A couple of weeks ago I got my oil changed, and before the oil change I was getting rougly 20mpg. After the oil change, I've been getting around 14mpg. Now, I do take into consideration that I'm doing mostly city driving, but I was living in the city for a month before the oil change, and I still got around 20. Also, while accelerating, the needle drops considerably, I've never noticed it before until now. I usually dont get down to the 3/4 mark until around 100 miles, but now I'm already past the 3/4 mark and i've only driven 65 miles. What are some potential reasons for this?
Poor Gas Mileage
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What needle???
JR
JR
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The gas guage needle, if the rpm or speedo needles were dropping I'd be scared.
[/b][/quote]Yeah...I'm retarded...
Is your car smoking or running very roughly?
JR
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jason8225
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Sounds like fuel is leaking someplace to me...
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Maybe leaking...are you smelling anything or seeing moisture?
Park the car and let it run for a few minutes. Check to see if there is any moisture on the ground when you're done. Also open the hood and check to see that nothing is dripping down the engine block or anything.
JR
Park the car and let it run for a few minutes. Check to see if there is any moisture on the ground when you're done. Also open the hood and check to see that nothing is dripping down the engine block or anything.
JR
Maybe crawl on the ground around the car and see if you notice any obvious smells of gasoline.Originally posted by jason8225@Oct 5 2004, 07:13 PM
Sounds like fuel is leaking someplace to me...
Maybe you got some bad gas? Do you notice any performance problems? Are all your tires inflated properly? Just some basic things to check before going deeper...Maybe the last time you "filled up", the gas tank didn't fill all the way...One of the gas stations near me has funny gasoline nozzles that always seem to get the automatic shutoff to trip well before the gas tank is full. After some experimenting, I've found that the auto shutoff will sometimes trip and you pull the handle again and it'll fill another 2 gallons before tripping again...
So far i've gone through two tanks of gas, from two different stations. No smells or leaks. The only thing I can think of now is that they over inflated my tires. I remember the sheet they gave me said they filled it up to 40psi, which is a lot more than I ever do, but I dont see how that would kill my mileage like it is. I'm going home this weekend (i'm in college) where i'll have access to a more accurate pressure gauge.
What was the viscosity (5W20, 10W40 etc) of the oil put in during the change?
Also a locking gas cap might help with mileage. We had a crankhead gas thief running around our neighborhood for a while. With prices going up (again) the likelyhood of someone going around with an Okie credit card is more likely.
Also a locking gas cap might help with mileage. We had a crankhead gas thief running around our neighborhood for a while. With prices going up (again) the likelyhood of someone going around with an Okie credit card is more likely.
J
jason8225
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I don't think the tires would cause that. My tires say 44 PSI max, I run them at 40-42 (I like them to be more firm). At that pressure I just got 28 MPG all the way to Rhode Island.
Are you sure your gas gauge is accurate? Like when it reads 1/4 left and you fill the tank, does it take a "normal" amount to get it back up to full? This is a very strange problem... :headscratch:When I hit empty this last time, I figured i'd test to see if the guage is accurate, and it was. I'm just losing gas very rapidly, as of this morning I've got a little over half a tank and i've only driven 110 miles, last tank i got 240 on the tank, so i'm almost on par with last time.
Edit: Viscosity was 10w-30
Edit: Viscosity was 10w-30
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Well, as for the tires, overinflation will cause your tires to be a little more efficient, in terms of gasoline usage, as there is less rubber making contact with the road. If they are underinflated, more rubber, less mileage.
As for the gas gauge, the sensor or the analog potentiometer (gauge) might have gone bad. What I would do is get a completely full tank of gas, then get a 5 gallon gasoline container, and fill that up. Run the car until it's completely out of gas...I mean when it stalls and you can't start it anymore. Check your mileage...if it's still about 300 - 350 miles, you're fine...it's the gauge or the sensor in the tank. If it's significantly less than that, you might have a problem somewhere. I have a 98 with the 'tec, and I average just about 24 mpg at all times. From the time I fill up to the time my light comes on, I'm typically between 300-320 miles, and I have at least another 2-3 gallons in the tank.
JR
As for the gas gauge, the sensor or the analog potentiometer (gauge) might have gone bad. What I would do is get a completely full tank of gas, then get a 5 gallon gasoline container, and fill that up. Run the car until it's completely out of gas...I mean when it stalls and you can't start it anymore. Check your mileage...if it's still about 300 - 350 miles, you're fine...it's the gauge or the sensor in the tank. If it's significantly less than that, you might have a problem somewhere. I have a 98 with the 'tec, and I average just about 24 mpg at all times. From the time I fill up to the time my light comes on, I'm typically between 300-320 miles, and I have at least another 2-3 gallons in the tank.
JR
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