Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base

Discuss any problems, warranty, repair, or replacement issues you are having with your Vibe & Matrix
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sanderthomas
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Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:57 pm

Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base

Post by sanderthomas »

OK. We have A 2006 vibe with an automatic transmission and the 1ZZFE engine. It has never gotten better than 22-23 MPG. I just changed the spark plugs (iridium NGK per Chilton), the PCV valve is OK, and I cleaned the IAT. I plan on cleaning the MAF tomorrow, along with a drain, flush & refill of the antifreeze. Also a tube of Lucas fuel treatment. I have a K&N air filter. Oil gets changed every 5K or 3 months. I am getting tired of lousy mileage and would like to do better. I have a 1K mile (round) trip coming up in two weeks. Any thoughts?
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joatmon
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Location: SMC MD

Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (sanderthomas)

Post by joatmon »

Welcome to genvibe!yeah, routinely getting that low mpgs is awful, I'd be pissed.you said "never". Did you buy the car new or used?viewtopic.php?f=17&t=6088&#p65128 has an excerpt from the 03 service manual about what to check if mpgs are lower than expected. Could any one or a combination of many of those things
Last edited by joatmon on Sat Dec 03, 2016 10:24 am, edited 1 time in total.
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kostby
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (sanderthomas)

Post by kostby »

Welcome to the GenVibe family!After a quick check on Google Maps to see where Placerville was, I deduce that you live in a hilly/mountainous area. That 1.8 liters works pretty hard to pull 3400 pounds uphill.Living in very flat central Indiana, I get around 23-25 mpg on mostly short trips in a small town with the AC on full time in summer, and about 30-31 on the highway. I've seen 40+ mpg once when drafting a high profile vehicle on the interstate for hundreds of miles. 'Lifetime' combined MPG average since I bought the car in 2004 is 27mpg.Keeping RPM below 3000, proper tire inflation, and using cruise control are all pretty crucial to good mileage on long trips. A good wax job will cut drag a bit, and maybe give you an additional .5 mpg. (And it makes the car look nice.)
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My 2003 Vibe Base Auto 2-tone Salsa "SalsaWagon" was built in May 2002. I acquired it in Feb 2004/Traded it in on a 2016 Honda HR-V in Feb 2018.
star_deceiver
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (sanderthomas)

Post by star_deceiver »

What sort of driving do you do? Just block to block around town? 90mph on the freeway? What rims/tires do you have?Try bumping all 4 tires to 4psi below the max.
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2009 Vibe. (Traded in - 12/12/12)
sanderthomas
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Joined: Mon Aug 08, 2011 2:57 pm

Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (kostby)

Post by sanderthomas »

We bought the car used about a year and a half ago. The mileage has never been impressive.
sanderthomas
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (star_deceiver)

Post by sanderthomas »

Thanks for the welcome! I'm a pretty conservative driver (accidents seem to have had that effect on me); I've also been fairly diligent about tire pressure. As for RPMs, I haven't paid that much attention. The terrain here is indeed hilly and we use the car for a lot of short trip, in-town driving. However, when we've taken the car out on long drives down the Central Valley (cruise control whenever absolutely possible), the mileage was still below 24. I suspect that new information may help here- I recently got a diagnosis of a cracked exhaust manifold. I have a feeling that the replacement may affect things, as the manifold is upstream from an O2 filter. Once I straighten out Toyota vs. GM part numbers and get the part, I can see what will happen next.Cleaning the MAF did not seem to help, though it idled pretty low (4-700) for a while, then idled the way it always had.
sanderthomas
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (sanderthomas)

Post by sanderthomas »

Most of our driving is short-trip, in-town driving. I'm not sure about the tires, but the rims are stock alloy. Highway driving is limited to 5-7 miles above the posted limit. Cruise control whenever possible. More efficient and I hate tickets.
gralm
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (sanderthomas)

Post by gralm »

Short trip, in town driving may make bad contribution to your mileage. as well as crack in the mainfold. In addition make sure your overdrive is ON.If your driving style is too conservative, it could affect mileage as well. Some people are used to too slow acceleration; Vibes engine has quite a low torque on low RPM and it takes too long for transmission to shift to higher gears.I do not suggest to rev your engine - it is bad for mileage and engine itself, but try to accelerate a bit livelier.
Kamikaze
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (gralm)

Post by Kamikaze »

In town driving I get in the low 20's, usually short trips, stop lights, light acceleration. last couple of tanks highway driving yielded in the 28mpg range, mostly 70mph and above cruise when possible.I haven't looked into it, b/c cost effectively it doesn't pay, but I swear part of my bad milage is due to the catalytic converter. I swear watching some of the posts over the past couple of years here on mpg's they had some older vibes (04-05) that people under warranty got their cats replaced (due to rotten egg smells and such) and they seemed to report that after the replacement their mpg's increased.I've thought about replacing my cat, maybe a high flow cat, and seeing if it makes any difference, but again, money wise, not sure if it would even be worth it. I did check with GM and they wouldn't warranty any cat repairs because I wasn't getting 30mpg.. long story made short.Don't know if any of this helps you at all, but figured I'd throw in my 2 cents...
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mysticbluevibe
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (Kamikaze)

Post by mysticbluevibe »

Hello all,, I just joined today. This is my first problem with 24.5k on my 2009 2.4 standard shift Vibe.. milage dropped off to around 18mpg from around 29mgm seemingly over the last week. I cleaned the air filter,( I change it tomorrow) there was a considerable amount of debris in it included a maple leaf. I also cleaned the MAF sensor and stuck it back together.. I did notice that rpms drop and moter pulls down some when turning on AC.. It's suppose to increase approx 200 rpm when ac on. right? I wonder if the cabin filter could be adding to the mpg problem. I always run the ac these days. any input? for that dramatic of mpg drop. I bought it new the end of 09'
2009 VIBE 2.4. Model 2SL26 Manual windows n locks, no cruise. 5speed manual shift. 17'' factory mags. Custom RamAirDONT LET ME BECOME THE MAN I SAY I DESPISE!
djkeev
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (sanderthomas)

Post by djkeev »

I'll try to find it but there is a thread on here about the Variable Valve Timing control filter and how it never gets serviced, gets gummed up and the screen even falls apart. The result is that you are NOT getting the proper automatic timing adjustment that the engine was designed for and thus, you are not getting the efficient use of fuel the engineers sought.I'll try to find it, maybe someone else remembers it.AHA!!!................ http://forums.genvibe.com/zerothread?id=42494Dave
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mysticbluevibe
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (djkeev)

Post by mysticbluevibe »

yesterday I took out the big White jug and the plastic coupling devices. then re-routed the air intake input to a custom mount on the drivers side fog light blank. The filter box and new filter is still stock, including the permanant looking gauzelike filter in top of the filterbox... It has superior power now. rpms drop to near 500-650 while the system was learning? I let it get to running temp then took it for a ride. WOW!! Mojo Ram forced intake. I filled up today. just 1.2.gallon.. took a reading and got 39mpg on my first test ride.. I've got a 150 mile trip coming up this week. I'll update after that.. No codes. Nothing unusal. just very smooth acceleration and it pulls hills now with barely any pedal.. 60 mph up the grade running at approx 2.2k rpms. peday barely down. I hope I didn't screw up the air flow curve/data. doesn't look like it so far. . thx for the great info here on tweeking throttle intakes, especially the data charts from the HVAC guys.smooth baby smooth
2009 VIBE 2.4. Model 2SL26 Manual windows n locks, no cruise. 5speed manual shift. 17'' factory mags. Custom RamAirDONT LET ME BECOME THE MAN I SAY I DESPISE!
djkeev
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (mysticbluevibe)

Post by djkeev »

Quote, originally posted by mysticbluevibe »yesterday I took out the big White jug and the plastic coupling devices. then re-routed the air intake input to a custom mount on the drivers side fog light blank. The filter box and new filter is still stock, including the permanant looking gauzelike filter in top of the filterbox... It has superior power now. Interesting, can you post photos of your modification or provide a link you used for it?Dave
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mysticbluevibe
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (djkeev)

Post by mysticbluevibe »

Here are a couple pix of the stuff I took out, I merely trimmed and re routed the softer foam tube down the the front.

Attached files
2009 VIBE 2.4. Model 2SL26 Manual windows n locks, no cruise. 5speed manual shift. 17'' factory mags. Custom RamAirDONT LET ME BECOME THE MAN I SAY I DESPISE!
mysticbluevibe
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Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:11 am

Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (mysticbluevibe)

Post by mysticbluevibe »

This is what I removed:) I'm not sure just how to upload more than one snap at a time yet..

Attached files
2009 VIBE 2.4. Model 2SL26 Manual windows n locks, no cruise. 5speed manual shift. 17'' factory mags. Custom RamAirDONT LET ME BECOME THE MAN I SAY I DESPISE!
mysticbluevibe
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Joined: Sun Sep 04, 2011 7:11 am

Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (mysticbluevibe)

Post by mysticbluevibe »

I know it's ugly now but I've got some ideas to dress it up.. more snaps later. This was only an expieriment based on the studies done on air flow parameters done by some HVAC engineers. After understanding enough of that stuff, I figured I'd be okay regarding any code generations.. I got NONE. Plan is to move the horn over behind the grille for a more secure mounting and protection from pranksters. I'm looking for some junk yard factory fogs to blow in those holes. the pigtails are tied up just waiting there. I was led to the HVAC links off a link that "keithvibe" posted to an earlier post in my confusion. good stuffs

Attached files
2009 VIBE 2.4. Model 2SL26 Manual windows n locks, no cruise. 5speed manual shift. 17'' factory mags. Custom RamAirDONT LET ME BECOME THE MAN I SAY I DESPISE!
Mark
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Post by Mark »

I always get pissed when my vibe gets less than 30, but unfortunately 27-28 is common in winter. Going back and forth to Denver a few years ago - 100 miles each way @80mph with A/C on - would still always get 33-34. Cruise set at 70 would get me 36 easily. One trip across Wyoming eastbound with a good tailwind I got 49 avg over 250 miles. I'd maybe check for a brake caliper hanging up, and alignment. If I was getting 25 or less it would get stolen or fall off a cliff, or end up on craigslist.
'08 Base Stealth, '05 Base Satellite
jake75
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Re: Gas mileage is lousy in 2006 Vibe base (kostby)

Post by jake75 »

Quote, originally posted by kostby »Welcome to the GenVibe family!After a quick check on Google Maps to see where Placerville was, I deduce that you live in a hilly/mountainous area. That 1.8 liters works pretty hard to pull 3400 pounds uphill.Living in very flat central Indiana, I get around 23-25 mpg on mostly short trips in a small town with the AC on full time in summer, and about 30-31 on the highway. I've seen 40+ mpg once when drafting a high profile vehicle on the interstate for hundreds of miles. 'Lifetime' combined MPG average since I bought the car in 2004 is 27mpg.Keeping RPM below 3000, proper tire inflation, and using cruise control are all pretty crucial to good mileage on long trips. A good wax job will cut drag a bit, and maybe give you an additional .5 mpg. (And it makes the car look nice.)What he said!
2009 Vibe 1.8L Carbon Gray AT Power Pkg 1/12/092003 Vibe 1.8L Neptune AT Mono Power Pkg 1/27/03 [sold 2/2/09]2007 T&C SWB 7/31/07 "Broke people stay broke by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're broke."
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