Hey guys... I've been having this problem since about December. My car is absolutely sucking gas. I havent gotten better than 17mpg. Right now I'm at a half tank with only 67 miles.. My car doesnt act any differently then when i was getting 24-26mpg.. There are no fuel leeks anywhere.. I dont let my car sit and idle for more than 5 mins to warm up.. And i havent done any "spirted driving." The majority of my driving is residential city driving. I work and go to school about 3 blocks from my house. My average trips in my car is about 10 miles per day.. maybe more. I dont think that this is my problem because my mom has a 2002 v6 camero that i've drove the same route in before I got my lancer and i've always got like 30mpg.

If you have any ideas please help.

PS - My car is stock right now... I took my CAI off for the winter. I properly reset my ecu when i took it off as well.

Also, is it normal to get a Check engine light the entire time you have an intake on? I got the code read several times and it said something about a lean fuel mixture.

 

i have heard that in some cold places *please dont quote me on it* that they put an additive in the gas during the winter to help put down the freezing point in the gas *despite the fact gasoline has such a low low freezing point* and it makes ur MPG less than it should be. as for the CEL the whole time, which CAI do you use? either way when you put it on do you make sure everything is held down but not overly tightend? that might cause a leak somewhere i believe.

 

like i said before, my car is stock right now, I had the RRM CAI on it. The milage started to suck before it got cold... so i doubt that it has anything to do with a gas additive.

 

What is wrong? It is a Rallart for starters. LOL Just joking!

 

hey hey hey... none of that stuff! i guess ill let it slide by just because your in the IE

 

bring it in to get checked out and then warranty it like the dealership has never seen before

 

the dealership knows that i used to have an air intake on it... think that will matter?

 

Only if they can prove the CAI caused damage to whatever part is causing your crappy mileage. If it turned out to be mechanical damage to your air sensor, for example, they could reasonably say it was damaged when you installed your CAI. If it turned out to be a leaky injector, they could not. A failed O2 sensor, they might try to BS about it, but it'd be pretty difficult to prove anything there.

Do you have a CEL on now? What kind of mileage do you get on the first half tank after an ECU reset?

I'd probably take it in and see if they'll do it under warranty. Can't hurt to try.

 

no cel right now. went the "lean code" went away after i took off the intake.. lean fuel mixture shouldnt do anything right? after i reset my ecu i still get like crappy millage.. Right now i'm at a half tank with 68 miles on it... sigh...

 

Something is wrong and you should get it checked out. I live in the same area as you, with the same fuel sources, and I'm still getting around 25mpg. Crappy, since in the summer I get 30, but still a lot better than you.

Lean code will cause the ECU to throw more gas at the problem, which would kill your gas milage.

Also, no, it's not normal for the CEL to be on with a CAI. Either the sensor wasn't seated right, or it's damaged.

 

I have a CAI and my CEL turns on and off; it's actually getting quite annoying.

 

+1

 

Fuel injector flush? Or clean out your intake filter that might help a little.

 

yeah man, it may be as simple as a dirty air filter. other than that, i would go to the stealership.

 

u probably got bad injectors