Bad Gas Mileage

[coltiger]

I have an 04 Swift+ that I got recently, I've only filled up a couple of times since I got the car. It has been mostly highway driving and I average between 34-35mpg, travelling approx 110kms. My car is a 5 speed so I am not sure what the differences in mileage should be, can't imagine huge differences.

For me I still compare my old Tercel and think how can I beat this car for MPG lol I would check all the basics first, on my AWD Matrix it was a transmission issue that was giving it a 15-18 mpg.

[Thymeclock]

The jury is still out on my Aveo5 5speed's mileage. We jumped right in it and hit the highway to "see what she'd do", and was disappointed with a reading of 30.5 mpg at 70-72 mph. It being a used car, I checked the air filter, and it was quite dirty, so in went a new one, and a mixture of city and freeway driving returned 31.4, so the filter definitely helped. A half tank test of city mileage after the filter change gave 24 mpg. I'm still awaiting a need for a highway trip to gauge that mileage with the clean filter, but with the engine spinning 3200 RPMs at 72 mph, I don't expect more than 34 mpg. I hope I'm surprised.

This is WINTER. That will affect your MPG with the government mandated fuel blending BS for winter driving. Aveos are notoriously slow to warm up to operating temperature. During that time, in colder weather, you are losing MPG while the car is warming up.

There is probably nothing wrong with your car. Your "half tank test of city mileage after the filter change gave 24 mpg" is not only normal - in fact it can't ever get much better than that.

As for your "mixture of city and freeway driving returned 31.4" that also makes sense as being normal, because the moment you get off the highway and return to any speed below 45 MPH, your MPG will be 24 MPG at best. The Aveo is a car of extremes in MPG. Highway = 36+, City = 24 at most.

On the highway the 'sweet spot' of peak MPG is between 65-70. At speeds above 70 MPH you will also lose MPG. The car is what it is. We can't change what it is. Understand?

[Pickles]

because the moment you get off the highway and return to any speed below 45 MPH, your MPG will be 24 MPG at best.

Ummm...what? On an auto I would agree with this, But odypilots said he drives a 5-speed. My aveo on a super long road (probably about 8-10 miles) with a 45mph limit, about a mile of 40mph limit, and one stop sign, generally nets me about 37-39 mpg. Also, im currently averaging 25 mpg all city, with alot of stop signs. On most highways I generally average 37, doing about 60-65

[Thymeclock]

Ummm...what? On an auto I would agree with this, But odypilots said he drives a 5-speed. My aveo on a super long road (probably about 8-10 miles) with a 45mph limit, about a mile of 40mph limit, and one stop sign, generally nets me about 37-39 mpg. Also, im currently averaging 25 mpg all city, with alot of stop signs. On most highways I generally average 37, doing about 60-65

The same applies, but MPG will be somewhat (probably 1-3 MPG) better with a manual transmission, notably in city driving. He's getting 24 MPG city, compared to your 25; similarly he's driving 10 MPH faster on the highway than you are, and that has an effect on MPG.

The whole point is that these cars are very fuel thirsty in the lower gears. Your reported MPG is very typical.

[2010AveoLT]

This is WINTER. That will affect your MPG with the government mandated fuel blending BS for winter driving. Aveos are notoriously slow to warm up to operating temperature. During that time, in colder weather, you are losing MPG while the car is warming up.

There is probably nothing wrong with your car. Your "half tank test of city mileage after the filter change gave 24 mpg" is not only normal - in fact it can't ever get much better than that.

As for your "mixture of city and freeway driving returned 31.4" that also makes sense as being normal, because the moment you get off the highway and return to any speed below 45 MPH, your MPG will be 24 MPG at best. The Aveo is a car of extremes in MPG. Highway = 36+, City = 24 at most.

On the highway the 'sweet spot' of peak MPG is between 65-70. At speeds above 70 MPH you will also lose MPG. The car is what it is. We can't change what it is. Understand?

Scoots isn't slow to warm up, my house is 7.5 miles away from Town, and it usually takes 15 Minutes at 45-55 MPH. by the Time I hit the City Limits, Scoots is FULLY Warmed Up.

[odypilots]

This is WINTER. That will affect your MPG with the government mandated fuel blending BS for winter driving. Aveos are notoriously slow to warm up to operating temperature. During that time, in colder weather, you are losing MPG while the car is warming up.

There is probably nothing wrong with your car. Your "half tank test of city mileage after the filter change gave 24 mpg" is not only normal - in fact it can't ever get much better than that.

As for your "mixture of city and freeway driving returned 31.4" that also makes sense as being normal, because the moment you get off the highway and return to any speed below 45 MPH, your MPG will be 24 MPG at best. The Aveo is a car of extremes in MPG. Highway = 36+, City = 24 at most.

On the highway the 'sweet spot' of peak MPG is between 65-70. At speeds above 70 MPH you will also lose MPG. The car is what it is. We can't change what it is. Understand?

Your point that this is winter is quite true, that will have a noticeable effect.

I didn't mean to imply that I thought anything was wrong with my car. I've just seen claims all over the board, high and low. Like most, I was hoping for a bit higher mileage than it appears I'm going to get, but it won't ruin the car for me. And as you point out, the jury is pretty much in on my car's mileage, but I'll wait for a dedicated freeway cruise this summer before polling them.

Believe me, I know exactly what this car is. So, yes, I understand. And thanks for adding the emoticon after the 'understand', it softened what I thought was an condescending remark.

[someguy]

I ordered a ScanGauge the other day. We'll see what it says about the gas mileage when it comes in.

[Thymeclock]

Your point that this is winter is quite true, that will have a noticeable effect.

I didn't mean to imply that I thought anything was wrong with my car. I've just seen claims all over the board, high and low. Like most, I was hoping for a bit higher mileage than it appears I'm going to get, but it won't ruin the car for me. And as you point out, the jury is pretty much in on my car's mileage, but I'll wait for a dedicated freeway cruise this summer before polling them.

Believe me, I know exactly what this car is. So, yes, I understand. And thanks for adding the emoticon after the 'understand', it softened what I thought was an condescending remark.

I hear ya' and I'm in total agreement. When I first got the car I was (and still am) disappointed in the city MPG because it was EPA rated at 25 city (for the automatic). In past years EPA figures have been very reliable IMHO. But 95% of our driving is city driving and the best we ever get is 23, or more like 22 in winter.

OTOH the highway MPG we get is considerably higher than the EPA rating, showing at 40 MPG with a Scan Gauge, and that bears out proving to be actual during a long, summer highway trip. At speeds under 45 the MPG falls off tremendously due to the TC lockup programming. The wide discrepancy is really odd, in addition to being disappointing.

[someguy]

All right, something doesn't seem to add up. The scan gauge (if accurate) is telling me that I'm getting anywhere from 37-43 mpg (imp.) on the highway, depending on which way I was hitting the wind. My real gas mileage doesn't appear to reflect this. Could it be a leak? You would think that I would smell it in the garage if it were. Has anyone ever had a leak that occurred while driving? If so, where is the first place to look?

[Daox]

The scangauge has to be calibrated before it will reflect real accurate numbers. The initial settings should get you relatively close (from my experience), but it always needs to be tweaked a little.