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Drove to Toronto from Montreal (550KM or 344Miles)
To Toronto avg speed 113KM/HR or 70M/HR Very windy in the face Temp -11C My avg. 23.4MPG
From Toronto avg speed 145KM/HR or 90M/HR No wind Temp +10C avg. 25.5MPG (Avg speed held on cruise for 3 hours. That's 80% of trip)
I don't know how to interpret this.
Cold affects mileage?
Wind in the face affects mileage ALOT?
Very weird!
One Winter, using cruise control and unknowingly driving into a stiff headwind, I ran out of gas about 20 miles short of my destination. Froze my butt off waiting for AAA to come to my rescue...
How did you calculate that?
I can calculate how many gallons floridabob and his friend each used on the trip. If I assume a certain price per gallon for both regular & premium fuel I can calculate how much each spent for fuel on this trip.
(Did they both reset the trip computer at the start of the trip at the same location? Did they drive together taking the exact same route under the same driving conditions? Sorry, that's getting away from my question.)
Please let me know how you calculate that premium fuel is worth about 2 mph in cost.
I think the "recirculate" position keeps your compressor pumping hard and will cost you in gas mileage.
The owner manual for my '05 Sonata doesn't specifically say that is the case. However, it seems to be the reality. The manual of other cars I've had did say that was the case. Check your owner manual and give it a try, especially when taking a long trip.
The owners manual of my Chrysler Seebring ( 6 cyl.) specifically says NOT to use premium gasoline.
I think if you let the system "decide what it wants to do", you'll see an improvement in your mpg (assuming you're not taking mostly trips under 10 minutes like I do).
My '91 Lebaron Conv. manual said that "recirculate" had the compressor fully working all the time "recirculate" was activated.
Thanks for the input.
I was under the impression that the "recirculate" button only controlled a flap the permits the entry of fresh air into the system. As I live in a warm climate, I assumed that re circulating the interior cabin air would be more efficient for the cooling process. Does anyone know for sure if the recirculate button keeps the compressor on at all times?
In a car with an intelligently designed climate control system the a/c initially runs from outside air (which is almost always cooler than air inside the car) - this is why you should roll your window down a bit when you turn on the a/c. Once the hot air leaves the car you use recirculate.
Again, the recirculate button should only control the flow of air - it should have nothing to do with the compressor.
Did the 1st oil change and service at 3100 and mileage has improved ever since. Pennzoil Synthetic.
Give it a try for a tank or two. If I'm wrong you will have used a minimal amount of extra fuel. If I'm correct, you'll save on fuel from here on.
The recirculate button is more like the "max" button on manual A/C than it is a flap to only control which air is drawn into the system.
As you say, it can't hurt.
Let us know how you make out.
That was my understanding.
It's definitely worth a try. Since the system IS automatic, try letting the system do what IT feels should be done.
The automatic system in my Sonata kicks over to recirculate when the interior is really hot. Then it switches once the interior cools down. My car doesn't automatically kick over to recirculate when the outside temp is 20 and I have the interior set for 77. Since it is the temperature setting in relation to the interior temperature which determines fan speed (fan slows down as the two temps get near each other), the recirculate, as in other cars, may keep the compressor working when it isn't needed.
A friend has an SUV coming off lease in June and is quite interested in the Azera--he's fed up with SUV MPG. But after driving SUV's for over 10 years, his wife is trying to convince him that he won't be happy with a "car" again.
He knows the Azera isn't the highest gas mileage car around. He thinks, for his driving mix of local/highway, he'll probably get over 20 mpg...Far better than his current overall of 14 mpg. Plus he has taken a couple test drives and is greatly impressed with the Azera.
I see the other reports of Azera MPG lower than mine, but I know one other owner is is getting within .5mpg of what I am getting (lower) with about 7,500 miles on his. Neither of us are exactly babying them either.
From what I have heard through my local dealership, very few owners are reporting overall MPG as high as you are getting. We are in an area that requires A/C most of the time, heavy traffic but no hills or mountains.
I have not heard of even one person who has averaged 23-24 mpg.
The only thing I think I may do differently is that I keep the tire pressure up around 36 psi, versus the 30-32 recommended. As I mentioned in my earlier post, I will, when conditions allow, be in or very close to triple digits occasionally, and I like a little more pressure at higher speeds. It may not ride quite as smooth, but handling is better. As of today, driving around Parker, including waiting and going through the car wash, I am at 23.9.
I did check mileage one time driving on the Interstate between Parker and Boulder (about 55 mi.) and doing about 80 as much as I could, my mileage with about 2,500 miles on the car, was 28mpg.
I did not strictly adhere to the recommended Azera break in, but pushed it a little harder. Don't know what more to say, except I am getting exactly the mileage I am posting. As I said a friend of mine in Aurora CO is getting within about .5mpg of me. Mine being slightly better.
When I tried increasing tire pressure to 34 psi the ride got lousey. At 30 psi the care handles fine but floats a little on high speed turns.
I do have a question about the accuracy of the fuel gauge.
After fill up the gauge shows above full however with about
20 miles it drops fast. until it reaches 1/4 tank also at 1/2 reading when I fill up it takes only 7 gallons of gas.
Any one else having this results ?
I also note that I've never had a hint of a "splash-back" while filling my tank, so maybe (just maybe) we normally never actually manage to fill the tank to capacity, which would be reflected in an early departure from "full?"...
The float sensor in the tank and the gauge don't begin to drop until the fuel level passes the full top position of the sensor.
When you fill your tank, especially if you "top off" the fuel level is much higher than the top of the sensor. You can even fill the hose that connects the tank to the fill inlet.
Does anyone actually KNOW how the MPG computer works on the Azera and Sonata? How does it determine instantaneous MPG and/or average MPG?
Does it measure fuel in the tank or does it measure fuel as it is injected into the motor or does it measure something else entirely to calculate MPG? Is it linked to the odometer or trip odometer or gas gauge? If one of those meters was not working would that cause the MPG computer to shut down too?
Is MPG displayed somehow dependent on an engine vacuum reading?
If you KNOW, or if you have a link which explains it, how about enlightening some of the rest of us?
Thanks.
Since this discussion started about a week ago, I did check mine the old fashioned way -- divide odometer miles since last fill up by gallons of gas pumped and I am getting the same number as the display is showing. It has dropped from 24.1 from the previous fill up to currently 23.9, now with about 3,500 miles since the average MPG display has been reset.
You can recirculate air in the car without the A/C on too.
As far as the sytem telling you what is running, it does that as well. Are you blind in one eye and have trouble seeing out the other? Depending on the temperature setting you select, it tells you whether it's blowing through the upper vents, lower vents or both. If you have the "bad air" sensor employed, then it lets you know when it has been employed as well. It also shows you the fan strength as well.
Why can't you select between hot and cold? All you have to do is change the temp setting and it adjusts to it.
The ONLY issue I have with the climate control system is the so called dual zone control. If I want 65 degrees on my side and my wife wants 80 degrees...it won't happen. You can only go for marginal differences of maybe 5-7 degrees on each side.
Let's assume that the climate control system's AUTO setting is off. Let's futher assume that I have the "bad air" sensor on. At that point the only lights I will see are the following: outside air temperature, the vents that are blowing, bad air, recirculating (if there happens to be bad air). Now, assume that I want to kick up the fan speed - all I need to do is press the fan speed button. However, this turns on the AUTO system.
Scenario 2 - Let's assume that everything is off but I don't want the outside air coming in. So I press the recircualte button. This turns on the AUTO system.
Scenario 3 - Let's assume that I just want to change where the air is coming from. I can just press the mode button, right? Well, this also turns on the AUTO.
The AUTO system never lights up the A/C light, nor does it every light up the bad air light.
So many ways to turn on the A/C; unfortunately, it shouldn't have been engineered in this manner.
Have you simply tried pressing the AUTO button so that it turns off? Works for me! However, one thing I've found out...when the AUTO setting is activated, the A/C is on at all times. To make sure it's off...manually turn the A/C on, then off...that way it stays off when you operate the system manually.
When you've done this, you can operate fan speed settings, mode settings and all that without the AUTO feature coming on. The only time the AUTO feature should come on is when you activate it. What I didn't know until 6 months into ownership, was that if you turn the AUTO feature off, the A/C is still activated and the only way to deactivate it is to manually turn it on and off.
If your system persists to act the way it does...you could have a faulty one. It shouldn't be in AUTO mode unless you select that mode.
The one thing I will agree on is that in AUTO mode, you can turn the temp down as low as you want, but the A/C light doesn't come on, but....you know it's on!
Having it on makes the auto mode work maybe?