Gas Milage Going Waaay Down! - Allpar Forums for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Plymouth, and more

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Gas Milage Going Waaay Down! Rate Topic:

#1 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 03 July 2006 - 05:56 AM

If you were a registered user, you would not be seeing this!

I have a 2.0 SXT with CVT.

Brand new I was getting 28 MPG combined. (55-65 Hwy)

by 800 miles I was getting 23-24 combined.

Now that I have 2000 miles I just got 18-21 on a 1200 mile road trip. Keep in mind I was
going 75-80 but that low on highway!!!!!??????????

Plus I noticed when it got real hot (89-105) there was a intermitant quiet tinny pinging comming from the front engine compartment?

Whats going on?
-Andy

#2 juma1998

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Group: Active Member
Posts: 2,286
Joined: 01-March 03
Location:Ohio

Posted 03 July 2006 - 08:15 AM

flyusmc, on Jul 3 2006, 06:56 AM, said:

With the pinging try another brand of gas. See if your mileage goes up to. If the gas is crappy it can have real negative effects.

#3 moparknighthawk

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Joined: 31-March 04

Posted 03 July 2006 - 10:11 AM

Keep in mind the gas mileage figures posted are acheived more closely going 55 MPH. The 75-80 MPH will hurt gas mileage quite a bit. Most people can't seem to understand this. You cannot expect good gas mileage when going fast, even though its keeping up with traffic. The gas mileage figures to not take into account real world conditions.

#4 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 05 July 2006 - 03:09 AM

If you were a registered user, you would not be seeing this!

moparknighthawk, on Jul 3 2006, 07:11 AM, said:

Keep in mind the gas mileage figures posted are acheived more closely going 55 MPH. The 75-80 MPH will urt gas mileage quite a bit. Most people can't seem to understand this. You cannot expect good gas mileage when going fast, even though its keeping up with traffic. The gas mileage figures to not take into account real world conditions.

I thank everyone for their comments....but I still think 18-21 is waaaay low for ALL HWY milage. As far gas is concerned. I used 87 octane the entire trip. This includes from Utah to Colorado where because of the altitude base octane drops from 87 to 85. Less atmospheric pressure means lower compression (compression ratio drops in your car unless you have a turbo.)

Bottom line is I don't expect great gas milage going fast...but over a 10 MPG drop seems waaay below, plus pinging even going to a mid-grade gas (for the altitude.)

Any other throughts?

Thank You,
-Andy

This post has been edited by flyusmc: 05 July 2006 - 03:10 AM

#5 Bob Hohn

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Posts: 781
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Location:Dover, Delaware

Posted 05 July 2006 - 06:39 AM

Just curious, are you actually calculating the mileage, or are you going by how many miles you get on your trip odometer? I know with my PT, it can go thru times where the gas gauge is pretty accurate, then there are times that there is still 4 gallons left when the low fuel light comes on. Just a thought for you.

#6 GaryS

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Posted 05 July 2006 - 06:49 AM

My mileage always increases when I drive in that area. I recently crossed Colorado, and my '03 Grand Caravan with 3.8 averaged 28. I once got 29 on that same trip. That's driving 75-80 and staying with the traffic flow.

My '99 Dakota 318, automatic, which averaged around 20 in all driving, could get as much as 26 in that high altitude driving.

It sounds to me like you have a problem that I'd be turning over to the dealer to resolve.

#7 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 05 July 2006 - 08:34 AM

Bob Hohn, on Jul 5 2006, 03:39 AM, said:

I caculate it by miles traveled (by the odometer) vs. Gallons used to fill up.

I.E. 215 miles with 11.25 Gal used to fill up =19.111111

-Andy

#8 juma1998

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Location:Ohio

Posted 05 July 2006 - 10:11 AM

Bob Hohn, on Jul 5 2006, 07:39 AM, said:

Good call - My Neon is the same way. I wonder if they purposely made the low fuel light come on sooner to help preserve Fuel Pumps?!

#9 VNT

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Posted 05 July 2006 - 10:19 AM

Do a test and drive 65 for one tank on a road trip.

Also do you have the crappy summer gas???

#10 DaveAdmin

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Location:United States

Posted 05 July 2006 - 11:30 AM

Ethanol does reduce gas mileage - I'd GUESS by about 7%.

#11 geraldg

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Location:phoenix,az

Posted 05 July 2006 - 10:56 PM

I live in phoenix,az and we have more mixtures than anyone in the country and I get 26mpg on my truck winter or summer,air on or off. I constanly get over 400 miles per tank. :D

#12 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 06 July 2006 - 03:40 PM

geraldg, on Jul 5 2006, 07:56 PM, said:

I live in phoenix,az and we have more mixtures than anyone in the country and I get 26mpg on my truck winter or summer,air on or off. I constanly get over 400 miles per tank. :D

I'm lucky to get anywhere near 300 per tank. More like 250-280 per tank. I will take it in to the dealer soon.

Thanks for the help everyone. I will let you know what the result is.

-Andy

P.S. I do very much like this caliber, but am a little fustrated with this gas/pinging thing.

#13 Don Smith

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Joined: 21-June 06
Location:Dallas, TX

Posted 08 July 2006 - 08:17 PM

My new Caliber SXT with CVT now has about 1500 miles and I've kept precise records.

The sticker says "26/30". In real life, I'm getting 22 in the city and 27 on the highway. That's with the air conditioner running full time in the Dallas, TX heat.

#14 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 08 July 2006 - 11:43 PM

We'll got my car back from the dealer. They did not even test drive it, instead they reflashed the computer. I immediatly wanted to put the car under load and see if there was still pinging. Well when I turned the car on at the dealer it was really vibrating, then I floored it and from 5000-6000 rpm there was pinging. I turned right back around to the dealer and got the service advisor in the car with me. I told him to come for a ride so he could see what I was talking about. By that time the vibration of the car had setteled down completly and sure enough no pinging when he was in the car with me.

I have not had any more issues the rest of today. But keep driving this weekend and bring it back to the dealer if more problems persist.

-Andy

#15 Don Smith

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Location:Dallas, TX

Posted 09 July 2006 - 07:36 AM

flyusmc, on Jul 8 2006, 11:43 PM, said:

... instead they reflashed the computer.

One other poster in these forums commented that he got better performance after his car's computer was flashed. Did you notice a performance difference?

#16 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 09 July 2006 - 09:37 PM

Don Smith, on Jul 9 2006, 04:36 AM, said:

One other poster in these forums commented that he got better performance after his car's computer was flashed. Did you notice a performance difference?

Nope, I wish.
-Andy

#17 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 14 July 2006 - 01:09 AM

Okay an update since the Reflash.

1. There are time when it does still knocks. Usually, right when I turn it on and I gun it, or under heavy load when it is hot at low RPM's. However this is much less then before.

2. I've had two fill ups. First was 22.7 MPG mixed. The seccond was 25.6 MPG mostly HWY. So.....

a little better gas milage and less pingging but still not as good as I hoped by far!

I plan to take it into the dealer again when I have 3000 Miles for my first Oil Change and see if they can re-look at my car.

-Andy

This post has been edited by flyusmc: 14 July 2006 - 01:10 AM

#18 ScottStep

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Joined: 01-May 06

Posted 14 July 2006 - 09:00 AM

flyusmc, on Jul 14 2006, 02:09 AM, said:

Sounds a lot like what Im experiencing, on occasion I hear the pinging/knocking basically when accelerating. I to think Im not getting great gas milage and I brought this up yesterday at my first oil change. Dealer didnt do much, they suggested trying different gas and running some premium through it. I did that yesterday so lll be keeping close tabs on it.

#19 orangecaliber

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Joined: 29-May 06

Posted 16 July 2006 - 02:07 PM

There is a recall for the Caliber that has to do with the Engine not being able to tell whether or not the Thermostat is opened or closed. There is a fix for it and from what I've read on another Caliber forum, the fix also includes a fix for the pinging/spark knock. Check with your dealer.

#20 Guest_flyusmc_*

Group: Guests

Posted 16 July 2006 - 03:26 PM

orangecaliber, on Jul 16 2006, 11:07 AM, said:

What other forum are you on? My dealer says there is not a recal on this car, and I tried entering the last 8 digets on the vin on the Dodge website and they said no recall exhists for this car.

Thanks,
-Andy

This post has been edited by flyusmc: 16 July 2006 - 03:26 PM

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