2007 Pontiac Vibe bad gas mileage

[SarahD]

Hey guys, I'm new to the site. I just bought an '07 Vibe with less than 21,000 miles on it. Thus far I love the car, but I've noticed the gas mileage sucks! I'm only getting an average of 19 mpg! I'm not a lead foot and I drive mainly highway. The ECM was replaced due to GM's recall. Any ideas? I'm really bummed because that's one of the reasons why I bought it! My '97 Camry which I traded for it got better gas mileage.

[ehoff121]

Welcome to genvibe!

Wow, you don't see a lot of 8 year old vibes that only have an average 3k miles per year!

Maybe a little more information would be helpful.
Do you have an automatic transmission? Do you take short (less than 10 miles) highway trips? Do you hit traffic? Do you have the A/C on? Are the tires under-inflated? Is your local gasoline an ethanol blend? Are the wheels out of alignment? Dirty engine air filter? Dirty Mass Airflow sensor?

The mpg rating for an automatic is 25 city/31 highway with a 27 combined. If several items above apply, the combined effect could explain the lower fuel economy.

[lannvouivre]

Are your brakes dragging?

Jeez, I never even ever got that low mileage and I had low compression on two cylinders AND I drive like I have somewhere to go!

[Salsa Guy]

Check the basics. Tire Pressure, Air Filter, Plugs, Vvti filter, Transmission Fluids. Maybe Run some injector cleaner through the fuel system, Chevron makes good products. Is the Check Engine Light on? Also may want to put a code reader just encase the light is bad.

[Zimm]

a car of that age with that few miles on the odometer may have been left sitting for extended periods by a previous owner. something like a dragging or seized brake could be a culprit. i'd suggest a thorough inspection by a quality mechanic, because that kind of gas mileage is far below expectations and "normal" user condition variance. whatever you pay the mechanic for the inspection will surely be made up in gas savings once things are returned to proper running condition.

[Salsa Guy]

^^Good Point

[SarahD]

Thanks for all of your replies, guys. Sorry for the lack of info earlier. No check engine light, the car seems to be running great and is an automatic. I didn't take into account that it is winter and I have two snow tires on the front, but that seems like a rather drastic reduction in mileage if you ask me. My Camry also had an 18 gallon gas tank, so it took longer to go through than this car. The car does have a 90 day warranty from the dealer I bought it from, so I will go there if I have to, but would rather not because it's a pain in the (removed) to get to. I have Lucas Oil Upper Cylinder Lubricant that I am going to try next. I suspect the previous owner was either older or just didn't drive it much.

[SarahD]

What I forgot to mention is that I do primarily highway driving. It's 22.5 miles one way to work and it's about 95% highway. My house is right off the highway as is my job.

[jayoldschool]

Has to be a dragging brake. Your mileage should be ten higher for your driving.

[vibrologist]

Has to be a dragging brake. Your mileage should be ten higher for your driving.

I agree with that and you can check it for yourself: drive for a little, maybe a mile or two, to a place where you can take in in Neutral and let it come to a stop on its own. A slight uphill incline helps. Don't touch the brake and don't pull the e-brake until the car has stopped. Put it in Park, get out of the car and feel for heat at the wheels. You don't have to touch the brakes or wheels, you feel the heat radiating from the rotors or drums. The hot ones are dragging. If there is no heat there are other issues.

Besides, it is advisable to exchange the brake fluid every 2 to 3 years. While doing that the shop can check the brakes for you. I would call them for an appointment even if it is inconvenient. Or find a good (honest) independent garage in your area. Independent means: no dealership, no Firestone, Midas,CarX or other franchise. Because there YOU pay the franchise fees and possibly get hard-sold on unnecessary repairs.

[arthur13206]

I am having my Vibe towed to the Garage. For the third time in 3 weeks my Vibe will not work. Appears to be the same problem 3 times in a row. The engine runs about 5-10 minutes then it idles poorly and looses power. After it looses power it never goes faster than 5 MPH and will not clime the hill into my driveway. When I rev the engine it will only go up to 2K rpm.

The first time the garage replaced the Throttle body. The second time they replaced the Power Control Module. I seems to work fine when I pick it up then the engine light comes on. It runs OK for a few days then dies. The problem keeps coming back after about a week. Anybody have this happen? I tried to search my problem here but can't find anything so far. Any ideas?

[ehoff121]

Most members read the most recent messages, so you don't need to post on multiple boards...

[Wichard9018]

You will get bad gas mileage if your automatic transmission isn't kicking into over-drive. You should have a check engine light when that electric servo malfunctions. Try cycling the over-drive on & off with that button on your shift lever. You should notice a difference in the RPMs.