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Sedans Chevrolet Malibu Chevrolet Malibu MPG-Real World Numbers
288 messages, Last post on Nov 27, 2009 at 5:37 PM
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Replying to: bibo2 (Sep 23, 2008 6:48 pm) Good luck and keep us posted as you too rack up more miles. |
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Replying to: bibo2 (Sep 23, 2008 6:48 pm) 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. |
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I have been reading these posts for some time now while shopping for a car. I was trying to decide between the 3.6 and 2.4 both with 6speed transmissions. I started looking at the Malibu but both me an my wife like the Saturn Aura better. Tonight we took a test drive in two Aura XR's with each engine. The purpose of the drive was to travel the same route and compare the MPG after driving as efficiently as possible. The route included a short stretch of highway (3/4 mile) having a couple of traffic lights and about 5 miles of hilly urban 6 lane highway with light traffic. The average speed was 45 to 50 MPH on the highway portion. The 2008 3.6 had 5,000 miles on it and returned 28.2 miles per gallon. The 2009 2.4 had 1,000 miles on it and returned 30.6 miles per gallon. The 2.4 was at 31.7 when I caught a light on an uphill grade and had to reaccelerate up the hill to get back to my starting point. 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. |
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Replying to: bibo2 (Sep 23, 2008 6:48 pm) 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 |
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Replying to: bibo2 (Sep 23, 2008 6:48 pm) |
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In July my wife, 9-year old, and I took a vacation to Bush Gardens in Williamsburg VA with plenty of luggage. The drive from Baltimore was about 200 miles each direction. We have a 2008 Malibu LTZ, 3.6 6cyl, w/ 6 speed auto transmission. On the way there, which included about a 1 hours back-up near Quantico, we averaged just over 29 MPG. On the way back - and I swear to you, I'm not exaggerating - we averaged 32.2 MPG. Must have been a downgrade or tailwind for the majority of the miles. My daily commute is 35 miles each direction, about 80% of it is highway, and I average between about 26.5 MPG week in, week out. With a 50/50 mix of city/hwy, I get about 21-23 MPG routinely. My wife does not get as good of mileage as I do - our driving styles are very different. She averages about 19-21 with a 50/50 mix of city/hwy. Regards, Misha |
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I took my first long trip recently, from Pittsburgh to Manassas Va. The car had 5300 miles on it, 37 psi in tires (warm), 55 degrees out, no A/C used. I took the mountain route, lots of up and down grades. I was in 4th and 5th gears climbing the hills and the same gears going downhill to keep off the brakes. I averaged 28.2 MPG over a 181 mile leg under those conditions. My average speed was just under 50 mph. I noticed that the transmission does not shift into 6th gear unless the car is going over 45 MPH. I made extensive use of the manual mode and the tap shifters on the hills. That way I could drop into 5th gear instead of having the auto mode drop into 4th gear from 6th. The result was that for the gentler hills, I never had to go to 4th gear. For the longer or steeper hills, I had to go down to 4th from 5th when appropriate. I was also able to go to 6th sooner than the auto mode would have upshifted me as I crested the hills. I kept forgetting that I had to upshift from the lower gears when in manual mode. A few times, I was stopped at a light in manual mode and the engine rev-ed high when the light changed and I did not upshift. I now put the transmission back into auto mode when I stop. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the mileage under those unfavorable conditions. On the next leg of the trip (57 miles) using freeways only and traveling 60 - 65 MPH, I averaged 33.6 MPH. I checked my speedometer using my GPS and it was 237.9 miles (car) and 237.2 (GPS). When I hand calculated my mileage, I found that the car's computer over estimated MPG by 3% or about 1 mph too high. Still happy with the results. On the return trip, I averaged 33.5 MPG on the expressway using the A/C this time, but saw the MPG fall off to 27.3 when I hit two lane highways, traffic and traffic lights (before 3% error reduction). I expect to get 34 MPG on level uncongested highways and accept that hills, traffic and lights must reduce this figure commensurate with the distance travelled under less favorable conditions. By comparison, my 2000 Chevy Venture van with a 3.4 - 4spd automatic, rarely hit 30 MPG on the trip computer which always read 5% high or about 1.5 MPG less true mileage. The difference was due to weight, aerodynamics and the engine/transmission efficiencies. When I feel that my MPG levels off, meaning that my engine is fully broken in, I will switch to synthetic oil to maybe get even better mileage. If you use synthetic too soon, you may not allow the engine to break in sufficiently.
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Replying to: ohc6sprint (Oct 16, 2008 12:11 pm) When I feel that my MPG levels off, meaning that my engine is fully broken in, When (at how many miles, approximately) do you expect your engine to be fully broken in? With your current mileage just under 6K, isn't it already? (The Malibu manual mentions only 500 miles for engine break in). I will switch to synthetic oil to maybe get even better mileage. A good idea, in any case. If you use synthetic too soon, you may not allow the engine to break in sufficiently. And what happens? I use synthetic only since under 3,000 miles -- what bad things should I be looking for at my current 30,000 (or later)? Thanks!
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Replying to: malexbu (Oct 16, 2008 5:59 pm) There are plenty of posts about mileage continuing to improve up to 10,000 miles. So, I decided to evaluate mileage until then before using synthetic. I have had many cars that I never used synthetic in, so I see no reason to go to synthetic early. Break-in is the mating of the cylinder rings (oil and compression) to the cylinder walls, and insufficient mating results in oil consumption, blow-by, tighter clearances and lower MPG. In your case, 3000 miles should be a sufficient break-in period, but more may be better. Or, more may also be unnecessary. Since I can't say for sure, I have to make a determination. I think that by my mileage results (33+ under ideal highway conditions), the car should be already broken-in, but I am in no hurry to decide to discontinue the break-in process by going to synthetic after only driving it myself for 1000 miles. I based my opinions on reading and reasoning since I have never performed a controlled break-in experiment where engines were torn down after differing break-in procedures. So, please don't think that less of a break-in period is insufficient based on what I have posted. Some exotic engines come from the factory with synthetic oil, but I believe that they have a better engine building process and/or have break-in performed at the factory. I would like to know if anyone has kept records on MPG before and after switching to synthetic oil?
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Replying to: ohc6sprint (Oct 16, 2008 9:14 pm) see if there is an additional improvement. This is, obviously, a very reasonable intention -- and I am as interested as anybody in learning the results. So, if one would use synthetic too soon, then the friction reducing results would not allow the rings to seat through wear. There are so many opinions out there about the proper break-in procedure that one has to decide for themselves after doing their own research. See, when I switched to synthetic in my still very young Bu, I did a lot of reading about oils and break-in procedures and concluded that for modern engines, manufactured with extremely high precision, the old rules don't apply: there is practically no break-in period for them and the sooner you switch to synthetic, the better. There are plenty of posts about mileage continuing to improve up to 10,000 miles. Don't know... I am very interested in this topic but wasn't able to notice the trend in reported facts -- only the "I hope it will happen" one. Can't say I saw a meaningful improvement myself -- and I watch MPG carefully. What does matter a lot, are road conditions, temperature and the driving patterns. I definitely drive gentlier now than 30,000 miles ago. In your case, 3000 miles should be a sufficient break-in period, but more may be better. I suspect so -- haven't seen anything bad yet  I based my opinions on reading and reasoning since I have never performed a controlled break-in experiment where engines were torn down after differing break-in procedures. This is my point, exactly: few (he-he...) people have performed such experiments, so while the reported MPG numbers are very interesting, for those who care (and thank you for your meticulous report!), I am afraid your statements about the break-in period and processes cannot be reasonably substantiated -- they are a part of a mysterious legend. Could be true in the past -- doesn't mean it's true now. If there were a need for an extended break-in period (beyond the 500 miles the manual mentions), or special oil change considerations, they would be mentioned in the manual, as many other helpful things are. Nobody but the manufacturer has the resources and incentives to evaluate the engines' life -- and tear some apart in the process. I would like to know if anyone has kept records on MPG before and after switching to synthetic oil? Why, I did -- here are appropriate MPG samples for my two Malibus: -------------------------------------------------- Car 1 ----- 26.00 28.04 21.72 27.39 27.23 27.63 29.23 ----- 3138 miles: OEM -> Mobil-1 Synthetic 26.18 25.01 21.34 Car 2 ----- 27.25 24.54 26.30 28.02 25.96 23.30 ----- 5414 miles: OEM -> Mobil-1 Synthetic 25.62 24.82 27.89 25.06 24.95 -------------------------------------------------- Do you see a trend here? Neither do I...
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