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Comments
I have seen many people here at Edmunds report a 5-point swing or more from summer to winter in their gas mileage (various models).
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The more cold starts you have per tank of gas, the more your mileage will swing DOWN in the winter.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
The somewhat warmer weather we have been having lately must have helped.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
If the car is totally brand new, mileage may improve some as the miles go by, until around 10K on the odometer.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Thanks,
Megan
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Thanks for the advice!
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
'07 XR 5-speed
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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.
We are switching over to the summer blend for gas so the mileage may be slightly better.
'07 XR 5 speed.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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.
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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.
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
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.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
If you are managing to pull 26-28 normally, then that is probably about all you can expect, given the AWD and the automatic transmission.
And if you look at the other AWD cars available in the market, you will soon discover that you would do even worse with any of them. So cheer up! You are getting decent mileage for an AWD! :-)
BTW, those numbers I have been posting are for a FWD 5-speed manual, the best possible combo for mileage in a Matrix. Don't be disheartened if you have AWD or an automatic and make a few points less.
I used to have a Subaru Impreza hatchback with a manual, and the best I could ever manage in that was maybe 27 mpg for a running average, 30 or so on all-highway trips.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
That is 70% highway and 30% city, right now the mileage is 680K on odo
Will be improved as soon as the break in period been done. not bad for 2870lbs
vehicle with dual VVT engine!
Try not gassing up until the fuel light comes on. Run four or five tanks that way and THEN calculate your running average just for those five tanks. I bet you will see your numbers change quite a bit.
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)