Why is my new 09 Yaris MPG is so low

[soup1207]

Hi everyone,

I got my yaris a week ago. It is now 600 miles in total, I filled two time gas.
I divided my total mileage by the total gallon of gas I filled, I only got 33.x MPG in average. My car only come with 7 miles so it should affect a lot in calculation of average mpg.

I saw everyone here have a mpg above 35 and many of them have it close to 40 or even more...

Can anyone tell me why please?
How can I have a mpg like that?
The mpg of 09 yaris is 29 local and 35 highway.... How can all you guys have it more than 35....><????

[Cosworth]

Your calculation is fine (total miles divided by total gallon).

What you haven't told us is your driving condition. That has everything to do with what type of mileage you should get from your car.

FYI, there was a poster getting 29mpg in NYC. I'd say, that's pretty damn good.
If you do a lot of stop-n-go traffic, you probably won't see over 35mpg easily. On the other hand, if you do 95%+ of your driving on the freeway, then you should see anything from 40mpg+ depending on the traffic & terrain.

Tell us more about your driving situation & your location. Also, measure your tire pressure when the tires are cold (in the morning, or after parking the car for a while).

-SC

[AlexNet0]

I would pay more attention to it after break-in

[supmet]

As Cosworth pointed out, I only get over 35 if I do more than 90% highway on a tank.

[yaris-me]

The main reason for low mileage is short trips. If the engine doesn't fully warm up the ECU runs the engine rich. It takes three to five miles for the engine to warm up. You need to drive seven miles or more to see 30+ MPG. If you do long freeway runs, you'll get 40 MPG.

[nemelek]

You are assuming that your tank was completely filled by the dealer. When I got my Yaris all the bars were lit. Within 5 miles the first bar went out. Now it usually takes 80 miles for the first bar to go out. My car was 2 gallons short of being full.

Throw out your first tank milage or start calculating from your next fill up and you might see better numbers.

[YarisOwnersDad]

You are assuming that your tank was completely filled by the dealer. When I got my Yaris all the bars were lit. Within 5 miles the first bar went out. Now it usually takes 80 miles for the first bar to go out. My car was 2 gallons short of being full.

Throw out your first tank milage or start calculating from your next fill up and you might see better numbers.


Good point.

Don't be discouraged. Like others have said, driving conditions have EVERYTHING to do with MPG. Break-in is probably a factor, and definitely check tire pressure as someone already mentioned.

Keep us posted as you get more miles on your car.

Tom

[mryaris]

What they said! My mileage has steadily improved with each tank......I started out with 34 MPG and my last tank was 40 (I have ~3000 miles on my car now). Once the engine loosens up a bit you should see a little better numbers, although 33MPG is exactly what the window sticker says you should be getting, so it isn't really "low", per se.

[soup1207]

I see.
I live in Boston, I drove to Amherst for the first tank of fuel.... it's two hours driving for one trip and totally 4 hours for round trip....
I carelessly forgot I should not drive more than 65 for new car at the first 3000 miles......I drove 80 mph....=___= probably it's the reason I got lower mpg....
second tank of fuel, i spent more time to drive local and to the dealer...which is only half hour driving.....

Can someone tell me what does break in mean? I check dictionary and still don't understand.....

[YarisOwnersDad]

Break-in is the time when moving parts have a chance to "wear-in." Engines loosen up a little as they break-in due to less friction. The piston rings wear-in during break-in, also.

Someone else can do a lot better job than I can of explaining what happens during the break-in period, but what I just said is about the extent of my knowledge on the subject.

Tom

[MadMax]

The main reason for low mileage is short trips. If the engine doesn't fully warm up the ECU runs the engine rich. It takes three to five miles for the engine to warm up. You need to drive seven miles or more to see 30+ MPG. If you do long freeway runs, you'll get 40 MPG.

My Yaris warms up in under a mile (sometimes within a half mile), and we live in very similar climates.

I noticed as slight improvement in MPG after surpassing 5000 miles in my Yaris. I went from ~34-35 MPG to 36-37 MPG. Your car has yet to break in, so give it a little time and don't worry about it until you've at least done your first oil change.

Plus, driving 80 MPH will lower your fuel efficiency. For best results, keep it around 60 MPH. And during the break in period, do not drive at the same speed for extended periods of time, speed up and slow down on occasion as it helps with the break in. By the way, didn't you read your owner's manual? If not, you really should do so before anything else?

Also, is yours a stick or an auto? The auto will likely get a mile or two less per gallon. Plus, how you drive is a big factor. You can't drive it like a track car and expect it to give you great MPG in return.

[808_Yaris]

one word "traffic"

[supmet]

My Yaris warms up in under a mile (sometimes within a half mile),

warming up and fully warming up are two completely different things. When the "cold" light goes off, it just means its warm enough to use normal shifting. Your engine reaches peak efficiency quite a while after the light goes off.

[Yaris Hilton]

My first tank was 32.4 MPG. I've gotten several in the mid 30's and the last couple have been in the 39 range. I've only gotten over 40 on long highway trips. Real heavy stop and go city traffic would bring it under 30, I'm sure. I don't think it's "low mileage." Some folks live where they have flatter terrain than I do, routes where they don't have to stop much, and other factors that help their mileage. I'm not going to get into P&G, FAS and such advanced hypermiling techniques either, though I well understand the principles.

[nemelek]

I see.
.....I drove 80 mph....=___= probably it's the reason I got lower mpg....

Can someone tell me what does break in mean? I check dictionary and still don't understand.....

When I drive 80mph I get around 36 mpg. When I drive 60 mph highway I'll get over 40 mph.

You will probably be ok, however as said before break in means to vary your speed and take it easy for the first 500 miles.

[voodoo22]

From my experience with mostly highway driving on entire tanks with an AT sedan:

70-75 mph = high 30's to low 40's
60-65mph = mid to high 40 mpg
50-55mph = low to mid 50 mpg

I've never driven 80 mph for an entire tank before, but when I drove 70-75 for an entire tank in the rain on a long road trip, I got my worst tank mileage at 37.62 MPG.

[Pitt Yaris]

My best suggestion. Change the oil. I had mine for 5-6 months before I changed mine. Brand new, I was getting around 32mpg. After I changed the oil using a Napa gold filter and castrol oil, I now get 40-42mpg.

[Yaris Hilton]

Hey voodoo22, don't you have imperial gallons in Canada?

[YarisOwnersDad]

My best suggestion. Change the oil. I had mine for 5-6 months before I changed mine. Brand new, I was getting around 32mpg. After I changed the oil using a Napa gold filter and castrol oil, I now get 40-42mpg.

That's the second time I have heard that about MPG going up significantly after the first oil change. Brainless Twit said the same thing. What's up with that? Does the factory put in some kind of break-in oil that has the side effect of low MPG?

Tom

[voodoo22]

Hey voodoo22, don't you have imperial gallons in Canada?

Haha:biggrin:, we do, but I never use them. I use litres per 100 km's as I find it the best way to understand how much gas you're using.

For example. I averaged 8 l/100km in my bmw and I have averaged 5l/100km so far in our Yaris. I know I'm saving 3 litres of gas a day for my 104 km commute and using regular instead of premium.

I hate how the dealerships here use imperial gallons to advertise:rolleyes:

and I try to post in US MPG because that seems to make the most sense to people in the US.

[Woody_Woodchuck]

Voodoo’s numbers for mph versus mpg are about correct. Mine are a little lower because I have a 5-speed with different gearing so my rpm’s are higher and it is thirstier. Theoretically I should be able to get better mileage than an automatic but Voodoo is not going to let me prove that point easily.

My first tank, filled at the dealer I got 38 mpg. The only lower one was driving with a loaded car at 9 mph over the speed limit (around 80 mph), I got 36.3 mpg. But, I have always tried for good mileage and drive accordingly.

I have noticed 3 ‘break-in’ mileage jumps so far, ~2,000 miles, ~7,500 miles and ~10,000 miles. Each one gave me a bump of about 2 mpg. I could see the difference earlier than tank fill-up as I have always had a Scan gauge in my Yaris. I hear there is another jump at 15,000 – 20,000 miles, I have 12,000 on it now.

I did not notice a difference in the 5,000 mile oil change, maybe because the dealer did it? The 10,000 mile jump I am attributing to going with 5w-20 synthetic oil and filter.

You are right in the range with 33 mpg for your new Yaris, give it time as you learn to drive it for efficiency not power or speed. As stated many times before in many threads, the best thing you can do to get better mileage is adjust your driving habits. You have to be serious about wanting great mileage to actually get it. You will be able to get upper 30’s to mid 40’s with minimal effort or change to your driving habits, higher mileages come with more effort and concentration.

[2009Toyotoad]

I carelessly forgot I should not drive more than 65 for new car at the first 3000 miles......I drove 80 mph....=___= probably it's the reason I got lower mpg....
second tank of fuel, i spent more time to drive local and to the dealer...which is only half hour driving.....

Can someone tell me what does break in mean? I check dictionary and still don't understand.....

Okay so you've figured out speeding negetively impacts MPG. Slow down.

Check your tire pressure and make sure its at least the same as the value on the drivers door jam. Others will suggest than you inflate to the Tires maximum pressure rating, but I don't recommend doing so to a persistent speeder. BTW turn the engine off once you get pulled over by the traffic police. This will also improve MPG

Remove all the personal stuff from the car which you didn't need to carry. Added Weight also reduces MPG.

Besides the engine, the automatic transmission needs to break in as well. Hopefully you didn't mash the gas while you were violating posted speed limits as harsh shifts rather than firm smooth shifts will remove more fiction materials from the internal bands and clutches of the transmission.

If you notice the shift into reverse has a louder "thud" now than when the car was new, chances are you removed more of the friction material during the break in period than was needed. This won't hurt the transmission but you get the knowledge that the loudness of the reverse shift was mosting your doing for the next 150,000 miles or until transmission rebuild which ever comes first.

Don't feel bad. I let my wife drive my 2009 3DR manual transmission Yaris last Saturday. She managed to burn off at least 20,000 miles of clutch on a 6 mile trip. Of course in her view its clearly the inadequacy of the car. We won't be repeating the experience any time soon. She'd wearout the automatic just the same.:mad:

At the moment my wife is driving a large idiot proof 3500 dually pickup. Totally overbuilt hardware, but she won't get hurt too badly and the 4X4 suspension helps keep her speed under control too. Driving too fast rips the steering wheel from her hands over the country roads. She has not put it in the ditch yet so I think (hope) she's learning.:evil:

[roxy1]

[QUOTE=Woody_Woodchuck;327898] Mine are a little lower because I have a 5-speed with different gearing so my rpm’s are higher and it is thirstier. QUOTE]

the 5 speed rpm's arent much higher, and i believe are more than offset by parasitic losses in the auto. most people i see getting the highest mileage (highway or otherwise) are 5 speed drivers time and time again. there is a pretty good sample of drivers here. the 5 speed drivers average 38.8 mpg whereas the automatic drivers average 4 mpg less than that. all in all, i think most drivers who post on fueleconomy.gov are conscientious of their driving styles.

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/calculatorSelectEngine.jsp?year=2007&make=Toyota&model=Yaris

[MadMax]

That's the second time I have heard that about MPG going up significantly after the first oil change. Brainless Twit said the same thing. What's up with that? Does the factory put in some kind of break-in oil that has the side effect of low MPG?

Tom

Tom

I don't think it is just the first oil change, I think it is also the fact that it occurs around the 5,000 mile point and that is about the same time the engine finally breaks in.

For example, I just got my first oil change last month, and was averaging 34-35 MPG. I got gas the next day, and it jumped to 37 MPG! I have gone through one more tank and it has gone up a little more to 37.5 MPG. :headbang:

I'm very happy about this increase, I am very light on the throttle in my auto but the larger, wides tires definitely steal some of my MPG. I am finally getting the mileage I had hoped for in this car, and won't mind if it gets even a little better!

Cheers! M2

[YarisOwnersDad]

Tom

I don't think it is just the first oil change, I think it is also the fact that it occurs around the 5,000 mile point and that is about the same time the engine finally breaks in.

For example, I just got my first oil change last month, and was averaging 34-35 MPG. I got gas the next day, and it jumped to 37 MPG! I have gone through one more tank and it has gone up a little more to 37.5 MPG. :headbang:

I'm very happy about this increase, I am very light on the throttle in my auto but the larger, wides tires definitely steal some of my MPG. I am finally getting the mileage I had hoped for in this car, and won't mind if it gets even a little better!

Cheers! M2

Thanks, Max. Hope I have the same experience that you and some others have had with the nice increases in MPG at 5K miles. I'm not unhappy with the 37 MPG I am already getting, but if it goes up, I won't complain. :thumbup:

Tom

[LittleRed]

Hi everyone,

I got my yaris a week ago. It is now 600 miles in total, I filled two time gas.
I divided my total mileage by the total gallon of gas I filled, I only got 33.x MPG in average. My car only come with 7 miles so it should affect a lot in calculation of average mpg.

I saw everyone here have a mpg above 35 and many of them have it close to 40 or even more...

Can anyone tell me why please?
How can I have a mpg like that?
The mpg of 09 yaris is 29 local and 35 highway.... How can all you guys have it more than 35....><????

You have to give it a chance to break-in...you mpg will go up..i know if i use 87 octane the performance and milage decrease and it dont idle as smoothly, as opposed to 91 octane..which it runs perfect on....i get 40+ with the a/c on most of the time

[Yaris Hilton]

i get 40+ with the a/c on most of the time

So will mine, driving steadily out on the highway. But different driving situations will make a big difference. Stop and go driving wastes a lot of energy. Wind has a big effect. On average you won't come close to gaining back from tailwinds what you lose to headwinds. And as you drive faster, your aerodynamic drag goes up roughly as the square of your speed. Headwinds and crosswinds affect you far more as you drive faster. Your local terrain will have an effect, too. You'll never do as well in hilly country as on the flatlands. You burn more gas climbing hills than you save coasting down them.

[roxy1]

i know if i use 87 octane the performance and milage decrease and it dont idle as smoothly, as opposed to 91 octane..which it runs perfect on....i get 40+ with the a/c on most of the time

seriously...it would behoove you to do some research and read up on the many octane threads on this board lest you continue to embarrass yourself with comments like this.

[Darb]

You'll never do as well in hilly country as on the flatlands. You burn more gas climbing hills than you save coasting down them.

Tell me about it, takes me about 1.25 tanks to get to Pittsburgh from D.C, and only bit more than half on the return trip. Damn mountains. :laugh:

[toyo]

yeah after 5k miles you should get better mpg

[schleppy]

I have yet to get below 35.5mpg on my 2009. Most tanks have been 38mpg, and that is with VERY mixed driving.

[Ginniblu]

I just found this forum. I have had my Yaris for a whopping 2 days! I love it!

[blazing blue]

I have an 08 yaris with auto, lowered with 18" and I drive pretty conservatively and get only about 25 mpg, what gives...could someone please give me some insight on this.

[supmet]

I have an 08 yaris with auto, lowered with 18" and I drive pretty conservatively and get only about 25 mpg, what gives...could someone please give me some insight on this.

18 inch rims are killing you.

[Lafiro]

I got my best MPG in a while. Two people, took out the sub though, AC some of the time.... Total was a 90mile trip mostly highway. And I got like 34MPG.

Here in NYC, even long island in general, almsto every two blocks is a stop sign or street light. And the highways.... oh my god... you know what, I will prove to everyone what I drive through every day, and maybe everyone will see why I average 27-30MPG.
http://www.trafficland.com/city/NYC/
Click on all the highway traffic cameras during different times of the day. So our highways are NOT always free and easy flowing.