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Toyota Corolla Real World MPG

411 messages,  Last post on Mar 20, 2013 at 2:14 PM

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What is this discussion about? Toyota Corolla, Fuel Efficiency (MPG), Sedan

Messages Page 23 of 42

#212 of 411 Ok, what am I doing wrong? by theregent76

Jul 18, 2008 (10:38 pm)

Hey guys, what am I doing wrong?
 
2005 Toyota Corolla 4 cyl
K&N Air Filter
Recent Oil/filter change, trans fluid
49,000k
 
Stop & Go traffic in Los Angeles
A/C on 50-70% of the time
a little aggressive driving.
 
22 MPG average.... on my 13.2 US Gal tank, I've not broken 300 miles yet. Can A/C and aggressive driving do THAT much of a difference? I read about 27 MPG and cry, I read about 35 and up and I wail.
 
Help!

#213 of 411 Re: Ok, what am I doing wrong? [theregent76] by kipk

Jul 19, 2008 (3:54 am)

Replying to: theregent76 (Jul 18, 2008 10:38 pm)
>Ok, what am I doing wrong?...... Can A/C and aggressive driving do THAT much of a difference?
 
Absolutely!
 
Keeping in mind that really heavy traffic and lots of idling and moving the car, from stop, burns a lot of fuel. Here are some tips that may help. Don't get upset with me. Just read and take what you need and leave the rest.
 
With an automatic, anytime you press the throttle hard enough, so that the RPM gets much above 2200 before the tranny shifts to the next gear, you are wasting fuel.
 
Every time you touch the brake, you just wasted gas. The more brake you need, the more gas you wasted. Let me explain that!
 
There is a stop sign ahead. You can let off the gas back here and coast up to it, or you can stay on the gas until the last minute and brake hard. If you choose the second option, you burned unnessary fuel, used more of the brake lining, and wore extra off the tires. You still had to stop!
 
If there were cars waiting at the sign and you coasted, you may have had to stop only once, as they may be gone by the time you get there.. If you rush to it, you may start and stop several times before you get through it. Same holds true for traffic lights. Rushing to a "RED" light, so you can stop, waste a lot of fuel, brakes and tires tread. Take your foot off the throttle back here and the light may be green when you get there.
 
If you think about it, the reason a car gets better mileage on the road than around town is because, on the road, the brakes are not used as often and constantly getting the car up to speed is much less.
 
Tailgating, so that you are constantly accelerating and braking, waste an enormous amount of fuel and you aren't getting there any faster than if you back off a few car lengths and drive with a steady foot. This will also greatly reduce the possibility of a rear end collision. The car in front suddenly brakes hard and you either hit them or manage to stop, but the car tailgating you didn't have time and plowed into you. If you had been farther back you may not have had to brake that hard and the car behind you would have had to deal with a slow down rather than a panic stop.
 
On the road, a steady foot at lower speeds requires the car to push less air and the engine is turning less RPM and uses considerably less fuel than trying to accelerate around everything on the road.
 
While it may be true that the K&N filters may "Add" a few horse power, it is at near "Red Line". If that is where you drive all the time, don't expect much in the way of mileage.
 
Consider this. The mfg are squeezing all the mileage they can out of these "Economy" engines. They also consider longevity of the engines. You can believe that if a free breathing air filter/intake would add anything to both, they would use it. They tune the engines to the type of filter/intake they establish as best for their engines.
 
Spend an evening reading the various post on these forums. You will find that people with heavy feet burn more fuel. PERIOD! I personally don't understand why someone buys an "Economy" car and does everything they can to burn excessive fuel. To me, "Bragging Rights" goes to the person that got 40 + MPG on that road trip. Not to the person that got poor mileage but passed everything they could. But that is just me.
 
Regards,
Kip

#214 of 411 Re: Ok, what am I doing wrong? [theregent76] by arb5643

Jul 19, 2008 (5:58 am)

Replying to: theregent76 (Jul 18, 2008 10:38 pm)
My 2000 Corolla (37,000 miles) started to decrease in mpg down to 22 or 23 mpg in stop and go driving, although my driving habits remained consistent. Then my "check engine light" came on, and I took it to my mechanic. He went over the innards of my car and told me that I needed a new oxygen sensor, which I told him to replace. After the repair was complete, my mileage increased to 26.5 - 27 mpg. So.....you might want to check your oxygen sensor. It can make a difference.

#215 of 411 Re: Ok, what am I doing wrong? [arb5643] by theregent76

Jul 19, 2008 (8:10 am)

Replying to: arb5643 (Jul 19, 2008 5:58 am)
arb, that's a great tip on the o2 sensor. And Kip, no worries on 'getting mad', as that is EXACTLY what I asked for. Thank you both very, very much!

#216 of 411 "Liquid Gold" by rvsslc

Aug 01, 2008 (8:29 am)

In April I started using a new fuel additive in my 2003 Toyota Corolla with 78K miles. I was skeptical at first but was given a free trial sample and with gas locally now over $4.00/gallon, I decided I had nothing to lose by trying it. My baseline MPG in a combination of city and freeway driving (65%/35%) was 25MPG (estabished over three tanks). I started using the additive called Engine Boost 2.0. I have since put seven "treated" tanks through the car and with one tank saw a 29% increase in gas mileage! My average increase over baseline per tank for the seven tanks has been +19%. That is with using the air-con non-stop the last three tanks. With my 13.2 gallon tank and with gas at $4.00/gallon, that means I am getting the equivalent of an additional 2.5 gallons per tank and saving about $10 everytime I fill up. I only add 1/8 of an ounce to 13 gallons and it costs me about $1.50 per tank to save $10! I've never seen an investment with a better return. I also find I have more horsepower and it seems the emissions are cleaner. It's great and I've started using it religiously in my other four cars - Tahoe, Miata, Accent and Mazda3 - with similar results with each car, saving from 6-15% over baseline. That is with the air-con on so I'm sure the actual results will be even better when the weather cools down. My college kids commute to school and our family is saving about $250 a month on gas using this stuff. Has anyone else tried it? (sorry, this sounds a bit like an infomercial but this stuff really works!)

#217 of 411 Re: "Liquid Gold" [rvsslc] by kipk

Aug 02, 2008 (1:59 am)

Replying to: rvsslc (Aug 01, 2008 8:29 am)
Interesting post!
 
Where can Engine Boost 2.0 be purchased?

#218 of 411 Re: "Liquid Gold" [rvsslc] by vtsteve2

Aug 02, 2008 (7:20 am)

Replying to: rvsslc (Aug 01, 2008 8:29 am)
My gas mileage started to deteriorate when E10 was introduced here back in December/January. I was getting a pretty standard 37/38 mph on my daily commute of nearly 100 miles. About 80% highway. My mileage didn't vary that much whether I wen 68 mph or 75.
 
By April, the mileage was getting worse, so I suspected more was amiss. I recently had the plugs replaced, air filter, and a complete injector and fuel system cleaning. The only thing left is the fuel filter, in the gas tank, which would prove to be a little costly. My last tank mileage was 32 mpg, which is about equal to my worst tank achieved through stop and go city traffic.
 
Currently I'm at 121,000 miles, the car is not quite 4 1/2 years old. What's the next tep here?

#219 of 411 Re: "Liquid Gold" [rvsslc] by hoopitup2000

Aug 03, 2008 (9:25 am)

Replying to: rvsslc (Aug 01, 2008 8:29 am)
You are more than likely experiencing better mileage because of the switch to the summer gasoline blend. My average mileage in the colder months is 34. When the changeover to summer gasoline occurs; the average jumps to 41. The winter blend; along with extended periods of choke operation will reduce your cold weather mileage quite a bit. All newer cars are already set up to be as efficient as possible. Other than driving habits, and meticulous maintenance; the only way to improve mileage is changing to harder/smaller tires to reduce your car's rolling resistance.(I did see a slight improvement with synthetic oil and a Fram air filter though) Please report back to us when cold weather arrives and let us know your findings.
 
Good luck!!

#220 of 411 09 Corolla S drive home by slowlearner1

Aug 04, 2008 (11:47 am)

Bought the S manual on Saturday in St Louis and reset the avg mpg to zero after I reached highway speed on interstate for the 130 mile drive home. I varied the speed between 55 and 70 to assist the breakin. I was rather amazed to see 46 mpg when I arrived home. If I had kept the speed at 55 or 60 I would guess it would have much closer to 50. I traded in a Prius with 55k and was given cash back on the new Corolla. If I can keep mpg in this "40" range, I will be very happy with the deal.

#221 of 411 Computer accuracy results???? by hoopitup2000

Aug 09, 2008 (10:33 am)

You may want to compare your computers mileage results to what you get figuring it out with a calculator the old fashioned way. Many cars I have rented returned a higher number than what was actually true. I have "never" acheived 46 MPG in 3.5 years with my 2005 manual. The 2005 is 140 lbs. lighter and smaller than the '09. I doubt the '09 manual would outdo the '05 with basically the same drivetrain. The even much lighter Echo is the only Toyota gas only car that can achieve those kind of numbers.
 
You may want to verify your odometers accuracy also. Mine is off almost 2 miles every 100 miles.

Messages Page 23 of 42

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