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Car Forum / Chevrolet / Chevrolet Malibu / February 2006Lousy gas mileage: '04 Classic
Hi all. I bought a 2004 Malibu Classic on Nov. 26, 2005. Overall it's been a great car so far. It has met or exceeded my expectatons in all ways but one---but that one's a doozy: The fuel economy stinks. I mean it's nowhere near the advertised 24/34. Not even close. I do a mix of city and highway driving, usually more highway than city---and at reasonable speeds---and my mpg has averaged 23-24 overall. Never has it topped 25 mpg, even when it was mostly highway miles. Granted it's winter and I have snow tires on the car, but even so, this is way below what I hoped for and expected. The Ecotec's great rep and the 24/34 sticker were two big reasons I bought the car in the first place. I've done everything I could to increase fuel economy, too. I checked the air filter: That was almost new; credit to the dealer on that one. I had the oil changed, even though it was not yet time, with Mobil One full synthetic. I bumped up the air pressure in the tires (Kelly MagnaGrips I bought new on Nov. 30) from 30 to 32 psi. I had a friend who knows far more about cars that I do take a look at it and take it for a spin, but he found nothing wrong. I've checked the oil several times since it was changed and it's yet to use a drop. I drive the speed limit or at most 5 mph over. Much of my highway driving is with the cruise control on at 55-60 mph. I keep the windows closed and the heat/defrost kept to a minimum. I make a point to ease away from traffic lights and stop signs. Etc.... Apart from the gas mileage, everything else is working perfectly. Knock on wood, it's almost a dream ride in some ways, considering what I paid for the Classic. But....with the price of gas where it is and working hard for a living, the lousy fuel economy is a real problem. Anyone else have this problem? If so do you have any suggestions or advice? Note that my car is a Classic, which means it has the 140 hp 2.2 L 4-cylinder engine, but in all other ways is identical to the 2003 "mainstream" Malibu. (That only came with the 3.1 L V-6.) BTW, before you ask: Yes I have checked to be sure it really has the four-cylinder and there was not some horrible mix-up at the assembly plant. I'm no mechanic but I'm not that dense. If I could get very high 20s mpg overall with this car, as I expected, I would probably keep it till the body rusted off. If things don;t improve, though, I might have to explore other options. Regards, Eric M . My wife has a '04 classic and she is avg. is 29-31 withe some city and highway driving and we have around 41000-42000 miles on the car. > Hi all. > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > . > My wife has a '04 classic and she is avg. is 29-31 withe some city and > highway driving and we have around 41000-42000 miles on the car. Thanks for the reply and congrats on the good-to-great gas mileage. Where do you live, if I may ask? Do you get serious cold and winter weather? If so do you have snow tires on the car? Regards, Eric M We are in NC and the winter has not been all that cold yet and we are still running the factory goodyear tires. >> My wife has a '04 classic and she is avg. is 29-31 withe some city and >> highway driving and we have around 41000-42000 miles on the car. [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > Regards, > Eric M > Hi all. > [quoted text clipped - 49 lines] > > . People are often surprised at how different from the EPA ratings most cars get on milage. It's also in many cases that slow starts save gas. Don't floor it, and don't jackrabbit start, but frankly, you want to accelerate somewhat briskly and get up to speed and in high gear fairly quickly. My 2003 Malibu gets 22-23 in mixed driving (more highway than not) but when I get on the road for a long trip I get about 28-34. However, winter milage is generally much lower than summer and there are SEVERAL reasons. First, you get more friction in the winter than summer, second, winter fuel is formulated differently (less energy per gallon) and to top it off, I have recently seen information that leads me to believe that the amount of fuel you get in winter is actually less for the same price than in summer as when I have heard is that gas pumps are temp compensated and are designed to measure fuel based on a standard temp (if it's warmer you actually get more, and less if it's colder). To make it worse, I actually have often found that smaller engines do NOT always mean better milage. My other car is a Camaro, and amazingly, the V8 cars tend to get better highway milage than the V6 cars. As for city driving, it's all based on accelerating quickly without overdoing it so you don't waste too much time in lower gears. I actually usually get better milage driving the same car as my wife does with it. She tends to accelerate slowly and I tend to accelerate quickly (not jackrabbit starts however).  SignatureCy Welch 89 Camaro RS 5.0 TBI 98 Passport 03 Malibu > People are often surprised at how different from the EPA ratings most > cars get on milage. It's also in many cases that slow starts save gas. [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > tends to accelerate slowly and I tend to accelerate quickly (not > jackrabbit starts however). Interesting point about the quick acceleration actually helping fuel economy. I'm neither a slowpoke nor a jackrabbit, but I've tried to err on the side of keeping it slow and easy. I've always heard it's best to keep the rpms as low as possible. Perhaps I"ll try to peel out with just a tad more spirit and see if that helps....ERM >>People are often surprised at how different from the EPA ratings most >>cars get on milage. It's also in many cases that slow starts save gas. [quoted text clipped - 26 lines] > keep the rpms as low as possible. Perhaps I"ll try to peel out with > just a tad more spirit and see if that helps....ERM Remember, the idea is to get into the highest gear as fast as possible without dropping the engine out of it's power and torque bands. SignatureCy Welch 89 Camaro RS 5.0 TBI 98 Passport 03 Malibu >>> People are often surprised at how different from the EPA ratings most >>> cars get on milage. It's also in many cases that slow starts save gas. [quoted text clipped - 29 lines] > Remember, the idea is to get into the highest gear as fast as possible > without dropping the engine out of it's power and torque bands. Moderation is the key. |
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