Toyota Matrix: MPG-Real World Numbers

nippononly

Really cold temps DO matter, and don't run premium - you are just wasting your money and may find that your mileage is worse to boot.

I run 87 unleaded in mine, the running average is still around 34.5, but my last fill-up was a low outlier: 33 mpg. The weather here has been cold too - that causes it to take longer to warm up in the morning, which increases gas consumption.

Edit...you must be some place at altitude if your regular is 89 octane? In that case, I see that you were only running midgrade with the 91 but still, don't waste your money. Just run regular.

djsyndrome

At least you have a choice of octane - the XRS only takes 91. Any less and it goes :sick:

nippononly

this weekend, 70 mph stuff for hours on end, passing at 80, no A/C needed, only managed 36 mpg over about 900 miles. Not as good as I would like, considering I get 34 around town. :sick:

nippononly

filled up tonight: 363 miles, 10.3 gallons, that's slightly better than 35 mpg on a mixed tank. Good stuff! :-)
The somewhat warmer weather we have been having lately must have helped.

confutatus

Is this normal? I just got an '08 automatic at the end of December. I been driving in Northern Ohio, so weather is cold, but not all the time. My mpg stinks - its been very disappointing. I consistently get about 21-22. The BEST was on a 200 mile road trip to michigan and topped at 26 or so. This seems awfully low, despite cold weather, especially for a brand new matrix. I'm not super aggressive either. Any ideas?

nippononly

is the enemy to fuel economy in the Matrix. Holding it to 65 or so on the highway will greatly improve mileage. I used to pull 31 or so most of the time in my automatic.

If the car is totally brand new, mileage may improve some as the miles go by, until around 10K on the odometer.

indgomtrx

i think mileage will improve as you add miles. now have about 32k on my 2006 xr w/ auto (bought nov 2005). i try to use cruise control when permissable. recently with really cold weather i've gotten around 27 going between 70-77 mph driving on the interstate. Last "long" road trip from indy to chicago got 30 mpg earlier this month. oddly best mileage was about 38mpg (when the car had about 10k) going from indy to dc (may 2006) on i70 where i tried to stay between 70-75, occassionally 80 when passing, ac running on lowest speed. on the way back got ~35mpg. normally my "city" mileage (a few miles street driving then about 10 minutes interstate) has ranged from 30mpg with warmer weather and between 24- 27 mpg with cold weather ~10 degrees.

wilson12

I have a 2007 Matrix 5 sp. I have about 6500 miles on it, and have checked the mileage on about every fill up. My mileage has ranged from 26 - 36 mpg. The 36 was going from Johnson City, TN to Charleston, SC which is four lane the whole way. The return trip on same route averaged 32 mpg (up hill). Most fillups have averaged 27-30, which is combined city and highway miles. I have a specific question regarding low speed surging that's driving me crazy, which I will post as a new question after getting my thoughts together!

nippononly

last night: XR 5-speed, 380 miles, 10.75 gals, which is 35-1/3 mpg according to my calculator. I guess that will do for now! ;-)

mrcranston

Just got a brand new 08 std auto Matrix in January, right now I have less than 1000 miles on the car. I'm only getting about 20mpg - all city under 40mph driving. I am in Denver, CO so the weather and fuel might be effecting this but I anticipated at least 26-28mpg! I'm taking it into the shop tomorrow to see if anything needs to be tweaked, because it sometimes feels like it is struggling when it is shifting. Has anyone tried turning off the overdrive for city driving so see if it helps the gas mileage? Is anyone else experiencing these low numbers?
Thanks,
Megan

clivia4121

I think that isn't normal - I would speak to the dealer. Are you breaking it in gently?

nippononly

AND all in-town driving under 40 mph AND it is an auto? 20 mpg sounds like it's at the low end of normal given all the ANDs. The question is, with your driving pattern, how did your last car do relative to its EPA ratings?

Under the old system the auto Matrix was rated like 27 mpg city, I believe.

Oh, and locking the car out of overdrive will consume MORE gas, not less. The more high gears the car has to use, the less gas it will use. Also, if you are still under 1000 miles on the clock, your mileage is probably still improving as the engine breaks in a bit. With only 5 tanks of gas under your belt, you may want to wait another 3 months or so before coming to any solid conclusions about your gas mileage.

mrcranston

I had a 1987 Honda Accord LX auto with over 200K on it - on a bad day I'd get 23mpg on a good day around 28-30mpg. I filled up the matrix yesterday - I'll see how it does on this tank. I cancelled the trip to the mechanic, thought I'd give it a few more weeks.

Thanks for the advice!

nippononly

Hmm, it seems that your old Honda had a rating of 21/27, so if you were pulling 23-25 normally then you are right, the mileage is unexpecedly low with your new Matrix.

Break-in may yet improve your mileage a couple of points, and summer will almost certainly improve it a couple more, so it is still worth it to wait a bit longer and see how it goes.

The Matrix will be significantly faster than your old Accord - perhaps you are also driving a bit faster than you used to?

I know from experience that fuel economy in the Matrix is VERY sensitive to speed. Keep it under the limit and avoid fast starts from stoplights and signs, and you can improve your mileage substantially.

mocofl

I have an '08 manual with 2500 miles and have been averaging 32mpg. This is a mixture of beach driving (sitting in stop-go traffic for 20min-45min) city and highway. It doesn't get cold here so I don't have to deal with that, but I was expecting better milage than 32mpg, especially on the highway. My last car a '98 mazda protege manual averaged 38-40 mpg driving a 30minute commute each way in downtown Denver (where it gets cold). I guess I need to give it time, break it in and hopefully it will improve. But I sure do miss my old car with these soaring gas prices (stupid hummers)

nippononly

is going up as the weather warms, I'm glad to say! The latest fill-up today was good for 36.5 mpg: 259 miles, 7.1 gallons. :-)

'07 XR 5-speed

matrix42

I bought a 2008 Matrix TRD with automatic and the fuel economy sucks. It has 2417 KM or 1510.6 Miles on it and it is averaging 29.5 miles per gallon (thats 23.6 miles per gallon for you US folks) driving 50/50 city/highway. It is averaging 32 miles per gallon (25.6 miles per gallon US) on highway only driving. It is the worst car I have ever owned for fuel economy and I have owned quite a few cars including Acura Integras, Tercel SR5 4x4, Honda Accords, Mazda MX-3, Chevy Cavaliers, etc. In fact the only vehicle that I have ever owned that got worse gas mileage was a Dodge Grand Caravan with a 3.3 liter engine and it averaged 30 miles per gallon (24 miles per gallon US) driving mostly highway but not all and with 5 adults and a lot of luggage in it, thats only 2 miles per gallon worse than the Matrix with no luggage and only 2 adults sitting in it. The EPA on the matrix is 34 city (27 US) and 45 highway (36 US) but it is not even close to that.
Before you think it is just me here are a few facts to concider. Every vehicle that I have owned I have gotten almost exactly what the EPA rating is except this one. When I was at the Toyota dealer I talked to an elderly lady who had a 2006 Matrix auto with 104,000 Km (65,000 miles) on it and she said she has averaged 30 miles per gallon since she perchased it. That's a whole half a mile per gallon more than I am getting.
I also went the local car rental company and talked to an employee who owns a Matrix with a 5 speed manual with 60,000 Km (37,500 Miles) and he said he is averaging 35 miles per gallon (28 miles er gallon US) driving highway only. Thats 3 miles per gallon better than I am getting with an automatic and a car that isn't broken in yet. Sounds pretty close to what I am getting considering the differences.
Driving the exact same highway with my old 1988 Acura Integra I would get 45 miles per gallon (36 miles/gallon US) not 32 (25.6 US) and that car would eat this one for breakfast anytime anywhere.
I have gone to the dealer to have it checked out and they say that there is nothing they can do to improve fuel economy. They also said that if the check engine light isn't on it will not pull any codes on the diagnostic computer and without a code there is nothing they can do. I bought this lemon because of its claimed fuel economy and it sucks. I have contacted Toyota Canada and started a claim but will have to wait for 10 business days for a representative to contact me. We will see what they will do.

matrixgirl09

09 Matrix base model (automatic) been getting 28-29 mpg with maybe 60% city driving and 40% highway driving.. only had it for 1300 miles so far though. Have a few coworkers with the vibe and matrix previous year models and they all get decent gas mileage for the way they drive theirs. I don't drive like a maniac.. lol

We are switching over to the summer blend for gas so the mileage may be slightly better.

ecotrklvr

Congratulations on your new ride. This is great news - better mileage than EPA sticker, even before break-in period.

nippononly

best fill-up in a while today: 379 miles, 10.0 gallons, so about 38 mpg. Good stuff! :-)

'07 XR 5 speed.

clivia4121

I also had my best fill-up in a long time (since winter started). I got a little over 36 mpg. It was the warmest week we've had so far and I'm hoping it continues to go up.

matrix42

I would like to update the message l left on March 30/08 (Gas Mileage Sucks !!!!) Maybe someone can help me out with this.
Since I wrote that message in which I had be averaging 32 mpg (25.6 mpg US) on highway driving I changed gas stations. The gas station I used up to the point I posted that message was always the same gas station (Extra Foods Gas Bar). Since then I have used a different gas station (Co-op) but always the same one as well. The difference is almost unbelievable.
The car has now been averaging just over 40 mpg (32mpg US) on 3 different highway trips. That's a 25% improvement in mileage just by changing gas stations everything else is the same (driving same speed, same highway, same number of people ect.)
Hummm makes me wonder what the difference is. Could it be incorrect pump calibrations, bad fuel, or fuel that doesn't run well on this toyota? or maybe some combination of them?
Does anybody have any thoughts or has anybody else had results like this?
I think at some point I will try Extra Foods Gas Bar again just to double check.

nippononly

"Could it be incorrect pump calibrations"

Yes, it could, and this is why I avoid cash'n'gas places. If this was the cause, you were getting ripped off every time you bought gas there (you were paying for more gas than you actually got) - I wouldn't recommend going back there for any reason.

A few stations every year face charges and pay huge fines for bilking customers in just this way, and enforcement in this area is woefully understaffed, so for every one prosecuted there are probably hundreds getting away with it all the time.

loudog2

Didn't the Today show have a thing on this a while ago? They say to pump the gas a slow a possible. This helps get the right amount. The faster you pump the less fuel per gallon you get. Then, I think they said if it is above 80 degrees you get less fuel per gallon. So they said it is better to fill up at night or when the temp is below 80 degrees.

nippononly

"Then, I think they said if it is above 80 degrees you get less fuel per gallon. So they said it is better to fill up at night or when the temp is below 80 degrees."

One of the car mags recently had an article on this, and it is a myth. The reason it is a myth is that temperatures in the tank, which is the temperature governing the volume of gas you are getting, is very constant because it is underground.

Now I DID see one of those news magazines recently (was it 60 Minutes? I'm not sure, but it was one like that) on the whole issue of these stations knowingly overcharging for their gas by rigging the pumps, which is where that information came from that I posted.

matrix42

I talked to a rep from Toyota Canada about my poor gas mileage and he was very helpful. He told me that I could bring in my car to the local dealer and have it checked (under warantee) because if it is getting bad fuel economy than that is a warrantee item. He also said the dealers have ways of checking the fuel milage the car is getting and would be happy to do so for me (at no cost). He acutally phoned the dealer of my choice and told the service manager to look after me regarding these two items. The fact that Toyota stands behind their products this well is awesome and is great news for Toyota owners.
I also talked to him about my findings with changing gas stations and posed the question to him about bad fuel and/or fuel with the wrong type of additive in it that may not work well in this car. He told me that any unleaded fuel from any gas station should be fine. As far as any additives in the fuels he thought that running up to 25% ethanol in the fuel is fine (he wasn't sure but he thought it was 25%) and the fact that gas stations shouldn't be using more than 10% ethanal in their unlead fuel (depending on gas stations) it should be fine.
I found this interesting since ethanol (or ethyl alcohol) is produced by using a fermentation process of yeast and sugar to produce alcohol which is basically the same type of alcohol found in alcoholic beverages. Ethanol contains approx. 34% less energy per unit volume than gasoline, and therefore in theory, burning pure ethanol in a vehicle should result in a 34% reduction in miles per gallon, given the same fuel economy, compared to burning pure gasoline.
Therefore, I would have to asume that the more ethanol that is added to the gasoline the worse the gas milage would be using that fuel. In other words if 10% ethanol was added you would expect to get 3.4% worse fuel economy (10% of 34%) than gasoline with no ethanol.
This would mean that bad fuel or fuel additives could only account for 1-2 mpg difference in fuel economy not the 25% difference I noticed. It would now seem most likely that the cause of the huge difference is incorrect pump calibrations.
Obviously more checking is needed in my cause but I found this information very interesting.

loudog2

The 80 degree thing was just a guess. I saw the show a while ago. I couldn't remember the degree they said. You are right, they said it because the temp of the tanks under ground. The temp they said might be a lot lower. If it matters. Did your article say that pumping it out slow helps???

nippononly

Yes, apparently it stays a fairly constant 50 degrees underground. And since the pumps are calibrated to a temperature of 70 degrees by the Bureau of Weights and Measures, the consumer actually benefits a tiny, infinitesimal amount.

I don't think the article I saw said anything about pumping slowly or rapidly. But just thinking about it for a second here, my first thought is that the slower you pump it, the less chance there is for air to get in there and make the pump measurement of dispensed quantity inaccurate.

nippononly

I discovered today just how LOW Matrix can go in the fuel economy it delivers.

I was heading back from LA on the interstate, and turned the keys over to my sister.

She never drives less than 80 mph, with extended stretches at 95 mph and an average of somewhere right in the middle of the two. With the A/C running the entire time and two of us in the car plus luggage, we managed only...

....about 32.5 mpg (360 miles, 11.1 gallons). I will call that a record low for my ownership so far, and it just goes to show what a chomp high speed can take out of your mileage.

dcamarce

Which year model and the mileage of Matrix you driving??