Actual gas mileage

[Celos]

I've got a 2003 base vibe, auto. I try to get the best mileage I can given that the car's pretty much just a daily commute machine. My driving is about 80% streets or stop-and-go freeway traffic and 20% highway. On the highway I keep it at around 60 (because the flow of traffic is really only 65 despite the crazy people going 80 then slamming on their brakes, then speeding back up). In about a year of seriously watching gas mieage, I get about 31.1 MPG. When I'm doing pure highway driving at 65-70 MPH it jumps up to about 35.

[zionzr2]

OK folks I just got a new record in my Mileage.The Place: From Pueblo, CO to Chadron, NEThe Date: August 3, 2007The Conditions: 70-80 degrees F. Tail wind. Avg 67MPHThe Result: 400 miles and 36.6 MPG!! WITH AWD!!!

[mike7311]

I've put 21,000 miles on my Vibe in the last nine months and have recorded 32-34 mpg. I have a GT 6 speed, I added a Cosmo CAI and 17" scion rims and tires. I drive about 75-80 mph in varied terrain alot of times with the AC. I bought this car with 100k and it's been great except the pesky, but intermittant p0420 CEI.

[98ex]

Everyone, a good site to look at is http://www.fueleconomy.gov It has conversion tables that show metric as well. And the EPA has adjusted their estimates to approximate more real world conditions. Here is my 03 Matrix window EPA vs new 2008 standards.http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg...18790

[joatmon]

Here is my data for the first 150K miles in my 03 base 5 speed.There is a definite seasonal variation, higher in summer, lower in winter. There are also several interesting events that appear to have had an effect. First is replacing the tranny at about 80K. Then replaced the catalytic converter at about 106K Finally, hooked up the scan gauge again to track mpgs at about 136K. All three of these seemed to have occurred in the spring, when the seasonal variation would help, but I think the biggest effect is driving for MPGs, as shown by the dramatic jump when I hooked the scangauge back up and actually started paying attention to my driving habits again.I've checked the speedometer/odometer with a GPS, and various mile markers on the highway, and I think the car is accurate.In the graph, the blue line is the MPGs for each individual tank, the red line is the average mpg over the life od the car so far. I tend to fill up about the same amount, and often at the same place, and often with the same pump, but the jumpy nature of the blue line backs up my claim that you can't really judge mpgs from a single tank, you have to average it over at least a few tanks to rule out the variation in how full you fill up, how full it was last time, etc. I filled up right at 150K yesterday, and that tank brought the overall average up to 36.005 mpgs A big part of why I can get this kind of average is that most of my driving is long trips on country roads with an enforced speed limit of 55 mph. Interstate trips at 75 give me lower numbers. Occaisionally some city driving, but not much, nothing constant enough to be able to separate that data from the rest.Anyway, here's the graph

Attached files

[VivaVibe]

The new numbers look like AWD figures. My experience has been that the old numbers are closer to what I regularly get with my 04 base auto. It used to be rated at 29 city 34 highway. I consistently get 30 city and 36 to 40 highway.

[rhitme03]

'04 Vibe GT:Average 31.2mpg over 93,000 miles (Mostly Highway)

[zionzr2]

A great place online to track your mileage and share it with others.

[NibCrom]

I've only filled up my Vibe a couple of times so far, but here's what I've gotten:28 MPG (Almost all city)28.5 MPG (Almost all city)33 MPG (Highway)33 MPG (Highway)It's an '05 Base automatic.I don't know how anyone could get 17 MPG in this car! I think I would have trouble getting that if I was racing it!

[ab2cmiller]

I purchased my Vibe about a month ago and appeared to have settled in around 34 to 35 mpg.You can click on the gassavers.org image in my signature and you can follow the link to my mileage logs.I agree with zionzr2. It's a pretty neat site, especially for those looking for ideas to increase fuel efficiency.Come join the fun

[NJVibe04Salsa]

30 mpg is amazing. I have not achieved above 27mpg this entire year. My 2004 AWD averages between 22 city and 26mpg highway. I'm a fairly conservative driver. I don't floor the gas at all, in fact when driving my other two cars, a Miata and Corolla, they do achieve 33 and 34 mpg respectively (above epa estimates). This Vibe I have though, I think is a lemon. I've brought it to the dealer multiple times complaining about the mpg and their response is that the mileage I'm receiving is not out of the ordinary. I fear that they will maintain their position until something like the transmission dies (of course after the warrantee period) at which point I'll be forced to shell out thousands for the repair. What can I do?? Is there anyone or anywhere I can go to fairly have the car tuned or repaired so that I can achieve the mpg that everyone else is describing? Pontiac GMC is certainly not helping.~Rolan

[litefoot]

NJVibe04SalsaI to have a 2004 AWD Vibe, and live in NJ, I average about 24 city, I have gotten as low as 17 city in the winter.And average 28 on the highway. I have hit 30 highway on the parkway. Have you had you catalytic converter and PCM replaced? I had a rotten egg smell coming from the exhaust, my mileage has improved since having these parts replaced If you go to http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/findacar.htm you will see that they changed what mileage we should get to 22 city and 29 highway from 26 city and 31 highway. So your 22 city and 26 mpg highway is really not that bad. And the cold weather brings mileage down too. Keep the RPM below 3000. On the highway keep it under 70mph, 67 mph seem to be my magic number for higher highway mileage and use cruise control as much as possible.. I’ve been using a device called Scan Gauge II. You can do a search on this site about it. It give you all kinds of information. But I basically use it for real time and average mpg, and it keeps a couple days of average mpg. So you can change your driving habits from one day to another and see how you do. I hope that helps, you’re not alone, the AWD don’t seem to do as well gas mileage wise as the other models.

[bhb]

It looks like my mileage is on the low end of everyone's numbers. I have a base 2005 with a 5 speed manual, averaging between 15 to 18mpg for mostly city driving with the AC running a significant amount of time (live in honolulu)

[ajconover]

I too have notice pretty wild fluctuations in mileage from one tank to the next in my 2006 auto.... But generally it averages about 31mpg with about 80/20 highway/city. However, I've started to wonder if having too much oil in the crank case can greatly affect the overall average mileage. I've noticed that most oil change places always overfill the crankcase with an oil change -- and though I usually change my own -- I tend to fill to exactly the "full" line.Since the owners manual specifically states that the oil level should be "between" the lines on the dipstick, I decided to try try a level that was closer to 2/3 to 3/4 of the way to the "full" line (from the "add" line). I'm only on my 3rd tank of gas since I changed the oil, but so far it seems like it has made a slight improvement. Once I have compiled some more data, I let the forum know if it actually made any difference.But in the meantime, I'm curious if those getting lower than expected millage have their oil over full? (I'm just trying to figure out if it actually does make a difference).

[slide13]

I've now done two fill ups on my '03 Vibe GT. Only mod I know of is a K&N Typhoon kit the previous owner put on it. First tank was 25mpg w/ about 80% city driving and on 89 octane (didn't know it needed premium when I filled it up the first time). Second tank was during a road trip, cruising at about 74mph the whole way (about 3200rpms I think) using cruise mostly....though I did accelerate pretty quickly on some of those on ramps Anyway, I got 28mpg out of that tank. All in all not as good as it could be, but probably not too bad for a GT I guess. Maybe with conscientious driving I can get it up to 30mpg.

[09Red_Se]

In Imperial gallons ......2006 manual was GM posted as 48mpg.In a very controlled test with just me, no luggage, and mid-grade fuel at 110km/hr cruise control, and a tail wind on a 4+ hour trip - I did get 48mpg.In the return trip, with a slight headwind - 46 MPG.Self, 2 teens, and luggage, Toronto to Orlando at 75-80 mph, I got about 40 MPG.Typical daily use combined (mostly highway) I got 36 mpg.Now, with my 2009 auto, daily use I get 34 MPG. GM posted mileage is 46. The 09 posted mileage is likely lower due to new EPA calculations, plus it's an auto. My actual mileage is about 2 mpg less than the manual 06, which I attribute to the auto trans.So is this good mileage? - compared to most other vehicles actual mileages, yes. Is it close to the mfgr's advertised mileage? In my opinion - not even close. Doesn't even meet the city only rating.I believe Gm is misleading customers. And so would Toyota - but I haven't seen mileage posted in their literature ......

[Renthorin]

filled up 14 times since buying the car in December. Driving has been a mix of highway (75mph/ 3000rpm) and city.Average over those fill ups is almost exactly 32mpg and that is with our "winter" gas and cold temps.I am waiting for summer gas and warmer temps to see what happens.Car has 4500 ish miles now.

[jsimon63]

Well, I last posted on this subject in July of last summer. My son saved his cash, and instead of a turbo kit he bought a TDR supercharger kit for the 04. He has moved on to greener pastures in the form of a Sentra SER Spec V and 6 speed. I got the Vibe back, along with it's payment and I asked him what kind of mileage he got with it, he is a bit like the old man and checked every tank. He says he got a pretty steady 23-24 MPG city/rural with the Supercharger and I am pretty sure you couldn't get a feeler gauge between his foot and the floor boards! The apple doesn't fall far from the tree for sure!Thats not to bad a mileage number considering the winter fuel and all out winterforce snow tires on all four corners. Any other Supercharged mileage numbers to report guys???

[ramenboy...]

they've started massive repairs on I94, my main drag to work. last few days, i've driven it at the posted, camera-enforced 45mph speed limit. that, with some city drving thrown in, i'm gettin 31.1 mpg. not bad. i've gotten as high as 34 last summer, so we'll see how things go at 45 mph in the summer.

[pacerman]

I consistently get 32 mpg with my 05 AWD ........70% highway but some long steep hills, running about 60 mph tops. I get 590-600 km on a tank. I use my scanguage II quite regularly.I do notice when I pull my utility trailer though it drops to 28 mpg. I find normal accelerating and city I run 10-25 mpg, not great for a 1.8 IMO. Oh, imperial galoons and has 28,000 km on it

[NJVibe04Salsa]

I bought the Scangauge II about six months ago. My 04 AWD gets on average 25 MPG (50/50 city/hwy). I can drive about 285 miles before the orange light comes on, then I make a white knuckle dash to the gas station. Highway mileage averages about 27 MPG, City is 22 MPG. The mileage has been fairly consistent since I bought the car new. I brought it to the dealer service several times and their response was that the computer says everything is fine and there's nothing wrong.I noticed that on flat road maintaining 35 MPH, I get about 22 MPG, and the throttle (TPS) is at 20. When maintaining 55 mph on flat smooth highway the mileage rises to 27 MPG with throttle at the same 20 TPS. Any slight incline in the road, and the mileage drops to 10-15 MPG (transmission is obviously downshifting). Is this consistent with your AWD vibe?Last year, the front tires on the original set of tires showed significant balding on the outer edges so I had brand new tires installed Fall '07 and an alignment performed the day after. I hoped that this might fix the mileage problem, but it remained the same. Today I checked and the new tires are showing signs of increased wear on the outer edges also. Someone else on this forum posted the same complaint a while back: http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=18730Anyway, if anyone else has a scangauge II, I'd appreciate if they posted the TPS,MPG,MPH specs for their car so I can make some comparisons.Thanks,Rolan

[slide13]

Well, I've had to make a couple road trip lately and have been able to track it for three more fill ups and the numbers have gotten much better. I wonder if running 89 octane in my GT threw it off for that and even the next tank? Anyway, over the last three fill ups I've averaged 31.63mpg with 80-90% highway. I'm pretty happy with that for my '03 GT, much better then the 28mpg I recorded before.

[Tubaryan12]

Over the last year and a half, I have driven 33094 miles on 1001.9 gallons of gas for an average of 33.06 mpg driving about 90% highway.

[ZubenElGenubi]

Just filled up...Lifetime:61677 miles29.10 MPGAvg cost: $2.315/gallonYTD:3831 miles29.50 MPGAvg cost: $2.933/gallonI own a ScanGaugeII and the tank fillup factor is usually around 10.5-11%.

[altimar]

I'm somewhat disappointed by the mileage I'm getting in my '07 auto (rated 31/36). Maybe it's due to still being new with about 3,600 miles on it, but I'm averaging about 27.5 MPG. This is probably 90% city driving, but I drive it like a grandma. The best tank, which was mostly highway mileage, was around 33 MPG. I guess that's not too bad, but I used to get 29 MPG city driving like a maniac in my old '99 5-speed SC2 (1.8L). Anyone experience better economy after several thousand miles?I am thinking about getting a scangauge, maybe I suck at automatics. Zuben, what is "tank fillup factor"? Did you mean it takes 10.5 - 11 gallons to fill up?

[jsimon63]

Altimar... Back last year sometime I posted that driving my Vibe semi agressive worked best. Tried the grandma thing and flogging the snot out of it didn't do it, but just enough... and the mileage increased. The car just liked it that way. That was before the Supercharger! Lets say mileage with that fith injector and some lead in the boot don't help it much at all! Give it a try.

[ZubenElGenubi]

Re: SCII "fillup factor" It's merely an adjustment that you determine after a few tankfuls to help get the gas usage correct. It automatically displays that factor when you enter a new fillup amount (in gals).Quote, originally posted by NJVibe04Salsa »Anyway, if anyone else has a scangauge II, I'd appreciate if they posted the TPS,MPG,MPH specs for their car so I can make some comparisons.Since I have a Base Auto, my #'s will certainly be different. I usually see 10 for the TPS (Throttle Position) when in idle or coasting. Normal, level driving is around 20. The highest value I saw today when gunning it was 38. I normally don't monitor that: my four real-time gauges are MPH, MPG, RPM and either FWT (water temp) or FIT (intake temp).

[NJVibe04Salsa]

Thanks Zuben, I'm trying to deduce where the faulty equipment lies in my Vibe. If I'm using the same 20% throttle to cruise at roughly the same speed and I'm getting worse mileage, what part of the car would likely be the source of the inefficiency?~Rolan

[litefoot]

NJVibe04Salsa,I have an 04 AWD. I did have the CAT and PCM replaced in 2005 for the rotten egg smell. Here are some of my numbers you are looking for. I also uploaded my excel sheet that I use to track my mileage with my numbers. Most of my driving is local. The 28 MPG and up are traveling the Jersey parkway at 55 to 67 using cruise control. Hope this helps, I have been averaging about 24 MPG.Flat road using Cruise controlTPS 21 26 17MPG 25 23 20.8MPH 40 45 25uphill 30 to 40 degsTPS 25 28MPG 9.8 13MPH 25 30

Attached files mileage.xls (156 KB) 

[Losthwy]

I just purchased a 2003 2wd and it gets a combination Hwy/City which driving around Denver is, at 32.5 MPG. I also don't drive like a type A, you know, the ones who have to beat you to a red light.

[Eloi]

I've now driven 505 km. I drove the car very smoothly, never above 65 mph, never above 3000 rpm when shifting gears. I'd say it was 80% highway, 20% city.I got 482.5 km for 44.1L (the light was on for several kms when I fueled), which means 9.14L / 100 km. For you in the US, that means 300 miles for 11.65 gallons, which is 25.7 MPG.I think it's not bad (it's rated 21 MPG city and 29 MPG highway) as the car is brand new and needs to break in, but I really hope I'll reach at least 30 MPG later as I was really smooth in my driving...Can I expect a significant improvement when the car will be 2000-3000 km?

[jsimon63]

Well, since I got the Vibe back from the kid and I have run 2 tanks thru it, half of it the wife drove it to work while I did some touch ups to hers. The first tank we got 27.4 mpg which includes using it to haul sand, stones and a lawn mower. This second tank netted me 26.1 mpg with 90% still on the snow tires. And the son driving it a bit. These numbers are on premium fuel and Supercharged. I really don't think that it's too bad. The wife gets a steady 29 mpg on our 06 auto trans base.

[Whelan]

Two tanks of driving slower with the S/C intake tube yielded 280 miles before the light went on. Thats 10 gallons to fill so 27mpg.This is an 05 Trix AWD too! Driving in mix traffic.

[jsimon63]

You are superchargerd AND AWD??!!! I wondered if that would work even though it's not supposed to work. So says the TRD/GM And your MPG is the same as what I have been getting.

[Eloi]

Just filled the tank for the 2nd time on my Vibe 2009 2.4L. I made 526.4 km with 43.38L (or 327.1 miles with 11.46 gallons).That translates into 8.24 L / 100 km or 28.5 MPG.I'm pretty happy as I had got 9.14 L / 100 km (25.7 MPG) with the 1st tank.Both tanks were driven under the same conditions, 80% highway/20% city, never really over 65 MPH or over 3000 RPM.It may not improve a lot, but I still hope to be able to reach 30 MPG.

[Kamikaze]

Quote, originally posted by jsimon63 »You are superchargerd AND AWD??!!! I wondered if that would work even though it's not supposed to work. So says the TRD/GM And your MPG is the same as what I have been getting. Whelan isn't supercharged... he just has the S/C intake tube (think CAI)...

[jsimon63]

Darn! I was hoping some one out smarted thier Poyota and got all that supercharged power to the ground with out a serious loss os traction! And was getting decent gas mileage to boot! Can't blame a guy for dreamin'. I finally swapped out the snow tires for my summer tires and really didn't notice a big difference in mileage yet. Maybe cause the kid keeps borrowing it back and running my gas out.... guess he smarter then we think! Hmm.. any body wanna lend me their car, I have to run over to Pa to visist my family! Oh, make sure the tank is full please Hahahahhohhoho hehehhehe

[Kamikaze]

06 AT base... City.. I'm Struggeling to get more than 20mpg... I have gotten close to 32-33mpg hwy, but consistantly I'm getting 19-21mpg city. Stock airbox (filter changed 4k ago) synthetic oil (Mobil 1) 28k on car.I'm running 18's w/ 225/40/18's @ 35psi, but it was the same with the factory 17's..I've tried a few of the resets, but have not been able to test it... Will post more w/results in a week or so...

[WD0AFQ]

34.9 today from Dexter to St. Louis airport and then to Indianapolis. 03 GT, Scangauge, tps 17, 66 mph most of the trip. 2.0 gph most of the time. Pretty happy with that. Watching the tps really helps me. I figured my mileage with a calculator.dan

[jsimon63]

How did ya like coming into Indy today and finding gas jumped to $3.85 for regular and you and I both drink the expensive stuff...$3.99.9 today!

[WD0AFQ]

Was a shocker. I am back in Mo. and 3.39.Drove 2 lane hiways, down the Wabash and Ohio Rivers, coming home today. 56 mph, hilly terrain. 37.8 mpg. 1.6-1.7 gph. 15-16 TPS. 10 mph slower, mileage increased 3 mpg. I think that is pretty good for an 03 gt on regular gas. Scangauge is paying for itself over the last year.Dan

[jsimon63]

Ya have any trouble running it on regular gas? I know that all these new fangled cars have knock sensors to change the timing if it detects detonation. Can you feel the diference in performance? I am thinking seriously about running regular instead of premium and if I sufer only a mile or two to the gallon diffference, I can live with that. Or it gets parked and I break out the Metro again!

[WD0AFQ]

I have 70,000 miles on our gt and have never run anything but regular fuel in it. I can't imagine it running any better or getting better fuel mileage on premium.

[jsimon63]

Wow! all it's life... Never even tried a tank of premium for fun,(?) when ya could afford too! hahahaha! You are pulling some goo MPG numbers on regular... I'll try running it next tank and won't lean on it too hard even know the computer will retatrd the timing. I'll see what my mileage does too.

[WD0AFQ]

[QUOTE=jsimon63]Wow! all it's life... Never even tried a tank of premium for fun,(?) You are pulling some goo MPG numbers on regular... I'll try running it next tank and won't lean on it too hard ]Never had premium. Don't want it to know anything about better fuel, it might like it. I have hit the lift a few times and it seemed to perform very well on regular. Only mod to engine is the open intake. The 6 speed and scangauge are a very good combination. I was not "hypermiling" today either.

[jsimon63]

Good idea, like a woman and choclate... if they have never had it, they won't ever miss it! I feel pretty good about getting about the same mpg's as the wifes 06 stock base. I got as much as 37mpg with my 03 5 speed. If I ever go on a real road trip with the 04 and SC'r I will be sure to post my numbers.

[WD0AFQ]

I would like to find a base Vibe, with 5 speed, and see how it runs and what kind of mileage I could get with it. I must pay very close attention to the Scangauge on the gt to get better than 32 mpg. I am learning to let others "blow" on by me on the interstates now. Lot easier to do when dragging the Vibe behind the motorhome.Dan

[jsimon63]

My 03 5 speed ran a lot better then my auto trans cars. I was really kinda impressed by it. Now if I had kept that one and added the supercharger..... weeee! I bet the GT geats great mileage "drafting your motorhome! Now just think.... if you were running home brew bio diesel in the MH and towin the GT... Way cheap transportation! Any one do a diesel transplat in to a vibe??!! Can you say 50mpg! Hhahahahaha

[WD0AFQ]

I was on I-10, in New Mexico, when a semi passed me. I watched the scangauge go to 44 from 35. I snuck up to about 200 feet from him and drafted him for 20 miles, all the time the scangauge was on 44 mpg. I would not recommend this but it was fun just fooling around. These Vibes really draft well. Wife was not too happy with me.Dan

[VivaVibe]

Since Dec the MPGs have gone up to 31-32 per fill up for my normal commute. (formerly 30) My driving style really hasn't changed much, so I can only attribute it to putting in a can of Techron at that time. I thought it wouldn't last, but so far it has. Every little bit helps with the increase in gas prices.