From 650+ km/tank to 460km

[caper26]

This is killing me. I bought my 2010 new in April. Always got between 135-150km on the first bar, and about 650 or more on the tank. Now my last bar started flashing at about 460km today. Yes it is winter in NS, but this has been happening all fall, and we really had a warm season this fall. My driving habits are completely the same, Even if I go all highway or drive only 6 km to work, I get 95 on the first bar.... what gives??
Oh yeah, click the link (banner) below and look at the fill-up graph...

[caper26]

just filled up... 39.2 L of gas; 479 km = 8.2 L/100km. worst tank since I bought car. yuk. Only 11,500 km on vehicle. changed oil around 6,000 and upgraded to the 0W, or whatever it was (cant remember off hand). I thought the car was supposed to get BETTER with engine break in?? Doing a road trip today, all highway. Oil levels are perfect right now, and air filter looks brand new. Maybe I should try injector cleaner or something?? This is really pissing me off...

[Bluevitz-rs]

try pulling the EFI fuse in the engine bay and let the ECU reset. Maybe it's learned bad fuel trim values.?.?

Also, I've had a few REALLY bad tanks myself and I blame the gas, not the car.I've had bad millage from petro-can and husky gas. Ethanol is bad for millage, so try and avoid using it if you can.

[caper26]

I get all my gas from Irving. Not sure if they did something different after Sep. Is that fuse labeled?

[Bluevitz-rs]

Yeah, just pop the cover off and read the underside. It's all laid out. Just leave it out for min or so. But chances are it's just the gas. Try Shell gas for a full tank and see if it makes any difference.

[caper26]

No Shell around here unfortunately. I always used that in my Camaro when I lived out west. Irving or Ultramar or Esso here. Maybe I shoulda just filled up at one of the others just now...oh well, we'll see how this tank goes. Thanks for replying dude. Cheers.

[Bluevitz-rs]

I use ultramar myself with mixed results LOL.

[MUSKOKA800]

Winter Gas = Decreased mileage.
Cold intake air temps should also richen mixtures = more power but decreased mileage.

[caper26]

Originally Posted by MUSKOKA800

Winter Gas = Decreased mileage.
.

decreased, by over 50% ?? I was averaging about 5.5L/100km, and last tank was 8.2L. That's over 50% more gas; seems absurd.
I just drove all highway and got 104 km on first bar (used to get 145); speeds under 110 km/hr. I pumped tires up to 36 PSI before I left which is probably why I broke 100 km on the first bar...but otherwise, it's still doing the same thing as last few months. Pulling EFI fuse didn't do anything, but was worth trying.

[Bluevitz-rs]

It will take the ECU a while to relearn, but I didn't figure it was the culprit.

I was averaging around 600-650 on 41-43L. Then two tanks in a row I had 510 on 41L. The tank after that it was back up to around 590 on 41L, and the weather was colder than the bad tanks. So if you change gas stations and find your millage again, it's just bad gas. It happens.

[Yury]

Yeah, 8.2 with that much highway is kinda high. I seem to be getting 8.5 with virtually all city. That's auto too. On occasion, however I do get as low as 9.7. My driving patterns are a little unstable, but sometimes I do all super short trips...maybe that's when I get bad mileage..hard to be exact.
I am, like yourself, unsatisfied...I don't feel like a Yaris should be that low.

Your summer numbers though are great, I haven't seen anything like that when I was on the highway every day. 6.9 was my best. But than, I am not sure if we were on winter gas at that time yet, it was in Oct-November.

[caper26]

Update: Still getting crappy mileage. I talked to a service tech during an oil change (speaking of oil, I had changed over to the lighter weight oil on the first oil change for the car). He basically said the same thing as everyone eles... a combination of cold air and winter tires.
I did try warming the car up right before a gas up and highway trip to eliminate that aspect, but still got right around 100 km on first bar (vice 145 ish all highway). It is now march, and summer tires going back on and getting some new aluminum rims from crappy tire ($99 ea). The tech said they could do a detailed analysis by taking the car for a drive with a laptop connected to record data at predetermined speeds and averages. If, by June, I don't see an increase, I will be getting this analysis done.

[devinlamothe]

This is something you have to get used to. In the summer on my Hatch, I can get anywhere from 120-140km on my first bar. In the winter or when it's below zero, I can get anywhere from 60-80km on the first bar.

Now, I don't just go by the "first bar" as my MPG, I do calculate it. You can check my Fuelly and see just how bad the winter has been to my mileage lol

[caper26]

Thanks for that info devin. I wasn't expecting it to be THAT bad, so I thought something was actually wrong with my car! Time to put on new alloy rims and summer tires and see what happens on the next tank.!

[thebarber]

4 bangers love gas in the winter..

Granted I got 7L/100km supercharged doing 75mph in January...lol

[devinlamothe]

Originally Posted by thebarber

4 bangers love gas in the winter..

Granted I got 7L/100km supercharged doing 75mph in January...lol

lol wut.

Yeah doing highway speeds will actually get you decent mileage in the winter months, but city driving uggghhhhhh

[landrym28]

My last tank, last week, I managed to get about 550km on the tank. I'd say I do about 50/50 between city and highway driving.

As you mentioned, there's no Shell's in your area. I seem to get my best mileage when I buy at Shell, and I get the air miles too.

Usually in the winter, I get about 450km to a tank. Oh, and I'm lucky if I can get 110km on the first bar. Of course, it's tough to gauge your FE based on the first bar.

-Matt

[caper26]

temp this week supposed to be over 20C for next few days. Hope it is like that on Wed, because I just got my summer tires put on with new rims, and I have some highway driving to do on Wed (>300 km). Tires are at 36 psi.