wow my mileage deteriorated

[JS80]

Mind you I drive 5 miles to work and I barely drive any other time so I fill up like once a month...but this last time I drove 190 miles on 14.7 gallons. I usually get 15-18 MPG. WTF?

 

[funboy6942]

Your around where it is supposed to be at.

 

[Linux23]

Try 10.1 mpg in a M35x.

 

[Aimster]

Originally posted by: Linux23
Try 10.1 mpg in a M35x.

that doesn't sound right at all.

do you floor the car all the time?

 

[arcas]

Yeah, that's a pretty sudden drop in gas mileage? Some ideas:

1) Tank of bad gas. Try some from a different gas station next time...
2) Low tire pressure (or new tires...my mileage dropped at least 10% when I replaced my balding Goodyears with more aggressive Dueler AT/Revos)
3) Clogged air filter
4) Faulty O2 sensor causing the engine to run rich (though I'd expect a check engine light)
5) Did you suddenly begin using your air conditioner?

 

[SirChadwick]

Originally posted by: Linux23
Try 10.1 mpg in a M35x.

That's a serious problem that you may want to get looked at. My friend has one and gets 22 hwy and around 18 city in terms of mpg.

 

[Linux23]

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Linux23
Try 10.1 mpg in a M35x.

that doesn't sound right at all.

do you floor the car all the time?

Very rarely do I floor the car.

 

[Linux23]

Originally posted by: SirChadwick

Originally posted by: Linux23
Try 10.1 mpg in a M35x.

That's a serious problem that you may want to get looked at. My friend has one and gets 22 hwy and around 18 city in terms of mpg.

I live in a very congested city where drivers licenses are given away for free at the local Burger King with the purchase of a value meal.

 

[PricklyPete]

Originally posted by: Linux23

Originally posted by: Aimster

Originally posted by: Linux23
Try 10.1 mpg in a M35x.

that doesn't sound right at all.

do you floor the car all the time?

Very rarely do I floor the car.

That sounds like a problem. I'd be at the dealership IMMEDIATELY if I had spent that kind of money on a car and it was under performing to that level.

 

[MercenaryForHire]

I got 39mpg combined on my last tank, including a dip through a winding two-lane road that was spent primarily in third and fourth gear.



- M4H

 

[ajayjuneja]

air filter FTW!

 

[JS80]

Originally posted by: arcas
Yeah, that's a pretty sudden drop in gas mileage? Some ideas:

1) Tank of bad gas. Try some from a different gas station next time...
2) Low tire pressure (or new tires...my mileage dropped at least 10% when I replaced my balding Goodyears with more aggressive Dueler AT/Revos)
3) Clogged air filter
4) Faulty O2 sensor causing the engine to run rich (though I'd expect a check engine light)
5) Did you suddenly begin using your air conditioner?

1) I usually go to the Shell right next to work
2) My tires are ~2 years old
3) how do i fix it? is that the thing that jiffy lube always asks me if i want to replace whenever i get an oil change?
4)
5) I never use my air conditioner

 

[LordMorpheus]

Originally posted by: JS80

Originally posted by: arcas
Yeah, that's a pretty sudden drop in gas mileage? Some ideas:

1) Tank of bad gas. Try some from a different gas station next time...
2) Low tire pressure (or new tires...my mileage dropped at least 10% when I replaced my balding Goodyears with more aggressive Dueler AT/Revos)
3) Clogged air filter
4) Faulty O2 sensor causing the engine to run rich (though I'd expect a check engine light)
5) Did you suddenly begin using your air conditioner?

1) I usually go to the Shell right next to work
2) My tires are ~2 years old
3) how do i fix it? is that the thing that jiffy lube always asks me if i want to replace whenever i get an oil change?
4)
5) I never use my air conditioner

Check the pressure on your tires. You can buy a pressure gage at any parts store or gas station. The specified pressures will be written inside one of the door frames on the car.

The air filter is easy to get at for most cars, it is not the oil filter (what the guys at jiffy lube charge you for not replacing). It varies from make to make, but should be easily accesible with few tools.

As for the O2 sensor, go to autozone and have them pull any codes off the car, if they find anything that corresponds to an O2 sensor you might need to replace those. There is usually an O2 sensor before and after each catalytic converter that monitors your exhaust gas and lets the computer adjust the mixture as it sees fit.

A common problem in my car is the mass air flow sensor gets dirty and stuck, causes mileage issues.


At any rate, a sudden drop in mileage is an indication that something has gone wrong in the engine and needs attention.