Mazda3 Real World MPG

stallionre · April 2007

I get on my new 2007 3 S Grand Touring 28/33 MPG. Awesome!!! I love this car.

chavis10 · April 2007

I'll have to listen for that noise too. I have heard a slight ticking noise when I first start the car that sounds like something is catching/rubbing the serpentine belt. I'm only averaging 17 mpg. I even took a trip to the Baltimore Aquarium a few weekends back (about 100 miles each way from Philly) and only got 22 mpg for that tank. This is f@cking ridiculous as I have 28k miles on the odometer and haven't averaged anywhere near EPA figures in 27 months of driving. This car has the worst most unrefined transmission I have ever experienced. It whines like a poorly installed aftermarket audio system- jerks me intermittently on the 1 - 2 upshift- makes all kinds of weird noises, hesitates, etc. I will NEVER drive another Mazda again. I've even written Mazda USA to complain and all they did was send me a $50 coupon to use at one of their dealerships.

If anyone wants to buy this car I'll be glad to sell it, lol. 20% tint, factory HIDs/TPMS, autodimming mirror w/compass, LED rear brake light, leather, sunroof, brand new Continental ContiProContacts (stock size), brand new Valeo frameless wipers, etc. titanium Grey Hatch, 2.3L 4spd auto. :shades:

stallionre · April 2007

I get on my new 2007 3 S Grand Touring 28/33 MPG. Awesome!!! I love this car.

z71bill · April 2007

The manual tranny Mazda3 seems to get MUCH better MPG than the auto.

If MPG is very important to you and you want an auto tranny I would look at other cars.

duff333 · April 2007

I have an '06 2.0i with the 5 speed. The car has been excellent through 11,000 miles of driving. no problems at all and quite fun to drive. I unlocked the message center that gives MPG, avg speed, etc. per the instructions listed in earlier posts here and found that my car had an average of 33.8 mpg for the 1st 10,500 miles - - which was within .1 (33.9) of my hand calculations. Not bad.

I just drove 500 miles, alot of it highway, recently and averaged 35.1 MPG. The mileage indicator even said that on a 95 mile jaunt down I-295 then I-95 from Philly to Baltimore I average 39.8. I was going only 60-65 MPH (a friend was following me in an older vehicle) and it was ALL highway and a warm day but still pretty impressive.

smallcar1 · April 2007

Bill,

Did your mileage improve a lot after the manifold valves was fixed?

z71bill · April 2007

Well - if I did not have bad luck I would have no luck at all!

On the way home from the dealership after having the intake manifold replaced - I stopped and filled up with gas - I know that the dealerships need to let the cars idle for a long time while they are testing things out - I wanted a full tank of normal driving - so I would have a valid MPG calculation. It only took a few gallons to fill up - so rather than write the odometer reading down - I just reset trip odometer B back to zero - figured when I filled up I could sort out the numbers.

After a few weeks of driving the battery went dead - 100% - dome light would not even come on - dead -

When I put a new battery in my trip odometers went back to ZERO. So I lost all my numbers.

When I fill up again I will post the results - my daughter thought the mileage was better - we were getting 200 miles between fill ups - around 12 gallons - she had over 200 miles on the car and the gas gauge was still between 1/4 and 1/2 a tank.

I will guess - the MPG went from 16-17 before - to 20-21 now. The fluttering clicking noise is also gone.

stallionre · April 2007

Sorry for all your bad luck. The gas mileage seems kind of low to me still after you all that work on the car. I am getting 28/32. Hey like you said having some bad luck is better than having none at all.

Glad your car is not sick anymore. :sick:

sshpr · April 2007

My daughter has been driving the 07 3sGT auto mostly and we now have about 3500 miles. She is avg. 20-21mpg with an avg. speed of 25-26mph. A got 32mpg hiway on a 30 mile trip with a tail wind and then 27mpg on the way back going 65-70mph. No real complaints with the car other than I wish it was getting 2-3 mpg better on avg. Would like to know if anyone has seen a difference with tires other than the Goodyear RSAs that are already showing significant wear (even) on the fronts.

stallionre · April 2007

Only 3500 miles on the tires and already showing wear. This is not good. Ouch!! I am not even close to 3500 yet.

eldaino · April 2007

the goodyears do stink. Slap some good bf goodrich's or bridgestones and you'll be good. If you want some good cheap, more performance oriented tires, try out khumo.

stallionre · April 2007

What about Michelin's? I have been buying Mich's for over 10 years now and love them. Great tread wear and traction control. Expensive though!!!

stallionre · April 2007

I am still in the break-in period of my car and I get 28MPG, will this go down after the break-in period?
Does it help that I only use Chevron gas 89 octane, and once a month, I will put in Premium.

I also use that chemical call Z-Max, that sure is an awesome product. I have been using this product for 7 years now. I have added Z-Max to the engine and trans.

What do you all think about that? Ideas?

mrblonde49 · April 2007

the goodyears do stink. Slap some good bf goodrich's or bridgestones and you'll be good. If you want some good cheap, more performance oriented tires, try out khumo. "

I've seen that most people weren't happy with the Goodyears, but mine have been great. Handle well in dry weather, never noticed problems in rain, and I've rarely had to use them in the snow, which limits their biggest weakness (I can work from home when it gets bad out). I have almost 27K, and still some decent tread left. I figure I'll upgrade in November before the winter.

Gonna get the Falken Ziex 512. Can't beat them for the price ($64 online). Had them on my Saab 9-3, very good tire at an amazing price

dudleyr · April 2007

I had the Falkens on my Integra. They are very nice. Not the longest lasting tread though, but the price makes up for that.

stallionre · April 2007

What about Michelin's? Any luck?

eldaino · April 2007

i like pilot exalto's, but like you said...EXPENSIVE. Nice tires, but the same quality and traction etc can be had for cheaper. The name has a lot to do with it.

stallionre · April 2007

Awesome thanks. I will keep that in mind.

mazdaboy2 · April 2007

We took the first all-highway trip this month in the 2006 Mazda 3i Touring 5-speed. The car had about 15K miles at the time. We did about 600 miles on I-81, I-77, I-85, I-95 with a full load (4 riders + gear, about 650 lbs). The outside temp ranged between 45 and 70 deg. The cruise control speeds ranged from 63 to 69. The result: 39 mpg, which I am very happy with, considering the full load.

eldaino · April 2007

39? that sounds a bit...well impossible. Maybe on a warm spring day, no ac, nothing but highway and NO ONE in the car. But with 650lbs of gear and people? Right...

how far did you go on one tank?

dudleyr · April 2007

Impossible?

CR got the 3 stick at 42 mpg going 65 mph. I would say 39 could be improved on if the speed was right.

cchicago · April 2007

I am getting about 22mpg overall. This may seem low but it is due the nature of my driving. Most of my trips are very, very short 2-3 miles so the engine does not get fully warm. I have taken one longer trip and averaged got 31 mpg on that trip my average speed was about 65mpg.

My old '94 Infiniti G20 got about the same mileage but with much less performance.

bigfur · April 2007

Same basic set up. Bought mine in Oct, have averaged about 27-29 thru the winter. Since spring kinda sorta hit here in MN without using heat and defrost, the last two tanks were 29 and 31.5. Liking this mileage much better then the 13-15 my 01 Silverado got lol.

acd · April 2007

With my '07 M3 5-

manual, the MPG for the last four tanks of gas were 32 mpg, 32 mpg, 28 mpg and 29 mpg. I had more highway miles in the first two tanks. The last two are mostly trips under 10 miles with some stop and go traffic. I'm still pleased with the mileage. The lowest so far has been 26.5 mpg and the highest was maybe 34 mpg. I now have over 8,000 miles on the car. It is a joy to drive!

eldaino · April 2007

maybe on the 2.0 (and this is still a bit far fetched) but not on the 2.3.

dudleyr · April 2007

We were talking about the 2.0. Go to the library and look it up. 42 mpg highway with the stick shift on the 2.0 in Consumer Reports.

Now the automatic only got 38 in the same test. 40 would be a stretch for that.

jgill2 · May 2007

2007 Mazda3 i Touring, automatic, with 12,500 miles. I drive a mix of city and highway, heavy on the city, and I have a fun-loving right foot. Interstate runs are usually 75-80 mph.

I was doing calculations every fill-up for a while and was pleasantly surprised at results nearly always exceeding 30 mpg US. Then, at ~9000 miles, I unlocked the Driver Information System and found I had averaged 30.2 mpg to that point. Since then, it hasn't varied by more than .1 mpg cumulatively. On a recent out-of-state trip, I set the cruise at 70 for almost 50 miles, and the DIS showed a fairly constant 39.8 mpg. At 80 mph, I get 29-31 mpg. I'm a happy owner.

smogdung · May 2007

Anyone check the mpg on their MS3 at a steady 70 mph in 6th?

sandman46 · May 2007

Do we have this Driver Information thing on our 3s model? If so, can someone please give me step by step directions on how to get to this and how to use it? I'm the kind of person who needs those "For Dummies" manuals. My kids even had to write out directions from turn on/turn off the power button for me to learn how to use the computer way back in 1999!
Thanks in advance for any help with this.

The Sandman :confuse:

mazdaboy2 · June 2007

Yo Sandman, check msg #424 on this thread for the DIS instructions. But somewhere I was told that it only works on 2006 and 2007 models.

missyc1 · June 2007

re-post:

Thanks for Andreas of Mazda3Forums I was able to unlock my trip computer on my 07 Mazda 3. It works for 06 too!

1. Press and hold down CD and AM/FM buttons
2. Start your car while still pressing down on those buttons
3. The display will read, "DIS ON" which means Driver Information System On.
4. Release the CD and AM/FM buttons
5. Turn off and restart the car
6. Now press the Set button and cycle through your avg. mpg, miles until empty, current mpg!

Now you can truly know your Real MPG numbers!

Please pass this info to others!

JC

igozoomzoom · June 2007

I have an '06 s 5-door 'base' (meaning, not the Touring or Grand Touring model). I tried these steps and now I have the Driver Information System functioning! How cool is that!

FYI, mine was built in 10/05 so it is a fairly early '06 model. Also, I found that if you press the CLOCK button it will revert back to the clock and then SET again to return to the DIS.

I wasn't thrilled with my overall MPG. I have just over 34k miles on it and the average is 23.5 mpg. Most of that is crawling thru Atlanta rush hour every day, so it's truly city driving. When I am on the highway, it is usually at 80-85 mph. Not the kind of MPG I got in my previous car, '02 Accord V6, but could be worse.

So, what's up with this 'hidden' trip computer? They just build it in to all models but only tell customers who buy the GT that it's there?

missyc1 · July 2007

I have an 07' 3 "S" touring and I tried those steps and it didn't work at all

Maybe I'm doing something wrong? Anyone????

missyc1 · July 2007

ok....I need to retract my message above. Apparently I did not hold the CD and AM/FM buttons down long enough. It works! BUT, how do you delete previous miles that have been set before you actually activate the gage? Mine keeps saying something like "Miles Remaining 211" and I can not figure out how to delete it.

tomkozski · July 2007

The 'Miles Remaining 211' shows how many miles you can drive until your gas tank is empty. You can't clear that, unless you run out of gas to get '0 miles' or refill that tank to start anew.

You can reset the avg mpg and avg mph. Just cyle through the displays by pressing 'Set' until avg mpg is displayed. Then hold down the 'Set' button for about 5 secs, you'll hear a beep. To reset the avg mph display, cycle through to get to avg mph and press and hold the 'Set' button.

psy · July 2007

And it is my real world.

Im a work week hypermiler. I just traded my Civic cause it was a first year lemon. I now have a 07 MZ3 S Touring, 5MT.

Heres my Civic and I on the local news.
http://www.kotv.com/e-clips/?id=6090

I just logged my first tank in the MZ3 today for 43.15 mpg. And I did fight headwinds for the drive home this week.

Do not sell a MZ3 short driven right. I expect near if not = mpg out of the Mazda I was getting in the Honda.

Please no flaming. I do have fun with my cars. I like to go two lane bashing at times in western arkansas or eastern oklahoma. And even enjoy a auto-x from time to time.

A 2.3L MZ3 will do mpg. Just wait till I get it broken in,,, M1 0-20w and M1 in the gear box and get my tire psi up to 50 psi.

psy

mrblonde49 · July 2007

A 2.3L MZ3 will do mpg. Just wait till I get it broken in,,, M1 0-20w and M1 in the gear box and get my tire psi up to 50 psi. "

50? I don't get it. Please explain how this is beneficial...

dudleyr · July 2007

Hypermilers routinely run at 50 psi. More psi = less rolling resistance = better mpg.

43.15 is a nice run. I wound up with an Accord (my better half thought that the MZ3 was too small), but am happy with the mpg - recent road trip gave me 43.8 mpg. I am not very extreme though - only 39 psi.

roadburner · July 2007

(my better half thought that the MZ3 was too small)

That's funny; my wife and I both prefer smaller cars. My Mazdaspeed3 is the biggest car we own(in terms of length and width).

dudleyr · July 2007

Having three kids and living in a state with lots of fast freeway driving (SD - where nothing is nearby, and long legged highway cruisers are welcome) makes a difference.

The Accord replaces an Integra which was purchased in DINK phase.

Still I probably would have gone with the 3 - now if the 3 hatch had the 2.0 engine I may have found that hard to resist. Hard to justify the smaller car, when it uses more gas (EPA).

eldaino · July 2007

no flaming intended, but wont the civic always get the slightly better mileage given its engine size and how its tuned for fuel economy, if you do the same things to it as you do with the mazda? i mean thats just common sense.

eldaino · July 2007

dudleyr:

what does hypermilling totally consist of? i know the basics, but what is it that you do in particular?

mrblonde49 · July 2007

Hypermilers routinely run at 50 psi. More psi = less rolling resistance = better mpg. "

That makes sense since underinflated tires cause less mpg. There has to be a downside though, or the mfg would just list it at 50. Less grip? More succeptible to blowouts?

dudleyr · July 2007

The biggest downside is a harsher ride.

sandman46 · July 2007

At this pounds per square inch in the tires, won't that compromise the life of them...make them wear out much faster than the more conservative 35 psi? I'd also expect the tires to feel almost rock hard with an extremely harsh ride. I've had 42 psi in them due to dealer error and the ride wasn't the greatest, so I'd suspect 50 psi to be terrible.
Any thoughts on this would be helpful as I'd like to eek out higher mileage in my '06 Civic. My commute is basically on just one road with lights and traffic for about 8.3 miles. I just hate the idea of ruining good tires with such a high inflation pressure and also having a uncomfortable ride quality.

The Sandman :confuse:

pulgo · July 2007

You can inflate tires up to the maximum pressure printed on the tire wall.

Don't go any higher.

Max pressure on the tires of my Sentra is 44PSI. I use them at 38, 6 more than Nissan recommends.

dudleyr · July 2007

The tires will actually last longer at higher pressure. They have less flex which means less heat, and heat is what wears out a tire - remember firestone.

The tire boards have more information.

As far as psi goes. I would not go over the sidewall reccomendation, and would not reccomend it either. Many people do, and I have not heard of a problem, but there may be a small risk.

autonomous · July 2007

The tires will actually last longer at higher pressure.

Sorry, but I think this is inaccurate. Underinflating tires creates a risk, overinflating tires creates other risks.

There are two numbers regarding tire pressure: the recommended tire pressure (e.g. 32 psi) and the maximum tire pressure (e.g. 50 psi). Exceeding the first (i.e. recommended number) may make your ride stiffer and wear out the centre threads quicker. Exceeding the maximum number is a recipe for disaster.

dudleyr · July 2007

The center does not wear out quicker the outer edges just wear out much slower.

Call tirerack or check the tire boards.

smogdung · July 2007

That's nonsense. If you've inflated to the point that the center of the tire is becomming most of the contact patch...that smaller patch is going to take all the load and wear quicker....the proper pressure would be where the tire wears evenly across the whole tire surface.

Mazda3 Real World MPG

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