Help! Fuel Consumption at 4.5km/L (10.6mpg) only!!!

[staedler]

Hello,

Good day to everyone. I am a new user in this forum.
I would like to ask for your help regarding the fuel consumption of the second hand Chevrolet Aveo 2011 we bought about 2 weeks ago. The fuel consumption is only at 4.5km/l or 10.6mpg (city driving). Huhuhu. We bought the car because it only has 22k mileage and Chevrolet checked it and said that everything (engine, etc) was okay. It is really good to drive but it gulps fuel like crazy.

Your help and suggestions would be very much appreciated. Thank you very much!

[Daox]

Hello and welcome to the site.

First off, is there any check engine light or any issues with the car?
Second, what is your typical commute like? If its really short distances in cold weather hwere the car never gets warm, 10.5mpg is not surprising. If its long trips you definitely have something wrong with the car.

If this is your first fill up with the car, I'd drive it more and fill up again to make sure you actually only got 10 mpg.

[MetroMPG]

Automatic transmission?

How did you calculate the fuel consumption? How many complete fill-ups? (Right to the top?)

[staedler]

Hello, thank you for responding.

I live in the city with a tropical climate (Manila). It is always hot here and the traffic here is crazy. I drive 20km back and forth going to work but it takes about 2 hours or more back and forth. There are no check engine light or any issues with the car. We had it checked with Chevrolet service and they said that all engines are working properly. I told them about my gas issue and they said that it depends on the driver habits. I can't say I'm a great driver but 10mpg is just too much. I'm crying inside. Huhu. (My friend's vios is at 28mpg and she gets stuck in traffic more than me.)

Yes. This is my first fill up. I will continue to check my mileage and give updates. Thanks again.
I read here somewhere about fuel management system (reprogramming the engine for fuel efficiency). Do you think this is possible?

Hello and welcome to the site.

First off, is there any check engine light or any issues with the car?
Second, what is your typical commute like? If its really short distances in cold weather hwere the car never gets warm, 10.5mpg is not surprising. If its long trips you definitely have something wrong with the car.

If this is your first fill up with the car, I'd drive it more and fill up again to make sure you actually only got 10 mpg.

[staedler]

Hello, thank you for responding.

Yes, my car is automatic.
My mileage was at 22,388km and had it filled to the top (34.41 liters). Then, it said my tank is empty at 22,543km.
My computation totals to 4.5km/l or 10.58mpg.
That was my first complete fill up because I don't usually fill it up to the top.

[Daox]

Retuning is possible but really not the solution. Your traffic is what is the problem. 20km in 2 hours is horrific. That is a massive amount of idling which is a huge waste of fuel. If you have the air conditioning going, its going to make it that much worse.

The best thing you could do is find an alternate route that doesn't take as long. Even if it makes you travel more than 20km, it is likely be worth it. The other alternative would be to try to change your work hours or go in early to avoid traffic.

[xintersecty]

I think your on the right track with your measurement, you need a bit more help. So I am going to give you a process to follow that is full proof. We need to compute your commute millage and then the highway millage.

Manila Commute Hell
---------------------------
Fill up tank, reset trip odometer
Drive till between 2/3 or 1/2 full
Fill up tank, note distance.
Compute kilometers / liters used
Repeat twice more and then average the three readings

Weekend Fun
--------------------
Fill up tank, reset trip odometer
Drive till between 2/3 or 1/2 full
Fill up tank, note distance.
Compute kilometers / liters used
continue trip and repeat the measurement at once.
This is only valid if your driving 90% of the time at speeds between 70 KPH and 90 KPH.

Bring us some numbers and then we can help you better.
Here is an other consideration maybe your AC is drawing too much power when sitting.

[MetroMPG]

staedler, have you had the chance to do some more complete fill-ups, as described?

[WyrTwister]

Just a stab in the dark .

Take both battery cables from the battery . Hold then together / touching for up to 15 minutes . I read this will force the computer to do a re-learn . Re-install the battery cables .

Go fill the gas tank , to the top and record the mileage . Drive your daily commute until the car is close to empty . Fill it up again . Write down the mileage . Compute the KPL and MPG . Report back .

God bless
Wyr