Keitaro

Also low recommended tire pressure causes lower MPG. Yeah, for the past 4-tanks I've gotten 30MPG on my Auto xB. About a month ago I consistently gripe that I only get 34MPG. Same driving style as my current MPG rating using the same station. Never knew of this "Winter" gasoline switch...interesting.

UnFocused

What oil are you using? two oil changes ago the dealship put 10W-30 in my xB!! they said it was ok, well i noticed I could not break 33 MPG, and was only getting about 29-31MPG.

Well the oil change after that the put 5W-30 in, and my MPG went back up to 33ish!!

I know this sounds like horsecrap, but a couple of years ago FORD across the line switched all of their cars from 10W-30 to 5W-30, and FORD's corporate gas mileage figures went up!!!

And have you ever noticed that if you baby your engine or always stomp on it- it gets the same MPG???- mine does!

Also, does any one know how VVT-I comes into play with gas mileage???

norris_l_duckett

I have the same issue about mileage, not you my want to have the brake looked at becuase before I had the fuel sending unit replaced, fuel level read low at about 3-4 gallons 1/4-1/2 below half a tank of gas, then after going 303mile the right rear brake lockedup on me with a "Yellow VSA" indication on the dash.(milage was 157mile for full tank. )on empty bottom red line.
I took my car to dealer where the mechanic adjusted, cleaned, and lubrcated the brakes. thank god for the warrainty
Just filled up 11.5gal with 288.4miles on the digital odm. bettr as you can see hoping for more. with is2001p injen, and TRD axle back exhaust! Fellow xB diver says she gets about 370 city driving with the same year stock here in the High desert.

ps hope this can help enjoy the ride

bunburiano_chilepicking

hey guys i have my box for about a year with 32000 miles and i notice everytime i go up the hills my mpg goes from 30 to like 23 probably because thelack of hpw on the engine something like that i better go cause am getting all comfuse with this .

x_rayted711

Well, I am almost ready to refuel again. I went on a road trip yesterday and I have 285 miles on it so far and the fuel light has NOT come on yet. I don't know what is up. The only things I did different this tank was clean the air filter and a different station.
WOW, I didn't think there would be SOO big of a difference between two tanks of fuel!
I guess it was bad gas or water...but anyway, it is back on it's normal trend of 280-300 miles a tank.
Thank you EVERYONE for the responses and suggestions...you have been a BIG help!!! Thx again!

We'll see how it is after my next tank!!!

squirrel

Another problem: because of the hurricane's recently, the news reported that the EPA(?) let some gasoline be used even though it didn't meet their standards to keep the gas prices from rising.

I also had a few days of lousy MPG also. How do I know?

I drive consistently at 75mph on the freeway, my RPMs stay consistent, and I drive to the same places usually at the same times.

So, to have MY mpg drop from 30 to 24, says that there is a difference in the gas. AND, I did fill up twice at gas stations I didn't normally fill up at.

PLUS, with the change in seasons, comes the change in the fuel blend that refineries put out. BUT, mpg shouldn't be affected that much.

x_rayted711

Thats kinda what I was thinking too, Squirrel, but most of the gulf coast gas goes towards the East coast I think. I am willing to believe that it may have been water though. I know where NOT to go for gas...LOL.
BTW, I missed it yesterday, but Happy B-Day. Thx for the reply!

squirrel

THANKS!

Yeah, that was something else I thought about also, water in the main tanks at the gas station.

x_rayted711

It's hard to say what it was. Maybe I over-reacted about this, but man...to drop to 21 MPG was very concerning for me. I hope everything is back to normal. Like I said, this last tank has yeilded 286 miles so far and the fuel light hasn't come on yet. I'm going to associate it to bad gas at this point. Thanks all!

TIZZO

be advised, in the state of New York gas companies are mandated by EPA law to oxygenate fuel between the months of Oct-April for the sole purpose of reducing emissions in the cold winter months, so expect a 2-3 mpg reduction in all autos...other states may also follow suite, I hope this clarifies the issue

TheScionicMan

From a Nov. 8th article:

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005..._1511_8_05.txt

So the timing would be about right. There shouldn't be much risk of water in the tanks since most all the stations in Cali had to dig up their old tanks and use double-walled, etc.

x_rayted711

Thx for the link ScionicMan...but how would you attribute a decline of 8-10 MPG over the course of 1 tank? Just crappy gas? dirty air filter? Those are the only two things that I've changed.

TheScionicMan

Yeah, it doesn't really make sense. You cleaned the air filter before the drop in MPG, correct?

It may have just been one factor or maybe not at all. Maybe the ECU learned and adjusted? I know mine hasn't fluctuated recently and i almost always buy my gas at Safeway. It's always between 26 and 29.

One other thought, not sure where you live, but we've had some pretty good wind here recently. Well, we almost always do in livermore anyway. I wonder what kind of effect a stiff headwind might have. The worst mileage I ever got was 22 MPG and that was literally pedal to the floor all the way to Bakersfield.

If it's gone back to normal, i'd probably just chalk it up as a fluke of some sort. If you can't reproduce it, it's hard to fix. (you can tell by that statement that I support Windows for a living, eh)

schwettynuts

Or maybe last time you filled it, you didnt really fill it all the way up? Sometime the gas dispenser is screw up and stopped filling at 80-90% and your gauge looks fool.

x_rayted711

ScoinicMan...I cleaned the filter AFTER I got the horrible mileage. I am in the Santa Rosa, CA area but stick to in town driving mostly, so wind hasn't been too much of a factor.
I guess it was bad gas, as I don't see cleaning the filter making THAT much of a difference...at least not as suddenas it was, anyway. I could see it being the case if it were a gradual drop, but this was within 1 tank. SOOO...I will blame SHELL gas at this point. I drove to Sacramento and back yesterday and the fuel light just came on...with 289 miles on this tank...I am thinking it was just bad gas.
Also, there IS a chance I didn't get it TOTALLY full, but it is unlikely, being I fill it the same every time and it always takes around the same amount every time. Who knows...LOL. It's back to normal though!
Weird, huh? Thanks all!

x_rayted711

Update on my problem...
I filled up today and it took 10.438 gallons. I had 304.2 miles on it and the fuel light came on at around 290 miles. This comes out to 29.14 MPG.
This is still what I would consider LOW being that a lot of these miles were highway, but it seems that it is back to where it was at before the "bad tank" of fuel.
I thank ALL of you for the responses and info. I certainly hope it doesn't do that again.
Now if I could just break 30 MPG! LOL. Thx all!

gookgeek

You're worried about a drop in MPG in ONE (and only one) tank fill-up? I would be more worried if it happened over and over again.

Happening once could be the way you drive, you may need some new oil, you may be burning more gas because it's colder, you may be running the heater more... etc, etc.

gookgeek

^^^ Guess I should have read all the way to the end of the posts before posting what I just did.

But again, one tank doesn't mean a thing. If you see a drop in MPG over two, three, or four tanks, then you should get worried.

TheScionicMan

Well, at the time he posted, he didn't know if it was a one tank thing or not...

x_rayted711

OK...update time. After the horrific mileage, I cleaned the air filter and went to a different gas station. My wife and I drove to Sacramento and back and the mileage seemed to be ok. It was around 30 with some city driving.
I filled up earlier today to find that it was back down to 22 MPG. I took it to the dealer and he stated that THE ONLY thing it could be was gas. If there was something wrong within the car, the engine light would have come on. Sound like this is true? I am not going to second guess a dealer yet and will wait another tank to see what goes on.
I read somewhere that the best fuel economy RPM is at 70% of the torque RPM. I drive with the car in overdrive ALL the time and around town, when doing the posted limits, the car is like 1600-1900 RPM. Could this be bogging the motor down? Should I try a tank with the overdrive off? Will it hurt the tranny doing this? Thanks in advance.