Well at least I think it is poor! This is a 2004 L300 with about 2,000 miles on it, and yes it is the V6 model. Well since we bought the car we have only been averaging 18-19 mpg, combo Freeway, and City driving! This seems pretty low to me, and with gas prices as high as they are I would really like to get some better gas mileage. The only decent gas mileage we got was on a weekend trip--mostly Freeway- and we got around 24 mpg! Does all of this sound like a problem to anyone, and is there any way to increase the gas mileage we are getting? I really like this car, but the low Gas Mleage is starting to bug me!! :-( Thanks in advance for any help on this!
The engine is still breaking in a little, and will likely improve somewhat over the next few thousand miles. However, my 2002 LW300 has never gotten over 27 mpg on the highway. It averages about 22-24 mpg with mostly highway miles, so I wouldn't expect yours to improve a lot. Make sure your tires are inflated properly. I get slightly better mileage if I bump up the octane a little. Dana
I've been getting about 24mpg on my '01 lw300 (44K miles) in town and driving with a light foot. sort of hard to control the testosterone since stomping the gas pedal is sooo darn exhilarating! On a recent highway trip, doing 65-75mph for the most part, topped off the tank and had 3/4 tank after 130 miles. that's roughly 30mpg. (iirc the tank is 15 gallons) Not the most scientific measure of mileage but in any event, it's not too shabby. Been using regular grade gas and throw a can of injector cleaner in every few months just for gits and shiggles. Oppie
Bumping up the octane wont do anything because of its mild compression. He will still get the same gas mileage, power, and in turn he will spend more money. As oppie post its a 15gal tank. I say someones calculations are off.
I am pretty sure I got the mileage calculations right I always subtract the miles from my present fill up to my previous fill up, and divide that by the number of gallons I got. I think that is the way to do it right? Of course I can't do it exact like 1667.6 because for some reason this gauge rounds off to the nearest mile. So I only get something like 1667 or 1668. And I always use reg gas, so that is not a factor. Some weeks I can get 19-20 miles to the gallon, and other weeks I only get around 18. I know the AC and Heater can eat up a lot of gas! So when do you think all of this should level off, and I can get some consistantly good gas mileage out of this car? Thanks!
I will agree with the appreciation of power, but 3 years of mileage records clearly show about a 5% increase in gas mileage with my car by bumping up a grade. I nearly always buy Sunoco. But most of the time I just run 87 octane because the increased cost usually negated the mild mileage increase. Actual results may vary.... Dana
Why don't you just reset your trip odometer at every fill-up? You are right, I do find quite a difference with my LW300 when the a/c and even a strong electrical load (rear defroster/mirror heaters, seat heaters, etc) are added to the mix. Again, check those tire pressures. BTW, the wider the tire, the less fuel economy - are yours really wide?
Doesnt your trip gage show 10th's of a mile? Not that you need to be that accurate. The ac doesnt eat up as much these days and it only runs when you are defrosting the windsheild with the heat on. You got to remember that the epa rates everything on a treadmill. Only lil ol' ladies get close to the epa ratings. You might be a lead foot like most of us. If 1600 is your current mileage i say you have some ways to go before everything is broken in. Try not to push it to hard until you're next oil change. I cant remember if saturn puts synthetic in from the factory now but if they do it will take longer for the rings to seat.
My Tires are the factory tires, I think they are 17", And I keep them all at 30 lbs just like it says on the door. Funny thing was the best mileage I got was on that weekend trip, and I had the AC on the entire time!
Re: Poor Gas Mileage on an L300? Group: rec.autos.makers.saturn Date: Thu, Apr 29, 2004, 7:40pm (PDT+7) From: (Blah blah) I am pretty sure I got the mileage calculations right I always subtract the miles from my present fill up to my previous fill up, and divide that by the number of gallons I got. I think that is the way to do it right? Of course I can't do it exact like 1667.6 because for some reason this gauge rounds off to the nearest mile. So I only get something like 1667 or 1668. And I always use reg gas, so that is not a factor. Some weeks I can get 19-20 miles to the gallon, and other weeks I only get around 18. I know the AC and Heater can eat up a lot of gas! So when do you think all of this should level off, and I can get some consistantly good gas mileage out of this car? Thanks! Doesnt your trip gage show 10th's of a mile? Not that you need to be that accurate. The ac doesnt eat up as much these days and it only runs when you are defrosting the windsheild with the heat on. You got to remember that the epa rates everything on a treadmill. Only lil ol' ladies get close to the epa ratings. You might be a lead foot like most of us. If 1600 is your current mileage i say you have some ways to go before everything is broken in. Try not to push it to hard until you're next oil change. I cant remember if saturn puts synthetic in from the factory now but if they do it will take longer for the rings to seat. ----------------------------------------------------------- No it has a digital read out now, and it only reads in whole numbers. So it is pretty hard to get an acurate reading, as far as gas mileage goes! My old 96 SL2 had the regular gage, and I got great gas mileage on that car. Maybe this car being a V6 just sucks up more gas. I hope you are right about getting better mileage after it breaks in. I do not think I will ever get used to 18-19 MPG! Thanks
Do you drive with the windows open when the a/c isn't on? That'll cost you some mileage too. Only your odometer should read in whole miles. If you press the little thingy sticking out of the odometer area, you will see the trip meter which does read in tenths of a mile. If you press it and hold it, it will reset to "0.0" That's what I do when I fill up, so I don't have to calculate total miles driven - the trip meter tells me. Then just divide the total miles by the number of gallons you used to fill up (to the top), and you have your MPG. Dana
