Dismal fuel economy
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Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
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From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
UPDATE
- I went to a local dealership and explained my situation about poor MPG. He gave me the same crap of "driving style, winter fuel blends" ... nothing we can do he said. So i contacted the dealership where i recently bought the car. Talked for a long time with a fantastic technician. He ran diagnosis on the car, said it was fine, not running lean or rich. Talked to me about it gradually improving as the car miles move in and after the first oil change things will improve. I only have 2500 miles on the car now but its slowly improving. Started at 19MPG and now averaging 25. I'm thinking around this summer with the first oil change and the better gas and more miles i will be reaching my goal of 28-30 MPG.
Side note- can someone explain, i have not looked yet but the oil situation with this car, i have heard some of you talk about it but what does the car use/want. When are you guys changing the oil? Thanks guys
- I went to a local dealership and explained my situation about poor MPG. He gave me the same crap of "driving style, winter fuel blends" ... nothing we can do he said. So i contacted the dealership where i recently bought the car. Talked for a long time with a fantastic technician. He ran diagnosis on the car, said it was fine, not running lean or rich. Talked to me about it gradually improving as the car miles move in and after the first oil change things will improve. I only have 2500 miles on the car now but its slowly improving. Started at 19MPG and now averaging 25. I'm thinking around this summer with the first oil change and the better gas and more miles i will be reaching my goal of 28-30 MPG.
Side note- can someone explain, i have not looked yet but the oil situation with this car, i have heard some of you talk about it but what does the car use/want. When are you guys changing the oil? Thanks guys
I'd already started a thread focused on the actual MPGs you can achieve by staying completely bone-stock, LINK
Also, regarding what motor oil you should used, please read above (page 5, POST#68)
Use ONLY 0-20W synthetic oil, as per manufacturer's recommendations / to obtain best MPG and CONFIRMED by member Noize
Last edited by mRVRsport; Apr 8, 2013 at 08:17 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2013
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Average speed? I have no idea actually. We drive a mix from city and highway. City is mostly the speedlimit. But when it's highways, the needle is hardly ever below 130 and frequently around 150.
It's a fun engine, that's for sure. Even if we just have the limited version of 115bhp & 300NM. Maybe I'll get the ecu tuned, don't know yet. Should have around 160bhp-350nm or so then.
But there are other things you Americans have that we want.
Cheap fuel for instance. Diesel is at €1.5/L or 7.4USD/Gallon for the moment. Ron95 is at €1.7/L. Nice isn't it
The warranty and service deals that you guys get! Here we just get 3 years/100k warranty, that's it. All the services we have to pay for ourself, tires, brakepads, etc etc etc.
My service at 15k was +/- €160, and just got the one done at 30k (incl fuelfilter) and that was +/- €330.
Also, these days diesels are terrible if you only drive around your townsquare. We do about 25k km's a year, so we don't have problems with the diesel particle filter (DPF). Do a google search for DPF problems, happy reading. If you don't frequently do +50km trips, you'll have trouble sooner or later. Just because the engine doesn't get on temperature to initiate the burning of particles collected in the filter. The filter will clog up, engine goes into limp mode and you need a forced regen. It can also happen that the the forced regen doesn't do the trick, and then you need a new DPF. +/- €750
It's a fun engine, that's for sure. Even if we just have the limited version of 115bhp & 300NM. Maybe I'll get the ecu tuned, don't know yet. Should have around 160bhp-350nm or so then.
But there are other things you Americans have that we want.
Cheap fuel for instance. Diesel is at €1.5/L or 7.4USD/Gallon for the moment. Ron95 is at €1.7/L. Nice isn't it
The warranty and service deals that you guys get! Here we just get 3 years/100k warranty, that's it. All the services we have to pay for ourself, tires, brakepads, etc etc etc.
My service at 15k was +/- €160, and just got the one done at 30k (incl fuelfilter) and that was +/- €330.
Also, these days diesels are terrible if you only drive around your townsquare. We do about 25k km's a year, so we don't have problems with the diesel particle filter (DPF). Do a google search for DPF problems, happy reading. If you don't frequently do +50km trips, you'll have trouble sooner or later. Just because the engine doesn't get on temperature to initiate the burning of particles collected in the filter. The filter will clog up, engine goes into limp mode and you need a forced regen. It can also happen that the the forced regen doesn't do the trick, and then you need a new DPF. +/- €750
Last edited by Ramaht; Apr 9, 2013 at 11:46 PM.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 27
From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
^
Good to have an actual account of what it's like to "deal" with diesel.
Always nice to have a different perspective to know/appreciate what we do get with our Mitsu's here in the States.
But, we like/want to haul stuff and you have us beat on that scale.
Good to have an actual account of what it's like to "deal" with diesel.
Always nice to have a different perspective to know/appreciate what we do get with our Mitsu's here in the States.
But, we like/want to haul stuff and you have us beat on that scale.
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Joined: Feb 2013
Posts: 16
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From: PA
Update!
Hey guys....wanted to give quick update.
This past Sunday, my Sport has turned over a new leaf! At approx 3,200 miles, my mpg all the sudden jumped to 28+. Since then, I really haven't been below 27mpg, and have been up to 29.5 just this morning.
It's been a little warmer, but I think it really may have been the break in time. Needless to say, i'm quite excited
This past Sunday, my Sport has turned over a new leaf! At approx 3,200 miles, my mpg all the sudden jumped to 28+. Since then, I really haven't been below 27mpg, and have been up to 29.5 just this morning.
It's been a little warmer, but I think it really may have been the break in time. Needless to say, i'm quite excited
Evolved Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 27
From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
Hey guys....wanted to give quick update.
This past Sunday, my Sport has turned over a new leaf! At approx 3,200 miles, my mpg all the sudden jumped to 28+. Since then, I really haven't been below 27mpg, and have been up to 29.5 just this morning.
It's been a little warmer, but I think it really may have been the break in time. Needless to say, i'm quite excited
This past Sunday, my Sport has turned over a new leaf! At approx 3,200 miles, my mpg all the sudden jumped to 28+. Since then, I really haven't been below 27mpg, and have been up to 29.5 just this morning.
It's been a little warmer, but I think it really may have been the break in time. Needless to say, i'm quite excited
I believe due to the lower viscosity of our motor oil (0-20W) AND the type of transmission and its fluid (CVTF-J1 - it's like baby oil, it's so light) it takes more time to properly break-in the drive-train. That's probably why we're only seeing MPG improvements after 3,000 miles.
From this point, when you drive between 60-65MPH (if traffic allows) you'll very likely see 32MPGs soon.
A few notes after reading through this topic.
Make sure your tire pressure is around 35-37 psi all around as measured when the tires are cold. After driving on them they will be in the high 30's which gives the best handling and fuel efficiency for these cars. Temperature changes will effect it +- 1 psi per 10*F change and it's not uncommon to lose as much as 1 psi per month over time. Driving on underinflated tires can kill MPG quite a bit and the car will have sluggish handling as well which is no fun!
Use non-synthetic when breaking the engine in when you first get the car or you may be cursed with poor fuel mileage for the life of that engine. This is because the rings need to seat properly and it's hit or miss if this was properly done from the factory. I ran the recommended 0w20 for the first 2 oil changes and then switched to synthetic and still manage 27-28 MPG for long trips in Highway driving at 75 mph average speeds.
Lots of elevation changes and windy conditions will really force the NA 2.0L engine to struggle to maintain higher speeds without burning more fuel. Consider if you are driving into a 20-30 mph headwind and traveling up and down hills at 75-80 mph it could easily explain the lower gas mileage. Throw in winter fuel mix and aggressive acceleration and I can totally see 20-22 MPG being all you would get. Remember that drag increases with the square of velocity so if the winds and hills made the engine work as hard as going 100-120 mph your MPG is going to suffer for sure. :P
Definitely get fuel at a local gas station you trust and fill it up, then drive on a tank and refill it at the same station and same pump if possible. Take Miles traveled and divide by the fuel you had to fill back in and that is your actual MPG. The dash gauge is just a calculation based on what it thinks is being injected into the engine. I only use it for comparison day to day. Try resetting it while you are driving on a flat highway at 75mph with cruise on, it should be 25-27 MPG easily. Do the same while traveling uphill or against a headwind and you'll notice it will be significantly lower.
Last comment would be those making shorter trips in winter weather. I've noticed these cars take a while to heat up to full 180*F+ coolant temps and during this warmup time the car gets quite a bit worse fuel mileage. If you tend to do a series of short trips that are less than 15 minutes each then you are probably almost always in warmup mode during the winter months.
Sorry for the long read but I think they are all valid points.
Make sure your tire pressure is around 35-37 psi all around as measured when the tires are cold. After driving on them they will be in the high 30's which gives the best handling and fuel efficiency for these cars. Temperature changes will effect it +- 1 psi per 10*F change and it's not uncommon to lose as much as 1 psi per month over time. Driving on underinflated tires can kill MPG quite a bit and the car will have sluggish handling as well which is no fun!
Use non-synthetic when breaking the engine in when you first get the car or you may be cursed with poor fuel mileage for the life of that engine. This is because the rings need to seat properly and it's hit or miss if this was properly done from the factory. I ran the recommended 0w20 for the first 2 oil changes and then switched to synthetic and still manage 27-28 MPG for long trips in Highway driving at 75 mph average speeds.
Lots of elevation changes and windy conditions will really force the NA 2.0L engine to struggle to maintain higher speeds without burning more fuel. Consider if you are driving into a 20-30 mph headwind and traveling up and down hills at 75-80 mph it could easily explain the lower gas mileage. Throw in winter fuel mix and aggressive acceleration and I can totally see 20-22 MPG being all you would get. Remember that drag increases with the square of velocity so if the winds and hills made the engine work as hard as going 100-120 mph your MPG is going to suffer for sure. :P
Definitely get fuel at a local gas station you trust and fill it up, then drive on a tank and refill it at the same station and same pump if possible. Take Miles traveled and divide by the fuel you had to fill back in and that is your actual MPG. The dash gauge is just a calculation based on what it thinks is being injected into the engine. I only use it for comparison day to day. Try resetting it while you are driving on a flat highway at 75mph with cruise on, it should be 25-27 MPG easily. Do the same while traveling uphill or against a headwind and you'll notice it will be significantly lower.
Last comment would be those making shorter trips in winter weather. I've noticed these cars take a while to heat up to full 180*F+ coolant temps and during this warmup time the car gets quite a bit worse fuel mileage. If you tend to do a series of short trips that are less than 15 minutes each then you are probably almost always in warmup mode during the winter months.
Sorry for the long read but I think they are all valid points.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 27
From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
A few notes after reading through this topic.
Make sure your tire pressure is around 35-37 psi all around as measured when the tires are cold. After driving on them they will be in the high 30's which gives the best handling and fuel efficiency for these cars. Temperature changes will effect it +- 1 psi per 10*F change and it's not uncommon to lose as much as 1 psi per month over time. Driving on underinflated tires can kill MPG quite a bit and the car will have sluggish handling as well which is no fun!
Use non-synthetic when breaking the engine in when you first get the car or you may be cursed with poor fuel mileage for the life of that engine. This is because the rings need to seat properly and it's hit or miss if this was properly done from the factory. I ran the recommended 0w20 for the first 2 oil changes and then switched to synthetic and still manage 27-28 MPG for long trips in Highway driving at 75 mph average speeds.
Lots of elevation changes and windy conditions will really force the NA 2.0L engine to struggle to maintain higher speeds without burning more fuel. Consider if you are driving into a 20-30 mph headwind and traveling up and down hills at 75-80 mph it could easily explain the lower gas mileage. Throw in winter fuel mix and aggressive acceleration and I can totally see 20-22 MPG being all you would get. Remember that drag increases with the square of velocity so if the winds and hills made the engine work as hard as going 100-120 mph your MPG is going to suffer for sure. :P
Definitely get fuel at a local gas station you trust and fill it up, then drive on a tank and refill it at the same station and same pump if possible. Take Miles traveled and divide by the fuel you had to fill back in and that is your actual MPG. The dash gauge is just a calculation based on what it thinks is being injected into the engine. I only use it for comparison day to day. Try resetting it while you are driving on a flat highway at 75mph with cruise on, it should be 25-27 MPG easily. Do the same while traveling uphill or against a headwind and you'll notice it will be significantly lower.
Last comment would be those making shorter trips in winter weather. I've noticed these cars take a while to heat up to full 180*F+ coolant temps and during this warmup time the car gets quite a bit worse fuel mileage. If you tend to do a series of short trips that are less than 15 minutes each then you are probably almost always in warmup mode during the winter months.
Sorry for the long read but I think they are all valid points.
Make sure your tire pressure is around 35-37 psi all around as measured when the tires are cold. After driving on them they will be in the high 30's which gives the best handling and fuel efficiency for these cars. Temperature changes will effect it +- 1 psi per 10*F change and it's not uncommon to lose as much as 1 psi per month over time. Driving on underinflated tires can kill MPG quite a bit and the car will have sluggish handling as well which is no fun!
Use non-synthetic when breaking the engine in when you first get the car or you may be cursed with poor fuel mileage for the life of that engine. This is because the rings need to seat properly and it's hit or miss if this was properly done from the factory. I ran the recommended 0w20 for the first 2 oil changes and then switched to synthetic and still manage 27-28 MPG for long trips in Highway driving at 75 mph average speeds.
Lots of elevation changes and windy conditions will really force the NA 2.0L engine to struggle to maintain higher speeds without burning more fuel. Consider if you are driving into a 20-30 mph headwind and traveling up and down hills at 75-80 mph it could easily explain the lower gas mileage. Throw in winter fuel mix and aggressive acceleration and I can totally see 20-22 MPG being all you would get. Remember that drag increases with the square of velocity so if the winds and hills made the engine work as hard as going 100-120 mph your MPG is going to suffer for sure. :P
Definitely get fuel at a local gas station you trust and fill it up, then drive on a tank and refill it at the same station and same pump if possible. Take Miles traveled and divide by the fuel you had to fill back in and that is your actual MPG. The dash gauge is just a calculation based on what it thinks is being injected into the engine. I only use it for comparison day to day. Try resetting it while you are driving on a flat highway at 75mph with cruise on, it should be 25-27 MPG easily. Do the same while traveling uphill or against a headwind and you'll notice it will be significantly lower.
Last comment would be those making shorter trips in winter weather. I've noticed these cars take a while to heat up to full 180*F+ coolant temps and during this warmup time the car gets quite a bit worse fuel mileage. If you tend to do a series of short trips that are less than 15 minutes each then you are probably almost always in warmup mode during the winter months.
Sorry for the long read but I think they are all valid points.
When all the points you made are solid. In fact, keep them coming.
Will do guys, BTW I double checked what tire pressures my door sill states and it actually does say 35 psi. I think someone posted that it was different on theirs which seems odd. 37 psi all around feels perfect and should give the best combo of contact patch and least rolling resistance without making the car feel too hyperactive.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
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From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
Feedback on our second new O.sport SE 4WD (Black), we have just passed 1,037 on ODO and have seen MPGs in the 24.7 range (set in AWD Auto mode 100% since we drove it off the dealer lot)
Newbie
Joined: Jun 2013
Posts: 10
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From: Nebraska
I was experiencing the same thing. I have a 100 mile round trip commute with 90%+ on the interstate and just the transitions onto and off of bridges would make it jump. If there was any wind at all, I would be completely worn out from fighting the steering by the time I got home
I finally bought an upper strut brace and it improved dramatically. I think any remaining issues are related to the stock tires. (those will be going away before the snow starts to fly). The strut brace I bought is made to fit an Evo, but bolted right on. Cost about $120 with shipping and took about 15 min to install.
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Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 569
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From: 1776
Filled up right when the refuel light came up. 13.8 Gallons and 248 miles equals just under 18mpg with mainly city driving in FWD mode. I hope it gets up to 25mpg after break in! I try to stay under 2k rpm for the most part, but I have my moments where I lose patience. I also had quite a bit of idling as well and you don't know if the tank is filled up all the way from factory.
Last edited by RA012124; Jun 23, 2013 at 06:16 PM.
Evolved Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 27
From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
When the Low Gas warning/chime goes off, you'll basically have alittle under 2 gallons left as reserves, which in most cases gives you about 50 miles before it goes completely empty.
NOTE:
Remember for those of us that have 4WD - we have a smaller gas tank = 15.8 gallons vs. FWD only, they have a 16.6 gal. tank.
@Wes,
Oh yeah your MPG will go up. Don't even sweat it.
I'd say just drive normal and don't even try so hard to hit the ECO light or keep it "under 2K RPM" thing at this time. It's odd but the MPGs seem to Only START improving after you get pass 3,500 miles... (as confirmed on both our old Silver and now our new Black O.Sports.)
NOTE:
Remember for those of us that have 4WD - we have a smaller gas tank = 15.8 gallons vs. FWD only, they have a 16.6 gal. tank.
@Wes,
Oh yeah your MPG will go up. Don't even sweat it.
I'd say just drive normal and don't even try so hard to hit the ECO light or keep it "under 2K RPM" thing at this time. It's odd but the MPGs seem to Only START improving after you get pass 3,500 miles... (as confirmed on both our old Silver and now our new Black O.Sports.)
Evolved Member
Joined: Jan 2013
Posts: 2,740
Likes: 27
From: Out towards the countryside of Dallas, TX (USA)
ouch!
That's insane... good that you got rid of that gas hog.
(That would have surely broke the bank once the gas prices goes up again later this summer.)
Instead, by that time you'll be rolling with 29-31MPGs
That's insane... good that you got rid of that gas hog.
(That would have surely broke the bank once the gas prices goes up again later this summer.)
Instead, by that time you'll be rolling with 29-31MPGs