Bad Mpg?

[mphil804]

I have a 2000 Corolla VE with an AWD package (it has the stock 1.8L VVTi engine). Recently, I checked my odometer reading for a full tank of gas. About 2/3 to 3/4 of the driving was done in the city and the rest were highway miles (this is a 13.2 gallon tank, I believe). The odometer read a little over 300 miles and what I'm wondering is why I'm getting what appears to be questionable fuel efficiency. It is time for the car to get a change of fluids, but not a tune up - and the tires are properly inflated, all between 32-25 PSI. Any ideas? Thanks!

[RedAE102]

Well first of all, it would be a lot easier to tell if you gave us concrete numbers to work with, such as the exact miles per gallon the car gets. This is simple to do. All you have to do is divide the tripmeter reading by the number of gallons required to fill the tank (use all three digits after the decimal place when you do!). Everyone is different in just how long they wait before they fill the car, so this simple calculation accounts for that.

Second of all, AWD has not been available in any North American Corolla since the AE95 Corolla All-Trac Wagon left these shores early in 1993. There simply has not been a market for four-wheel drive economy cars in this country, save for the low end of the Subaru lineup, and they're hardly economical.

The tyres should not be below 32 psi cold, so that could have some effect. 25 psi is too low.

[mphil804]

Well first of all, it would be a lot easier to tell if you gave us concrete numbers to work with, such as the exact miles per gallon the car gets.  This is simple to do.  All you have to do is divide the tripmeter reading by the number of gallons required to fill the tank (use all three digits after the decimal place when you do!).  Everyone is different in just how long they wait before they fill the car, so this simple calculation accounts for that.

Second of all, AWD has not been available in any North American Corolla since the AE95 Corolla All-Trac Wagon left these shores early in 1993.  There simply has not been a market for four-wheel drive economy cars in this country, save for the low end of the Subaru lineup, and they're hardly economical.

The tyres should not be below 32 psi cold, so that could have some effect.  25 psi is too low.

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I believe the exact number I got when I had to fill up was 305.4 miles on the tripmeter. And when I filled up (the needle was near empty) I had to put in about 10.5 gallons, though the tank is a 13.2 gal. As for the AWD thing, that's odd, because because the dealership said the car was AWD and even the gov't had me go to emissions testing (and every 2 years after the purchase) because my newly purchased car was an AWD. I don't suppose it's possible that it'd make any different that my Corolla was somehow assembled in Canada, would it? I can't say that it is, though. Of course, if it's not an AWD, then I've got a bone to pick with the emissions department of the Department of Transportation for making me drive all that way for nothing! And lastly, it looks like I made a typo. I meant to say 32-35 PSI, hahah.

[dvdmeister]

That doesn't seem so bad for a 1.8 - I only get aroung 42mpg in my 1.4 driving pretty gently, dropping down to 35 if I go for it :) - so 30mpg would seem OKish, but then I don't know what these cars normally do fuel consumption wise.

Also having low tyre pressures will screw your economy more than you would imagine - remember to only check your tyre pressures when the car has been driven a minimum of distance from cold, as the tyre pressures go up by 3-5psi when hot. Low tyre pressures will also knacker your tyres and affect the handling of the car so they are well worth checking regularly.

[RedAE102]

Well 29 mpg isn't particularly bad, considering it's right about where the US EPA estimates pin it at. Oh and that's in US mpg; that puts just under 35 mpg UK. Kind of complicates things, doesn't it? :) The VVT-i 1ZZ-FE is known for being especially frugal for its size, but there are so many variables here that it's nigh on impossible to make a completely accurate judgement. A lot of cold starts can really cut down on mpg (where the car sits for a few hours in between being driven), as it will run richer when cold, dumping extra fuel into the combustion chamber to keep things running smoothly. I'll just give you a quick run-down of what to check and possibly replace for the best fuel economy. First of all, the air filter... is it being replaced regularly? 30,000 miles is usually what they call for. The spark plugs should be replaced every 60,000 miles (they run platinum or Iridium plugs). PCV valve might be checked as well, they're cheap to replace. A common fault on 1998-2002 ZZE110 Corollas is the fuel charcoal canister getting saturated and failing, causing excessive fuel consumption (usually in the 20 mpg range!), but that will almost always trigger the "Check Engine" light during the OBD-II drive cycle. Tyre pressure is good at 32-35 psi... I run around 38-40 psi cold (many tyres are rated for 44 psi), which helps somewhat. Oh, and the 32 psi figure I gave is for cold tyres (driven less than 1 mile--preferrably not driven at all--after sitting overnight).

Oh, I forgot to ask... is it the manual or the 3-speed automatic model? How many miles are on it? And I was reading over my post again this morning, and I noticed that I may have seemed a bit short-tempered in the way I worded it... if it appeared that way, please forgive me, as it was not the way I intended it.

[mphil804]

Well 29 mpg isn't particularly bad, considering it's right about where the US EPA estimates pin it at.  Oh and that's in US mpg; that puts just under 35 mpg UK.  Kind of complicates things, doesn't it? :)  The VVT-i 1ZZ-FE is known for being especially frugal for its size, but there are so many variables here that it's nigh on impossible to make a completely accurate judgement.  A lot of cold starts can really cut down on mpg (where the car sits for a few hours in between being driven), as it will run richer when cold, dumping extra fuel into the combustion chamber to keep things running smoothly.  I'll just give you a quick run-down of what to check and possibly replace for the best fuel economy.  First of all, the air filter... is it being replaced regularly?  30,000 miles is usually what they call for.  The spark plugs should be replaced every 60,000 miles (they run platinum or iridium plugs).  PCV valve might be checked as well, they're cheap to replace.  A common fault on 1998-2002 ZZE110 Corollas is the fuel charcoal canister getting saturated and failing, causing excessive fuel consumption (usually in the 20 mpg range!), but that will almost always trigger the "Check Engine" light during the OBD-II drive cycle.  Tyre pressure is good at 32-35 psi... I run around 38-40 psi cold (many tyres are rated for 44 psi), which helps somewhat.  Oh, and the 32 psi figure I gave is for cold tyres (driven less than 1 mile--preferrably not driven at all--after sitting overnight).

Oh, I forgot to ask... is it the manual or the 3-speed automatic model?  How many miles are on it?  And I was reading over my post again this morning, and I noticed that I may have seemed a bit short-tempered in the way I worded it... if it appeared that way, please forgive me, as it was not the way I intended it.

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No offense taken at all. :) As of now, there are 61,200 (about) miles on the vehicle. Since it's the VE, it has the 3 speed automatic transmission. Since I've only had the car since about 58,500 miles when I got it from the dealer, I'm sure it's not the vehicle itself that is at fault, but my driving habits, such as small in-town trips and trips that aren't very consolidated. I just recall that when I first got the vehicle I got about 400 miles to a tank, sometimes a little bit more or a little bit less. By the way, what do you think of the claims by the dealer and the Department of Transportation that my vehicle is an AWD? I would be very pleased to know if there was a way to verify it short of checking the underside of the vehicle - though that may be what it all comes down to.

[RedAE102]

No offense taken at all. :) As of now, there are 61,200 (about) miles on the vehicle. Since it's the VE, it has the 3 speed automatic transmission. Since I've only had the car since about 58,500 miles when I got it from the dealer, I'm sure it's not the vehicle itself that is at fault, but my driving habits, such as small in-town trips and trips that aren't very consolidated. I just recall that when I first got the vehicle I got about 400 miles to a tank, sometimes a little bit more or a little bit less. By the way, what do you think of the claims by the dealer and the Department of Transportation that my vehicle is an AWD? I would be very pleased to know if there was a way to verify it short of checking the underside of the vehicle - though that may be what it all comes down to.

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There's nothing to verify... Toyota did not make any AWD Corollas since the AE95 All-Trac Wagon... The fact that a dealer would claim that it was AWD is absurd and they must be shot at once! :arrgg-matey: Same goes for the DoT! To ease your mind, you can check the white label on the B-pillar (will be on the body of the car next to the driver's seatback when you open the driver's door) under A/TM: should say -02A/A131L.... the only 4-wheel drive transaxles ended in H, such as A241H. L and E were standard control and electronic control, respectively. F denoted a transmission with an integral 4-wheel drive transfer case, such as on trucks that were RWD otherwise.

[mphil804]

Sure enough, according to your info, my car is a standard front wheel drive. I'm going to request that the DOT reimburse me for the money I spent on gas to go to their testing facility.