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HHR Real World MPG Numbers

PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
Fuel economy is becoming increasingly important. What kind of mileage are you getting out of your HHR in the real world?
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Comments

  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    With the lack of real winter temps here in the northeast for the last month or so, my D.I.C indicated MPG is back up to 30.8. If the long range forcasts hold true, I expect that will drop a bit over the next couple weeks ;)
  • euphorbiaeuphorbia Member Posts: 14
    Ray80,

    I keep track of every gallon that I put in my cars on an Excel spreadsheet and on my past two GM minivans I find that the fuel economy display is off an average of 7.5 %. When it says that I am getting 22.5, I am only getting a little over 20mpg. You might want to keep track for several fillups and take a running average and compare it to your readout.
    Good luck,

    Euphorbia
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    Thats why I always try to mention it if I'm using puters numbers. The one time (and only one tankful) I calulated using real numbers with the HHR it came out exactly the same as D.I.C. display, but thats not reliable. OH BTW cool air returned this week, and indeed indicated milage dropped a couple tenths
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Best tank was 27.3, worst was 25.0...typical = put 407 miles on a tank...filled up as full as I could ...15.1 gal = 26.8 mpg.
  • haufniensishaufniensis Member Posts: 2
    Ray, Euphorbia, et al,

    This jibes with the experience I have with the DIC. I reset the thing every time I fill up and when I do the calculations I generally see actual mileage a couple MPG under the DIC. In town I am getting 25-26 mpg actual, but you should understand I don't drive during the congested part of the day and spend little time sitting at lights, etc. (I actually just walk to work.) In pure highway driving, on mostly level interstates at 65 mph in fair weather, I actually get 34 mpg actual, which sort of boggled my mind the first time. I didn't believe it until it came out that way three times in a row in round trips to Hot Springs, AR. My daughter doesn't get but 30 in the same vehicle, OTOH she's 28 and I'm 52, I am sort of easy on the pedal.

    haufniensis
    in New Orleans
  • haufniensishaufniensis Member Posts: 2
    Replying to myself, I forgot to mention I have the 2.2 liter and a manual transmission.

    haufniensis
    in New Orleans
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    I also have a 2003 Olds (weighs about 2800-2900lbs) 2.2L ecotech with 5 speed....after 52,000 miles I can say I've ave. right at 31 mpg overall. The 2.4L in the HHR feels.... more sophisticated....smoother...
  • geemacgeemac Member Posts: 28
    According tothe D.I.C. I am getting a consistent 28.5 - 28.8 MPG combined.
  • pacermanpacerman Member Posts: 62
    Hi, just might be helpfull to state 2.2 or 2.4 and A or M in the MPG posts. :)
  • PF_FlyerPF_Flyer Member Posts: 9,372
    Very true pacerman! A most definite consideration when evaluating mileage performance!
  • basiliskstbasiliskst Member Posts: 55
    We rented a 2.5 liter automatic HHR LT2 for a recent 600 mile road trip. Over Interstate Highways with sustained speeds of approximately 72-75 mph we achieved 30 mpg, calculated by hand (if our HHR had a trip computer we didn't find it in the radio menu structure). Outside temperatures were in the high 90s and low 100s, so we were definitely using air conditioning. The car was fully loaded with luggage and three adults. I thought this was very good. The HHR was very smooth and generally quiet especially for a wagon or hatchback.
  • pacermanpacerman Member Posts: 62
    Just curious to the grade of fuel you were using in the 2.4?Thats pretty darn good mileage. :)
  • basiliskstbasiliskst Member Posts: 55
    Pacerman asked what fuel grade we used to achieve 30 mpg on a fully loaded 600 mile freeway trip. The first half of the trip was with 89 octane 10% ethanol 90% gasoline. The second half of the trip was with 87 octane regular gasoline. The fuel mileage was a combined mileage calculation (diminishing the effects of single fill differences).

    I used the cruise control. The 2.4 with automatic would kick down a gear on long hills (with a definite resulting notch up in drive train noise), but it was never short on power and when cruising in fourth the engine was notably quiet. Overall there was very little tire or wind noise, especially for a hatchback or small car. By contrast I recently drove a Dodge Caliber that transmitted much more tire and road noise into the cabin.

    I was also impressed with the HHR's on center feel and tracking. It was very easy to drive long distance with no wandering or uncertainty through the wheel. A recent trip in an otherwise beautiful Toyota Corolla was marred by steering that always felt like it was trying to find the groove and never did. I wouldn't want to live with the Corolla's wandering ways. It's possible the Corolla (another rental) wasn't representative, but I've driven three different HHR's and all illustrated how it should be done. Maybe the relatively long wheelbase helps the HHR. That said the HHR is a cruiser, it is not set-up for sports car agility. The HHR rewards smooth driving not cut and thrust.
  • micwebmicweb Member Posts: 1,617
    Very helpful comments, thanks, I think I'll switch to the HHR when I'm ready to trade in my PT.
  • cmarlercmarler Member Posts: 1
    My husband has always used Lucas gas additive for our vehicles, which were always used when we bought them. We bought a 2006 HHR and he still insists on using it. My question is, is it safe and also helpful to a new car or will it do more harm than good?
  • dancermandancerman Member Posts: 220
    They make a good product. Use as directed.
  • paopao Member Posts: 1,867
    use a good quality tier one level gasoline....chevron is one..shell is another.....and you shouldnt need any additives.....

    additives usually needed to clean injectors and the like.......
  • bjw57bjw57 Member Posts: 1
    Just purchased an HHR with 2.2 manual, just put the third tank of gas in , regular 89 octain. First tank was little over 30 mpg, 50% hiway, 50% town. Second was 26.8 mostly in town, I think computer said average speed on that tank was 32 mph.
    Last tank was 28.6 that 60% around town and 40%highway.
    I have been driving with a soft touch. I figured these calc. by hand,, seems like the computer is just a little off...
    I will keep posting as I will be putting lots of miles on the vehicale in the near future.
    If you have any questions ..just ask!
  • micwebmicweb Member Posts: 1,617
    My computer on my Cobalt seems optimistic by 1.5 mpg, based on calculating mileage with a calculator (write down miles per tank on each gas receipt) over about 4,400 miles. But its consistent, and moves in the same direction as actual gas mileage.

    My best indicated/calulated mpg to date (stickshift 2.2 Cobalt Coupe LS) is 39.1 mpg, my worst 32 mpg, with average commuting mileage between 33-34 and average road trip mileage between 34-36. (A combination of an easy, long freeway, commute and easy driving habits and a stickshift). This clearly beats my former all time mileage highs of 33 mpg on my commute.

    Your HHR mileage is much better than my automatic '06 PT which gets 23-24 on my commute and 23.5-24.5 on road trips.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    There are no 2.5L HHRs.

    After 10,000 miles I have zero complaints with my 2LT Automatic.....runs with no ping on 87...seems to have more power with 91....ave @ 27 mpg. Love the handling with the 17s.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    2LT (2.4L) automatic. Now that the outside temps are <80F I seem to be getting closer to 30 MPG again....during July & Aug when temps close to 100F...was down to 24-25 MPG???
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    That doesn't sound to suprising to me, I think you will 'potentialy' get better milage when temps aren't on either side of extreme (to hot or to cold). Thats assuming your driving habits and conditions are about the same. I've been driving a tad faster lately (and perhaps a little more aggressive ;) ) and my milage per Driver info center has dropped a bit, 31.7 down from just over 32
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Ray80...is yours the 2.2 or 2.4, stick or automatic?
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    2.4 stick (Must be behaving the past few days. 31.9 now )
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    2.4L 2LT automatic , 12,000 miles...ave 27 mpg. Zero defects!
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    260 miles , calulated 34.9 MPG. The estimated fuel range right after fill-up on return said 611 miles :P , don't think thats gonna happen.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Sounds a little optimistic Ray. Best I've ever gotten with my 2.2L 5 Speed Alero ecotec was 33.2 mpg....& it weighs 2-3 hundred lbs less than the HHR. The Alero has 60 series 15s though,...Was you in neutral going down a steep mountain?
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Anyone else notice a sharp decrease in MPG during 0-20 F temps? Seems to have gone from 27 down to 22....may just be start of new tank oddity??? Will report after real fillup calculation.
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    For sure, its normal to see decrease when temps start dropping that low.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    It did get down to 1 F .... MPG down may be due to temp tire pressure down.....?
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    Tire pressure is always a good thing to check after major temp change. With the cold temps milage will still suffer. It will be better when warmth comes back.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Pumped tires up to 35 from 30....temps this week 5-21 F....2.4 auto...mpg improved to 24. I think the wife is using that remote start thing a lot & letting it idle to warm up before she leaves work...
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    One other thing that may help a tad is to not leave defrost on when not needed as A/C compressor is turned on while using it. My milage has been on steady decline since cold weather made an appearance here in northeast
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Back up over 26....big difference between 5-15 degrees & 30-40 degrees. Big difference between when I drive vs the old lady!!
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    Good to hear its a little better, those cold days are tough, as it would be if she looks over your shoulder at what you wrote ;)
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Married 36 years (since age 18), suspect she'd forgive me for this one insensitive statement....retirement from Fed = 12.5 more weeks!!!! 31 years VA, 6 years USNAR, 36 married, 27 father, 17 school = 117 years, no wonder I feel old!!!
  • steveandbelindsteveandbelind Member Posts: 5
    Do this setup really help fuel economy?
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    I assume you mean K& N filter. I don't have any personal experiance with them, but I checked their website and see nothing there thats indicates their air filter increases economy (other then a clean filter does better then a dirty one). There is no shortage of claims from people who claim better economy though (perhaps they only check after replacing the dirty one with brand new shiny new one without checking similar MPF (miles per filter)
  • steveandbelindsteveandbelind Member Posts: 5
    Is there a way to get any better MPG that someone knows of? I just bought my 07 last Saturday, and other than it showing most the time about 23.8 city, and around 31 or so highway, I haven't really had a chance to see what it really gets. I will be taking a 1000 mile trip probably tomorrow, so I WILL find out. I seen on Ebay that there are several things that they say helps out on mpg, like Turbnado, which is just a piece of metal that slips in the air intake hose, supposedly creating a vortex. I put the original Turbinator in my Explorer, and didn't really monitor it. Don't really think that it did much, but not sure. :)
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    I have yet to see any for sure magic bean to will ensure great milage (despite claims from here and there). Best thing I know of is driving habits, usual things like no jack rabbit starts, anticipate stops at lights and ease out of throttle early rather then using brakes at last moment, keeping rpms down and no long warm ups at idle on cold winter days. Yours being brand new I would expect it to be a little stiff right now and I would not be surprised if milage goes up on its own for a while as time goes on. Oh and it helps if you don't have 200 lbs of junk in the trunk also (tools of whatever)
  • steveandbelindsteveandbelind Member Posts: 5
    It's a 07, but was bought off of a lot that got it at auction from Enterprise with 4800 miles. I just took a 80 mile roundtrip journey this morning. It took about almost all the way there to get the DIC to level out at 33.5 mpg. Then on the way back it showed 32.4. I took the average of both ways, filled it up and figured it to be 30.3 mpg. The DIC must be off about 11%. Quite a bit off isn't it? Do you think that Lucas Injector Cleaner would help any?
    :confuse:
  • steveandbelindsteveandbelind Member Posts: 5
    Oh, by the way, how do you get to the air filter?
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    At 30.3 you are still beating EPA estimates I think. Its winter here with cold temps and winter fuel and my milage has gone down. What temps have you been driving in? The air cleaner is under that big plastic thing over engine, and I'd have to look again in manual to see how to get to it. (If you don't have the manual, you could register yours at www.mygmlink.com and get to an online version of it). There is already (or should be) some measure of injector cleaner in the fuel you buy so I don't add any.
  • steveandbelindsteveandbelind Member Posts: 5
    I'm in Michigan, so it's quite cold right now. We're talking about average afternoon temps 9-17 degrees. I notice that someone has been saying that the cold temps will make the mpg go down. Strange, because I'm a private pilot and my plane would always operate more efficiently in the winter because the cold air is more dense than in the summer temps. I have even been told this by my aviation mechanics. Should the DIC be off by as much as 11%,(reading more mpg, than actual mpg). Do you reset the mpg at each fillup, or just always leave it alone, to do it's own thing. Like I said before, it took almost 30-40 miles for it to finally get to where it leveled out.
  • ray80ray80 Member Posts: 1,655
    I'll bet once temps get above 40 or so you should see better milage, seems to be that way on vehicles I've had anyway. I only use the DIC as a general indicater, not gospel, and if I am trying to save a few pennies it seems to record higher milage. Some like to reset it all the time, but I usually only do every few thousand miles.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    You want to see some people crying about low MPG...go over to the Murano and CX-7 forums!!!! Some of those guys are talking about 12-13 MPG!!! They act proud when they claim 18-19. I think that over a typical year you will ave 25-27 for a 2.4L automatic HHR up 29-31 for a stick 2.2L. That sound about right Ray?
  • bhmr59bhmr59 Member Posts: 1,601
    You have to remember that you are getting an average MPG reading. This will include "zero" mpg for every second the engine is running but the car isn't moving,like stopped at a red light.

    Also, the average is calculated since the last reset. If you filled the tank and reset the computer and then drove only 20 miles locally before your 80 mile round trip, you will have put on at least 20% your mileage in local driving. I suspect you had some local driving at your destination (if nothing else, just getting back to the highway) since your 33.5 mpg average dropped to 32.4. No car gets it best mpg until the car is fully warmed up. So depending upon how long the car sat and in what temperature, your return trip could have included anywhere from 5 to 10 miles of the car not operating at peak efficiency.

    If you want to get an accurate reading of your average mph, you should not reset the computer at each fill-up. The reading would/should be accurate for that tank of gas, but it does not give you a "real average". There are so many variables; temperature, wind resistance, steady speed vs accelerating and slowing, terrain, etc. And then there is the issue of a "fill-up." Topped off one time vs removing the gas hose once it automatically shuts off. If you've kept record of manual calculations, recompute your mpg based on using 1/2 gallon more and 1/2 gal less. The difference should be noticeable. "Fill-ups" are not always the same. Calculating your mpg over several tanks tends to average (minimize) the several variables.

    Of course, if you're going on a trip and just want to see how you do on the highway, reset the computer when you are getting on the highway and note the mpg when you are exiting the highway.

    The same principles apply to average speed. Many people are amazed to see that they average say, 24.5 mph, while they drive on a 45 mph road to work. They aren't considering slowing and being stopped for stop signs or red lights. Then there is the lower average speed in the time it takes to accelerate back to cruising speed.

    The computer is constantly measuring whenever the engine is running.
  • bhmr59bhmr59 Member Posts: 1,601
    Are you taking a running average, i.e. averaging each tank's mpg, or a weighted average, i.e. total miles divided by total gallons?

    Weighted average will give you a more accurate result.
  • smogdungsmogdung Member Posts: 349
    Over long periods of time my DIC MPG readout is quite accurate.
  • happygilmanhappygilman Member Posts: 2
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