[cwerdna]

It's been over 20 days since the OP has posted their complaint but given the lack of reply after I pointed him to the questionnaire, it seems he's not very serious about providing more info, figuring out the cause or correcting it.

Sigh...

We can't help people who can't help themselves.

 

[gman19]

Has my wife been driving your cars?LOL

I can go from the high 40's to the low 30's just by letting her drive it for 60 or so miles.

Same here!!

 

[ronbo10]

Maybe something more sinister is going on here!

One possibility not brought up in this thread is that perhaps oil companies over time will try to lower the energy available (btu, if you like) in each gallon- after all, it would be in their best interest with respect to their bottom line. Maybe I'm sounding like a lune, but it seems as if every year they roll out their winter blend earlier and earlier. I remember when the concept of a winter blend was first floated, and the logic behind it was that older, carbureted vehicles run too rich in the winter time (emissions that would choke you if you were to follow one, admittedly) as they don't have the means to lean the mixture that more modern, fuel injected cars do. But there are very few carbureted cars out there today, yet the winter blend still persists. I've tried to research winter blend on the net, and there's supposedly science out there that supports the continuation of its use, but its all gobly **** when I try to make sense of it.

Also, notice that there's more and more push for increased use of ethanol in our gas.

As vehicles become more fuel efficient (and as the economy continues to tank), the oil companies will see their demand trail off, so how to combat that? -Why not reduce the energy available in a gallon?

That could explain why (evidently) some, or even many of you are seeing a reduction in your fuel economy, all seemingly simultaneously.

Just a thought.

 

[Campuscop2003]

As requested, hope this is the right questionare:

- What fuel economy are you getting and how are you determining fuel economy? (trip computer or manual calculations)
A:Getting 29 to 34MPG highway, calculating manually and using the computer, which have pretty much the same results give or take a MPG.

- What fuel economy are you expecting and why?
A: Expecting between 38 and 42MPH, why because for the first several months I've owned the car thats what it got.

- What are the approximate outside air temps?
A: between 70 to 85 degrees, morning commute around 60

- How long are your trips?
A:25 miles per way, 4 times per day, All highway, 100 miles total per day Highway

How old is your 12v battery? What is the voltage reading of your 12v battery after sitting over night?
A:New car battery in new car, voltage between 12.6 and 14

Have you had your alignment checked? Any pulling or abnormal tire wear?
A: no alignment issues or tire wear.

- How much of it is city vs. highway? Roughly what's the average speed in overall and and of each segment? Is there a lot of stop and go driving?
A: 95% Highway, speeds between 65 and 72

- What's the terrain like of your drives? (e.g. flat, gentle hills, steep hills, etc.)
A: Pretty even, only slight hills

- What are your tire pressures?
A: 38PSI all around

- Is your oil overfilled? (i.e. above the full mark on the dipstick)
A: Nope

- Make, model, year, engine and transmission of previous car? (e.g. 08 Honda Civic Si 2.0L 4 cylinder, manual transmission) What did you actually get on the same trips/commute? (Please give us actual numbers, not EPA ratings.)
A: 2007 chevrolet Aveo LS Automatic, Always got 34 to 36MPG for same trips

- What region/state are you in? (if you haven't set your location)
A: Central PA

- Are you using the factory tires and wheels? If not, please indicate tire make, model and size?
A: Factory Everything

- If reporting a mileage drop, did anything significant change on your car (e.g. accident, hit a curb or big pothole throwing off alignment, oil change/other maintenance/repairs, changed tires or wheels, etc.) or your commute?

A: Nope

 

[alex725]

My average mpg dropped 4 mpg this last week, but Ive done extensive amounts of Idling the last few days and my lead foot has been showing so Im not upset.

 

[70x7]

I got my first oil change last week hoping this may have been some of the cause for the mpg drop and I guess it came up a little, but not to where it was when I first bought the car.
Even with cruise control @ 65-70 on highway I cant seem to top 36mpg right now

 

[TSURacing]

Same here!!

This made me LOL. My wife has been driving the Cruze for the last few days because I had to get some work done on the Aztek. She is absolutely killing my mpg. I was riding with her and every shift was at like 3500 and she just drove with the purose of getting to point B. No special attention to fuel economy. When I kept pointing at the DIC she just said "Im shutting that stupid thing off!"
Now dont get me wrong, my wife is a better driver than me. She is decisive and smooth with her inputs and fairly easy on the mechanicals. She just does not factor fuel economy into her commute. If she needs 3500 rpm to get her up to speed at a pace she is comfortable with, then that is the way it is. She doesnt get the game .
I will get 28 mpg (DIC) all week long in my 16 mile daily commute that is all suburban driving, no highway. When I get out on the highway I get the 33-34 like most people. It will be interesting to see what her mpg is later today when she gets her vehicle back. I know from filling her tank that she gets 20 mpg very reliably in the Aztek for her commute that consists of getting the kids around and going to school. I will not be at all surprised if her Cruze mpg is not much better.

 

[gman19]

I got my first oil change last week hoping this may have been some of the cause for the mpg drop and I guess it came up a little, but not to where it was when I first bought the car.
Even with cruise control @ 65-70 on highway I cant seem to top 36mpg right now

36mpg for an Eco does sound low!

I got my first oil change at 2K miles last week, went full synthetic. Finished out the tank, and refilled yesterday.

We'll see if running a full Synthetic oil makes much difference. I've also changed to 93 Octane (Costco). I'm getting about 34-35mpg avg. per tank in a loaded LTZ (pre-synthetic oil change). The tank I filled yesterday will start my first full tank on synthetic oil.

I've spotted a Top Tier station relatively close to the house, so my next tank will be 93 Octane Shell. This should prove interesting....

 

[Jim Frye]

She doesnt get the game .

Same here. I usually don't drive my Wife's car much (only to fill it up), and it usually turns in about 25 mpg per tank. I drove it for two weeks last month and got 29 -30 per tankful. I shift at 3K and don't go above that unless absolutely necessary. That still keeps me ahead of almost all traffic from the lights. She just drives. The other day, we were going up an entrance ramp to I-75 and she just kept her foot at 3/4 throttle. The thing finally shifted at 6,5K and her comment was "it's about time!". She periodically asks if the car needs a tune up because we seem to be filling up rather often. After 41 years of marriage, I know not to comment. I just say that it is beating the EPA mileage that was on the sticker...:wink:

 

[gman19]

After 41 years of marriage, I know not to comment.

^^PURE Wisdom my friend....pure wisdom!!