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Suzuki SX4 MPG Real World Numbers

110 messages,  Last post on Feb 22, 2011 at 8:38 PM

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What is this discussion about? Suzuki SX4, SUV

Messages Page 8 of 11

#71 of 110 noise from a/c ducks in 2007 SX4 by lewis55555

Jun 29, 2008 (7:18 am)

I notice some slight crackling sound coming from the A/C fan through the vents. I will take it back to Suzuki for a checkout. Is anyone else having the same experience?
 
Noise Hater

#72 of 110 MPG for 10K miles by dudeboy

Jul 09, 2008 (8:48 pm)

We've just passed 10,000 miles on our '07 SX4 5-speed and the overall average is at 27.73 MPG. We've been able to exceed 30 MPG on probably 3 or 4 tanks. Oregon now requires gasoline to contain 10% ethanol and the mileage has dropped at least 5% because of it. I'm still happy with the fact that I can meet or exceed the EPA highway rating of 28 MPG consistently. It would be nice to have higher mileage with the current gas prices, but I'm satisfied with this mileage for a 3000 lb. AWD car. This past winter was a rough one with lots of snow and the SX4 performed very well. A little more ground clearance would be nice in deep snow, but with studded tires on all four wheels it is very competent.

#73 of 110 Re: First two tanks of gas [gregg_vw] by garandman

Jul 27, 2008 (3:52 pm)

Replying to: gregg_vw (May 20, 2008 11:38 am)
>>>When on an expressway, I try to find a truck to draft behind that is going about as fast as I want to go. It makes a difference of several extra miles per gallon and you don't have to be on the guy's bumper...just reasonably close and alert. Your readout will tell when you've hit the right spot. If you ever plan to to drive faster than 70 mph, you should have something in front, or your mileage will suffer accordingly.
 
If you ride a motorcycle behind a truck, the experience will belie your "technique." You are just putting yourself in extremely turbulent air, not "drafting." It is both unsafe and unsound.

#74 of 110 Re: First two tanks of gas [gregg_vw] by tidester

Jul 28, 2008 (1:01 am)

Replying to: gregg_vw (May 20, 2008 11:38 am)
It makes a difference of several extra miles per gallon ...
 
I haven't worked out the aerodynamics but it would seem to me that if you are benefitting from "drafting" by tailgating a truck then it is coming at the expense of the truck's gas mileage. That "savings" is coming out of the trucker's paycheck and the higher prices the rest of us pay for goods in the marketplace.
 
Moreover, it is dangerous and you're putting others at risk.
 
tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

#75 of 110 Best MPG by 8str8rollin

Jul 28, 2008 (1:47 pm)

Ok so i've heard this now from several ppl that own Aerio's or SX4's which have the same engine.
These engines were designed primarily to be cost effective from the manufacturing standpoint. THis is one of the ways that Suzuki is able to keep the cost down on the SX4. One of the trade offs is that the engine has it's own quirks. One of them is that it doesnt receive the type of attention that a more refined and cost intensive engine would receive like for example in cars that cost twice the price. A good BMW engine comes in fully tuned and "blue printed" state. This is why the J20 engine which is in the Aerio/SX4 in many cases takes so long to break-in. But there is another problem. In order to get the rings to seat properly, it takes a fair amount of compression and lots of coaxing. This can be a problem though for high efficiency/low emmision engines, since they are running so lean now in order to meet newest emission standards that it tends to create a residue in the combustion chamber if the car is driven "too softly". Specially when the car is brand new. Where the problem happens is that the rings/seals are not being forced to seat properly because the person is driving like an old woman and never really letting the engine red-line. This type of driving continues for thousands of miles... and the rings in the J20 engine still have not seated 100%, and because of the low rev conditions, the dirty combustion causes the carbon to build up in the groove where the ring should have seated already but has completely. This is definitely not a good thing because this may prevent the rings from ever seating properly since the carbon is taking up space, and thus, gas mileage will never reach what it should, and other problems might develp as well such as pinging (caused by seapage of fuel past the chamber causing pre-ignition detonation), CEL problems, and possibly even/upto bearing failure do to pre-ignition detonation combustible by-products that eat away at bearing parts. I got most of this info from suzuki technicians, the few that are actualy willing to say what they know. Remember most dealer specific technitions would never divulge info like this for obvious reasons.
So the Suzuki Technician that talked to, his name is Taki, he's a veritable genious with japanese engines. He said he's seen this problem most with the J20 engines when ppl drive it too softly after they first buy it. His recommendation is the following.
Just drive easy for the first 500 miles. Keep it under freeway speeds if possible. After 500 miles dump the oil, get fresh oil. Now you are ready for REAL break-in.
Doesn't matter if u have an automatic or 5-speed.
Go pick a freeway entrance of your choice. One that will be convinient. I used to do this late at night when there was little traffic.
get on the freeway on-ramp near where it starts but pull over to the shoulder. Make sure no cars are behind you or in front of you. When it's clear then go ahead and floor your pedal getting onto the ramp. Keep the pedal floor (automatic) all the way until you've reached maximum legal freeway speed. 5-speed, floor it wait until you hit redline each time before you shift, going all the way up to maximum legal freeway speed. That's it. Just drive like normal the rest of your ride. You want to do this hopefully once a day for atleast a few months straight, or until you've reached 5k miles. At first you might notice a slight decrease in gas mileage only because you are burning of a bit more by doing these redline runs. But after a few tank fulls, you will begin to notice small but real increases in MPG's. Get your oil changed again at 3000 miles. From this point on depending on the type of driving you do and the driving conditions where you live, I recommend oil changes between 3500 to 5000 mile intervals. If you choose to go synthetic then you might be able to strech out the intervals even longer.
After 5k miles your engine will be broken-in well enough to where you should be at about 80% to 90% of the MPG you will be able to get out of the car. The remaining 10% to 20% will continue come as you continue driving and reach about 15k.
A few other tips for you that you should at least consider/try. Usually the stock tires that come with the Aerio/SX4 are crappy and not very efficient. They have a lot of rolling resistance to them. One way of getting around this is to go a bit above the recommended psi when filling them. I use between 35 to 41 psi for best results. You can actualy feel a difference at around 38 psi in the way that the car handles. It gives the impression that the car is lighter. Stearing wheel responds faster. When I picked up my car from the dealership brand new, the tires where at between 17 psi and 23 psi each! That is terrible. So check yours! Also, every time I go to get an oil change or service done on the car the bloody wankers that work there always either over-inflate my tires or under-inflate them! So check them each time after you have any work done, even oil changes. Make sure you use a digital tire gage, not one of those cheap plastic ones that have the little stick that pops out LOL. Those are so inaccurate!
After about 12k to 15k is when I would consider using either a synthetic oil or sticking with the regular oil but adding a friction reducer like DuraLube. G.I. Joe's sells it for $12.99 per bottle and it comes with a free bottle of Fuel System Cleaner. You can also get it at WalMart but they dont have the box that comes with the fuel system cleaner at WalMart. There are other ones out there but I've tested this one time and time again on several different cars and I always get good results. I only use between 1/4 to 1/2 a bottle every other oil change. The first time you use it you can try adding a whole bottle and then in subsequent oil changes cut back to about 1/2 a bottle every other or every 3rd or 4th oil change even. I add it when the engine is running. As soon as u at the first bottle you will immediately hear your engine get more quiet while you are pouring it in! You may also notice it runs smoother, specially at idle. If instead you decide to go with a synthetic motor oil like Mobil-1 you can skip the DuraLube.
Ok now, if you have a 5-speed like I do, when you drive in the city, you should keep your shifts down below 2000 RPM's. It's kinda tricky in 1st gear but you will get used to it very quickly. You just gotta go real light. Then after 1st gear, it's much easier to shift below 2000 RPM's in the other gears. By the time I reach 30 miles per hour, I'm already in 5th gear with no problems.
If you own an automatic just make sure you are starting off slow, and build up speed slowly. In the Aerio just keep the overdrive button on.
In the SX4, unless its snowing out or there are other adverse road conditions for goodness sakes keep your car in FWD mode! AWD is nice when it's needed but in normal conditions

#76 of 110 I'm seriously thinking of buying an SX4 by igozoomzoom

Jul 31, 2008 (3:29 am)

In my 19 years of driving, I've owned nine cars- eight were Hondas and my current vehicle, '06 Mazda3, was the first car that was able to 'woo' me away from Honda. Of couse, the fact that the current Civic is, as one auto mag so blunty put it, shaped like a suppository did it's part in pushing me away from the brand.
 
I always had an inexplicable afffection for the dorky/wonky-looking Aerio. It was a great little car with more personality than most any other econobox when it was introduced in 2002. The symmetrical, freakishly narrow slit of an instrument panel wasn't very easy to read in daylight, but the digital gauges took me back to my high school days when my sister would let me drive her '85 300ZX with it's Lite-Brite instrument display. Compared to most other subcompacts, it was much peppier and handled quite well. Back then I traveled almost every week for my job and went through the same routine ad nauseum with rental car desk clerks- they simply couldn't comprehend that I WANTED an Aerio....not a LeSabre or Impala 'upgrade'. Once they redesigned the interior and added AWD as an option for 2005, it truly was the BEST car that nobody knew about!
 
The SX4 Sport struck my fancy the moment I layed eyes on it, though. No awkward proportions or polarizing design elements like the Aerio....this is actually a dang good looking car from every angle! The interior design, materials and fit/finish- another slam-dunk! And totally unexpected features such as Automatic Climate Control on the Touring trim level and even the least expensive Navigation system (costing $490 or less depending on trim level- compared to $1750 in the Civic and $1950 in the Mazda3...and even then, only an option on their $20k top of the line trim level).
 
The real world fuel economy was the only real concern that I had about the SX4. The automotive websites and magazines have mentioned that they didn't get the best MPG, but they're also driving most test cars wide-open most of the time. I use Consumer Reports fuel economy figures on the models they've tested, but they have only tested the SX4 AWD Crossover so far.
 
The figures I've seen posted here and a few other similar forums that I've discovered seem to be almost identical to my current Mazda3, so I can certainly live with that. I'd rather have a little extra kick in reserve when I need or want it even if it does cost a few MPG overall.
 
The only change I'd love to see Suzuki make , and it's highly unlikely in the near future, is upgrading the automtaic transmission to a more modern 5-speed automatic unit. Highway fuel economy would see a boost of 2-3mpg and low-end acceleration would improve as well (provided they optimized the gearing to achieve these improvements). Perhaps when they roll out more home-grown (Japanese, not mediocre Daewoos like the Reno and Forenza) they'll also develop a new transmission.
 
In the meantime, I think I'll be paying my Suzuki dealer a visit for a test drive tomorrow....

#77 of 110 My mileage by wishbeter

Aug 20, 2008 (8:04 am)

I drive a lot, since my girls live 2.5 hours away and I'm an outside salesman. I average about 25 - 26 MPG, both freeway and city driving. On the freeway, I get about 30, and in town, I get about 20. I have 13,000 miles on my SX4. I love this little car!!
 
-Sean

#78 of 110 Sweet spot by perry99

Sep 18, 2008 (3:36 pm)

In the almost year I've had my SX4 Crossover (w/Touring, AT), I've been getting anywhere from 19mpg to 28mpg per tank in hilly Seattle, depending on my city/highway mix. Last weekend I went on a trip where I drove mostly on rural state roads going mostly 50-55mph. I finally got over 30mpg (about 31mpg) overall on a tank of gas. Goes to show that you'll get better gas mileage in the 50-60mph range than in the 60-70+ range

#79 of 110 Re: First two tanks of gas [harleybabe6] by perry99

Sep 18, 2008 (3:40 pm)

Replying to: harleybabe6 (Mar 31, 2008 6:48 am)
Well, as it turns out, the computer DID need to be reset. Now it's showing anywhere from 22.6 to 24.5 city ..... just hold the two buttons on the right for about 5 sec and it will blank out and then all blank dashes will appear. That resets it..
Actually, you just need to press and hold the left of the 2 buttons to reset the mileage, not both.

#80 of 110 Re: First two tanks of gas [qtlilpanda] by silversx4

Sep 24, 2008 (7:31 pm)

Replying to: qtlilpanda (Mar 30, 2008 8:00 pm)
I now have 6000 miles on my 08 sedan sport (MT). I average 33.1 mpg. I live in the mountains and try to stick to freeways.My mileage really jumped 3000 miles and after my first oil change.

Messages Page 8 of 11

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