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Comments
just wondering what the deal could be before I ask this loaded question to a mechanic and they start seeing $$ signs and suggest a tune up
thanks for any input
joe
1. Find the true MPG over a period of time (miles passed divided by
the fuel purchased), writing down and resetting the DIC reading
(plus compare the distances with the odometer readings.)
(I do the recording at every fillup, then compare the real MPG
with the one DIC shows.)
2. Post the data on your average speed between the fill-ups. While you
are not using the car for work, you may be stop-going excessively
-- the average speed is some indication of your driving patterns.
3. If you haven't done so recently, dump a bottle of fuel cleaner into
your tank during a fillup.
You mentioned replacing the air filter: did it have any impact on the
MPG? Is it a good filter? Was everything clean and clear in the area
it covers?
How about your oil? Changed well and often?
My two 2005s (more economical than your LS, obviously), have roughly
this regular pattern, usually (from the two last readings on one of
them):
tank-mpg 24.94 computer 26.1 speed 24
tank-mpg 26.93 computer 28.0 speed 25
no need for a tune up.....the first isnt due to 100K as I recall, but consult the owners manual...
Oil changes are regular, always at the three month mark versus the 3k mark due to the limited use. I'll replace the air cleaner again. wasn't concerned about MPG when I changed it last year.
what type of injector cleaner is recommended? I have never used any of that kind of stuff.
Really no point in it now -- a filter should be changed every 24,000 miles.
But you may want to check that the one you have installed is clean and sitting well.
(Easy to to it yourself -- read the manual.)
what type of injector cleaner is recommended? I have never used any of that kind of stuff.
Hard to recommend with true knowledge: one can't look inside the engine and see the results after using one. I used various brands available at Autozone and the one thing I know, I didn't have negative consequences: Chevron, Valvoline, Gumout. You won't go wrong with Chevron.
Also, try to use a good brand of gas: Shell, Mobil, Chevron -- at least most of the time.
May:
36.6 mpg one way (empty)
36.8 mpg back (fully loaded)
(by the fuel purchased).
thanks for your reply
How much one exceeds the oil change interval is a personal choice (some posters at forums here claim there is nothing wrong in going 12-15 K miles between *synthetic* oil changes -- and this is also what Mobil says about its MobilOne syntheitc oils), but changing oil more frequently than the manual says (and it, basically, states, "Trust the oil monitor"), is not only an unnecessary expense for you, it's polluting environment without a reason.
If you have the 4 cylinder, it should shine on the freeway. Take it on a long freeway drive at reasonable (65-70mph) speeds. Reset your miles per gallon readout in your DIC (digital information center) and read the mpg during your trip. If you reset it while you are driving level, constant speed, you should see about 34 mpg. After you drive for a while it should settle down to 28 mpg for the overall trip. If you have a light and steady foot, you might hit 30 mpg or 32 mpg.
You can confirm the numbers by looking online at the Consumer Reports website (subscription required). They do straight city driving and straight highway driving using a metering device they attach to the fuel line. They drive softly. Their numbers don't lie.
Your car is fine. Your expectations don't match your driving conditions and driving style. You may not be logging your fillups and miles per tank. This is typical in America where we often jump from one experience to another without investigating very deeply.
If you want to really test your driving conditions and style, you need to rent a similar car and see what your mileage looks like on the competition, before you take a loss on a trade in.
Also, fwiw, we got the same mileage, in the city, on an Impala with a 6 cylinder as with a PT Cruiser (normal, non turbo 4). It's the driving conditions and driving style, vehicle weight second, and size of engine third.
That's when I laugh when I hear people begging for a 1.0 liter Fit over here (that's the small car from Honda). By the time people "work" the 1.0 for acceleration it will have the same, if not worse, mileage than our 1.5 "export only" version. It's all about vehicle weight and that old "lead" foot. I drive my Fit softly and get 38-40 mpg on my freeway commute.
The only time vehicle displacement comes into play is (1) gas consumption with a lot of idling and (2) taxes you pay in certain other countries, that tax on the basis of engine displacement instead of vehicle weight. My 1.5 liter Fit is "pumping" almost as much air through the engine at the 4,000 rpm required to hit 80 on the freeway as the 3.5 in our minivan, which only turns over at 2,000 rpm at the same speed. Of course the 3.5 requires a richer mixture to push the larger minivan through the air, and more gas to accelerate it, but within certain limits (cars the same weight) the gas mileage on a larger engine with lower rpm often match the gas mileage of a smaller engine with higher rpm. That's why Consumer reports indicated only a 1 mpg advantage to the 4 over the 6 in the last generation of the Malibu in combined driving (but if you cruise long freeway distances at a steady speed, the 4 is more frugal).
Once again, in your situation blame your gas mileage on the timing of traffic lights and the devolution of our auto culture into a "stop light drag race" mentality. The potential mpg you can get from your Malibu is very fine.
I've said it a few times on the blog, when I leased my 05 Malibu V6 200 hp straight city driving was 15/16 mpg, straight highway run at 65 mph 37 mpg. mixed 28/30.
It still amazes me, thats better than any 4cyl. on the market, even GM's own, they have magic in the bottle and don't evevn know it.
I'm interested in the answer too.
Automatics often get the same freeway mileage as manual transmissions because the manufacturer can gear them lower, confident that the automatic will unlock (first) then downshift as necessary for pickup. Manufacturers seem reluctant to gear their manual transmissions for optimal freeway mileage since it would then require a manual downshift to 4th for good pickup on the freeway, and then (apparently) consumers would complain that the vehicle is "gutless." (There seems to be an aversion in some drivers to downshifting when already on the freeway - I don't share that aversion.)
And last of all engine displacement, it is important other wise you wouldn't see the V6 getting as good if not better highway gas mileage than any four. The Fit's 109 hp engine is rated at 34 mpg highway and thats suppose to be the best in it's class, a little smaller than the Accord that is rated at 31mpg and has a 177hp engine, I dont think the aerodynamics have to much to say in this matter.
And by far you are not getting 42 mpg with the Accord your lucky if your breaking 35 mpg, I also have an 08 Accord LX-P, that I got when my lease ran out on the Malibu a few months back, I know the mpg difference by my experience with both cars not some numbers from a car magazine.
running full synthetic....oil changes every 7500 miles, a complete 100K service done... all fluids, plugs, wires, belts replace...two brake jobs (64K and 115K), replaced front rotors on the second, one battery, about to place third set of tires (68K on the current set) and no other repairs required. Insurance is low, property tax is low, and its paid for......
The other thing is the car engine technology did not change that much over the years, except for the switch from carburetors to fuel injection to direct injection; the principle is still the same combustion chamber where the air and fuel are mixed and ignited by spark plugs or by high compression for the diesel case. Not that much changed, we increased a little bit the fuel efficiency by not that much. But one thing we did over the years is adding more weight to our cars, by adding more motors for the seats, motors for the moon roof, motors for the windows, motors for mirrors, motors for trunk, motors for rear seats, motors for rear wipers, motors for rear climate control fan, etc. Every motor weight a pound or two or more, and you are wondering why we are not getting a good fuel mileage, get ride of half of those motors and you’ll see a 25% increase in MPG, not counting that all those motors drain the battery of energy needed for the engine to run the computer (ECU), and other electrical systems. There you have it.
Though I'm glad to see that Pao's Max is still rolling strong.
I just read the one review for the 2009 Malibu, I didn't understand if the person got the 4cyl or the 6cyl, I don't even think they know.
The real stopper is that the person just got the car less than a month ago and already there thinking that the gas mileage will get better after it breaks in.
Here's a news flash, what ever mpg they are getting today is what they are going to get tomorrow and the next day, etc. The sales rep. should get an Oscar for that sell, also I hope he told them to inflate their tires past the mfg's recomendation so there mileage will increase, but not telling them that their tires will wear out faster.
See below article.
Vehicle
2009 Chevrolet Malibu LTZ 4dr Sedan (2.4L 4cyl 6A)
Review
Our Malibu has V6 option. Very good feel with power and handling. Looking forward to after break-in to see true gas mileage. Beautiful auto.
36 lb. gives better gas mileage than 32 in most cars with no problems with increased tire wear.
+----------+------- +--------+
| Where | Whn | MPG |
+----------+-------+---------+
| MA-TN | May | 36.64 |
| TN-MA | May | 36.78 |
+----------+-------+---------+
| MA-TN | Aug | 36.55 |
| TN-MA | Aug | 37.37 |
+----------+-------+---------+
My driving style is somewhat aggressive. I drive 5- 10 over. I don't over-inflate my tires (whatever it recommends in the manual is what I go with). I get away from stop lights quickly (I hate people who dawdle when there's a string of traffic trying to get through a short green light). I come up to speed quickly when entering the freeway. My commute starts in suburban traffic (2 - 3 miles with lots of lights), then about 25 miles of freeway (65 -75 mph) followed by another 5 miles or so of suburban traffic with several lights (40-45 mph, when it's moving).
I really like this car, but I'm also considering a small CUV (Subaru Forester Limited) for the AWD and utility it offers. I've been following that thread pretty closely and it appears that I could reasonably expect to average about 23 - 25 mpg. I'd like to know that I can do significantly better with the Bu, if I'm giving up the AWD and utility.
So any input would be appreciated.
On the first tank with a lot of idling to figure out onstar and play with all the functions, we averaged 28.3 with an average speed of 38 mph. Tire pressure is at recommended 30 PSI. My wife is driving the car and has a heavy foot. Her commute is about 2 miles of stop and go followed by 16 miles of highway(65-80mph) and then another 2 miles of stop and go. She uses no fuel saving techniques.
So far on the second tank we are averaging 28.8 with an average speed of 39 MPH. On this tank I drove on hilly/curvy country highways for about 90 miles and the readout was at 32.5 mpg and climbing when we got home. I checked instant mpg at 60 mph with the cruise set on a level road and very little wind and it was between 43 and 46 mpg, I think the car will easily get the advertised 32 mpg highway.
On the first fill we had 14.4 gallons and 413 miles for an actual average of 28.68, so a little better than the readout calculated. So overall the readout appears pretty accurate so far.
We really like the car so far, it is comfortable, rides and drives very nice and is quiet inside.
I have been vacillating between the Malibu and a small SUV ('09 Forester). The SUV offers more utility and AWD. It doesn't do too badly on mileage (~25 mpg). But it looks like the Malibu will do quite a bit better, plus it offers a few more creature comforts in LTZ guise. Plus, I know the Chevy dealer and they're close-by.
First and foremost, your rental has a 4 speed automatic. The 2LT and LTZ are now available with the 6 speed automatic. I'm guessing the addition of 2 more gears makes a significant difference.
Second, while I, myself, have a heavy foot and have been known (frequently) to drive those speeds, the EPA test does not. I suspect if you slowed down to 65 - 70, you might gain 1 to 2 mpg.
With a 2.4L 4 cyl and a 4 speed automatic, 2800 rpm at those speeds is probably not out of line. Our VW 1.9L diesel with a 5 speed manual churns nearly that hard at those speeds.
FWIW, a bigger engine with a couple more gears will do about as well. My 2003 Corvette with the 5.7L V8 and 6 speed manual would have returned 28 mpg on the trip you described. But, of course, it has enough power and is light enough that it is hardly turning at those speeds. Having said that, I once rented a Buick LeSabre with the 3.8L V6 and 4 speed auto. I drove it from Indianapolis to KC at about 75 mph and it returned right about 28 mpg. So smaller doesn't always equal more economical.
Yes we have synthetic oil 0W-30 with once per year oil changes.
Ken
Thanks
Now to my numbers- driven in these (nearly ideal? I always thought flat terrain would be better, but..) conditions, I have been getting anywhere from 28 to 32 mpg, with the overall sitting right at 29. The overall includes the initial break-in of 500 miles where I stayed off the interstate as much as possible (more stop'n'go), kept speeds below 55 where I could, etc.
I have noticed while driving around strictly in downtown Asheville that the reading varies between 16's and 22, with the lighter traffic usually being higher, but lots of stop'n'go / accelerating against the hills being closer to 17. Speed zones anywhere from 35 to 50 mph, though sometimes barely getting up to speed before stopping again.
Those are my observations. Let me know if there is anything more specific you want to know.
I have been scared to notice the fuel gauge moving down quickly while driving it on highway. I never experienced something like that. I own a honda Civic 96 and Sienna 04, and have never seen the fuel gauge noticeably moving while driving these cars. My Sienna Van has 6 cyls with 54K miles on it and still average 20.5 mpg.
I researched this car for the last 4 months and saw many praises on its fuel economy. But I did not expect it this bad. I was hoping for 26-27 mpg average.
When I bought the Malibu, I wondered why the last owner would resell the car after just couple of weeks driving it. I remembered to see 16.7mpg when resetting the DIC. I guess that might be the reason he dumped the car to carmax.
Now I am wondering I would do the same. I will start measuring the gas manually tomorrow to see exactly what mpg I got.
1. Roll to Stop's and Red Lights. Anticipate and judge beforehand and let off the gas pedal and roll to stop.
2. Use as much cruise control as you can. For example whenever you have long strecthes of a certain speed limit cruise control it.
3. Find the speed where you engine hits its last gear. In other words if you have a 4 speed automatic, try to feel at what MPH its goes into 4th and engine enters smooth rpm. What I am getting at is try to get to your highest gear as soon as possible. Obviously obey speed limit as all times.
High RPM's kill the MPG of a car. Hope this helps. The Malibu is a nice car and you should achieve good MPG.
Good luck and keep us posted as you too rack up more miles.
The end result is, my first tank was under 24 mpg (23.7 or 23.9, depending on whether you believe the DIC or the calculator). My second tank was just under 26 mpg. My current tank is under 25 mpg. I too have been alarmed at the rate the needle on the fuel gauge drops. I truly expected better. Had I known this was what I could expect, I'd have purchased the Forester for the additional utility and AWD the mini-SUV provides. It's fuel mileage is about that good. I have a list of niggling complaints about the Malibu, but this is the biggest.
It is true that the mileage improves on these engines after break in. I would run regular oil during the first 10,000 miles to be sure that it is broken in then maybe switch to synthetic oil.
I wanted the 2.4 which performed very well, my wife wanted the 3.6 because she liked the dual exhaust look and color better. I liked the 2.4's 17" wheels and she liked the 3.6's 18" wheels better. I felt that the 2.4 could easily achieve over 33 MPG on level highway.
The sales manager that drove the 3.6 told me that he put the 5,000 miles on the demo mostly driving from Pittsburgh to New Jersey and that he would get 33 MPG going to NJ and 29 MPG on the return trip.
These numbers are from the on board computers and were not hand verified. In any case I lost and we ended up buying the 3.6 Aura. I tried to sway my wife by telling her that we will be owning this car for 8 years or more and who knows how high gas will be by then. But she was not to be deterred. I know that the 3.6 will tease me to drive faster and will result in lesser mileage if I succumb. At least we both agreed that we liked the Aura.
I fully expect that the 2.4 has the ability to return 6 more mpg's than the 3.6, but my test only showed 2.4 mpg more and maybe 3.5 mpg if I had not caught that last light. Also the 2.4 was not yet broke in with only 1,000 miles.
Hope this helps the discussion some. I will be taking a trip in two weeks and will report the results and back the figures up with hand calcs. I will also use my GPS to check for speedometer error.
Mazda6due, I've been doing tip (1) for years. I understand (2) but find it practically hard to do it with my highway as the traffic is unreliable. (3) is new to me but I don't think I want to do it. I want to save mileages, but I don't want to try it too hard either. I want to be relaxed and enjoy my drive.
I hope it is true that after the break-in period or after 5000 miles, the mileage will be improved. But I am skeptical about it.
I will let you know my mpg for the next tank