Hyundai Elantra Real World MPG 2011 MY and earlier

bhmr59

I think I read somewhere that topping off the tank "all the way" could cause a problem with a filter or sensor.

How much more gas did you pump in from the time the pump shut off automatically? Hope you didn't damage anything by squeezing in an extra quart or so.

mrcellus

Joe131: Man, you took the words right out of my mouth. I agree with your post totally. I am enjoying Hyundai's success and I can't help but wonder how do they do it. From the 07 accent, the elantra, the sonata, the tiburon and the veracruz I would not mind any one of them but my choice is the Elantra.

joe131

Yep. Figure out how much you have to spend and then go out and see which Hyundai matches your wallet. You can't go wrong.

caaz

from the time it clicked off...i added another 1 1/2 gallons

pat

Echoing what bhmr59 says, there are reports all over the Forums that topping off - especially that much - is a bad thing to do. The search on the left would help you track down some of those posts so you can see for yourself the reasonings.

backy

You know, I think this is one of those cases of "it depends." I agree that topping off the tank up to the filler opening is bad (in any number of ways, including the possibility of car damage and spilled fuel). But some gas stations have pumps that click off prematurely, e.g. when there's still 2 gallons or more free space left in the tank (not the filler, the actual tank). I run into this all the time at the station nearest me. For some reason the pumps click off very early, so I need to coax them to get a full tank. At another station a bit futher down the road (which doesn't offer low-sulfur fuel and a good car wash so I don't go there often), the tank is full when the pump clicks off by itself when set at the lowest setting.

caaz

The calif pumps all click off way too early, and are extremly stiff to pull.....whereas the Arizona pumps handle is an easy squeeze and clicks off when full...my astro after having clicked off takes another 5 full gallons, i need that extra 5 gallons when i take vacations...
p.s. ive owned over 50 cars in my lifetime..and have ALWAYS topped them off...never had even 1 lil problem doing it?????

pat

Okay, I see your point. :-) I probably should have said "filled up the filler neck" instead of topping off. I really don't know, I just know that many members warn against doing this. See I only have a half a memory, not a whole one.

travisn000

It seems to me that the elantra seems especially prone to triggering the gas pump to shut off when filling. Since purchasing my elantra about three months ago I have had problems at a few gas stations where the only way they could get any gas into the tank was to stand there and hold the lever at half a click and fill very slowly (even when on empty). None of my other vehicles have any problem at the same pumps.

One gas attendant figured out that if the dispenser handle was held horizontal it filled faster and with less premature stoppage (I live in oregon where it is against the law for me to fill my own tank!). I wonder if the fill tube is at a bad angle or doesn't vent well in this car forcing slow fueling??

Any thoughts?

caaz

o.k. 1st tank going from az to ca..... 35.2 mpg....coming back 32.1 1st trip speed was 75 mph cruise all the way...return trip 80 mph cruise all the way. My mileage (odometer) is def off a little...as well as speedometer...which the forums seems to agree with...so i traded my brand new tires 205-55-16's for 225-60-16's they gave me 225.00 for the trade since they were one off's..so i paid out of pocket 130.00 for bridgestone insignas,,,,much better and quieter tire with 60k warranty...completely corrected the speedometer error, its right on the money...however..it throws the odemeter off slightly....very slightly...i calculated when i have 100,000 on the odometer....i'll really have about 101,200....and i avoid hasseling with the dealer to fix the problem...did it with a simple tire change
caaz

p.s. discount tires called Americas tires in Ca. online has an awesome tire calculator...you put in your current tire size and the tire size you want to change to...and it tell you your MPH difference at ANY SPEED...its awesome...told me 30 was 30.5 60 was 61.8 etc...all the way to my 80 mph which was off by 4 mph...which is why i chose this new tire size because i travel 80 mph alot from ca to az...try it..its pretty cool..later

lightfootfl

How about the online address? Can't seem to find it.
van

acura03g

Tire calculator: http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTireMath.dos

lightfootfl

Thanks.
van

oracle_of_rock

Just picked up my new 07 Elantra yesterday afternoon. It had 28 miles on it when I took ownership.

Now for the better news!! I drove my 02 Santa Fe LX V6 to the dealership to trade (18.2 mpg). Drove away with my new Elantra and immediately started getting 28, 29, 30, than 31+ My wife and I have been driving it around town today and we're still getting 31 mpg. I'm almost speechless. The Elantra only has 140 miles on it thus far. Based on when I now know, once it's broken in, who knows how high the mpg will go

Thus far I've noticed that it's extremely quiet inside for a compact car, everything's solid and tight (no rattles), the ride is exceptional for a small car, and the 2.0 four cylinder is quite peppy. I'm a big guy ( 6'2" weighting in at 328 lbs.) and I can ACTUALLY fit comfortably in this car!!! The drivers seat goes up and down easily, the seat back is comfortable to adjust, and the steering column is both tilt and telescopic. Lower back support is lacking just a little but it's certainly tolerable. The standard sound system is great and the dash is very attractive at night when the light are on.

This car has all the makings of a fine automobile IF it remains steadfast and consistent. Overall, I'm nicely pleased with my new car purchase

brunojoe

I know this has been asked before, but again for the dummy here, what methods can be used to increase your gas mileage, tire pressure etc. thanks, bruno

prosource1

Had an Elantra rental recently. Rec'd 35 mpg highway going 75mph. Was impressed with the car and it's quality. After having this car for several days, I realized Hyundai is very serious about building cars now.

backy

To net it out, since this isn't a discussion about fuel economy in general: the best way I know of to save gas is to keep your foot off the gas pedal as much as possible. And when your foot is on the gas, press as lightly as possible.

Adjustments to your car like tire pressure, tuneups etc. will help some too, and these are well-documented in CarSpace and elsewhere, but the most important adjustment you can make for better fuel economy is in how you drive.

oracle_of_rock

Another series of questions about my new Elantra SE :confuse: One of the feature of the trip computer in the mpg calculator. My questions are as follows: Does this calculator reset itself each time I fill the gas tank? Is there something I need to do in order to reset it? Or does it simply continue to do its calculations indefinitely having started with mile 1? My Camry XLE has this feature also BUT it resets itself every time I fill the tank. Thus far, I haven't noticed my Elantra doing this. The manual doesn't seem to address these questions.

Thanks!!

caaz

press the trip computor button until it gets to the Ave Mpg...then hold the button in for about 3 seconds...that will reset it...and following the same procedure will reset all the different modes....ave MPH etc.

p.s. Increase the tire pressure to 2 lbs over the max for the best mpg....as well as slow take offs etc.

oracle_of_rock

That answers my question -- thanks

islande393

OK, i've had my new elantra SE (auto) for roughly 4 weeks, and have put on 1500 miles. I've only personally filled the tank twice (as the dealership filled the tank once for me after original purchase). Both times that I've filled the tank I have had the trip computer say that I am below the 30 mile limit for gas (it just reads --- when it's below 30 miles remaining in the gas tank) and it is my understanding that the gas tank size on these automobiles is 14.5 gallons. Both times that I have filled to top it's been filling 12.015 gallons and 12.345 gallons. Shouldn't there AT LEAST be another gallon of gas going into the tank? The one time I filled up, the tank overflowed because I thought it the was pump that was faulty. Any thoughts on this, or anyone with the same experience? Thanks!

caaz

I have a similar problem...in a different sort of way. I can baby in up to 15 Gallons each time i fill up, as long as i wait till the gas light goes on.. When i do this, i have never traveled more than 1 to 3 miles after the light goes on. I have heard that the Elantra varies quite a bit as to remaining fuel when the light comes on....ANywhere from 1/4 Gallon to 2 Gallons Maybe your car shows empty and still has the 2 gallons left...whereas My car....even when the light just comes on...i think is about dry, because it misses and feels like its going to die on me. But i seem to make it to the nearest gas station..
Hope that helps

travisn000

I bought my Elantra GLS in April, and now have about 10,000 miles on it. I typically fill up when the light comes on, and have never (30 fill ups) gotten much over 12 gallons in the tank. (.. I never realized it was a 15 gallon tank; its nice to know I have some room to stretch it if needed).

On the topic of MPG, I seem to be averaging about 33 mpg recently. I drive mostly two lane back roads, 50 miles each way to work, and I must say that I tend to put the peddle down to accelerate through winding corners, at the occasional stop sign, and while passing.

oracle_of_rock

My new Elantra has about 1400 miles on it and yesterday, during a day trip of about 60 miles total, I broke 42 mpg with the A/C operating constantly. This was with the speed control set at 55 mph, expressway driving, extremely conservative/ careful acceleration/deacceleration. I had also changed the oil at about 1200 miles and am now using Mobil 1 full synthetic. Up to this point, the best I had done was 41 mpg. In town I'm getting in the low 30s to the high 20s.

Needless to say, I've very pleased with my Elantra.

charmaine

Bought my 07 Elantra the 1st week of June. My daily drive is 7 miles rndtrp to one job and 3 miles rndtrp to the other job (no hwy driving). It seems that I'm only averaging about 21 mpg in the city. I recently took a road trip and averaged about 30 mpg. I have about 2400 miles on the car right now. Is there anything I can do to improve the gas mileage or are these numbers consistent with the miles I'm driving each day? Other than the concern about my gas mileage I truly love my new car.

backy

21 mpg is in the ballpark for short city commutes like yours, if they involve stops and sits. 30 mpg is a little low for the highway I think, since I can easily get mid-to-upper 30s on the highway on my '04 Elantra AT and it's not as efficient as yours. But it depends on what you did on that road trip. Was it all highway? What was your highway speed? How much was in-town? How easy did you drive it (i.e. contant speed around the limits, or fast, darting around traffic)?

Also... what was your previous car and what kind of fuel economy did you get on similar trips?

caaz

this week i went from Disneyland area to SLC Utah....700 miles.....mpg was 34.1 at 80 mph...no a/c...didnt need it.

lisa_in_la

I bought a 2008 Elantra in October, I absolutely love it in every respect but I am so jealous when other drivers report mileage per gallon of 30+.

I am averaging about 24 miles to the gallon with my 5 speed manual Elantra but my driving is almost exclusively city. I coast whenever I can, and I try not to rev the engine. Are other city drivers experiencing similar mileage?

blufz1

The short trips kill your mileage. Connect all your trips so that you have fewer start/stop cycles and are operating with a warm engine. It's not you or your car,it's the short trips.

fushigi

I'd add that with only a thousand miles on it your engine is still breaking in. You won't achieve your best mileage until the engine has been driven for 5 or so thousand miles.

travisn000

Up until 2-3K miles ago I had been averaging 33mpg since I bought my 07 Elantra GLS AT. Recently I've been noticing significantly worse gas mileage; Ive been driving the same roads and speeds, but only getting about 27mpg.

I'm guessing his has to do with a recent reprogram of the odometer performed by my dealer as part of a factory recall, but might also be related to winter time fuel additives (ethanol)?

Anybody else noticing the same, or should I be heading for the dealer to get it checked out?

backy

How cold is it in your area now? I think it's likely the drop in FE is due to the winter-formulated gas plus lower temperatures (e.g. engine takes longer to warm up). For example, I was getting near 30 mpg in mixed driving around town in my '04 Elantra GT AT (with a less efficient powertrain than the '07) until winter hit, and now with temps near 0 F or some mornings below 0, I am struggling to keep overall FE over 25 (EPA ratings, on the old scale, are 24/32).

priv8warrior

I have seen a similar drop on my 2007 SE. It also seems like it does not want to roll very easily, most likely due to the cold.

travisn000

Average temps during my commute (100 miles total, 95% highway) are probably usually between 35-45 F. Because my commute is so long and the engine is hot for the vast majority of it, I don't think the outside temperature would be that big of a factor.

I'm due for an oil change in the next week or two, so I will probably have the dealer give it a quick check..

whatstar1117

Reprogramming speedo/odo has definite impact on indicated MPG. We were at 30-31 before and 26-27 after. That matches up with the appr.10% error from the factory.

g_designer

That what I get on my Elantra SE 2007....going down a steep windy hill (mpg meter reset). Going up the same hill, I get 15.6mpg by the time I get to the top.

Seriously though I have been underwhelmed with my gas mileage. My 1993 Geo Prizm (rated at 27/31) gets better MPG's than this car which is rated at 28/36.

My last average MPG over 1000 miles has been 24.5. Average speed was 25mph. (I usually cruise at 35 to 45 in the city, but I have lots of lights and stop signs to deal with.) I don't pedal to the metal. I gradually accelerate and stop. I'd say TIME-wise I spend 17% on freeway and 83% on the street. City trips are usually less than 5 miles (bad for mpg I know). To be fair when I was getting 30mph driving the Geo, I did about 4x the fwy mileage. I have 3500 miles on the new car.

Still a nice car and a great value. Read about my other experiences on my blog.

backy

...but I have lots of lights and stop signs to deal with.

Aye, there's the rub. When stopped, your mpg is 0. And then there's the fact you do mostly short trips. And it's winter now. Under those conditions, 24.5 mpg is not bad at all. One thing to try, if you aren't already, is coast as much as possible, e.g. as you approach those stop lights (assuming traffic permits it).

bwaller78

On a recent trip of 600 miles round trip, I averaged 36.03 mpg. On the fist leg of the trip i got 31.8 mpg on the firstt 160 miles. On the next 286 miles got 40.26 mpg. I was blown away when I stopped for gas. I had to do a double take, the pump read 7.1 gallons on 285.9 miles on the trip odometer. The road conditions was excellent, and virtually no wind and set cruise control at 70 pmh.

bassfearmee

Just purchased my Elantra, I am getting 36.2 MPG highway, one occupant in the vehicle (me), cruise control set at 65mph, a/c off. I average 32MPG highway with 3 occupants, average speed of 75mph.

bwaller78

After 5000 miles, getting 27-28 mpg in city and 33-36 hwy mpg, with 70 mph and light to no wind, Summer has yet to come, but will update with use of a/c during the summer months.

mort4371

Time will tell, but I like the start I got with my 08 SE (manual). First tankful, half used on the return trip from Fitzgerald and half in my normal daily drive (50% rural, 50% highway), showed 32.3 on the computer, I figured about 31 from the fillup. Considering the brand new tight engine, and the fact that my return trip from Fitz was very mpg-unfriendly (I skipped the freeway for stop-and-go Rockville Pike, followed by winding, mountain routes into and through PA -- didn't want to burn the new engine in with 150 miles of steady, 2400rpm freeway droning), I think that was a very promising performance.

I'm keeping all gas receipts, and will update periodically with my overall, average, everyday mileage.

g_designer

I do try to coast to the light when possible instead gassing it to the light.

Update: I am going to start tracking my fill ups and posting data to fueleconomy.gov.
On my most recent fill up, it took 8.28 gallons to fill the tank back up. Trip meter and odometer read 237 miles. That would mean my avg MPG on that tank is 28.6 if the gas pump reading is accurate.
However my trip meter MPG was at 24.7. That is a significant difference.

Any of you have found manual calculations differ from your trip meter?

mjoshi

Okay brand new 08 Elantra SE automatic is giving me 30mpg in combined city/highway driving. Will see if it improves anymore. So far it is okay mileage for me not too good but can work with it.

gary045

Just got back from a 2,400 mile round trip from WV to TX.
Mostly cloudy and cool conditions. Checked 3 tanks of gas and came up with 37mpg each time while doing 70 mph with the air off most of the time.

Started out with fresh Valvoline full synthetic oil and pumped all the tires up to 33 lbs.
The higher tire pressure made some bad road conditions a little louder but I was very pleased with the mpg while paying the painful $3.50 to $3.80 a gallon.

gary045

I found not all gas is created equal. On my 2,400 mile trip I got gas at a run down crummy station that didn't even have a bathroom that worked, they said.

Anyways, their gas gave me 31.4 mpg. It was the worst gas out of 6 fillups. All other fillups got me 37 to 39mpg at well kept travel stations.

My low fuel alarm comes on after using 12 gallons and 444 miles went by at 37mpg with 2 gal left in the tank.

bhmr59

Could your lower MPG fill up haven been ethnol vs real gasoline at the other places. Unfortunately we have ethanol year round here (10%) and it does cost about 10% difference in MPG (10% difference is probably a coincidence) but it does cut MPG.

Remember following Katrina, there was a temporary lifting of the blending requirement. That was all about ethanol and designed to get more MPG where fuel deliveries were tight.

gary045

Yeah, there's no telling what kinda gas or where it came from. The station was in Mississippi in very poor shape with overflowing garbage cans and no credit cards only cash.

One more point on the 70 mph long trip my oil stayed on the full mark during the whole trip. Years ago I used to have to carry an extra qrt or 2 in the trunk for my chevys.
So that's a pleasant change to have a well built engine.

mort4371

So far, so good. Considering the engine is still likely a bit tight, I'm pleased. I drive about an equal thirds split of rural, 'mile-between-stopsigns' back roads, highway, and moving (non-gridlocked) city traffic. Average speeds on the trip computer are generally 34-35 mph when I fill up and reset.

After three fillups, 34.9 gal total, I have 1122 miles on the meter. Average of 32.16 mpg over my first thousand (plus a few) miles. A/C will likely knock it down a smidge this summer, but engine loosening up might help a bit. I'll report back in a few more months.

Also, for what it's worth, my trip computer seems to be pretty close in terms of indicated mileage versus what I'm actually getting. I've heard that some are not.

bhmr59

Your milage calculation compared to the computer's calculation is pretty close because you are looking at over 1100 miles in you comparison. Shorter comparisons of 200 or 300 miles will show a greater difference due to rounding errors in # of gallons.

Like any analysis, the larger your sample (number of miles & gallons) the more accurate your calculations will be. Funny that so many people distrust their trip computer based on a test of a couple hundred miles. Think of the difference in the calculation if the fill-up is off by only 1/4 gallon for 200 miles. The computer measures the amount of gas used, not the amount of gas in the tank before or after each fill-up.

hyundaihoney

I have a new 2008 elantra. My highway mileage is about 32 mpg (not bad -- they advertise 33 mpg). But city is awful -- 19 mpg. Anyone else having the same problems? I'm bringing it into the dealer to have the computer checked. Any other suggestions? Thanks.