Gas Mileage Fluctuation

[Kevin]

This is just more of a general post, but I've been noticing lately that my gas mileage fluctuates very frequently. Most of the time I have been hovering around 18 mpg with stop and go 'city-like' driving. sometimes i get a jump up to about 21 mpg in the same driving period, and like in the past week, i averaged 16.08 mpg with the rain and ****ed up weather we had. is it normal for a car's gas mileage to fluctuate so frequently with differing weather conditions (ie cold as compared to hot, dry as to humid or rainy). at anyrate, i'm due to get my o2 sensor replaced, air filter replaced (tune up not due for another year or so).
peace

[skr33t_rac3r]

yeah i think all cars are like that colder weather means more gas kinda how cold air intkaes work more air go in and so has to gas

[silver03p5]

wow, ive never gotten that low of mileage. have u always gotten it that low? or is there another consumtion type of problem like a leak or something at work?

[funkdaddysmack]

My gas mileage in the pro isn't quite that bad, but it's usually around 22-24 city. Not that great if you ask me. This tank the weather has been pretty cold, and I've only gotten like 210 mile on 3/4 tank!

I'm going to fill up and see what kind of terrible mileage I'm getting. I was freaking babying this tank, too!!!

[funkdaddysmack]

Oh yea demon, I'm experiencing the same lovely PA weather as you are, too so I know how it is

[JJB]

I know that in some areas when the colder weather months come around they put some crap in the gasoline to supposedly help it burn in a more enviromentally friendly manner.

I'm not sure when the cut over date is, but I do know that when I used to track mileage on my old Mitsu in CT it was pretty obvious when it happened, because my MPG went down.

[silver03p5]

(barring the catalytic converter clogging my system) ive averaged about 27 city/30 hwy. does the auto kill the mileage that much?

[skr33t_rac3r]

about them changing the gas so it burns better in the winter it must be only in certain areas cause it dosen thappen here

[Tha_Rocket]

Yeah here in Toronto...They announce specifically they that are using "Winter Gas"... I remember i could watch the gas meter go up and down last winter on my last car...

[funkdaddysmack]

Ugh, just figured out my mileage last night 225 miles on 11.1 gallon... 20.27 mpg... teh suck

[JJB]

I've been tracking this since the car had about 3k miles on it (before that I did not) and have noted a max MPG of 33.5 a min of 17.3 (heavy ice/snow storm that week, left the the car idling for 45 mins whilst I got the crap off the glass and dug the car out... twice in one week!).

However, my average after tracking for 36k miles is 27MPG.

Yes, I know that this is a third gen and that the numbers are not a fair comparison... but thought I would post them as there is a large spread over min and max.

[Kevin]

no, third gen or not, it's fair enough comparisson for me... just shows what i COULD have if i could afford a new car . the automatic does suck some hp through the drivetrain.. i believe someone said you typically lose 10 to 15% of your engine's output through an MTX, and 15 to 25% in an automatic?? i don't know, i know that even in this weather, if i drive on the highway on a fill up, my gas mileage is at LEAST 29 mpg, up to 31 MPG. everyone tells me my gas mileage is horrible... almost down there with the average mpg of a ford explorer. last night's fill up with 100 miles on the tank proved to be 19.20 mpg. and as far as how far i run the tank, i usually get 220 miles out of about 11.5 gallons of fuel, and the most i've ever dropped into my tank (gas wise) was 12.5 gallons, i've never let it run below that cause usually around there, the fuel light is burning constantly and the gas gauge is hovering at E on the line! it's been kinda shady since i got it, fuel system is pretty much new, so is the air intake. someone told me it could be the o2 sensor, but i would have expected it to COMPLETELY fail after a year of 'half-working' status.
peace

[Boston]

I have been keeping meticulous records of my LX's gas consumption. I have consistently gotten 27-30 mpg over the last 2 months (about 4300 miles of driving). 90% of the miles have been highway miles at 65-75 mph. I have a manual transmission and I recently installed new spark plugs/cap/rotor.

I discovered a new backroads route to work that keeps me off of the highway and puts me on local roads where I have a few traffic lights, stop signs, but mostly 25-45 mph speed limits for 25 miles each way. I have gotten about 200 miles so far with this half-tank, so I am on track for similar mileage.

Just thought I'd throw my story out there for your info