Wondering why people complain that Yaris' cant get good mileage?!

[bkrownd]

Yeah, I definitely don't have as much control while shifting gears when I'm wearing my boots - my "touch" with the pedals is all wrong.

[yarrr]

Originally Posted by BailOut

That's just hard for me to fathom, Yaris Hilton. Even in the dead of winter, with a car full of adults and snow sports equipment, with the Spikes Spiders on and doing the traffic-laden run to and from the local ski area, I still get 42 MPG.

Granted, my engine grille block helps, but still...

I love story time. Tell me more.

[docB]

When myth busters ran the A/C vs windows down show...shame on them. They used Ford Exploders or something larger. They get the same mpg no mater what the condintions. Read terrible. If they used a genuine fuel efficient vehicle they would have had a better test. I had a 1989 Subaru Justy w/ a CVT. If the tire pressures dropped a few, I lost MPG. I got high 49 mpg on a road trip once. A pluged air filter showed a few mpg loss. The Yaris is such a vehicle. I do not use Scan Gauge. I have kept a log of all the gas through the thing since I got it. Overall to date is 39.8 iirc. High single tank is over 44.
doc

[krolos]

The Ac efficiency on the Yaris really impresses me, I have compared my mpg
with it on or off,and I can Say that I have seen very little difference if any at all, compared to other cars I have owned in the past this is big Improvement.
On the Interstate highway With Ac on and roof rack and surfboard {9 1/2 foot longboard}
averging 73-76 mph I still easily get 37/38 mpg I am quite happy with that.

[YesYaris]

I just completed a trip mostly on the highway doing 55-60mph at night (colder temperatures), in rain, and in hilly terrain, and ended up with 42mpg. There were 3 liters remaining in the tank when I filled up.

I have noticed that as the temperature drops the mileage is slipping a little bit. This could be due to the fact that some of my short trips do not give the engine enough time to warm up to run at optimal temperature.

[newbieyaris]

Just bought my 08 Yaris sedan a couple of weeks ago for its supposed gas economy. I have now filled up the tank myself 2 times but have only seen 32/33 MPG. I was so excited to get 35-40+ MPG and am extremely disappointed. The car came with only 17,000 miles on it and as far as I could tell, was very well maintained.

My daily commute is 40-50 miles a day with 25 miles being on the interstate going 75 mph and the rest being dirt roads or city driving. Would the dirt roads make a big difference (going 40-50 mph)? However, I was able to take small trip (400 miles roundtrip) that was 85% interstate driving at 75-80mph and the rest city driving--was ONLY able to go 325 miles before having to fill up (gas flash came on) for a rate of 32 mpg.

Last night I filled up all of my tires from the dealers 30 psi to 35.5 psi. I also filled my gas tank at the same time to see if this would make a noticeable difference. Too soon to tell yet, but would love to have some advice on how to maximize my fuel economy so that it gets at least 35 mpg. I bought the car thinking that 35 mpg would be the minimum due to many of the reviews I read of people stating they get 40+ mpg consistantly.

Other factors:
Nebraska weather has been 15-30 degrees since I have bought it and thankfully no snow or inclement weather...yet. I am also not the softest driver ever, but since buying the car have tried to be gentler but I am definitely a work in progress :)

Would appreciate any help or ideas!

[Kal-El]

Originally Posted by newbieyaris

Only 32 MPG! HELP!
Just bought my 08 Yaris sedan a couple of weeks ago for its supposed gas economy. I have now filled up the tank myself 2 times but have only seen 32/33 MPG. I was so excited to get 35-40+ MPG and am extremely disappointed. The car came with only 17,000 miles on it and as far as I could tell, was very well maintained.

My daily commute is 40-50 miles a day with 25 miles being on the interstate going 75 mph and the rest being dirt roads or city driving. Would the dirt roads make a big difference (going 40-50 mph)? However, I was able to take small trip (400 miles roundtrip) that was 85% interstate driving at 75-80mph and the rest city driving--was ONLY able to go 325 miles before having to fill up (gas flash came on) for a rate of 32 mpg.

Last night I filled up all of my tires from the dealers 30 psi to 35.5 psi. I also filled my gas tank at the same time to see if this would make a noticeable difference. Too soon to tell yet, but would love to have some advice on how to maximize my fuel economy so that it gets at least 35 mpg. I bought the car thinking that 35 mpg would be the minimum due to many of the reviews I read of people stating they get 40+ mpg consistantly.

Other factors:
Nebraska weather has been 15-30 degrees since I have bought it and thankfully no snow or inclement weather...yet. I am also not the softest driver ever, but since buying the car have tried to be gentler but I am definitely a work in progress :)

Would appreciate any help or ideas!

The Yaris is EPA rated 32 mpg combined (29/35). So if anything, it's perfectly normal. Why are you shocked?

Also, it is winter and as you pointed out really cold. That drops mpg significantly. Wait until spring to really take a good look at what your MPG is.

The fact that your drive is half city and dirt roads should be a clue that you're not going to get 40 mpg. In your described conditions, you'll never get into the high 30's. That's perfectly normal and there's nothing wrong with your car.

[Altitude]

Originally Posted by newbieyaris

Just bought my 08 Yaris sedan a couple of weeks ago for its supposed gas economy...

It's the 75/80MPH that's killing you. Try 60/65 tops. Also, remember it's winter gas time and winter gas always gives bad MPG's.

[brg88tx]

cold air kills mpg.

[DevilGirl]

Originally Posted by Altitude

It's the 75/80MPH that's killing you. Try 60/65 tops. Also, remember it's winter gas time and winter gas always gives bad MPG's.

This is a significant factor in why your gas mileage is not as high as you would like to see, most likely your chief reason, actually.

[41magmag41]

with winters here in New Hampshire my mpg drops about 5 to 7 mpg. Longer warm ups to get the car to operating temp and I run four snow tires. In the winter I get about 32 to 34 mpg but during the warmer summers she goes up to 38 to 42 mpg.

[Idahotom]

I got enough warm weather miles on my recently bought '08 to believe the high MPG #'s, 38 to 45 with an average of 42 between fillups. A few miles of dirt road every day, with the rest freeway (60+ max) and 45 on the secondary roads.

Now that winter has really hit, and I have to have 4 wheel drive (busted through a 24" drift yesterday) I am back in the good old '89 Toyota All-Trac. I have yet to check a tankfull using the winter gas, when the weather improves I'll start driving it again, but I fully expect the MPG to be lower, due to the factors stated by others, but it will still be better then about anything else out there!

[CtrlAltDefeat]

Originally Posted by brg88tx

cold air kills mpg.

Cold air does not kill mpg... moist air does. Cold air is more dense than hot air (the reason behind inter-coolers) and fuel burns more efficiently. Cold dry air gives mpg a noticeable boost, the car is even a bit more powerful with cold, dry air.

[tire]

Originally Posted by jhsouders

UPDATE ON MY CURRENT TANK! CANT EVEN BELIEVE IT!

ok seriously this is all 50% mixed highway and city driving, and city driving is delivering pizza.

dropped the first bar at 93 miles
dropped the second at 160 miles
just dropped the third at 219 miles

will keep you updated on the rest of the tank, i would be blown away if i was able to hit 50mpg on mixed driving!!

Such a discrepancy between you and the average fuel economy makes me start to get concerned you are running lean or have a mechanical problem, potentially no bueno. No one said anything like this so I thought I would. Motors and cars do vary and I hope you have a ringer, but a red flag was raised in the back of my head. Let us know how it goes. :)

[tire]

Originally Posted by CtrlAltDefeat

Cold air does not kill mpg... moist air does. Cold air is more dense than hot air (the reason behind inter-coolers) and fuel burns more efficiently. Cold dry air gives mpg a noticeable boost, the car is even a bit more powerful with cold, dry air.

I can't count how many times I've read things like this (I'm sorry to say this but this is incorrect). It's quite simple, "colder", denser air is indeed pulled through the MAF or whatever air intake sensors are called on Toyotas. That sensor, um, senses more air and adds additional fuel to the mixture. At very best the mpg before and after will be negligible, at worst you WILL lose some fuel economy. I'm not sure how this myth permeates every automotive forum. It takes money to make money in this case, and I sure wish it didn't. :-)

Austin

[CtrlAltDefeat]

No, cold denser air helps mpg. For simplicity's sake lets say you need x amount of hp to maintain whatever speed. With hot air, the engine has to use less fuel per stroke, because the lower oxygen level but in order for the engine to output the proper hp and maintain the speed, the rpm has to go up. With the higher rpm being used to maintain the same speed, the hotter air gets worse mpg. Sure it uses micro-grams less fuel per stroke per cyl with the hot air, but every single additional rotation that it has to use to maintain hp uses an additional unit of fuel in each cyl...

[rningonfumes]

The RPM is related for the most part to the gear and the speed you're at. Most of us see the best mileages over the summer months. And this is even with the gas ratio changes some states are required to do.

When you get cold air, the computer has to compensate for the denser air...meaning more fuel to keep it at the ratio the computer thinks it's supposed to be.

If you want more power, sure take in colder air but that is not the route for getting better mileage.

[joe keeney]

texas wide open 75 mph most of the time. I average 36 mpg this car made to drive.