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Hyundai Sonata Real World MPG

922 messages,  Last post on Apr 21, 2013 at 3:12 PM

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What is this discussion about? Hyundai Sonata, Fuel Efficiency (MPG)

Messages Page 63 of 93

#619 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata Turbo MPG [LASHAWN] by bertbird

Feb 02, 2011 (8:58 am)

Replying to: LASHAWN (Jan 10, 2011 1:16 pm)
I do not own a Turbo, I have a 2011 Sonata Limited and I am experiencing awful gas mileage, 18.75 mpg/city driving. I don't do much highway driving for an extended length of time but I would have certainly thought I would get better mileage. I had previously owned a 2003 Toyota Camry and averaged 23/city. I am quite upset, will be meeting with Regional Rep from Hyundai, I hope, but I don't know what to expect since the sticker is: quote "an estimate".
 
Anybody else having same mileage issues?
 
Thanks
Carla

#620 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata Turbo MPG [bertbird] by fushigi

Feb 02, 2011 (1:40 pm)

Replying to: bertbird (Feb 02, 2011 8:58 am)
Well, right now most of the US is on winter-blend gas which is a reformulation that is supposed to be more emissions-friendly in cold weather. Downside is most folks see a 2-3MPG falloff in their fuel economy. So that might be part of your problem.
 
There are other things to check to make sure the care is best positioned to maximize fuel economy. Things like making sure all tires are properly inflated, making sure the air filter isn't clogged, etc. You might also try a couple of tanks of gas from a top tier supplier ( http://www.toptiergas.com/retailers.html ) in case your current supplier isn't giving you a quality product.
 
EPA estimate is 22 city so you're only 3.25 MPG off. That could be due to winter gas, driving style, and your version of city driving (which may differ from my version and from the EPA's version). For instance, I call city driving anything non-highway. But I live in the suburbs and often can go for nice stretches at 40-45 MPH where my car is near peak efficiency.

#621 of 922 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG by hyundailemon1

Feb 04, 2011 (12:20 pm)

My wife and I have over 700 miles on the car. We drive it about 70% surburban (not city) and 30. We are very conservative drivers, accellerating and braking very gently we don't speed, never exceeding the speed limit by 10%. It is mostly used with temperatures in the 30s. We use brand name gasoline of the recommended octane. The air conditioner is never on and the windows are closed choosing instead to use the car's filtered air coming through the vents. We never tow anything behind the car, the trunk never has more than a few bags of groceries and at most there is one adult and one toddler passenger. The tires are at 32psi.The car never idles more than 30 seconds except perhaps at traffic signals.
 
I think I have addressed all the mpg variables above. My wife and I are achieving 13.x mpg, all types of driving combined. We have used several different methods to measure mileage. Hyundai used their own unrealistically conservative test and got 16 mpg.
 
They will do nothing about this because the car "is operating within design parameters". I have gone up the chain of command even at the corporate level and have been basically told "mileage may vary" and I "have no recourse".
 
Anybody else with a similar horror story, either the mileage or their refusal to fix an obvious defect?

#622 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG [hyundailemon1] by nj2pa2nc

Feb 04, 2011 (12:29 pm)

Replying to: hyundailemon1 (Feb 04, 2011 12:20 pm)
wow that is not very good-we also own a '11 sonata GLS but with manual transmission. We average over 30 MPG. The best so far has been 37.6 doing highway driving with the cruise control on. (5 over speed limit) Speed limit on the highway near us is 70 MPH. Our sonata, bought 7/10, has 11,000+ miles

#623 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG [hyundailemon1] by jlindh

Feb 04, 2011 (3:35 pm)

Replying to: hyundailemon1 (Feb 04, 2011 12:20 pm)
Sounds to me like there is something seriously wrong. Could be your driving, but more likely the car. The car will get better mileage when fully broken in, but that still doesn't explain the mileage you're getting now. Do you have a trusted relative or friend that gets good gas mileage in their car? You might swap for a few days and see how they do. You might also try to get a loaner from your dealer and see how you do with that. Or, you might rent a Sonata and see how you do with that one.
 
This isn't going to cure your problem, but you should be able to figure out where the problem lies.

#624 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata Turbo MPG [bearsfreak] by kushtaka

Feb 04, 2011 (4:56 pm)

Replying to: bearsfreak (Jan 10, 2011 11:23 am)
I just bought my car last week and am below 400 miles, but my mileage is not much better than 20 mpg. However I think I have a bigger problem. The car I test drove seemed like a real screamer and threw my head against the head rest when I buried the accelerator. That instantly made me want the car. I was nice to my car during the pre-purchase test drive since I was actually going to buy the car and didn't want to abuse it before the break in. After purchasing, I buried the accelerator on my car and it didn't jump like the test drive car. I don't know if the car is acting normal or if I have a lemon. It just feels like a it is missing about 100 hp. It gets up to 80 mph fast enough to be hang with freeway traffic, but I paid for 274 hp and I want 274 hp. I would like to know other owners' 30-60 mph acceleration time and the general behind the wheel feeling. .

#625 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG [jlindh] by hyundailemon1

Feb 04, 2011 (7:51 pm)

Replying to: jlindh (Feb 04, 2011 3:35 pm)
My parents bought the 2011 Sonata 2 weeks before we did and are getting twice the mileage.
 
In terms of driving style we drive conservatively. In fact on the highway where the limit is 55 we don't drive faster than 63 mph, and then we got <23mpg. The EPA statistics Hyundai so fondly embraces and promotes, are for 22mpg in the city and 35 mpg on the highway. The reals world results found at the EPA website: http://www.fueleconomy.gov/mpg/MPG.do?action=mpgData&vehicleID=30105&browser=tru- e&details=on give an accurate picture of how insincere Hyundai is when they tell me 16 mpg is within design parameters.

#626 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG [hyundailemon1] by backy

Feb 04, 2011 (8:16 pm)

Replying to: hyundailemon1 (Feb 04, 2011 7:51 pm)
The other test you could do, pretty easily, is remove as many variables as possible. Find a stretch of highway that runs 10 or more miles w/o stops, and preferably over flat terrain. Choose a time of day when you can drive at a constant speed -- maybe on a weekend. If there is any kind of wind, do the test in both directions. The warmer the day, the better--don't choose a day much below freezing. Check that the tire pressures are to spec, warm up the engine, get up to highway speed (at the posted speed), then reset the mpg meter. Set the cruise control if you have trouble maintaining constant speed with a light foot on the gas. If this test doesn't achieve over 30 mpg (and it should be mid-30s at least if the speed is under 70), I think there's something wrong. If it does get that kind of fuel economy, then I think you need to look closely at how you drive, including idle time (at 0 mpg), pressure on the gas pedal, and average speed (which the Sonata measures, right?).
 
The idea about swapping your car, e.g. swap Sonatas with your parents, is a good one. If they get poor fuel economy while driving your car, and you get much better fuel economy driving their car, that will tell you a lot. But if they get good fuel economy while driving your car... that will tell you a lot also.

#627 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG [hyundailemon1] by jlindh

Feb 04, 2011 (11:18 pm)

Replying to: hyundailemon1 (Feb 04, 2011 7:51 pm)
Perfect, swap cars with your parents for a few weeks. Keep excellent records. Give your local dealer and Hyundai Corporate the results. If the results are as far out of whack as I suspect they might be, you should get some action from Hyundai. You have a perfect Lemon Law case if Hyundai cannot rectify the situation after you take the car in X number of times for repair. X will vary depending on your states' Lemon Law. Fifty percent less mileage can't be within specs, that's ridiculous.
 
By the way, awful is spelled AWFUL, aweful would be something else.
 
www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=aweful

#628 of 922 Re: 2011 Sonata GLS AWEFUL MPG [jlindh] by hyundailemon1

Feb 05, 2011 (12:14 pm)

Replying to: jlindh (Feb 04, 2011 11:18 pm)
Interestingly the numbers Hyundai achieved on their unrealistically CONSERVATIVE test were16 mpg "city" (and 22 highway). There were no cold starts, no stop and go traffic and little braking approaching stop signs, therefore little loss of kinetic energy/ wasted consumption of fuel. We coasted into stop signs at 2-3 mph
 
Hyundai has at various corporate levels told me the figures are within design parameters.
 
They have refused to "fix" the car because as far as they are concerned there is nothing wrong with the car. I am left only with pursuing the liberal New York State Lemon Law. I thought and still somehow hope Hyundai would, in the face of such a blatant defect, NOT tell me and the public, as I share my story of terrible mileage don't expect much of the 2011 Sonata. I continue to spread the word hoping the attention I get will "persuade" them to do the right thing.

Messages Page 63 of 93

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