New Corolla Low Mpg

[wootang]

Hi Folks,

Just got a brand new corolla t3, and from what i can tell i've used a full tank of fuel in 298 miles, and my trip computer says im ave. 26mpg. Is this right?? If not what can possibly be wrong?

Thanks in advance.

Michael

[runboy]

I live in a small city and do a range of city start/stop driving (60%) some urban (20%) and some dual carriageway (20%) and I will get about 300 miles per tank on a bad week, up to about 340 on a good week. My car has about 13000 miles on the clock so nicely run in I would hope.

What engine is your T3?

[Sergio]

yea what engine you running under there?

[wootang]

im running a 1.4 stock.

i just filled out today, and did 30 miles motorway driving, and i noticed the needle on the fuel gauge drop 4 notches. I also noticed that once it reaches half a tank on the gauge that it start to drop slower.

[Pablo 23]

wootang,

Check that the cold tire pressure is correct. Check early in the morning to see the real cold tire pressure or if after driving substract 3 or 4 psi to find the correct pressure. The car wheels have to be balanced and properly alligned. If any of these fails, fuel economy will drop.

Other than that, check what is the correct psi and expected fuel economy with the manual or with Toyota's web site.

[wootang]

Thanks pablo! I'll give that a go :D

[atikali2000]

I have a 1.4 T3 and on a full tank I usually get between 320-340 miles before the petrol warning light even comes on. I have been told that when the warning light comes on, the engine still has 20 odd miles of petrol left... is that correct? I never run the risk though, always filling up to max when the light comes on.

My mileage is usually just local city driving with occasional motorway journeys.

One other thing... on a full tank, I have noticed in my car that I need to do around 40-60 miles before the fuel needle even starts to drop. I think this is correct as I normally fill to the top ;)

By the way, my Corolla has done 17000 miles in the 18 months that I have had it.

Therefore: if a full tank costs me £35 odd pounds and I have done 17000 miles and each fill up is at an average of 330 miles...

17000 total miles / 330 miles per tank = 51.51 fill-ups x £35 per fill up = £1803 spent on petrol on my Corolla in 18 months :o

[Firebreather]

I have a 1.4 T3 and on a full tank I usually get between 320-340 miles before the petrol warning light even comes on. I have been told that when the warning light comes on, the engine still has 20 odd miles of petrol left... is that correct? I never run the risk though, always filling up to max when the light comes on.

My mileage is usually just local city driving with occasional motorway journeys.

One other thing... on a full tank, I have noticed in my car that I need to do around 40-60 miles before the fuel needle even starts to drop. I think this is correct as I normally fill to the top ;)

By the way, my Corolla has done 17000 miles in the 18 months that I have had it.

Therefore: if a full tank costs me £35 odd pounds and I have done 17000 miles and each fill up is at an average of 330 miles...

17000 total miles / 330 miles per tank = 51.51 fill-ups x £35 per fill up = £1803 spent on petrol on my Corolla in 18 months :o

Imagine all the mods that could be done with that amount of money

[APS]

Michael,

Yes 26mpg sounds low for a 1.4. But as all others say it's very much down to driving style. Also if your car is brand new you will have higher consumption until the engine is run-in. So the figure will improve over the next couple of thousand miles.

Driving careful you should be able to get well above 40mpg on longer runs.

As a rule of thumb - don't blindly trust the trip computer for fuel consumtion. Fill the tank up completely (I mean absolutely full), zero the trip meter and then fill up again. Do the maths and you get a figure closer reflecting reality.

All the best...

[wootang]

Thanks APS, I suppose i forgot to take into account of engine run in, probably that has a lot to do with it.

Cheers bud

[wise1]

My normal daily journey is about 70% motorway, 30% dual carriageway.

My 1.6 T-Spirit started by returning only about 32 mpg when I first bought her. Now she does around 36-38mpg after 1800 miles.

Give her a while to settle in and you should start to see the mpg climb.....

[theenemywithin]

Are you running the Air Cinditioning? When i turned it on on my Corolla T-Sport i looked at the Trip Computer and nearly spat my Teeth Out :o I lost about 7 MPG :o

[Pablo 23]

Thanks pablo! I'll give that a go :D

:bookworm:

No problem. Also remember as theenemywithin says, that using the

air conditioner will reduce the fuel efficiency, and I mean dramtaically.

Even having the correct tire pressure, wheel alignment and balanced wheels,

if you use the air conditioner you may easily loose 4 miles per gallon. If the tires are below the correct pressure and the rest fails, you may easily obtain 7 miles per gallon less.

Good Luck

[wise1]

Are you running the Air Cinditioning? When i turned it on on my Corolla T-Sport i looked at the Trip Computer and nearly spat my Teeth Out :o I lost about 7 MPG :o

I'm getting 36-38mpg with the aircon / climate control on all the time (set at 18/19c) - never turn it off.... :P

Bit better than my last car - BMW 740IL - only got about 20mpg in that

[APS]

If fuel consumption is a concern then move over to diesel and adopt a gentle driving style. With diesel, aircon makes no difference (not that I have noticed anyway) and consmption is generally lower.

I have managed over 62mpg several times. That means you do about 530 miles and fill less than 40litres.

Why am I concerned about mpg? Because I do about 25-30 000 miles per year and I pay for it myself.

However I still think petrol is more fun :)

[Pablo 23]

If fuel consumption is a concern then move over to diesel and adopt a gentle driving style. With diesel, aircon makes no difference (not that I have noticed anyway) and consmption is generally lower.

I have managed over 62mpg several times. That means you do about 530 miles and fill less than 40litres.

Why am I concerned about mpg? Because I do about 25-30 000 miles per year and I pay for it myself.

However I still think petrol is more fun :)

:bookworm:

If you use the US measure, using 40 liters for 530 miles is:

530 miles / 40 liters = 13.25 miles per liter (3.785) = 50.15 mpg

If you use the Import measure:

530 miles / 40 liters = 13.25 mpl (4.546) = 60.23 miles per gallon

50 mpg in the US, and probably most of the Americas and the Caribbean

are about 60 mpg with the Import measure.

If that is the case, you can do that with the 2004 Toyota Prius also,

without having to use a diesel.

Thanks

[APS]

Hello Pablo!

The exact figures are 39 litres for 537miles (my currentl record).

In US Gal. that is...

537/(39/3.785) = 52.1mpg (US) or 62.6mpg (Imp) (ah BTW Imp = 'Imperial')

However this is only average compared with other car manufactuarers making simlar sized diesels.

Diesels are not a bad thing. The enourmous amount of torque is more useful in everyday driving. I like it very much.