Chevrolet Equinox Real World MPG

pjgrimm

New 'Nox purchased this week. First tank of gas - 26 mpg, mixed driving. Not bad. We'll see how it goes after a few thousand miles.

teddy21

Thanks for your post. I recently talk a reporter from post in california. He was interested in the information that we are given on the sticker about est. gas millage . As we all know it is done in labortory, with no air running. He said that this often mislead a lot of people. It should be chang in the near future. Still I drive with all good tips about how to getting best mpg out my nox. Many say after 5000 miles I should be getting better mpg. {7500 miles on O D} Recent trip I put 1600 miles on my nox. Average gas millage was 23.8, 26 higway. I know that we should not expect to get whats on the sticker, but to be five off the avg est. is rediculas. I drive the four cylinder. :sick:

kelsan1

Drove my 2011 4 cyl Terrain on first leg of trip today about 360 miles in mountains with a/c on and eco engaged all the time. On dic av mileage, I got between 27.5/29 @ 68/70 mph. Currently turned 3900 miles on the odo and look forward to getting better mileage during the balance of this trip.

kelsan1

As a follow up on my previous post, I ran a total of 1945 miles round trip to Michigan, driving interstate 85% & 2/4 lane roads 15%. Speeds ran from 55 to 80 mph with a/c on and off. Used 78.3 gals for an average of 24.8 mpg by fill up calculations.

Given the return trip south was heavy traffic and driving @ 75mph I am not dissapointed with results.

I hope this helps out.

jam3andy

Which Houston dealer has given you the excellent support. Possibly in market for a Nox and would appreciate some input.

Thanks.

b_and_b

Excellent dealer support was received from Lone Star Chevrolet on 290. Also, Knapp Chevrolet in downtown Houston has given us excellent service.

teddy21

I have 7700 miles on my nox. Drive with all the good tips recieve from driving for many years and keeping in mind the high cost gas. Yes AC does take away mpg, jack rabbit starts also kills mpg. but at the same time getting 26 mpg at 65 mph. When advertised 32 is misleading the public to think they can get some what near that. So you this guy does not know how to get good gas millage. My wife has a full s :confuse: ize car with 270 hp v-6.It advertised at 28 mpg highway.I always get 30mpg or more out it. Thank you for your post

daddy2081

I would like to know what vehicle gets over thirty mpg. My '05 impala with a 3.8 is getting 22-24mpg in city driving, stop and go and 65-74mph. and jumps to almost 26 on highway at 62-64mph. We were getting 28mpg but have seen a drop since it hit 75000 miles, I would love to get thirty out of this one but considering buying something different. Any ideas or cars that won't keep my wallet empty?

teddy21

We had this car sence new. At time of purchase the sticker indecated the car should get 30 mpg hwy. avg. 24 to 26 city/county driving. The newer avolons say they avg 28 mpg.hwy 24 to 26 city country driving on the sticker. Usually we drive at 70mph hwy WE travel by car a lot it has been the best riding, handling, and thats without any visits to the repair shop. If you want gas millage do not buy equinox.

benrey23

I dont want to accuse you of bad efficiency driving. However we have had some complaints from Equinox owners about MPG (I will note majority I follow up on are very happy with MPG). SO I asked one of the customers to come in one day. SHe had 5500 miles on it by then. When she came in her tire pressure were within good PSI. SHe did have two bags of salt for softener in her rear area 50lbs each. Most of her driving is city with a stop sign or traffic light everyonce in awhile. I had her drive 20 miles on a mixed city/highway. I made mental notes of her driving style. SHe had the A/C on at all times about 70. This is where I determined people's idea of easy stops and easy starts are different. Her stops were on a scale of 1-10 10 be hard she was at a 6. Her starts were easy at first but she always felt like she needed to gas it so I give her a 5. When she was driving in town at speeds of 20-30 which she does about 60% of her draiving she would leave the a/c on. She averaged 24MPG. I then took her on a drive and drove the exact same route. When we were in the town I rolled the wondows down and turned the a/c off (HW windows up ac on). Took the 2 50 lbs bags out, e asy stops easy starts drove no more than 70 MPH on HW and in town I let the car coast when possible. In the end in the same vehicle when we got back I got an average 29 MPG and that was without using the ECO on HW.

teddy21

Glad to here from you. If you go to all my previous forums. I drive extremely coservatived. Any other suggestivion would be appreciated. :confuse:

benrey23

Idling will cause you to get less MPG. That is part of the reason city driving is always less than HW in MPG. If you are at a stop light it is better to put your car in neutral since the cars RPM is lower generally.

ohc6sprint

In neutral at a stop, I would expect that the idle increases since the transmission is not acting as a drag on the motor.

Another consideration regarding mileage is what percentage of each trip is the transmission in 6th gear. If you are driving 40 mph, you may be in 5th gear much of the time. Then there are hills and headwinds/tailwinds to consider.

I also would think that to get the maximum mpg you would have to drive at 50 or 55 mph max. I would bet that the 32 mph claimed is at a speed we would consider uncomfortably slow.

My best mileage in my 3.6 Saturn Aura (EPA 26 Hwy) was 36 mpg for a 55 mile strech heading East on the Ohio Turnpike. It was flat, had a 10 mph tailwind, did not exceed 60 mph, cool enough to have A/C off and gassed up on the turnpike which minimized any idling, slow driving in lower gears etc. I reset computer every tankful; when I saw 30+ and climbing after pulling out onto the pike, it was game on. 30 miles later, I stopped at a rest area and lost .5 mpg as a result of that one stop. You never get wasted gas back, every braking action wastes gas. Reaccelerating up to 60 mph from 0 also took its toll.

The 36 mpg started dropping after getting near the eastern part of the state and the hills there. My previous best was 32 mpg in Virginia, it's usually at or under 30 mpg (Hwy); around town is 16 to 18 mpg when my average speed is 23 mph to 27 mph. Same car, mpg all over the place, all because of the speed, traffic, terrain, etc.

When you find yourself on a flat, light traffic highway, reset you computer and drive a steady 60 mph for 5 miles or more. If your under 30 mpg with the 4 cyl, you might have reason to be disappointed.

lazy_bones

Yes, idling speed at a stop light while in neutral will be higher/ But that's because there's no added load of the clutch bands on the engine. If the engine has to work (even only slightly) more to turn *just* the torque converter, then it's less work, and therefore less fuel needed. But not much less. IMHO.

jan21816

Bought my 2011 4 cylinder Equinox AWD mostly for the gas mileage (we are a large family and other car is an Escalade, which I think gets about 9 mpg, so I decided to get a runabout for when I don't have the whole family with me).

The Nox is averaging 18.2 so obviously it's much better, but really I am disappointed! Mostly city driving, but I am being as light as I can on the starts and I coast when possible.

Even when I did almost entirely highway for 4 days straight, it barely scraped its way up to 20.1.

I read in one post here that mpg will get better after about a year or 8000 miles. Is that a general view / experience?

kelsan1

I drive my 2011 Equinox around town mostly and do not use ECO setting and get low 20's on average. It has 15000 miles on it now and has not had any problems to date other than a recall item done in late 2010. We also have a 2011 Terrain, both of which are 4 cyl, and it had the actuator recall done and computer reprogramed under warranty and I have checked the mileage in both city/highway driving and it is averaging 25/28 mpg. It has 6200 miles.

This being said, I would suggest you fill your tank to the shut off point of the pump, note your gallons purchased and drive as you normally do until you reach the same point you needed to fill up and note the miles travelled during this period. Reset the average mileage on the driver info system to 0 at the first fill up and divide your miles driven by gallons purchased on the second fill up and compare this mpg to your driver info center mpg. Not scientific but it will give you a pretty good picture of your mpg.

Sorry for the long post.

halfshovel

I have 5500 miles on my Equinox. I drive 32 miles to work each way, mixed city and fairly heavy traffic highway. I average 27-28 mpg. I try to drive smoothly, though I do accelerate up to speed reasonably quickly - not jackrabbit start, but not dogging it.

My best highway trip has been 29 MPG over 250 miles of ~65mph driving.

So - it won't get 32, but high twenties is doable.

By comparison, I used to average 24-25mpg (28 highway) with my 2006 Taurus on the same driving cycle. The Taurus had 32 fewer horsepower than the 4 cyl. 'Nox., and weighed just a tad less.

jshow

I have drove this car for more than 26000 miles, 50/50 mixed non aggressive, highway and city. Have never got this suv to get more than 22 mpg overall, total over rated mpg. No way in heck this should be listed as 32 hwy?, lie. No way it get close to what Chevy lists. I think most American makers flat out lie about the MPG. They have the EPA in their pockets.

My car before was a 2008 Saturn Vue Hybrid listed at 26-32, got 22.5 mpg overall, total lie. Turned my Saturn lease in for this Chevy Equinox 2011 4cyl LTZ. Great luxury inside but do not, I repeat do not expect more than 22 mpg overall. If someone says they get more they are lying.

Also it should be listed as mid sized not compact. Much bigger than the previous model. Hope this helps.

vwalburn

Our 2011 Equinox, 4 cyl. LT:
City - 20-21 mpg.
Hwy. - 25-27 mpg
I do find that figuring out the mpg the old fashion way does come up with a slightly higher number sometimes than the computer. I think the Hwy. EPA figures are based on driving at 55-60 mph, but no one drives that anymore. The higher the speeds, the lower the mpg. Highways are at 65-75 now days. The way I look at it is that all other 4 cyl. Crossovers were rated at 20/28 anyway and thats about what we are getting with our Equinox. We're happy with ours; no problems so far.

kelsan1

I have to differ with you on the Equinox mileage ranges you quoted in your email; I have driven my Nox on a 800 mile road trip to SC and back and averaged 26+ mpg for the trip. The highest mpg on the DIC was 31 mpg and this was driving 55+ on 2 lane highways with eco on.

I also have a Terrain, which is a 4 cyl, and has had the recall done for cam phase actuators/module reflash and now averages 25+ in mixed driving and I have gotten 30 mpg on divided highways driving 60/65mph.

If you think people lie about this issue, I feel sorry for your preceptions but I don't lie and I am not one of those who have had lots of issues with the 4 cyl engines in both of my 2011 cars.

Please don't think I am flaming you but I think you are wrong in making a blanket statement like you did. :shades:

stever

I think the OP was claiming that the manufacturer's posted EPA numbers were false, not other posters' reports.

As they say, YMMV.

kelsan1

Steve, you are correct about mfg/EPA reports in his post but in the last part of his post he states that any one who says they get over 22mpg is lying. That is what I have an issue with when some one makes a blanket statement without any shred of support other than a personal opinion.

stever

Agreed.

rrovernut

We bought a 2011 Equinox AWD 1.4 , Chev advertised 41 mpg ( imp ) in Canada, my wife and drive with economy in mind and keep to our speed limit of 100 km an hr ( 62 ) we have done several accurate fuel tests and can not obtain anywhere close to Chevs claim which we believe is an out right lie, the vehicle has 19000kms on now so should be run in, also the trip computer set on instaneous flutuates up and down like 8.2 - 10.3 on a straight road and keeping rpm constant, very upset with this vehicle , we believed Chev and have been betrayed, should have bought a Dodge Journey , they advertise real life mileage rating.

avery1

What is your overall mpg?

rrovernut

Hi overall mileage achieved 9.9 litres per 100 kms ( 28.80 miles imperial gal)
@ max speed 100kms hwy (62 miles per hr ) 50 mile return trip to nearest city on hwy very little city driving . MRSP sticker shows 41 miles per gal (imp) not even close!

avenroweman

I noticed that the mileage on the 2012 Equinox 4 cyl has been reduced to 20MPG city and 29MPG on the hwy

silver_bulle1

I have a 2010 4 banger. My driving is a combination of city and hwy. I keep very detailed records. At 22m miles I now get an average 24 mpg. One time on a long trip I filled up, got on the Interstate, set the cruise to 65, one pee stop, filled up upon exit and got 30 mpg. Driving 65 on an East Coast Interstate is not practical however. I sell products made in the USA and would never consider anything but a domestic.

My last vehicle was a pick-up that got 12 mpg so this is a big improvement. I can still fit all my gear inside when I travel alone. I would prefer a true manual transmission, but I may never see that again. I can not work out of a Corvette.

mike69440

We have 2011 AWD Equinox LS with about 19.000 miles

Original mileage, driven downhill in a tail wind could do no better than 22-23 in a tailwind, AVG.l around 19 city / hwy, that is worse than my 600 HP Mustang!

2 points I want to make,
1. The AWD car takes at least 10,000 miles to break it. Not the motor, the car’s drive-train and brakes have a lot of drag, and eventually the car rolls better.
2. We brought it in fro a reflash of the computer. The car now has a bit of faint lean surge, but now our avg. MPG over 10,000 mikes of driving is 25.3 mpg.
27 mpg hwy at 65mph is possible.

The Equinox is a value for the money, but I would like to see the next Equinox changed as follows.

Loose 500 Lbs.
Design more as a tall sport wagon vs. an SUV
Styling similar to a Toyota Versa
Needs better visibility, Pillars are huge and windows are way too tiny. Too much like a Camaro!
More versatile cargo area. Fold flat and removable rear seats.

Some reference points are the Subaru’s and Mazda cars.

The VW owned Czech Skoda Yeti is a brilliant Car,
Lots of technology, safety, standard features, utility, off road ability, ruggedness, reliability, comfort, room, good handling and not real ugly.

The 103 HP diesel/electric hybrid gets 53 Mpg! Gas 4 cylinder version is almost V6 fast. VW can’t build enough to satisfy Europe’s demand, so no import to America.

I’d like to see Chevy use their new 2.5L high torque 4 along with the ZF 9 speed auto. If equipped with plasma ignition and some of the proven super lean burn technology that is coming to market, +40 mpg with same or better performance is achievable.
A Chevy Volt version could get close to 50mpg. No magic/ very possible and worth a few thousand $$ extra.

rrovernut

Hi found your comments very interesting and agree with the visibility issues, will take mine in and get re-flashed, one thing I am trying right now , have installed a chip takes a while for the computer to adapt , this is to try and get the mileage that GM claims!!!

overtheedge

I agree with most of your comments, except the one regarding the ZF 9 SPD Auto Transmission. I have done some research on this subject and understand that most 8/9 speeds offer almost no real mechical loss advantage, by virtue of the extra gears, because the additional gears require additional turning elements that add mechanical losses, that subtract what can be gained by additional gear ratio range.

My understanding is that GM has already introduced significant 6 Spd improvements in the 2012 Nox, and will offer even more improvements in the future that will allow it to trump any 9 SPD. Bottom line, these 9 SPDs you hear everyone clamoring about are nothing more than a marketing gimick. A 6 SPD with exceptional Engineering can beat a 9 SPD in mechanical losses, mass, and quality (less rotating parts and complexity). GM's real FE opportunity in the future is 6 SPD improvements, reduced vehicle mass and height of vehicle (like you said). I have to say though, my 2011 Nox feels substantial and safe. I get about 26 MPG in City/Hwy driving.

ohc6sprint

I am planning on buying a 2012 Equinox, 4cyl, fwd, soon and have been following forums such as these for awhile. I find that most posts don't mention if the Equinox is awd or not when they report poor fuel economy. So, it is hard to draw a conclusion on what to expect. The 32 mpg EPA HWY figure is for a 4cyl without awd and is for the following conditions:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

It is a 12.75 minute test done on a dynamometer between 68 and 86 degrees. According to the test graph, the vehicle starts out at 0, accelerates to 50, slows to 30 once and accelerates to 60 and ends at 0. There are some small fluctuations, but never exceeds 60 mph, and the average speed is 48.3 mph. There are other graphs that are worth looking at, including future tests like cold weather, air conditioning and high speed (80 mph).

This chart gives detailed test comparisons:

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/fe_test_schedules.shtml

Note that the average speed is 48 mph, no A/C used, warm weather, no wind resistance and no exceeding 60 mph. So if you drive 70 mph in cold weather with the defroster on (A/C on) and you get 25 mpg, is it the car that can't get 32 mpg or is it that you and the conditions can't get 32 mpg?

I also wonder if the EPA test uses gasoline with 10% ethanol content, or if some people with apparent mileage problems are using fuel with a higher ethanol content.

Hope this aids the discussion.

overtheedge

I get a new car every year. In the past two years I have had a 2010 AWD 4 Cyl Nox and a 2011 FWD 4 Cyl Nox. On a similar long distance round trip in the summer months averaging 65-70 MPH, with the car loaded with family stuff and AC on, I averaged 29 MPG with the 2010 AWD and 31 MPG with the 2011 FWD. I found a similar trend in the City/HWY FE, averaging 24 and 26 MPG, respectively. My driving technique is not aggresive. I will say that the AWD was great in snow, but the FWD can still make its way, with a little more focus on the throttle.

jonox

Interesting comparison, could the mpg improvement be due to GM's switch to Dexos oil in 2011?

jan21816

I get what you are saying, but frankly, if I could get even close to 25 mpg at any time with my 2011 Nox 4cyl AWD, I wouldn't be on this Forum looking for ideas and tracking discussions. I'm not interested in wasting my time online and I am certainly not a habitual complainer.

But when, over six months, the best I can manage with a tank is around 18.5-19.5 (with about 20.5 on highways and 17.8-18.2 locally), then I think the car is to blame, not me, my luggage, the weather, the road, the terrain or any other manufacturer excuse.

Visit One, I had the computer reflashed.

Visit Two, they performed the recall#11195 (rough idle poor driveability) and they "installed SOP cam phasers" and "updated calibrations".

Visit Three, they discovered an "engine warning P0011: failure of intake manifold cam phaser solenoid" which apparently caused the stalling issue (for me, at least).

After all those corrections (for which I am nonetheless grateful), the overall mileage still only hovers around 19.8.

25???? When?

My biggest hope now is a couple of contributors who have suggested that the AWD mpg will continue to improve up through 10,000 miles or more. I am only at 6,500 right now. Fingers crossed. At this point, if I could only get to seeing 21-22 overall, I would celebrate.

ohc6sprint

Are you relying on your fuel computer for your averages and if so, have you verified it's accuracy on one or more fillups? Also, have you checked your odometer's accuracy using milemarkers on the Interstate or with a GPS?

If so, have you driven a short loop on the highway while maintaining a steady speed of 55 mph and zeroing your mpg figure at the start and returning to the same point and noting the figure?

If you did, and if you can't get in the high 20's, then I would say that you may have a mechanical issue. Could be engine related or a sticking brake caliper.

overtheedge

This note pertains to my prior comment about regularly getting 25 MPG City/Hwy average mileage in a 2011 FWD 4 Cyl. This past week, I exchanged cars with my wife. She got 21 MPG City/Hwy average mileage on the same vehicle! This vehicle has ~ 7500 Miles on it and has had the cam timing actuator replaced. My guess is my wife does more stop/stop, she waits in line when picking our kids up at school, and is heavier in the throttle when she accelerates. Since this is a 3800 lb. vehicle with just a 182 Hp engine, it has to work pretty hard when it accelerates or has to push a heavy wind when driven above 70 MPH. Chevy will probably upgrade the engine to its new 2.5 Liter 4 cyl soon, which is sized better for this vehicle, and will help it run more efficiently during acceleration and at speed. That being said, I am still very happy with this vehicle since it does everything much better than similar sized vehicles i owned prior to 2010. I also feel really safe in this SUV, which is important to me.

rrovernut

HI have you used the instataneous setting on the trip computor , the reason I am asking is when I use mine while driving on a straight stretch of hwy cruise set It will fluctuate 7.2 8.9 10.3 9.6 but never where it should be to get what GM claims the dealer claims this is normal, other cars I have had that had a trip computor the instataneous reading always whent up or down slowly and a point at a time, what have you noticed wih yours.

munley

Had my 2007 Equinox LT with the 6 for 92000 miles. On the highway, I get 23 to 26 mpg. Mixed mileage, I get 20 mpg. All wheel drive model costs me about 1 mpg over the FWD model. I suspect allignment issues on anyone who is getting less than 22 mpg on all highway. I measure MPG by distance on a tank of gass / gallons poured in to fill the tank.

overtheedge

I normally use the average FE readout. Both the instantaneous and average are simply getting data from the fuel injection system fuel metering system, so the software is making FE projections based on average fuel mass/sec per voltage and frequency signal input associated with throttle position, and other variables (temperature and altitude). Depending on the mileage, or other variables such as grade, wind, load, ect., on your vehicle, this readout will vary. I agree the instantaneous readout uses refresh frequency that might be too high for most folks. My vehicle is usually used around town and I am light on the throttle, so I get it to behave well. My wife, is another matter!

n9las

Im very interested in your new computer chip results. Are you driving a 6 or 4 cylinder?

rrovernut

Hi we have the 4 cyl , have not had a good chance to test any improvments , I used PERFORMANC CHIP , recommended and proven to get up to +6 mpg , the wires to use are LT BLUE -LAT TAN -GRD

n9las

Thanks for your reply. I also have a 4 cyl, and may install a chip if you see a increase in mpg.

mike69440

I am clueles to the mechanical efficency of the ZF 9 Speed auto developed for moderate power FWD but the ZF 8 Speed RWD Auto is one of the most efficient trqnsmissions developed. Mazda's new 6 Speed Auto is another example of top noth mechanical eff. I'm a mechanical engineer and like to dig into this stuff.
It is in the arragement of the planetary drives and redefining what a torque converter is supposed to do. These are not traditional slush boxees, but more mechanical direct transmisions that just use the torque converter not so much for torque multiplication but to allow the tansmission to stay in gear at very low engine speeds, and along with dampeners, to mometarily ease the shock during shifts.

n9las

Well it's been a few weeks since you installed a Performanc chip. Has the fuel mileage increased? I assume the performance is a little stronger as well.

rrovernut

possibly 2mpg suppossed to get up to 6mpg, ,but winter time is not the best for an true test so will try again in the spring, you can set the chip for performance or economy, but not both, I used a GTE PERFORMANCE CHIP.
We took our equinox in for some issues to be checked out , but not resolved, the electric tailgate would not operate in cold weather, the owners book states this could happen , salesmen do not tell you of course , and who looks at the owners book when buying a car!, poor economy dealership not interested , trip computer instaneous readout totally useless, remote does not always lock the doors, the service guy informed GM that I had installed a chip ( hoping it would void my warranty I,m sure)
but GM said it would not.

mike69440

25.3 MPG over the last 15,000 miles with my doing wife 95 % of the driving. (2011 NOX AWD 4 Cly)
I can usually beat her mileage by 1-2 mpg at same speed by driving smooth and anticipating braking.
How do you change the rear wiper on this thing?

ndnspringer

Following the mileage complaints regarding the 2011 Equinox FWD has me concerned and disappointed. I've never experienced issues with advertised mileage the way that we have with our 2011 FWD Equinox. We have a 35 mile , fairly level drive to town and back. We're easy on the acceleration and have not been using A/C for the last several months. Our payload is generally 1-2 persons at a total of 170 - 220 pounds and our mileage rarely gets above 23 MPG and is usually lower after logging 7,500 miles. We adhere to the 70mph speed limit and there are no stops on the way to town. We bought this vehicle in great part due to the advertised mileage and we are extremely disappointed. I will definitely follow some of the tips I've heard here but we've been to the dealer regarding this issue and they don't seem to have had any of these suggestions. I can't help but feel that Chevy has simply lied to the public regarding their mileage claims. Why have I not experienced similar issues with other vehicles over the past 25 years that I've been paying attention to them? There's common sense and there's excuses. I've been seeing a lot more of one than the other regarding this issue.

cmhj2000

On our FWD LS 4Cyl 12 Nox. We have a good mix of highway and city driving. Overall now with 1,200 miles on the vehicle we're hitting about 25 MPG on 10% ethanol! During road trips, which seldom last more than 100 miles, the DCI will show we're hitting the low 30s. Overall the DCI shows 26.

rrovernut

I totaly agree with your comments , we also drive carefully and keep to our speed limit , but mo way can we acheive what GM claim ,as you say they have lied to the comsumer we had no issues either with other vehicles ( Dodge ) as regards stated fuel ratings , we bought the equinox with fuel economy in mind, disgusted with GM !
A GM rep offered us $1500.00 to go towards buying another GM product, because we had made complaints , why on earth would we do that.