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Comments
You obviously drove a 64 Volkswagon before your Lucerne. :lemon: I will be willing to bet that most of the people who think the Lucerne is a wonderful car, drove a compact
vehicle with square tires prior to the purchase of their Lucerne. :lemon:
I am taking Friday off to look at Lexus. I don't care what the price is. Just tired of this Lucerne nonsense. :mad:
You'd be much better off in your own mind with a Camry. You should look at them. I'd recommend trading today. They have cars on the lot at Toyota, so just pick one. I, for one, have have grown tired of your repetitive posting.
I am assuming you do own a Lucerne and it sounds like your problem is your dealer. They have a network, as do all dealer brands, that trades tech information among the service managers. If a problem shows up on a car that they have trouble finding, they share the solutions with other service shops. Your dealer should just give you a loaner (part of owning a Buick is free loaners at most dealers) and drive your car for several days.
You might want to read the Camry/Avalon/ES threads here on Edmunds.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Well 2007 is over and I ended up with the following:
06 CXL V6
Gallons used: 952.518
Total Cost: $2,782.57
Avg MPG: 23.32
Miles Driven: 22,213
Avg cost per gal.: $2.81
All based upon manual book keeping. I took a business trip to Chattanooga with the Lucerne and averaged 30mpg on the highway with cruise control set between 65 & 70.
So overal not bad, considering the different conditions I'm driving in Chicago here. 50/50 between city/highway.
I don't own a Lucerne but have been thinking of a bigger car like a Lucerne, but not a SUV. It's difficult to consider a full size sedan and be overly concerned with good gas mileage.I drive with people who have jerky gas pedal habits and don't seem to know it and/or care. Invest in a quality tire guage and use it every two week; run a pound or two over reccomended psi and see if it feels okay for you.
Is it just me, or does the trunk of the Lucerne seem a bit small for a full size car?
I would give the Lucerne a B minus overall, a decent grade, but short of the quasi-luxury car I was hoping for when I asked the rental agency for a Lucerne. I would probably go with the V8 engine if I bought one. (Is a Caddilac CTS that shares a platform with a Lucerne that much more expensive?)
Highway mileage is better than my smaller Chevy Malibu. With the cruise set at 65mph I get a consistent 31-32mpg. Granted, city driving takes down the average but once I'm on the highway, it's terrific.
The CX starts at around $27000 ... a CTS starts at $35000. Take your pick.
It was during the 07 model year so we got a better price.
It was a brand new car, with 33 miles on the odometer
It now has 10,000 miles.
In 3 trips from St. Paul to Chicago, we have attained
30.3 mpg and once 33.2 mpg.
I calcualte mileage by hand and find that the Lucerne
knows how to calculate mileage as well as me.
When we get on Interstate 94 heading southeast,
I set the cruise at 72 mph.
We love EVERYTHING about the Lucerne with the
exception of the dash lights in daylight hours.
See my blog entries in the interior blog.
I WOULD NEVER TRADE FOR A SMALLER
CAR TO GET A 2-3 MPG ADVANTAGE.
We live 10 miles from the shopping areas that my wife frequents.
Mileasge in these shorter trips is 24.5 mpg.
We are pretty satisfied with that.
Oh, we use the cheapest gas available at 87 octane.
We carry 32 ppi in the tires.
We use 10W30 oil just like suggested in the book.
The tires are what came on the car. Rides fine.
I also notice that I achived better milieage after my first oil change - wondering if GM uses a special oil for breaking in the car which may be slightly more friction generating.
I now can obtain around 29 -31 on highway at 55 mph without stop and go. Around town milieage is very low.
(average 30 mpg) driving at 72 mph. My wife tends to drive faster (closer to 75).
We do not "baby" the car, but we definitely do not do jackrabbit starts.
We only accelerate fast on ramps and when passing trucks.
Also, we don't live in town. We live a mile from a small town
and 10 miles from weekly shopping. Those trips are mostly 55 mph.
We did NOT buy a big car for the mpg. We bought a big car for
comfort on the freeway. We have that, along with reasonable
economy on shopping trips.
I wonder if our car is significantly better than the Lucernes that
many of you are driving. I think not. I expect it is your driving
habits. Also, I am sure that commuting in heavy traffic is a real
mpg disadvantage. We do none of that.
But first check the idling. Check the quick starts. Check the heavy throttle. I'll bet I can take your car, make sure it doesn't have fuel with a lot of alcohol in it, run a bottle of Techron fuel system cleaner through it, then leave on a 300 mile trip and get 31-33 mpg driving at 65-70 on the interstate.
If you believe the car is the problem, I'd suggest trading it for a 6 cyl Camry and report back the mileage after a few months.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
WHAT IF, it was a certain year, or a certain engine, or a certain assembly line that these lemon Lucernes are coming out of that are having these problems? I compared my VIN number with a friend of ours Lucerne at our dealership, it has the same 6 cyl engine, same year model, but different interior package. Mine is the luxury package with Gold Flash white paint, power leather seats and Onstar. Hers is the standard package with standard white paint, fabric seats, with no Onstar. She is getting 28-32 mpg, I am getting anywhere from 19-23.....HUGE DIFFERENCE! We need to have Buick do a random VIN comparison between the Lucernes having these problems, and the ones that are not. If you know someone who owns a Lucerne that is getting great mileage, go to the dealership and have them compare your VIN information to theirs and note the differences. There could be a unmistakable pattern here!
Then leave the car in OD and try flooring at different speeds and see what gear it shifts down into and how the power feels at different speeds. All I can figure is the transmission didn't do a full downshift to the lowest gear for full power when you accelerated to pass the truck because you may have pushed down slowly on the pedal and it didn't perceive that a request for lots of power was being made. I'm picturing you going at 45 or 50 and attempting a pass, right?
Be clear that I'm not blaming you for not doing something the way the car wanted. I'm trying to help you figure out what the car wants. There have been lots of posts on a Toyota discussion about quirky communication between transmissions and software and engines in certain cars. I have my 3rd leSabre with the 3800 and can't imagine not having enough power to pass. It's not a 455 cu. in. V8 engine like used to be available but it surprises me occasionally when I punch it with the downshifts and the power it comes up with because I usually drive it very, very tamely. I'm not going to pass semi trucks on 2 lane roads at 65 mph with an oncoming car 1/2 mile away as I start to pull out, but it provides more than enough power for me.
Good luck getting it straightened out.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
My wife drives our Lucerne 3 miles to work. With the daily short trips in the city, our mileage is 17 - 18.
Myself, I'd just put in the plus grade and be happy. But I am a gentle driver.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
The answer to the question on oil used during assembly is 10w30.
Remember that in a mass production situation there are many variables which could result in varying fuel millage. All the testing equipment was computer controled, but also had tolerances for the 12 different tests. If an engine was pushing the limits of one or more of the tests and the computer accepted these it sent the engine out. Each engine has its own personality which was developed through machining, parts, and the assembly process and a combination of these could lead to posible lower fuel millage. Any questions just ask and maybe I can shed some light.
The supercharger uses a tiny about of oil at about 5,000 miles; maybe 1/4-1/2 pint. Engine starts instantly, does not smoke under any conditions, and pulls hard with good acceleration. I have always used Mobil 1 10/30 with Mobil 1 filter (extra fine filtration).
The water pump is still good and tight and the dealer says the timing chain generally does not require replacement, even at high miles...a rarity.
Fuel economy is 24-25mpg at 75-80m mph and 29-31mpg at 55-60mph. Commuting at 17 miles one way is about 21-22mpg.
Shame that GM found it necessary to cease production. I had a 3.8 in a Toronado and it was also bulletproof. What a terrific engine!
This car olnly has 17,000 miles and everything seems to run and shift fine. I had the oil changed and tires rotated right after I got it 2 months ago.
Any suggestions for trying to increase the MPG on highways?
I appreciate your thoughts.
Michaeldm
Some tips for improving your vehicle fuel economy include using Drive (D) as opposed to 2nd and 3rd gear; letting your vehicle heat up in cold temperatures; making sure no indicator lights are on your vehicle (particularly the Check Engine Light). Also remember that different driving conditions produce different fuel economies (ex. freeway driving versus city driving). Also try resetting your AVG ECONOMY on the display, as this allows for a more accurate reading of the average fuel economy. Please let me know if you have any other questions.
Amber N.
GM Customer Care