fuel mileage

[bhb]

I have 2005 vibe base model with a 5 speed manual transmission with 15,000 miles. As we live in Honolulu the AC is on most of the time and most of my miles are city related. My question is I have been averaging somewhere between 15 and 18 miles per gallon with no recognizable driveability problems. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?Thanks

[Kamikaze]

Welcome!I'm not sure because of the low milage what seems to be the problem..Can you smell gas if you open the hood? it could be a fuel pressure regulator...How about a over zealous neighbor taking gas out of your tank? (hey it could happen)Are you keeping the RPM's below 3,000? I've heard people say that once they start going above 3000 bye bye in MPG...I'm pretty lite on the pedals, I try to time my driving with the lights, so I don't have to slow down or stop, and start up again...I don't know what else to tell you...

[engineertwin2]

What kind of tires? Idle RPM? Tire Pressure? How long have you had it?

[bhb]

purchased new august 2005, idle around 850, tire pressure 32 on dunlap gt qualifer

[prathman]

That does seem like very poor mileage, but city driving varies considerably so it's hard to compare without knowing your driving habits and situation.Have you had any opportunity to see what the mileage is like on a more highway-oriented drive, such as a sightseeing trip around the island? Alternatively, have you checked your mileage in any other cars doing the kind of city driving you're now doing in the Vibe?

[northvibe]

you should almost try to suffer a tank of gas with out AC on :S see how much it goes up. Also do you keep your rpms under 3k?

[Kamikaze]

Scanguage FTW!!!I have one, they are pretty cool, can change your driving habbits, but also can check for CEL's... they're about $160, and plug into the OBDII port on any car... nice thing is you can use it in more than one car...It tells me my instant MPG, my current trip MPG, my tank MPG, it tells me how much $ I've spent in gas on my trip.. it does more than just that, but I really like it simply for watching my fuel consumption. Being as I live in MN I really can't test what I'm getting with the AC on right now.. It's already cold enough...

[4azdmunky]

I would say yes you are having a problem. I have a a base 05 auto and it was getting 28-32 here in Denver (mile high). When I would go to lower altitude it would get up as high as 36.Have you tried resetting your ecu? what color is your tailpipe, is there a lot of soot (burning rich)?You may also want to put something in your tank to see if your getting bad gas. A yellow bottle of HEAT would work.

[lovemyraffe]

Quote, originally posted by 4azdmunky »I would say yes you are having a problem. I have a a base 05 auto and it was getting 28-32 here in Denver (mile high). When I would go to lower altitude it would get up as high as 36.That's kinda funny, my wife and I were just discussing Mile High City today. My house is at 5800 feet and I get 30-34 mpg. You are having a problem with your mpg. The lowest mpg my car ever saw was 25.

[coldmm803]

welcome to the boardas the others said, i do think there is something wrong but cant say exactly what. if the exhaust smells like rotten eggs your catylitic converter could be bad, mine went out somewhere around that point (12-15,000 miles). with the cold weather around here and my city driving (4.5 miles and 15ish traffic lights) i'm currently getting 20-23mpg but i'm not always easy on the gas. one the highway i get 30+mpg.