Going in for fuel efficiency issue

[Wild Weasel]

I got 8.something for my last tank. Woot!

[06Touring3]

I avg roughly 480Km's per tank...In the winter it shot down to about 400 - 450

The best milage I ever got out of my 3 was 787Km's (all hwy) on a trip to the states...LOVED it

[carsenault]

I've had my '05 GT (2.3l, AT) now for 5 days and we'd put on about 160kms. The dealer filled the tank before we picked it up. So after 160kms we are at 1notch over the half tank mark. I dont know if that is normal for my car as I dont know exactly how much gas was put in plus still getting used to the light and fun to press accelerator pedal.

The car has been sitting on the lot since last summer, im sure that cant be good for cars computer. Also, I wonder how old the gas that was in the car before the fillup was. Ill use up as much of the reserve as possible before refilling and disconnecting the battery to reset the comp. Ifthat dont do much Ill call up the Mazda dealer here in town.

[vlad5434]

If you wanna save gas dont us ur fogs and lights as much, ac, dont open ur windows if u do it slows ur car down and as u speed up u lose more gas dont rev your engine when ur in park and all that. But i thin i get 500 km not to sure

[laksman91]

This is weird, but my AWD Turbo Lancer Ralliart is getting similar fuel efficiency as my Mazda3 05 2.3GT did.

[jaybird]

I've had my '05 GT (2.3l, AT) now for 5 days and we'd put on about 160kms. The dealer filled the tank before we picked it up. So after 160kms we are at 1notch over the half tank mark. I dont know if that is normal for my car as I dont know exactly how much gas was put in plus still getting used to the light and fun to press accelerator pedal.
The car has been sitting on the lot since last summer, im sure that cant be good for cars computer. Also, I wonder how old the gas that was in the car before the fillup was. Ill use up as much of the reserve as possible before refilling and disconnecting the battery to reset the comp. Ifthat dont do much Ill call up the Mazda dealer here in town.

If you wanna save gas dont us ur fogs and lights as much, ac, dont open ur windows if u do it slows ur car down and as u speed up u lose more gas dont rev your engine when ur in park and all that. But i thin i get 500 km not to sure

This is weird, but my AWD Turbo Lancer Ralliart is getting similar fuel efficiency as my Mazda3 05 2.3GT did.

Just an FYI, this thread is almost 2 years old

[carsenault]

Just an FYI, this thread is almost 2 years old

Sorry, Im a new member that finds that info very useful.

[carsenault]

Here's an update. Filled the tank again Friday evening after driving aprox 20 kms with low fuel warning light on. 46 litres filled the tank. Stll getting similar mileage.

Waiting for the service adviser from Atlantic Mazda to get back to me.

[zeron]

Sorry to hi jack this thread but what does O2 sensor has to do with fuel economy? And what is consider ok? I am also experiencing poor fuel economy on my 2 months old 2009 gx sports.

[carsenault]

Ok, my second tank was pretty much the same as the first. I filled it after 308kms, needle was a couple of notches below 1/4 tank.

[gta_driver]

O2 sensor tells your engine how to mix fuel and air. Basically, it either dumps more or less fuel depending on the readings of the O2 sensor. If your O2 sensor is faulty, it can result in significantly worse fuel mileage. I once had a 4-cylinder car with bad O2 sensor that smoked out the back pipe and got about 27 L / 100 kms.

Anyway, usually if your O2 sensor is bad, you'll have a Check Engine Light.

There are many, many factors that affect your fuel mileage. There are some outliers here with 500+ km per tank pure city driving, but by no means is that representative of your average driving style and habits. It's one thing to drive in the city in Scarborough, and another thing in downtown Toronto. Traffic conditions just vary so greatly.

Another factor is tires. On winter tires the rubber is much softer, resulting in higher fuel consumption. Summer tires (the cheap ones anyway, and the ones that last a loooooong time) have harder compound, which means less rolling resistance and again, better mileage.

Weather plays a factor. Cold weather means more fuel consumption. Slippery road conditions mean more fuel consumption.

No matter how you look at it, a car with a 2.3L engine that weights 2900 lbs will NOT get the same fuel mileage as a 1.6L civic that weighs 2500 lbs.

I think the GT does well on the highway, it should take no more than 8 L / 100 km if driven 90 - 110 km/h. Drive it 120 km/h or more, and the fuel mileage suffers.

City driving differs. If you get less than 11, that's good. That's actually what US gov't rates our Mazda at (check out http://www.fueleconomy.gov and make sure to change the units to L/100 kms on the right).

I was getting 13 to 14 L/100 kms in the winter, purely downtown driving and lots of short trips. Mazda's open loop mapping sucks a$$ big time.

Right now, with summer tires and better weather, longer trips, I averaged 10.5 L / 100 kms.

So, at the end of the day, don't believe that our cars shoudl be getting 500 kms per tank in city driving, that just can't work. I find that my fuel consumption is generally 20 % higher than rated in Canada.

By the way, Canadian highway rating is rated at speed of 80 km/h. Which no one is driving by the way.

[slam525i]

Sorry to hi jack this thread but what does O2 sensor has to do with fuel economy? And what is consider ok? I am also experiencing poor fuel economy on my 2 months old 2009 gx sports.

Your 2 month old car probably won't reach peak fuel economy until you've broken it in some more. But even taking that into account, the difference is small. The best thing to do is adjust your driving style. I doubt there's an O2 sensor problem on a new car.

[DreamM3]

Got 634 km on my last tank. Filled up 48 L. Thats roughly 7.7 l/100k. 50/50 hishway/city

[carsenault]

Got 634 km on my last tank. Filled up 48 L. Thats roughly 7.7 l/100k. 50/50 hishway/city

Wow... nice.

That's it, Im calling Mazda. I can barely make it to 400km

[carsenault]

I finally heard back from Mazda, they say they wont cover the fuel pump under the bumper to bumper warranty, Im only at 75k kms but the car is 4 almost 4 years old. Since Shell has been adding nitrogen to thier gas, my mileage has improved a bit, getting close to 400km per (approx 45l) fill now.

Interestingly though, they want me to book an appointment for a couple of recalls. So much for the used dealer's comprehensive inspection.

[-cj-]

Keep in mind when people tell you they get 5-6XX km out of a tank that they might be on a 2.0 liter vs your 2.3...

[victor_t]

the fuel consumption of a car is highly dependant on the driver and the traffic, so comparing fuel consumption between different drivers and or different cities is meaningless.

on highways my 2.0L mazda3 gets anywhere from 5 to 7 L/100.
today I was coming home in stop and go traffic on the highway and the average for that was 11 L/100 and at the worst time it was 14 L/100.

over many tanks I've gotten anything between 8.2 L/100 to 9.5 L/100 averages, depending on the conditions and how I drove.

[dadinho_nfg]

how do u see the xx/100 l numbers from ur car?
i have a mazda 3 gt 2006 and im not getting great milage, about 400 kms a tank and would like to know those readings a little better

[Chester_Lampwick]

how do u see the xx/100 l numbers from ur car?
i have a mazda 3 gt 2006 and im not getting great milage, about 400 kms a tank and would like to know those readings a little better

Some of the higher end models like the GT have this info on the dash display. Most people just measure by recording the odometer and how much gas they pumped at each fill-up. Then use the old calculator.

For instance

I filled my car with 1616kms on the odometer (disregard the amount of fuel)
Then I drove until needing a refill, 2075kms I put 38.367 litres in to refill. So:

2075 - 1616 = 459kms driven

38.367 / 459 * 100 = 8.3l/100km

You probably should average 3 fill-ups to eliminate the chance that the pump may have short filled or whatever. You might get one one fill-up that seems like you get 12l/100(terrible), and one that indicates 6l/100km(fantastic), and another that has 8l/100(average), but when averaged out you get 8.7l/100km which is basically the EPA rating.

Hope this helps

[dadinho_nfg]

i just found out i have a 06 with the info button so i can see wat the car get!!! the only thing that concerns me is that im avging 14l/100 and in curr fuel consumption i get readings from 3l/100 to 50l/100 and thats driving normally, not shifting past 3500rpm////
ive never done more then 450km on teh tank, i do 100% city driving, should i be getting more or should i take teh car in bc it may have a problem?

[Chester_Lampwick]

i just found out i have a 06 with the info button so i can see wat the car get!!! the only thing that concerns me is that im avging 14l/100 and in curr fuel consumption i get readings from 3l/100 to 50l/100 and thats driving normally, not shifting past 3500rpm////
ive never done more then 450km on teh tank, i do 100% city driving, should i be getting more or should i take teh car in bc it may have a problem?

Depends. 450km and what do you normally put in? I fill at over 1/4 so the pump usually clicks off with 35 litres. As you can see, that is about 450kms for me, and that's what I'd expect for mixed driving 8.3l/100kms.

I don't trust this 14l/100 the display is showing you. Try to reset this display. Also just start saving your gas receipts and write the odometer readings on before you drive away from the pump. Then chart into excel.

[dadinho_nfg]

i filled up yesterday, the light had come on and i must have driven 20 kms on the light and it only allowed me to put 42.13 L kind of werid, where my dad has a p5 and he fills up as soon as the light goes on and he puts 47 L no problem!!!!

[rick10]

the average for a mazda is 10l/100 km so if you are doing between that its completely normal...

Unless you are doing pure city driving in rush hour i dont see how you are getting 300 a tank...

I also have the 2.3 gt and in the winter i average around 400-450 .. summer time gets a little better between 500-550...

Long trips i average around 600-650

Also keep in mind a lot of there people here are giving you their mileage after the fuel light comes on (so god knows how much they drove with their light on)...

[dadinho_nfg]

i reset my info button....
i went on the highway and was avg low 8
now im working in the city and my avg is going up to 9.4 is that normal? im about 1/4 of the tank in and ive done 115km ....???
normal??/

[Chester_Lampwick]

Sounds pretty normal. I'm sure if you have the info screen, you likely have a GT which are thirstier than the base models. I can't comment on your driving style or habits, but this is in the range of normal.

Keep hand calculations too.