked in Lackawanna, which is almost all highway. If you live anywhere near the city line, you are in 150% city conditions everywhere you go. Just accept the fact that work is only 5-10 miles away and takes you less than 20 minutes to get to, unlike all the other cities in the US where commutes are an hour or more with traffic.


Finally got reasonable mileage... Road trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, NY.

Averaged 60 mph and got 30.1 mpg... Still extremely underwhelming but I guess that's what I'm gonna need to expect.

Still only 2500 miles so maybe it will improve a bit?

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
Give it time sir. The temperature was barely above freezing and you probably had a nasty headwind. Give it another 3000 miles and a few months. If your fuel mileage is still consistently below 35 MPG on the highway, you may need to check your spark plugs or other things at the dealership.

To compare, my last "road trip" of 100 miles I only got 33 MPG despite having a few mods and 37,000 more miles than you. Temperature and wind are huge factors in fuel economy.
 
#3 · (Edited)
Also don't forget the "Winter Blend" gasoline. I am watching my MPG take a nosedive also with the cold and Winter Blend. I was up closer to 30 now I am hoping for 28. I have 32000 on car so it is broken in! I have told myself if you closely monitor the instant MPG, it will drive you "Crazy" There are ups and downs. That is why it is called an Average. As long as your car is not "drinking" gas, I would not worry about it.
 
#4 ·
I actually avoid NFB like the plague... I live right near it too. And I drive 290 almost everyday, it's weird for weeks traffic will move at 65+ and then the State Troopers are everywhere and traffic barely moves 60 for a few weeks.

The "winter blend" is something I had never heard of until reading a few of these threads.
 
#7 ·
LOL, the worst part of the 290 is where it dumps into the 90. 3 lanes into 1, and traffic is backed up well past Main during rush hour. I don't know why they haven't changed that since it's the dumbest design possible. It's amazing that there are so few accidents there...

Yep, the gasoline blend changes every fall and spring. They want more volatiles in winter gas to help it start more easily in the cold, and less volatiles in the summer so they don't make smog. The winter blend does reduce fuel economy a bit.
 
#5 ·
Colder outside temps really hurt MPG, it takes more than twice as long for the engine/cat to reach operating temp. When cold all engines run rich & burn allot more gas. Are you idling the car to warm it? doesn't matter if its in your driveway or in stop & go traffic the effect is the same.... bad MPG. From the extra idling I do in the winter & longer warm up times I have lost 4-8MPG from my summer averages.

Most have noticed an increase in MPG once the motor/car gets 4,500-8,000miles.
 
#6 ·
Yes, give it time, it will improve. Mine steadily increased the entire time over the first 1100 miles before it somewhat leveled off. I've pretty much sat on a plateau since (unless I take a highway trip), but even though the engine is breaking in, the temps fell at the same time. It should be interesting to see what the same drive will bring in the spring/summer. Currently have almost 5200 miles on it.
 
#9 ·
Winter ! I am just triing to keep the car clean . With all the road salt used today it has become a choir around here to keep the different types of calcium build up off of the body and under carriage I did prep the car before the winter season
 
#10 ·
I don't even bother to wash my car in the winter, as soon as I do it will snow again or warm up & spray the sides with salt water while driving. Think my first wash this year will be about march 15th. Has rained every month at least once, so I have seen the paint a few times peaking out from under the salt build up.

By the time it starts to rust I will be driving something else.
 
#11 ·
Well bro I kept a 1997 rodeo in pristine condition for 12 years I can do the same thing with this car .
besides it gives me some thing to do with my spare time .
 
#12 ·
Mine initially was getting around 30 but after tune I'm getting about 34. I don't see half the miledge others do, but then again most of them are Eco models or in some cases LTs - Maybe the weight of the LTZs? Who knows.... but I'd be super happy with 35.
 
#13 ·
IS it a winter blend in Florida ?
 
#15 ·
Update every thing
 
#16 ·
First, as others have said your mileage will improve as the engine breaks in. My ECO took over 5,000 miles to get going. While you're waiting, read the initial posts and first few responses of the two stickied threads in the Fuel Economy sub-forum. One is by XtremeRevolution and the other is mine. XR's talks about how to get better fuel economy and mine talks about winter impacts on fuel economy.

And yes, Florida has a winter blend.
 
#17 ·
1. Wash it, debris on mine Does drag it down a lot.
2. Get the app for ur smartphone & stay off the boost(or get a vac/boost gauge)
3. After some 6-10k mi it will improve, mine went up about 6mpg
4. Increase tire # check for center wear issues & lower accordingly.
5. I suggest 87 oct fuuel, for me any higher is a waste.
6. Use synthetic oil.
7. Learn where the car does the best. Tedious I know but rewarding.

Gluck
 
#18 ·
5. I suggest 87 oct fuuel, for me any higher is a waste.
The engine will run on 87octane, but the computer de-tunes making less power. On the steep grade hills around here driving my automatic that's the difference between the motor downshifting to 5th on 87octane & staying in 6th with 91-93octane. Most see 2-4mpg better averages with premium.

Allot of gas stations premium also contains no ethanol which means more energy per gallon. Pure gas 114,000BTU, 10% ethanol 112,500BTU. More energy per gallon = higher MPG without even changing your driving habits.
 
#23 ·
Oh Americans.... Complaining about your gorgeous highways. I implore you to get on the Trans-Can in Ontario and drive west... Just a hellish driving experience... although yes the Europeans have that stuff DOWN. As for your mileage... the only way I have EVER gotten less than 30MPG highway was when we hit 105MPH on your most excellent interstate. Even then it did surprisingly well... I operate in the metric world so "MPG" isnt a familiar way of expressing it but switched the interface to US briefly while there and I believe our avg at about 105MPH was about 29.6MPG
 
#36 ·
Finally got reasonable mileage... Road trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, NY.

Averaged 60 mph and got 30.1 mpg... Still extremely underwhelming but I guess that's what I'm gonna need to expect.

Still only 2500 miles so maybe it will improve a bit?

Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App
 
#38 ·
Finally got reasonable mileage... Road trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, NY.

Averaged 60 mph and got 30.1 mpg... Still extremely underwhelming but I guess that's what I'm gonna need to expect.
An average of 60mph could mean 30% city driving at 25mph with the other 70% of the tank at 75mph or more. At 70-75mph highway I would not expect more than 30-35mpg with the automatic. If you really want better MPG you need to drive in the automatics sweet spot, 45-65mph. 65-68mph interstate I get 36-40mpg, even when its cold out.

Its also still rather cold, if you check out fuelly.com most people start seeing summer MPG numbers in april-June with the best MPG being in July/August when the temps are highest.
 
#37 ·
I have kept track of every fill up since I bought my car new it now has 8000 miles on it. My best mpg 30.25 worst 24.76. It's a 2012 lt, I thought it would get a little bit better mileage. I haven't taken any road trips yet. Hopefully it will improve.
 
#39 · (Edited)
I was getting the same mpg that you are saying that you are getting I have a 12 LTZ with 27,000 miles... I did a few things to mine and I saw improvements overnight.. First GAP your plugs, GAP your plugs, GAP your plugs!!! I gapped mine to .035. I played around with it going anywhere from .027 all the way to .037 and I have found that for where I live .035 is the sweet spot. Also do the intake reso delete that will help a lot also, run 89 or higher fuel, and the final thing is up your psi in your tires, you said that you have an LTZ so you have the 18's max sidewall pressure is 44psi I have found that right at 40 to 41 is the sweet spot for me.. I did all of these and I went from barely hitting 30 mpg on my 40 mile drive to and 40 mile drive home from work to now I am hitting 52 every trip on "winter blend" and 20-40 degrees outside.. (I cant wait for summer blend and warmer weather)!!!!!! It took me 20 min to do all of these things to my car and I saw an instant improvement if fuel economy.. I am adding a SRI next week so hopefully that will bump me up a few and at the end of the month I will be adding a dp and mp.. With the few things that I am about to add I hope to see 6-7 more mpg.. I am going to try and hit 60 on my LTZ!!
 
#43 ·
Finally got reasonable mileage... Road trip from Cleveland, Ohio to Buffalo, NY.

Averaged 60 mph and got 30.1 mpg... Still extremely underwhelming but I guess that's what I'm gonna need to expect.

Still only 2500 miles so maybe it will improve a bit?
I normally get around the same.. 30.0 and I try to stay between 65-70mph, but do go over on occasions on the freeway. I live in California and commute to Sacramento often, so that's where I get my average MPG.
 
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