GMC Acadia Real World MPG

lukesdaddy

I am curios if anyone who ownes an Arcadia can post their MPG figures. I have been reading a lot of posts and what I am seeing is experiances all over the board from 12 MPG to 20+.

If you own an Arcadia, please post your experiance including whether you have 2 wheel or all wheel drive, type of driving you do (ie City highway)and whether you drive on hills very much. I live in very flat Florida and from what I seem to read, mountain driving is killing MPG on this vehicle.

Thanks in advance for your input.

lukesdaddy

I've been reading a lot of posts on the Arcadia and it seems that people are getting gas mileage all over the board. From a low of around 12 to a high of 20+. Can anyone who owns one share their experience, what type of Arcadia you have (ie 2 wheel drive/ all wheel drive) and they type of driving you do? I do about 50/50 highway/city and was hoping to purchase a vehicle that would at least have a chance of averaging 20 mpg.

Thanks for your posts in advance.

jseck2

Here are my real world numbers-

miles gallons mpg
137.3 7.26 18.9
233 14.62 15.9
118.6 5.4 22.0
314 18.03 17.4
182.4 11.6 15.7
128.2 5.6 22.9
278.3 17 16.4
157.3 8.63 18.2
295.4 19.66 15.0
305.8 20.32 15.0

Totals...
2150.3 128.12 16.8

Hope this helps.

jseck2

Sorry it looks like my colums didn't post correctly but it's for a front wheel drive SLE.

Best- 22.9mpg, Worst- 15.0, Average over 2150 miles- 16.8mpg.

donl1

I've only got 1200 miles on my AWD Acadia but I doubt if you'll see 20 mpg with a 50/50 mix of driving. It takes gas to drag around two and a half tons. My last couple of tanks have been 18 to 20 with mostly highway and an average of 35 to 39 mph. My 2 cents.

lukesdaddy

Thank you for the imput. Very helpfull.

mick13

bought an 07' SLE 2-wd. MPG is nowhere close to EPA estimates on sticker. Wifes car, she drives conservatively and commutes 25 miles per day round trip to work. Occassional errand running on weekends. The car basically sits Mon-Fri except for work commute to/from. Have had since Late Feb, early March, MPG as averaged 18-19. Comment to dealer spurred a response about the transmission needing to be broken in, or reach some type of mileage level before optimal performance begins. I've never heard of this, then again I'm not a professional auto engineer.

jbiedermann1

I love the Acadia except for the poor gas mileage. I have not taken it back to the dealer concerning this issue; but will at the first maintenance period. My real world experience in the city (Houston) has been 12 MPG 100% city and I am not an aggressive driver. If I am on the highway 100% I can get 21-21.5. I would love to hear if there is anything that can be done to correct this problem. I have heard all the chat about mileage will improve after the break in period; but that is only after 500 miles, also have heard about reprogramming the transmission? I never would have thought mileage would vary by 30+% from the sticker? The V8 in my GMC Yukon gets the same to slightly better mileage in the City. Go figure

jseck2

It's almost impossible to get the EPA numbers. They are stated to be "for comparison purposes only". The test standard changes this year for 2008 vehicles based on a more realistic driving conditions and in general, almost all vehicles will drop by 2 to 3 mpg (much more for hybrids). The current system uses a highway speed of 55 mph. Modern speed limits are generally 60-75 mph, so we're driving much faster than what the standard is based on. Aerodynamic drag is the primary factor in highway mpg and it plays a much bigger part at higher speeds. There was an article a few weeks ago about a guy who drove the length of the Jersey Turnpike (or Garden State Pkwy, I don't remember) at 45 mph in a Camry and got almost 60 mpg! So if you want the highway numbers, you have to slow down to 55 or less. (Yea right!)

nxs138

After perusing many Acadia forums, it seems like you'll be out of luck on city mileage: the Acadia is a heavy car, and city driving will kill the mileage. For pure city driving, people are reporting no higher than about 14 or 15 with FWD. Where it shines is on the highway.

Makes me wonder if a V8 would be more appropriate for this car: more power, and maybe similar gas mileage (for example, the 5.3L V8 Tahoe gets 16 city and 22 hwy, for a vehicle that weights about 550 lbs more than the Acadia).

mamabink

I just bought a 2007 Arcadia one month ago, mine is a 2 wheel drive also. I am so disappointed in the gas mileage. I once got 19 miles to gallon on the highway, but it usually is 16.5 highway and 13 in the city. The sticker stated 20-26 miles to gallon, even the comercials focus on the "great" gas mileage. I am so disappointed.

therogue

FWD SLT2

One was pretty much city driving....

about 16mpg; averaging 20mph

One was pretty much 70/30 hwy/city

about 21mpg; averaging 40mph.

VERYYY happy so far!!

TR

donl1

I hit 5000 miles on my AWD Acadia recently and with mostly highway driving I rarely see 20 mpg. Disappointed in mileage and power. Previuosly had a 06' 300C AWD and it got better mileage and the power was out of this world compared to the Acadia.

jlaszlo

Just got back from a weekend trip to Mobile, AL from Atlanta. The trip is about 350 miles one-way. I reset the mpg computer when I got on the freeway early Saturday morning. With the AC turned off most of the morning I got 26-27 mpg travelling between 65 and 75 mph. The combination of turning the AC on and one scheduled stop lowered the trip mileage to Mobile to 26mpg exactly when I got off the freeway.

On the way back I got a later start so the AC was on all the way and I was carrying a medium sized freezer. With one scheduled stop, and some stop-and-go traffic in Montgomery, I still got 25.5 mpg (I again reset the computer when I got on the freeway in Mobile).

A few notes...I was solo on the trip so there was no extra passenger weight and I have inflated my cold tires to 37psi. In 100 degree heat the highest it got was 41psi. I used cruise control when possible but the hills caused the transmission to downshift, I felt, too aggressively so I took over whenever necessary.

In conclusion, under the right conditions, the EPA highway estimate is attainable with not too docile driving.

sabbaba

Really appreciate all the input from you guys. The dealer keeps calling to get me to take one of the few remaining 07, but I was holding out for better terms on 08. Now reading about the poor MPG I may have to rethink even buying the Acadia. Too bad! Liked the ride, but MPG is important as 60% of my driving is local and as we all know gas isn't going down.

donl1

If you are looking for gas mileage you might want to look elsewhere. I have an AWD Acadia and power and gas mileage are not its strong suits.

therogue

I guess some folks just don't believe the rest of us.

two more tanks through ours. Averaging almost 21mpg (hand calc'd and lie-o-meter), with an average mph of 32. That seems to me to be pretty good numbers for a big rig like these in city-type conditions. Can't complain about the power (needs the whole downshifting thing fixed though!) and that's coming from an 06 Ford Mustang.

Yes, I'm in a FWD; but honestly, who NEEDS an AWD? :confuse: :confuse:

TR

sabbaba

WOW! I never considered that there could be such a difference between the AWD and FWD. I don't care either. The NY roads are always driveable the day after the snow anyway. I work out of my house so if I hear snow I don't go. I would buy for sure at 21 MPG.

bopper1

I have the Acadia SL 2 AWD.
Driving 75 to 83 mph, 22 mpg.
Drivng around 60-65, I get 24 mpg. Watch tach and try to keep it under 2000 rpm's. 6th gear (over drive) kicks in around 58-60 mph.
When driving over mtn. passes manually put the transmission in 3rd. Keeping tach under 3,000 rpm's I get 22 mpg. This 3rd gear is great for going up and down steep hills.
Just around town, doing errans, I get 18 mpg.

sboyd1

On Sunday I drove about 260 miles round-trip to drop off my son w/ his grandparents. On the trip out there I did everything I could within reason to maximize my fuel economy according to the DIC. This included drafting behind larger vehicles and a speed generously below the allowable limit (60 in a 70).

On the way back I just set the cruise control at 70 and let it do it's thing.

All miles for both legs of the trip were highway with light traffic.

Results:
Leg A - Avg. Sp.: 60.7, Avg. Eco.: 28.1
Leg B - Avg. Sp.: 71.3, Avg. Eco.: 24.7

While using cruise control, it seemed that most overpasses would cause the transmission to down shift to maintain speed. I avoided this by using the Set + / - buttons. Approaching an overpass I would kick the speed up about 2 MPH. While crossing the overpass, I would decrease the speed by 1 or 2 MPH as the grade increased. This kept the transmission in 6th.

donl1

I've got an AWD Acadia with almost 9K on it and I don't remember the last time I got 20 mpg. Wished I'd have got one of those magic ones that get 25.

jroseh

I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR A CROSSOVER FOR OVER A YEAR NOW. THIS SEEMED TO BE THE PERFECT VEHICLE, AS I HAVE A 2002 SUBURBAN THAT DRINKS GAS!! I AM REALLY DISCOURAGED THOUGH AS I HAVE READ ALL THE REVIEWS AND THE FORUM ON MPG. HAS ANYONE NOTICED ANY BETTER GAS MILEAGE ON THE 08'S? OR HEARD THAT THEY MIGHT BE TRYING TO IMPROVE THAT ISSUE? THANKYOU FOR READING!! DON'T KNOW WHAT TO DO?

bdyment

Until GM reduces the weight of the beast by 500lbs. gas mileage will not be the Acadia's strong point.

wlbrown9

I don't think 500 pounds would make that big a difference in gas mileage, more in stop and go, less in hwy cruising. Compared to previous gen. GM SUVs I would guess the 6 speed tranny and some of that would make more difference than just cutting some weight.

stever

An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%.

fueleconomy.gov

wlbrown9

Okay...up to 2%...read the complete statement...Up to means from 0 to 2%...larger vehicle, several hundred pounds. Maybe 4% reduction. Possible reduction of about 1 MPG based on EPA estimate of 25 MPG hwy.

"Avoid keeping unnecessary items in your vehicle, especially heavy ones. An extra 100 pounds in your vehicle could reduce your MPG by up to 2%. The reduction is based on the percentage of extra weight relative to the vehicle's weight and affects smaller vehicles more than larger ones."

Now look at the possible saving of driving style, up to 33% could be as much as 8 MPG. Now we see why some folks get better mileage that others.

"Aggressive driving (speeding, rapid acceleration and braking) wastes gas. It can lower your gas mileage by 33 percent at highway speeds and by 5 percent around town. "

stever

lol, like all the aftermarket gizmos that say "up to ten percent better mileage and horsepower."

Point taken, but 500 pounds is a pretty good chunk any way you slice it.

morty66

Friend of mine has ordered a 2007 FWD Acadia. Should get this month. He says a friend of their's has a 2007 AWD Acadia which gets 24mpg in a mixture of city and highway driving. He thinks that he might get 25 mpg because he has FWD instead of AWD. I'm stunned to hear such great mpg figures from a big SUV.

dardson1

If you watch the Odyssey or Sienna threads (huge and heavy cars there days), those who post complain about about mid teens city and low 20's hwy. Whatever the numbers say, pushing any heavy vehile around takes fuel. As far as I know, no one has changed the laws of physics. I'd say if anyone can manage 16-17 around town and anything close to mid 20's in GM's new disguised minivan he is getting about all that's there.
In the old days we drove 2100lb, 4cyl, 92hp imports that did 0-60 in 15+sec and got 22 around town and /30ish highway. The cars were loud, relatively uncomfortable, and very small. Turning on the AC robbed a ton of power and often pushed the temp gage too high.
Chill, folks! You're getting your cake and eat it too. These new vehicles are quick, huge, comfortable, luxurious, quiet, and not all that much less economical than a mid 70's Toyota half the size and weight, lol.

hotch41

Well FWD must make all the difference in the world because in the 3.5 weeks I have my '08 AWD SLT-2 Acadia, I can't do better than 16-17 MPG and this is not in-town driving, but basically 90% highway driving and averaging 60-70 mph. Yes it's a heavy vehicle, but nonetheless, still quite disappointing. Between 10/23/07 and last Saturday, 11/10, I've put $400 in gas in that thing. I didn't realize it would be that much of a fortune to keep it running. I bought it with the notion that I would get at least 20-21 MPG. Again, not happy. It kind of takes some enjoyment out of having the vehicle. On another board someone recommended me getting a small car for my daily commute and keep the Acadia when I need the room to haul the kids and cargo. Having two cars just for me is not in the equation!

txbricklayer

Drove from Houston to San Antonio and back this weekend. On the drive to S.A. the Acadia averaged 21.8 (strong head wind).

On the return trip, the average was 23.8----calm winds. Speed was set at 73mph on both legs.

The mileage on the vehicle is just over 1,000 miles---------6 weeks old.

familydude

We have approximately 3000 miles on our Acadia. It routinely gets 12MPG with city driving. We bought into the GMC hype that this was the SUV for best mileage.... my 4x4 Avalanche gets better mileage than this new "Engineered Crossover from GMC". I am not happy with it at all. Been to the dealer twice to "flash" the memory. As far as I am concerned, this low MPG is a deal breaker. I could have bought a real truck instead of this "crossover" if I knew the mileage was going to be this bad.

txbricklayer

Not to make you feel bad, but my Acadia gets 16-17 mpg in the city and 22-24 at 73 mph. (1,000 on the odometer)

If I were you, I'd be howling at the dealer, area, and GM reps.

familydude

I only can DREAM of getting 16-17 MPG in the city...... consider yourself lucky. I'm not sure what my next option is going to be.......

creeper1

Think about it before you buy. Too many excuse makers on here about driving style. The facts are this vehicle will not get the 24 and 28 advertised.

Our 2008 has 7500 miles on it and gets about 16 in City and 20 on the highway w/ cruise control.

Also, I had an issue w/ the rebate program that neither GM or the Dealer would take accountaiblity for....wont buy another GM after having done so for 15 years.

THAT IS THE REAL STORY.

chezky

i hear ya buddy and i feel your pain Having same BAD GAS MILEAGE problems with my brand new 2008 acadia received NOV 30 07. so far after 475 miles i am getting 9.2MPG city driving. i am not an aggressive driver. The gm service guy in brooklyn says he is getting the same performance with his own acadia. I have an appointment with dealer service dept. day after christmas. i had an occasional strange gas smell coming from the vents that would dissipate after a few seconds. but that problem did not return for over 2 weeks now. i found no leaks or puddles from the car. I DO NOT accept explanation of 16/22 MPG is only under "OPTIMUM" conditions. the 2008 EPA estimates are based on NORMAL usage, such as, air conditioning use, normal acceleration, braking, etc.. the car is wonderful otherwise. i wish someone can give me an idea as to why i am having such bad gas mileage???!!!! :confuse: i would like to give a heads up to dealer mechanic.
when you find out something...PLEASE LET ME KNOW! much appreciated.

irwin2842

I have had a Acadia FWD SLT 2 since April 2007 and have about 10,000 miles on it. I used to get 20-23/mpg hwy (70mph) and around 18 city driving 30 mph. I did the transmission update and not am lucky to get 18 hwy. I love the Acadia but wondered if anyone has got the decline since the transmission update?

pemnel

I also own a 2007 GMC Acadia AWD and I consistantly get 24 to 25 mpg combined highway and city driving. I once got it up to 30 mpg on the hiway only. (60 mph and working at keeping the rpm down) My Acadia is now a year old and has almost 14,000 miles on it (it was #17 sold) I had the trans. upgrade and have not seen any difference in the mileage.

donl1

I have a very hard time believing 24 to 25 mpg in combined driving.

pemnel

Once again, I made a 400 plus mile trip from the coast to the city, around town running errands, and back to the coast and averaged 25.1 MPG. My Acadia is a 2007 AWD SLT2. although there was only one person in the car, I had 6 cases of books in the back on the way up to the city. After I got home, my wife drove the Acadia to and from work (about 10 miles each way a combination of 50 MPH hiway and 25 tto 35 MPH through 3 small towns) and the milage dropped to 24.2 MPG. There is now 13,000 miles on the car and this is the milage that we have been getting since we bought the car. We do notice an drop in milage when we drive aggressivly or have a full load of passengers. I have in the past owned cars that were "Lemons", maybe this time it was my turn to get the "Diamond".

mark366160

1st tank on 2008 SLT1 FWD less than 200 miles on it getting 16.8 mpg doing the 15 mile commute to/from work. Previous car was a 2004 Suburban 2wd, which I could get 15 mpg doing the same commute. Considering it's the first tank and had alot of dealer lot standing on it, and that the mileage showing on the DIC has been slowly increasing the entire time, I figure I''ll get 17-18 doing this...

Also, given I could get 15 on the 'burb, when it was rated for 13 in the city (and spending hours looking at the inst mpg on the thing trying to see how to drive it to get all I could), 1-3 over city average seems reasonable.

Spend 4 years at 15 city 18 hwy, and 17 city anything more than 20 hwy seems wonderful. I guess the people hollering the most are those that went car to this thing, vs goliath to this thing...

mark366160

2nd tank on 2008 SLT1 FWD with about 700 miles on it got 18.8 mpg doing the same 15 mile commute as in previous message. Average MPH was about 26. Mileage was as high as 21 at one point, but once I got to the weekend and started hauling family around to soccer games, grocery stores, etc, it dropped.

Anyway, overall the MPG for this thing is pretty good, especially compared to the Suburban I came from. Haven't had it on the highway for an extended period, so don't know that MPG.

AWD is going to be less. My wife has a 2005 MDX, which is AWD, and the way it works, from 0-15 mph, the thing is in four wheel drive mode. Once you get over 15, it switches to front wheel drive mode. Just having the connection to the rear wheels, whether it's active or not, is going to drain some power, and thus MPG. Where I think the impact is worse is over that first 15 mph. I would think the drag is much more when in 4WD mode, so if you're in alot of stop and go traffic, your constantly in that mode. I would think the AWD Acadia works in a similar fashion. On the highway, the MDX does pretty good, but in alot of stop and go, it's down around 14mpg...

cravenfan

Normal driving - 1/2 highway, 1/2 backroads to and from work = 19.5mpg

Highway - 22-24 (24 if I baby it, go the speedlimit, etc.)

Pulling a snowmobile on a trailer = 16.5 in trailer mode

Pulling two snowmobiles on a trailer = 13.5 in trailer mode

My Yukon got about 16.5 all the time. My Acadia has more horsepower than my 99 Yukon did and pulls the sleds better.

ajhdaisy

We just bought an 08 FWD Acadia and the first tank of gas we got 19.2 mpg! Combination of City/Hwy miles, live in MS so no mountain pulling! I have been very slow to take off and brake and I think that has helped alot too.

Hey, compared to some of these posts, I think that is pretty good!

fletch6

I bought a 2007 Acadia in June of 2007, and drove to Ohio from Fl. I went up I95 to 77 in South Carolina, and I averaged 72 miles an hour, and got 23 mpg up and back. I have not had any problems with my Acadia, unless you consider all the complimemts I get on my Acadia a problem.

phillybill

I am getting 7.2 MPG all city with a soft foot, no compressor, and mostly coasting like a granny. Called the dealer and they took it for a test and said they got 16.6 MPG city. I checked the DIC when I got the car back and notice that they did get 16.6 but had an average speed of 36 MPH. meaning for their city test, they put some highway on it. Called the sales man to complain and he actually told me to go f-- myself. He could care less about the problrems I am having just so long as the sale was made. If he had not bait and switched me, maybe I would have one of the working Acadias instead of this Lemon. As of today, 7.2 MPG, check engine light on twice for cam shaft glitches, dealer had it for 3 days and did nothing to repair because the light went out on its own.

kbacon

I've got a '08 SLT1 FWD and have had it 3 wks now. Milage has slowly been increasing the more I drive it... about 1100mi now. Averaging about 19mpg lately... started at 17mpg average. Reset the DIC heading home other night (15mi)... started coasting (shift to neutral) as soon as I saw lights turn yellow.. tried not to brake if I didn't have to. Slowly eased on the gas when taking off.. and I managed to average 27.7mpg for that 15 mi trip. This was going 45-55-45-55-45-35-30.. I caught a couple of stop lights.. but made most of them. I was highly impressed!

manufan1

By this month I've had my '07 AWD Acadia for a year. There is no major problems to my Acadia and I still love it as the first day I bought it. So far my only complaint is the poor MPG. Yeah it wasn't a problem before but now it is. The 17/24 has been a fairy tale to me.

I am not a agressive driver and I know all the gas saving tricks. The first time I filled up the gas tank then set up the the odo....It ran only 220 miles and the gas light on. To make sure that I did it couple of more times and found out no big changes.

stdavis

Well I have to concur with manufan1. Purchased the 08 Acadia AWD SLT2 Dec 30th 07 and have put about 5000 miles on it so far, almost 100% in town driving and I haven't seen 15 MPG yet, as a matter fact the MPG has declined to under 13 since we have started needing the AC more.
In every other way the vehicle has exceeded my expectations, but I would be glad to give up performance to achieve anything approaching 18MPG in town.
I have an 04 BMW X5 4.8is with 60k on it and I routinely get 16.5 in town. It's hard to imagine driving any more conservatively than what I do now.
Has anyone heard of a fix that GMC might apply to improve the milage??? I've heard of programing adjustments that may change shift points in the transmission that could improve milage,

manufan1

I had that software update 3 month after I bought my Acadia because GM sent me the letter for the update. It did make big difference on the accelerating performance. The update made transmission work more responsive than before and since then I started to feel I was driving a normal car, otherwise when I drove it up/down hill, or just to accelerate it, I could hear the engine noise went abnormal, tranmission odo went up & down and it was just lost control. I did not record the MPG before I did the update but I believe it was worse than now.

I think the update is only recomended for some same lot Acadias because it was a problem. Wonder how they rate their MPG 17/24, or maybe where I live has too many traffic lights?

benmc

I've had my '07 SLT Acadia for over a year now and am NOT impressed with this vehicle at all! 90% of my driving is interstate, and I'm getting 19 mpg. I probably should have kept my Tahoe, which got 17 mpg! I am seriously considering selling and getting a Toyota Highlander Hybrid. This will truly be the LAST General Motors car I ever purchase. The misleading 17 city/24 highway is a true farce - and was only touted this way to sell the car. Bad move, GM!

So if you are considering purchasing an Acadia ... be FORWARNED!