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Hyundai Sonata Real World MPG

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

You are in the Hyundai Sonata Forum.

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

Messages Page 86 of 93

#842 of 922 Re: mileage Sonata Limited 2012 [tja526] by larrys1352

Jun 10, 2012 (10:05 am)

Replying to: tja526 (Jun 09, 2012 2:47 pm)
I have the same "bad" gas mileage issues, but when you mention it in this forum someone always has a spin on why it's happening. My 2012 Sonata Limited gets 19 in the city and 33 on the hwy. I am 65 years old, go easy on the pedal and never do jack rabbit starts. The gas mileage on these cars are severely over-rated. In the latest edition of Kiplinger magazine they have a good article on an investigation done by the government concerning Hyundai claims.
Now my disclosure. I love Hyundai's and have owned them since 2004. It's a fact. the gas mileage numbers are over-rated.

#843 of 922 Re: mileage Sonata Limited 2012 [larrys1352] by crankeee

Jun 11, 2012 (5:49 am)

Replying to: larrys1352 (Jun 10, 2012 10:05 am)
We have 2012 GLS with PEP, that gor us alloy wheels but also the 205x65 18" tires that are standard. When properly inflated the rolling resistance is at its minimum. We prefer 36# in our cars and watch the pressure periodically. We get 22-24 in town and on the highway max is 37.4 at 65-70 MPH. Speed is biggest factor with 33 MPG at 75-80. We also make it a point to only use top tier gas; Shell, Exxon, BP, Chevron and Costco at times. The GLS is set up for max mileage and we feel we get the EPA #'s or better, depending on conditions.

#844 of 922 My new 2013 Sonata Limited by nymatt

Sep 03, 2012 (5:27 pm)

I got this new car just over a month ago. I'm on my third tank of gas and am closing in on 1,000 miles, and with 80% city driving, I'm averaging around 21 mpg. I keep the ECO boost on all the time and I'm pretty upset. I called the dealer last week and the service manager told me that around 8,000 miles the computer will have figured out my driving and it'll start to get better.
 
Has anyone ever heard of this? It sounded like a load of bull.
 
Otherwise, I like the car, but I expected a blended average well over 25 (since it advertised 25 MPG in the city).
 
Thanks

#845 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [nymatt] by bpe383

Sep 03, 2012 (7:05 pm)

Replying to: nymatt (Sep 03, 2012 5:27 pm)
LOL, welcome to the Hyundai lie. They have not gotten better, they just say they have. I had a 2011 that sucked. I purchased it brand new. Never got the 35MPG. I drove 132 miles a day with only six miles of road not interstate, and it only had three traffic lights. Very rural town. By the time I sold it I was lucky to get 28MPG highway. It had been back to the deal more than my 1991 camry with 240,000 miles had in 20 years. My glove box was so full of repair orders i couldn't put anything else in it. In fact I sold the hyundai, and went back to my camry with 240,000 miles. I get 30MPG and haven't had to fix it yet. Buy a toyota. O, and the Hyundai still had 5 issues that needed fixing when I sold it to the dealer. I didn't have time to have them fixed, as Hyundai doesn't give loaner cars. Even after all the crap that broke. What's worse was half the items they had to replace, were staring to go bad again when I sold it, and that wasn't part of the 5 items I mentioned. Same parts going bad again tells me it wasn't a bad luck thing. It was poor quality parts. Really I can't say how much of a piece of crap this car was.
 Problems: Brake switch, steering linkage, A/C compressor, A/C bracket, (they failed again a year later), window trim coming off, outer door panel coming off/loose, steering wheel controls broke. Radio broke, then radio lights stopped working in hot weather, power window wouldn't roll up only in 40* or lower weather, hard pull to left, map lights stop working, and more just can't remember.

#846 of 922 Update on my 2 Sonata's gas mileage by rickb56

Sep 04, 2012 (8:06 am)

Replying to: rickb56 (Mar 07, 2011 6:37 pm)
I now have 2 '06 Sonatas. Both have near 60k miles. I just took a trip with the 4 cylinder and achieved 34 mpg highway driving at 65-70 mph. Fairly flat roads, not much wind. My 6 cyl gets 32 under same conditions.
 I use synthetic oil and overinflate tires a bit which I believe gives me something like 5-10% improvement based on earlier readings.
 
Overall mileage is about 10% better with the 4 cyl. if mileage is 50/50 in-town/hwy. For anyone looking for a good used vehicle, I highly recommend an older Sonata. I have had no expense on either car except routine maintenance and second set of tires. The onboard computer is generally accurate but changes every few miles if you are going uphill, downhill, accelerating or coasting but the most common reading is very close to actual mileage when I use actual miles driven divided by gallons to replace.

#847 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [nymatt] by larrys1352

Sep 04, 2012 (11:44 am)

Replying to: nymatt (Sep 03, 2012 5:27 pm)
I bought mt 2012 Sonata Limited in November 2011. I was told the same story. I average about 19 in the city and about 32 on the highway I also own a 6 cyl 2007 Santa Fe that does not meet the expected gas mileage. You will hear all sorts of excuses, but the fact is in real world driving the MPG we get does not meet advertisements. Like you I like my Sonata and all it's features but am very disappointed with the MPG.

#848 of 922 Re: Update on my 2 Sonata's gas mileage [rickb56] by backy

Sep 04, 2012 (3:41 pm)

Replying to: rickb56 (Sep 04, 2012 8:06 am)
What a coincidence, I have a 2007 Sonata 4 cylinder with nearly 60k miles and I get about 34 mpg on the highway at 65-70 also. I can get a little better if it's 65 or less and no AC, but 34 is better than the EPA estimate so not too bad. I use regular oil, maybe put a couple pounds extra in the tires but don't focus on that. I bought the car used in Nov. 2009 and it's been a great car for us so far, still has the original brakes, very reliable. Hope to keep it another 4 years or so.

#849 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [larrys1352] by targettuning

Sep 05, 2012 (6:24 am)

Replying to: larrys1352 (Sep 04, 2012 11:44 am)
The real truth is that "your mileage may vary". What are your expectations? that it will meet or exceed the window sticker numbers? Many people DO meet these numbers, many exceed them however if you go into the gas mileage game absolutely blinded by the numbers on the sticker chances are you will be disappointed especially if you do nothing special to try to meet them but simply drive as always even if that means 85mph whenever traffic allows, find yourself in city grid-lock frequently and otherwise expect the car itself and the EPA generated "NUMBERS" to magically produce the "expected" stellar economy. Here is the hard truth...in most (note: NOT ALL) cases the real world fuel economy does not and cannot reproduce the EPA generated numbers because the tests are performed in a controlled, reproducable environment. These cars, and indeed all cars, perform to the ways and conditions under which they are driven and nothing, not even the almighty window sticker, will alter that. So, too bad that your cars do not meet your personal expectations although I believe your numbers aren't "bad" for the size of the car and conditions under which it is driven. Instead of complaining analyze what could be causing your personal numbers and try different driving styles, routes, or some other change that may actually increase them. One other thing, and every driver should know this because it is common sense, city driving is a series of stops- creep a car length and another stop during which any car is getting between zero (0) mpg and something in the mid to low teens (mpg). The only types of vehicles that do best in the city are hybrids and electric cars e.g. Volt, Leaf . It drives me nuts when owners continually point at the window sticker and complain they are not getting the "advertised" mileage and I wish there were more accurate means to transmit the estimated economy of a vehicle without resorting to the notoriously optimistic EPA...it almost always leads to finger pointing at the manufacturer for not delivering as "advertised".

#850 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [targettuning] by bpe383

Sep 05, 2012 (11:40 am)

Replying to: targettuning (Sep 05, 2012 6:24 am)
I respectfully disagree. The Sonata is the only car I've owned that didn't meet, or exceed the window sticker.
1: 91 camry- 35MPG when new, now 30 MPG 240,000 miles, sticker-29MPG
2: 88 Corvette-27-28 MPG, sticker-22-24MPG
3: 04 Corolla 38-40 MPG 235,000 miles - Sticker-35
4: 82 VW rabbit Diesel-50-52 MPG, Sticker-43 MPG
5: 02 maxima-28-30 MPG, Sticker-26
 
So heck yeah I expect the car to be closer than 23-28MPG on a 35MPG rating. The above is only a few of the cars I've owned. If they all meet or exceeded than why would I expect anything else in future cars? 28MPG with tires at 42PSI, mobile 1 full synthetic, and using hyper-mileage driving, and only 5% of my driving is rural/in-town driving. Nope there is something else wrong with their reports. To many people have complained. With tire PSI at the 32-35 and no hyper-mileage driving I would get 23-25 MPG highway/5% rural in-town. That's just plain misleading. Yes, it's the manufacture's fault, because they are the ones selling me the car under the idea it gets 35MPG. Do they not??? It's all over their commercials. Is it not??? If they know the EPA is over stating then they should do the RIGHT thing, and use those engineers minds and calculate what it should be closer to, and use those numbers. But they don't. They have no problem using those "optimistic EPA" numbers.

#851 of 922 Re: My new 2013 Sonata Limited [targettuning] by larrys1352

Sep 05, 2012 (2:06 pm)

Replying to: targettuning (Sep 05, 2012 6:24 am)
God forbid that our expectations would be that mileage "meets" the window sticker number.
Look, I am a Hyundai fan. At one point I owned a 2004 XG350, a 2007 Santa Fe and a 2012 Sonata.
I have talked to many Sonata owners. One thanked me for verifying their major complaint...MPG.
Listen, Consumer Reports had an article about complaints about the Elantra MPG claims. The government received so many complaints that they launced an investigation.
If you drive 60-65 on the highway and don't hit any red lights in the city, I am sure you can hit the numbers. But that is not real life. Try driving 65 on the California freeways and see what happens.
So the truth is you cannot count on the published figures...especially from Hyundai. Deduct 20% and maybe you'll be happy when you hit 20MPG in the city and 28MPG highway...because that is what you are going to get!

Messages Page 86 of 93

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