17 mpg. city driving with new Base Vibe 2.4L 5 sp. Auto

[DrummerBoy]

I've only averaged 17 mpg with my first 3 tanks of gas. I drive normally, no agressive take-offs etc. I use this car for work only 3 miles each way, and this ride consists of 2-3 traffic lights. I've only driven 400 miles in the 3 months I own this car. I have to take it on a normal trip to see if the milage improves. I thought I should be getting 20 mpg with careful driving, even with small local trips. Maybe as the car breaks in the milage will improve?

[spiffy1001]

Are you sure you have it in drive and not third gear? It is pretty easy to bump the shifter over.

[DrummerBoy]

Thanks for the reply, yeah it's in Drive, I always check to make sure.

[djkeev]

So sorry for the poor MPG's. I'd be so pissed off if I was only getting that on a car the size of the Vibe! It's shameful to build a car in this size class to only give that kind of mileage.My 07 1.8 auto will ALWAYS give me high 20's, very often low 30's and I've gotten as good as 36 on a trip. If the trade off is this big in MPG's for the upgrade to the newer 2.4 then I'm really glad I didn't trade up to the newer, bigger & "better"? Vibe!

[DrummerBoy]

I should be getting 21 mpg. I'm thinking that on a 12 minute trip, I spend 4-5 of those minutes idle at a traffic light, so this would result in poor mpg. Hopefully once I can check it on a normal trip the mpg. will be much better.

[Tonebalone]

I was surprised at my poor mpg with my 2.4L 5 speed auto when I first got it; I was getting about 20. Now, 7 weeks and 2200 miles later, I am getting 24 in town, and 32 on the highway. The major improvement has come in the last 500 miles or so, so you might be getting some improvement real soon.

[zionzr2]

I know its new but did you try checking all the usual suspects? Things like tire pressure, fluids, filters, extra weights in the cargo area?

[DrummerBoy]

The only thing I haven't checked is rhe air filter. Thanks for the info.

[ou.grizzly]

Gotta give it some time... The 2.4L is very thirsty in the city below the 5,000 mile mark. Get a few oil changes under your belt and you will see a difference. The 2-3 mile drive and 2-3 traffic lights are not going to help, that is for sure.

[09vGT]

I was curious to see what kind of mileage I would get if i took off week and drove a little peppier than i normally do... I got 24 MPG... and that is around town... The most I have gotten is 34.. and i have a GT.. Mine is also a 2009.

[ajb812]

Hmm ... that's interesting. As most have said, it probably just needs to be broken in more. On my 09 GT, I've been averaging between 22-24 mpg city (depending on how spirited I feel like driving). Haven't taken a long enough trip to determine highway mileage, but I can guess from what I have done, probably 30 mpg easy. I've got 900 mi. on it in the last 2 months. Also, as zionzr2 mentioned, keep an eye on tire pressure, etc. I've noticed it's pretty sensitive to keeping pressure (I've never had low profile tires before - hopefully I don't have a slow leak!). I actually put a few extra psi in mine last time (35 v.s. 32). I'm hoping that may even help a bit more. Hopefully yours will get better!

[vintagegz]

the car never warms up with such a short drive, you are probably driving on the rich side of the warm up cycle, much like a choke in the old days on a carburetor. Not much you can do, may get worse in cooler weather, but any car would be the same under those circumstances.

[SinisterMind]

Quote, originally posted by DrummerBoy »I've only averaged 17 mpg with my first 3 tanks of gas. I drive normally, no agressive take-offs etc. I use this car for work only 3 miles each way, and this ride consists of 2-3 traffic lights. I've only driven 400 miles in the 3 months I own this car. I have to take it on a normal trip to see if the milage improves. I thought I should be getting 20 mpg with careful driving, even with small local trips. Maybe as the car breaks in the milage will improve?My wife's AWD Matrix averages that. Her job is about 5 miles away and it's all city driving with 4 stop lights on the way. She would get 17-18mpg. The car is getting better with more miles. Currently it has 6300 miles. Even on highway I was able to get 27mpg even though I was driving over 70mph. So don't worry. It's not your car. Just that short trips in stop and go traffic are terrible on the fuel economy.

[jammies]

Quote, originally posted by vintagegz »the car never warms up with such a short drive, you are probably driving on the rich side of the warm up cycle, much like a choke in the old days on a carburetor. Not much you can do, may get worse in cooler weather, but any car would be the same under those circumstances.I would second this.....Although you did not mention the topography of your commute, and I am not familiar with Florida ( flat, right? ).Just be glad since you are more southern, your gasoline mixture should have less ethanol than northern states. Especially in the Winter months.

[Scooter Dave]

It might not get up to normal operating temperature in that short trip. I would double check the tire air pressure with a different gauge. Should improve after it's broken-in and you might want to switch to 100% synthetic oil (I wait 5 to 6k miles before switching) for a slight gain and better engine protection.

[djkeev]

You know, with that kind of mileage you could be driving something like the new Camaro and getting 304 horses working for you! 29 hwy, 18 city

[Harsh]

When I drove my new 09 I got high 20's. Not sure what the deal is but I woudl be taking it to the dealer and make them figure it out.