Where's my MPG going?

[IwantmyMPG]

Hi guys, i have a 2007 Yaris and i was only getting about 22 mpg. That cant be right! I took it to a dealership Maita Toyota http://www.maitatoyota.com/ and they did a tune up which jumped to about 24mpg. They said its my driving style, could that really effect it that much?

[TheRealEnth]

yes it can, I range from 20-45. If you drive like speed racer you won't get much mpg. If you follow all the rules and use tips. ull pass 40 ez.

[briman]

Yeah, I'm banging at 26mpg in city consistantly. I'm not a lead foot, but I'm not going to coast everywhere either. I hoped with driving normal I'd choke out at least 30mpg from this go cart in town. My grand prix got 22mpg in town without trying.

[kimona]

Are you driving stick or auto?

[darthbauer]

You guys must be red lining the thing before you shift or something. I stomp on mine and I still get atleast 32 mpg in the city.

[drummerboy2004]

I get 45 MPG 100% city... it is likely the driver... No one ever got a prize for getting to the red light first... try coasting and slowing down. Oh, and most of the time, coasting puts me right next to the guy who took off like Speed Racer at the last light, but by the time I get next to them I am rolling through the light or only stopping for a couple of seconds.

matt

[Loren]

Originally Posted by IwantmyMPG

They said its my driving style, could that really effect it that much?

In short, YES. If you want to get better mileage, read up on the hypermiling techniques. You don't have to go nuts and become obsessed with MPG to achieve well over 30 mpg in the city, just make some minor changes in your driving habits.

You'll find a lot of forum members who get as little as 22-26 mpg regularly. Most get more like 30-36.

I have personally seen as little as 15 mpg (on a race track) and as much as 49.9 mpg on the highway (average speed 48 mph) in my Yaris.

[b_hickman11]

I get 36-44 mpg on both of my Sedans with AT with no hypermile techniques.

[50MPGDream]

i agree with everyone above, the driver makes the biggest difference. my camaro has has tanks as low as 12 MPG, and as high as 39.9, just depends on how much work you give the right foot.

[jambo101]

What formula are you using to arrive at your 22mpg figure?

[voodoo22]

It could be, but I would think you'd have to be an extremely aggressive driver to get numbers like those and then you would know your driving style is causing that extremely bad MPG.

[CKaelin]

Maybe you have a leak in your gas tank? =0

[Loren]

Originally Posted by voodoo22

It could be, but I would think you'd have to be an extremely aggressive driver to get numbers like those and then you would know your driving style is causing that extremely bad MPG.

Nah, some people just assume that if they buy a new car that's supposed to get 32 mpg in the city that it will do that no matter how they drive. It's simply not true.

My wife and her MINI Cooper are a good example. The Cooper was rated at something like 26 in the city, and when she bought it, she found that she was getting 23 mpg regularly... exactly the same as she got in her old car (a Saturn SL1). This is because her trips were short and she had some bad habits that she didn't know about.

Fortunately, the Cooper has a built-in mileage computer with functions similar to the ScanGauge. I showed her how to monitor instantaneous MPG to learn where she's really wasting fuel and talked to her about coasting up to lights rather than staying in the throttle and then jamming the brakes to stop. This was before I even knew about hypermiling, so it was just basic stuff I was teaching her.

Now she averages between 27 and 28 with her city driving... mostly on the same 3-mile commute to work. (and the "new" EPA rating for her car is 23 in the city... go figure)

My point here is that most people don't realize how bad their habits are. They think they're driving "normally" because it's "normal" to them.

[drummerboy2004]

Originally Posted by Loren

Nah, some people just assume that if they buy a new car that's supposed to get 32 mpg in the city that it will do that no matter how they drive. It's simply not true.

My wife and her MINI Cooper are a good example. The Cooper was rated at something like 26 in the city, and when she bought it, she found that she was getting 23 mpg regularly... exactly the same as she got in her old car (a Saturn SL1). This is because her trips were short and she had some bad habits that she didn't know about.

Fortunately, the Cooper has a built-in mileage computer with functions similar to the ScanGauge. I showed her how to monitor instantaneous MPG to learn where she's really wasting fuel and talked to her about coasting up to lights rather than staying in the throttle and then jamming the brakes to stop. This was before I even knew about hypermiling, so it was just basic stuff I was teaching her.

Now she averages between 27 and 28 with her city driving... mostly on the same 3-mile commute to work. (and the "new" EPA rating for her car is 23 in the city... go figure)

My point here is that most people don't realize how bad their habits are. They think they're driving "normally" because it's "normal" to them.

Well stated... But, getting people to understand that they are doing wrong is another story. Some are set in their ways, and only 5-10 dollar gas will change that.

matt

[voodoo22]

Originally Posted by Loren

Nah, some people just assume that if they buy a new car that's supposed to get 32 mpg in the city that it will do that no matter how they drive. It's simply not true.

My wife and her MINI Cooper are a good example. The Cooper was rated at something like 26 in the city, and when she bought it, she found that she was getting 23 mpg regularly... exactly the same as she got in her old car (a Saturn SL1). This is because her trips were short and she had some bad habits that she didn't know about.

Fortunately, the Cooper has a built-in mileage computer with functions similar to the ScanGauge. I showed her how to monitor instantaneous MPG to learn where she's really wasting fuel and talked to her about coasting up to lights rather than staying in the throttle and then jamming the brakes to stop. This was before I even knew about hypermiling, so it was just basic stuff I was teaching her.

Now she averages between 27 and 28 with her city driving... mostly on the same 3-mile commute to work. (and the "new" EPA rating for her car is 23 in the city... go figure)

My point here is that most people don't realize how bad their habits are. They think they're driving "normally" because it's "normal" to them.

You're right. People all think they're good and all think they're doing what's normal, but I always find it inconceivable that someone can engage in certain actions which are obviously causing their issue and not even realize it. Like the saying, "You are your own worst enemy."

How you can get nearly 30% off of the EPA and not realize it's because of your driving style is beyond my capabilities of comprehension.

[briman]

That being said, and I agree, some vehichles are more sensitive to driving style than others. My Durango gets 12mpg in town no matter what I do. I can maybe move it up to 13mpg with a lot of babying but then it's mostly luck. The Yaris being such a tiny car and tiny engine the slightest change in driving habits greatly effects mileage. For me, I'd rather have more consistency but I continue to work on my habits. I want good mileage without coasting all over town.

[Loren]

Percentage-wise, I think most vehicles respond to driving style by a similar amount. The technology in the Yaris will make it respond more than a car maybe 10 years old or older... but still... even your Durango, If you can get 12 and 13, you could easily get 11. The difference between 11 and 13 is 18%. Apply that to a Yaris. Driven fairly normally without much care, the Yaris will return 32 mpg in the city. Driven cautiously with an eye toward economy, it might do 18% better... and return about 38 mpg. (more than that takes a lot of work)

[briman]

You make a good point and for the most part I agree. It can fluctuate between 11-13 mpg. I can do little to adjust past that. I can push this Hemi hard and I see little difference in mpg. AC or no AC it gets the same milage. The only thing that really drops mpg is hauling a trailer. The Yaris is very sensitive to driving style and I wish it wasn't. I'd like to see a consistent 30mpg and drive the way a like than 34 mpg when I baby the car and 26 mpg when I don't.