Need help and suggestions about bad fuel economy

[BT91]

I have been getting bad economy over the past 6 to 8 months. I live in Canada just outside of Toronto. I have taken the car to the local dealership around 3 times for this problem as well as regular maintenance. Right now im averaging around 470 to 490 a tank until rapid flashing light appears. So 8.33 liters fro 100km which is terrible. When I first got the car I could get 620 to 650kms a tank no problems. The local dealer has found no obvious problems and say its the way I drive. I have not changed my driving style at all. The car is stock currently besides rims and tires for now. I have started driving like a granny shifting at 2000 - 2500 and coasting to lights and stop signs etc and fuel economy remains the same. I taking it to another dealer this week to have a second opinion. Im thinking fuel flush, new plugs, etc. Just thought i would get the opinion of some people on the forum before i dump unneeded money on the car. Your time would be much appreciated. New member to forum as well so any thread sugguestions would be great.

[WeeYari]

There are a ton of threads like this one. I've expressed the same concerns in some of them. Whenever anyone replys, they seem to ignore the fact that you are doing a historical year over year comparison with no change in variables. They will then provide hyper-miling techniques, opinions on winter and winter formulated gas, change driving habits, etc, etc.

Good luck with thread and I hope you can find something.

[YarisSedan]

http://www.toptiergas.com

Make sure you are running a top tier gas and you are running the correct octane.

When was the last time you had the tire pressure checked and the air filter was replaced.

[BT91]

Checked tire pressure yesterday and it checked out, also air filter was changed last month. upgrading to k&n intake this month as well

[BT91]

also running 89 octane somethings 91

[Amdkt7]

Don't do modifications before fixing the problem... you will only confuse or mask the problem.
Get a code reader and see if any codes are being thrown.

Check that the brakes are not dragging. Check that each wheel spins freely.

Check the wheel alignment.

Check the exhaust system for damage causing restrictions.

Check that the cat is not blocked up.

Check that the intake is open.

Check the engine operating temp. Too cold and it will suffer.

[BT91]

I am waiting for more parts that wont arrive till the end off the month so now since winter is over and the warm weather is coming back I hope to get back in my normal economy range. I have booked a service appointment with another toyota tech spoke with the head tech which has a yaris and got his advice. He will also be servicing the car tommorrow. I brought up what Amdkt7 had mentioned and he agreed on most things. I need to get new brakes anyways but I know the brakes arent dragging so thats eliminates 1 problem. alignment was done 3 weeks ago on installation of new rims and tires. Another possible problem eliminated. also balance was great of rims and tires. The car will be having a full system scan and exhaust examined, i believe i have had a small exhaust leak developing but i dont believe that i would cause 150kms decrease in economy. also a injector flush and fuel system flush will be performed and a spark plug change which is early for the cars mileage. running temp is a good point so i'll make sure its adressed as well. Thanks for all the tips so far guys. Anymore tips, tricks and advice would be great.

[B2FiNiTY]

How does the car run? Any loss of power? Rough idle? Smoke out the exhaust?

[BT91]

How does the car run? Any loss of power? Rough idle? Smoke out the exhaust?

The car runs pretty good. It idles nice no roughness, in normal idle rpm. No smoke out of the exhaust. There seems to be a little less grunt, balls, power, etc over the past 8 months but 5 of those months where cold winter in Canada

[edmscan]

I too have found that I have decreased my fuel economy in the last 6-7 months. In the summer time I was having no problems getting anywhere from 5.4 L/100 KM to 6.0 L/100 KM. But in the winter time (well since maybe November of last year) I have been getting roughly 7.5 L/100 KM. So roughly a 30% drop in fuel economy. I have seen MANY people here in YW describe that they are finding similar drops in fuel economy.

I do agree with the dealer .... what you are finding is simple winter driving issues and you will not get the fuel economy that you got in the summer time. I expect to drop below 6.0 L/100 KM. sometimes in May when the weather warms and the gas stations change to summer gasoline.

*EDIT* .. If you click on my FUELLY .. you can see the fuel economy decrease that I have been speaking about. I have spoken to the previous owner of my Yaris (he had driven my car 162,000 km of its 172,000 km it now has) .. and he told me that every year there is a drop in fuel economy in the winter time. My scangauge also shows me that I am not getting the fuel economy that I did in the summer time. BTW .. I have NOT found any difference in fuel economy by changing to different Octane gas. You are just wasting your money going to a higher octane ... 87 is just fine for a Yaris.

Personally ... in my case I have gone from a high of 696 KM per tank ... to a low of 492 KM. So I have a decrease of just over 200 KM per tank, so your reduction is not out of the ordinary to what I am seeing.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with your car.

[UberSilver]

upgrading to k&n intake this month as well

Thats a downgrade(IMO).

Your milage is low, but not really low/bad. I get 7 to 100 in mixed driving.

Maybe you should service the injectors. If there blocked, the fuel will drip instead of spray, and this will cause poor Atomization, in turn causing poor milage.

Before you go blowing too much money, try a bottle of this stuff. I've seen it work miracles.

http://www.redlineoil.com/product.aspx?pid=80&pcid=12


:wink:

[why?]

how many miles on the car? The one thing no one mentions, and the mechanics at the dealership will ignore is the transmission fluid. My mpg dropped 4 or 5 when i hit 50,000 miles, and when I changed my transmission fluid it went right back up. Toyota says the fluid will last the life of the car, but that is bullshit.

[edmscan]

The one thing that no one has admitted to .. is the Canadian winter. I don't see a problem here, as the mileage the OP is getting is not out of line with what other Canadians are getting, myself included.

[screenprintr]

If the mileage is low during the Winter, what about summer? I put my air on yesterday. At the stop light I pulled out okay. Once I hit about 40 mph it didn't do anything. Just seemed to idle at 40. After a few seconds it started excelling again. Doesn't do that with the air off.

[BT91]

I too have found that I have decreased my fuel economy in the last 6-7 months. In the summer time I was having no problems getting anywhere from 5.4 L/100 KM to 6.0 L/100 KM. But in the winter time (well since maybe November of last year) I have been getting roughly 7.5 L/100 KM. So roughly a 30% drop in fuel economy. I have seen MANY people here in YW describe that they are finding similar drops in fuel economy.

I do agree with the dealer .... what you are finding is simple winter driving issues and you will not get the fuel economy that you got in the summer time. I expect to drop below 6.0 L/100 KM. sometimes in May when the weather warms and the gas stations change to summer gasoline.

*EDIT* .. If you click on my FUELLY .. you can see the fuel economy decrease that I have been speaking about. I have spoken to the previous owner of my Yaris (he had driven my car 162,000 km of its 172,000 km it now has) .. and he told me that every year there is a drop in fuel economy in the winter time. My scangauge also shows me that I am not getting the fuel economy that I did in the summer time. BTW .. I have NOT found any difference in fuel economy by changing to different Octane gas. You are just wasting your money going to a higher octane ... 87 is just fine for a Yaris.

Personally ... in my case I have gone from a high of 696 KM per tank ... to a low of 492 KM. So I have a decrease of just over 200 KM per tank, so your reduction is not out of the ordinary to what I am seeing.

I don't think that there is anything wrong with your car.

Thanks for the info, glad to hear from someone that deals with winter. I dont notice any increase in milage between the grades of gas. i personally allways run on mid grade have since day one of owning the car. Personal perference i guess. I rarely and i mean rarely fill with 91 or ultra 94 cus its like 15 cents more per litre with no reward. Hopefully once it warms up more here i'll start to see better numbers. Thanks for the info:thumbup:

[BT91]

[QUOTE=UberSilver;694041]Thats a downgrade(IMO).

Your milage is low, but not really low/bad. I get 7 to 100 in mixed driving.

Maybe you should service the injectors. If there blocked, the fuel will drip instead of spray, and this will cause poor Atomization, in turn causing poor milage.

The injectors are being checked firstly in the service as of my request cus i beleive that could be the main issue. Also just opinion on the K&N intake or fact. I read allot of reviews between AEM, K&N, etc and for product quality and price K&N seemed like a good deal. Thanks for info as well

[BT91]

how many miles on the car? The one thing no one mentions, and the mechanics at the dealership will ignore is the transmission fluid. My mpg dropped 4 or 5 when i hit 50,000 miles, and when I changed my transmission fluid it went right back up. Toyota says the fluid will last the life of the car, but that is bullshit.

The Car has just passed the 100,000km mark this week. I have to agree that the fluids should last the life of the car is BS. Because what is considered the life of the car, just past warranty? I'll mention that tomorrow when I drop off the car. Thanks for the Info.

[BT91]

If the mileage is low during the Winter, what about summer? I put my air on yesterday. At the stop light I pulled out okay. Once I hit about 40 mph it didn't do anything. Just seemed to idle at 40. After a few seconds it started excelling again. Doesn't do that with the air off.

Last summer on average I was getting aroun 590 to 650. But as soon as fall hit mid september the milage dropped off, which was odd cus i highly doubt local service stations would be on winter blends allready. I have done more than regular service calls for so its not like im neglecting the car. hopefully things change this month cus warming weather is just around the corner

[jackmilas]

BT91, how did you story end?