Crapy city gas consumption

[nbourre]

Hi,I think my Vibe has a problem. On highway it makes around 7 L/100 Km (33 mi/Gallon) which is good. But in city it consummes 12-13 L/100 Km (19 mi/Gallon), which I think is crapy. I changed the air filter, but it didn't seem to fix the problem. It is winter out here in Quebec.Here is a small description of my car:- Vibe 2004 base- automatic- 102 000 Km- 16 inches tireDo you have any suggestion to fix this problem?Thank you

[DavidPIL]

Heya,Probably any number of things you could do though not sure if these would affect city driving over highway. I'm guessing 102,000 KM is about 61,000 miles... You should try a fuel injector cleaner. Everyone recommends Chevron Techron. I've used Redline Fuel System Cleaner and Seafoam. Liked the results with Seafoam. THat should be available at Auto Zone, if you have em up there, or any auto parts store.Might be worth changing your Spark Plugs. I changed mine around 60,000. They didn't look too bad but it's good preventative medicine.Air Filter is clean but maybe the Throttle Body needs a good cleaning. There are sprays for that. Make sure you get one that is O2 Sensor and Catalytic Converter safe. I think most are anyway.Maybe PCV valve as well. Couldn't hurt and isn't that expensive to do.Check tire pressure. If it's colder than it was the last time you checked or over a few weeks or so since you last checked, be sure to make sure they're at least up to the Manufacture's rating. Check them in the morning, before driving any.I'm sure there are more things to try though seriously, everything I listed is relatively cheap and should probably be all done together anyway.Dave

[prathman]

19 mpg doesn't sound bad to me for winter city driving. This usually involves longer warm-up times for your engine, more wasted idling time, many rather short trips, roads with snow and ice that add rolling resistance, colder air that adds resistance, and gasoline that's reformulated for better starts at the expense of some efficiency. Of course it's hard to say if you could expect any better mileage since it's so dependent on your own driving habits and the nature of your city trips. Was the mileage better in previous winters or with other, similar-size, vehicles?

[nbourre]

DavidPIL --> Thanx for your advice, I will give a try.PrathMath -->It is my first winter with it. You're right that winter might effect the consumption, but I never thought that it could lower the milleage by 50%... This winter was pretty cold (-15°C average). Concerning my driving, I think I'm a slow driver always driving within the speed limit. I drove a honda civic before, but I can not compare with this kind of car. My mother drives a corolla and her car does 550 Km (330 Mi). I expected at least 500 km with mine, but I barely drive 400 Km per tank. Anyway I'll try David tips.Thanx

[n2ho]

I have a new Vibe 2007 (base, automatic, 16" wheels) with 1400 miles on it. Kind of disappointed with gas consumption, in combined city/highway driving I have no better than 24 mpg. About a half of my way is in heavy traffic. I bought car in the end of November, so no warm weather driving so far. I hope the mpg will improve later. I also own a 2001 Hyundai Sonata GLS with small V6 (2.5 liter) engine and automatic transmission, and have in the same exactly condition 19-20 mpg. But Sonata is bigger and heavier car, and I expected Vibe's mpg better.

[WaveAction]

i get about 500+ km in 1 gas tank..and sometimes i dont have a light foot