Poor Gas Mileage on an L300?

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WGRG3

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?
 
WGRG3 said:
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!
Click to expand...

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: [email protected] (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
 
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