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Since you have no clues as to how many miles you go between oil changes I am guessing you really don't know how many miles you go between gas fillups. Are you just putting $10 to $20 dollars at a time and guessing the miles you actually drive?
Fill the tank up and write down the mileage at the time of fill up. When you fill up again write down the gals and the mileage. Subtract the mileage and then divide the gals, that gives you the MPG. You probably have a mileage counter which will do the first part for you if you set to '0'. Check your manual. I would get a tuneup..
I have a 2003 RAV4 and I usually drive around town and I get 22 mpg.
Fill the tank up and write down the mileage at the time of fill up. When you fill up again write down the gals and the mileage. Subtract the mileage and then divide the gals, that gives you the MPG. You probably have a mileage counter which will do the first part for you if you set to '0'. Check your manual. I would get a tuneup..
I have a 2003 RAV4 and I usually drive around town and I get 22 mpg.
You might want to try writing that number down on a sheet of paper and keeping it in your glove box. Good for your records, good place to not lose it, and there if you lose your sticker
When is the last time you got a tune up? This usually includes things like changing the air filter, oil change, timing adjustment, and new spark plugs and wires. I would get this done if you do the math (as suggested above) on your mileage and it comes out very low.
Also consider these factors as well:
(webpage wont link correctly, so do a google search for "factors that can lower gas mileage" and the first link is the one I was trying to show you).
Dont even have to subtract the mileage from the odometer. Just set the trip odometer when you fill up, and record how many gallons you put in. They said the rest. Do you have any check engine light or anything? A bad O2 sensor can also result in poor fuel economy.
Since you have no clues as to how many miles you go between oil changes I am guessing you really don't know how many miles you go between gas fillups. Are you just putting $10 to $20 dollars at a time and guessing the miles you actually drive?
Yeah I never fill up unless gas is really cheap, I always keep my tank a quarter above half full though. I usually get $25 worth of gas a week...and that takes me from almost empty (gas light isn't on though) to past half full.
What frustrates me is that $25 will only take me within a 10 mile radius like three times a week. I dont use my car much at all....
Dont even have to subtract the mileage from the odometer. Just set the trip odometer when you fill up, and record how many gallons you put in. They said the rest. Do you have any check engine light or anything? A bad O2 sensor can also result in poor fuel economy.
My check engine light came on once in February and thats when I took it in but they said it was because I needed an oil change and change filters and they reset it.
Im going to get gas today and I will fill up to full and takes notes as suggested.
Yeah I never fill up unless gas is really cheap, I always keep my tank a quarter above half full though. I usually get $25 worth of gas a week...and that takes me from almost empty (gas light isn't on though) to past half full.
What frustrates me is that $25 will only take me within a 10 mile radius like three times a week. I dont use my car much at all....
Quote:
Originally Posted by babigyrl5
My check engine light came on once in February and thats when I took it in but they said it was because I needed an oil change and change filters and they reset it.
Im going to get gas today and I will fill up to full and takes notes as suggested.
The cool thing about checking your mileage as we've suggested is that once you've filled the tank, you can let it drop to any level before refilling, and still be able to accurately check your mileage. It's all based on miles driven divided by gas used.
Just remember not to fill the tank past the point where the fuel nozzle clicks off on it's own.
You might want to try writing that number down on a sheet of paper and keeping it in your glove box. Good for your records, good place to not lose it, and there if you lose your sticker
When is the last time you got a tune up? This usually includes things like changing the air filter, oil change, timing adjustment, and new spark plugs and wires. I would get this done if you do the math (as suggested above) on your mileage and it comes out very low.
Also consider these factors as well:
(webpage wont link correctly, so do a google search for "factors that can lower gas mileage" and the first link is the one I was trying to show you).
A 2006 Camry with 40K miles probably doesn't need any traditional tuneup service until 100K miles. The owners manual would say exactly what is needed. Probably just fluids and filters.
But until the OP actually calculates mileage, I just don't trust an evaluation that she doesn't get to run enough trips with partial fill ups.
Our 2007 Mazda6 with a 2.3L 4 cylinder engine, 5 speed manual, regularly attained 26-28 MPG in a mix of city and highway driving. I think a Camry with an automatic transmission should be in that range but perhaps 1-2 MPG worse.
The first thing that I ask when someone complain about gas mileage is driving habit. I agree with most replies that there needs to be a number that represents practical MPG. Driving a car within short distances between two points will also lend to low gas mileage; especially in the winter. When you mentioned "10 mile radius", is that driving distance or straight-line distance ? 10 miles are considered short commute and for most cars/drivers, the engine is likely below optimum operating temperature. Even if the engine could, the majority of the drive was done on cold engine with closed-loop mode. Bad for the engine, bad for gas mileage.
Another thing is driving habit. This encompasses a range so large, it's impossible to troubleshoot over a thread. I can make my Z06 do nearly 30 mpg or I can make it consume fuel 10x as worse at 3 mpg when racing. How heavy is your right foot ? Do you coast down ? Do you plan your stops ? How often do you use brakes ? Counter-intuitively, the less you use your brakes, the better your gas mileage is.
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