ok, so ive always noticed that i didnt get the advertised 21mpg city (because most of my miles, are city, almost never highway) everytime i filled up, but never payed to much attention to it until now with gas prices being so high. so i filled up, and i had 229 miles from when i last filled up, and put in 13.849. 229/13.849 = 16.5mpg, thats horrible, thats not even close to 21mpg city, i want my extra 4.5mpg!!!

incase it matters, i use BP 89 all the time, but does anyone else get this bad gas mileage?

 

yeah i get lower than advertised gas too..and i dont really push my car that much...around town i get around 18 to the gallon..and on freeway about 26 average..

god forbid you use sports mode if you have a cvt...

ive gotten as low as 9mpg driving in sports mode...not even driving crazy

 

Quick thoughts:

1. still using the original air filter? Or have you replaced it with a clean one?
2. why are you putting in the wrong octane? The car is tuned for 87 octane.
3. tried using an engine cleaner like STP or SeaFoam? They might help if your car is a bit gunked up.
4. how hard are you driving? Lots of hard acceleration, or light and smooth?

There are other possible causes, but those are the main ones that stand out to me.

 

1. still using the original air filter? Or have you replaced it with a clean one? the car only has 4300 miles, so i dont think it would need a new filter yet?

2. why are you putting in the wrong octane? The car is tuned for 87 octane. i dunno, i always use 89, since its more clean i guess?

3. tried using an engine cleaner like STP or SeaFoam? They might help if your car is a bit gunked up. no i havent yet since the car doesnt have many miles, but ill try that, it cant hurt to try, i use to use seafoam regularly on my eclipse, worked wonders

4. how hard are you driving? Lots of hard acceleration, or light and smooth? i dont drive to hard, i mean i get on it when i need it, but other than that, i hardly ever go into manual mode, unless its just to slow down to save the brakes

 

1. Yeah, 4300 is pretty early for a clogged filter. Still, couldn't hurt to check it. Maybe you hit some serious dirt one day...

2. 89 is NOT more clean. It's just got more octaney-stuff in it. I've heard many arguments that it's less clean because the car can't burn it 100% efficiently. The whole more/less clean thing is a myth IMHO.

Not real sure what to tell you. I do mostly highway, so our driving is totally different. I can only assume that your city driving (with lots of stopping and idling) is killing it.

 

it depends a lot on how long you drive. just driving around the block will always produce poor gas mileage in just about anything. like i drive to school around the block and get like 17 mpg which is like 5 minutes, but then i drive to work (same type of driving) a little bit farther way and get over 20.

 

So it seemed as if everytime I turned on my car, I lost at least 10 miles(when looking at how many miles I have left in the tank by pushing the info button). Friday I got my 4th oil change and they changed the filter. I guess the gas mileage improved a bit after that, but does anyone notice an extreme loss of gas when turning on the car? Or I might turn the car off and turn on a lot.(I turn on the car to school, from school, to work, from work, to study or hanging out and back. Just about everyday or is that everyone else too?)

 

yeah, my drive to work is 5 minutes, like 1.4miles each way, and i hit 0-2 lights, and 4 stop signs, and then when i have school, its like 3-4 miles each way, or like 7 minutes each way. so i can understand i wouldnt get the best mileage, but 5mpg under what they advertised is a big difference...

 

In the winter I got bad mileage about 17-20 city highway. Then I got a oil change in february and I was getting 25-31 city highway at least. I am currently over my oil change by 4900miles or so and I still get 22-28 city highway. I have a ES CVT, I usually drive smoothly, but I also like to have some fun too

If I get that kind of mileage is it worth the $30 to get Mitsu to change my oil etc?

 

screw and getting oil changed by them. All you really need with a new car is proof that you changed the oil on a regular basis incase you plan to sell or something. Any oil changer will give you a receipt for that. Plus the dealer here charges like $4 a bottle for synthetic oil, which in my opinion is better, so next time I get an oil change i'm gonna goto autozone and get my own damn synthetic oil for like $1.40 and goto my buddy that works at a valvoline oil changer and only pay like $17 instead of $30. I could do it my self but i like the idea of having proof that the car was well maintained.

 

I do not keep track of my mileage in between full tanks, but it usually last about 7-9 days. i go to school 3 days a week for about 1.5 miles each way, drive my mom to work about 6 miles each way, then pick her up again, and i go to work at the same area so thats another 12 miles to and from. that is about 39 miles a day!!! with gas prices here in the bay area, its hard to drive here for fun now =[

 

89 burns slower, just use 87 unless you get it tuned to run efficiently/gain power on 89.

Short city driving like that can really kill your MPG, even by 4.5miles.

 

not sure what you guys are doing to get such crappy gas mileage.... but do keep in mind that when you accelerate like a bat out of hell you're going to get crappy mileage.

I ONLY run the lowest Octane gas at the stations I go to, which is normally Chevron 87 Octane. When I first I got the car I would ~20 miles to gallon (tank average), with 100% city driving in "rush hour" traffic in Los Angeles/Glendale, California. Now that I have 2600 miles on the car, my tank average has gone up to 22MPG. So, I'm getting better than advertised city fuel economy.

In case it matters, I have 0 engine mods on the car so far.

 

I have an 09 manual GTS and I've been getting great gas mileage. Around town, its about 20-24mpg and highway is like 30-32mpg, my last fill up after combined driving showed I averaged 26.5mpg combined city/highway. I drive normal most of the time but if I'm exiting a toll booth or have some room in front of me, I'll gun it through 2nd and 3rd. I think my gas mileage has been great considering that. Hell I only got 19mpg in my 2004 cavalier which was rated higher then the lancer.

PS. Just use 87, its whats recommended. With the price of gas today, I wouldnt be throwing extra money away for 89 octane

 

wurd! 87 Octane in my hood ran $3.99/gal on my last fill up...