Mazda 1.8 5speed gas mileage?????

92MX3black · Post by **92MX3black** » March 14th, 2006, 8:39 pm

Just wondering from other members what the average gas mileage is for these cars. In the summer of last year i got 27mpg with highway and city driving equally. Now in the winter i am getting barely 19-20mpg. My mx3 is stock except for a oversized muffler that the guy b4 me put on. I have heard in the winter that gas mileage decreases because of the quality of gas but to this extent?!?! i Use to get 280-300 miles for a tank and now i get 180-190miles to a tank. All of this was recorded with 87 octane and granny shifting the car at around 2500-3000rpms at all times. Please post some info!! im new to the mazda cars.

johnnyb · Post by **johnnyb** » March 14th, 2006, 9:12 pm

Its probably the cold. The colder our cars are the more gas is pumped into the engine. The ECU tells the fuel system to pump lots and lots of gas into the engine when its cold because its much harder to keep a cold car running. Once the engine is warmed up it goes back to normal gas useage. In the summer its hot, takes no time at all for the engine to warm up so less gas is needed.

This may not be the extent of the problem but it is a contributing factor.

hgallegos915 · Post by **hgallegos915** » March 14th, 2006, 9:39 pm

mines around 21 -28 mpg i have a bad aic valve and also dont have fuel oressure regulator vacuum

Vanished · Post by **Vanished** » March 14th, 2006, 11:58 pm

yeah i'm getting about 300-350km's per tank which is s---. But its usually -20ish, alot of unplowed snow, bad tires for winter, not letting it warm up, 230k on the engine...defantly cuz of winter.

BornSticky · Post by **BornSticky** » March 15th, 2006, 12:05 am

dido I was getting 500km per tank in summer. now im getting under 400km's per tank and a heck of a lot of carbon build up at well because of it running so rich Im really hoping it gets better when it warms up or its premature klze time.

sexy_mx3 · Post by **sexy_mx3** » March 15th, 2006, 7:34 am

OMG I'm so glad to see that other people are in the same boat as me... I was getting to the point that I was going to give up because the gas mileage was so crappy! lol Well, now I can give my car a bit of a break and just like all of you guys, hope that this summer it runs a lot better... can't get to places/shows with crap gas mileage!

jschrauwen · Post by **jschrauwen** » March 15th, 2006, 9:22 am

Welcome 92MX3black to MX-3.com. What you'll find and eventually need is a good use of this BB search function. Since this BB is exclusively for a single production run car it's resource material can be very encompassing. Your question has indeed been asked, queried, bedated, discussed, resolved, rehashed and then asked again. No worries here. I would think that the following links should be able to cover every and all questions related to mileage issues.
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
http://www.mx-3.com/phpbb2/viewtopic.ph ... ge+mileage
Having gone through that, a routine checklist would aid in narrowing down the systemic problems surrounding gas mileage issues, like
-Age and condition of;
spark plugs,
plug wires,
disty rotor,
PCV,
disty cap itself or contacts,
air filter.
These are normal tune-up items that should always be kept in top shape. Aside from that there are items such as sensors. An old or faulty O2 sensor could be a big contributer to poor mileage stemming from a rich condition. A PRC solenoid seized in the wrong position could also lead to rich running position. An old or clogged air filter will do likewise. A clogged cat will also be detrimental. Improper selection of spark plugs could lead to poor mileage. A faulty ISC valve could also be a contributer. Leaks in exhaust systems should be remedied. Improper tire pressure can also lead to poorer mileage.
Grabby brake calipers could also be considered although usually unlikely. Even regular engine oil, tranny fluid and coolant changes will make a difference to car performance, ie, mileage. Considering the age, the likelihood that a lot of MX's are now in the hands of their 2nd, 3rd and even 4th owner, past scheduled maintenance requirements may have gone unattended. Another area that may be worth looking into would be to attempt to clean the intake track tubing, the TB and possibly the IM. Since the possibility that there may have been extended periods of neglect wrt tune-ups and maintenance, confirmation of the set-up and tolerances of the timing and the TPS may need to be looked at. In my books, if the history, integrity or lifespan of a particular component is in question or unknown, than my first intent is to replace or adjust accordingly - within reason of course. Hope this helps,
John

schuttie2002 · Post by **schuttie2002** » March 15th, 2006, 11:38 am

Yea, Check out the things Jschrauwen said to. I have a DE w/some extras dropped in my mx3, and even in the winter I get 23-26 mpg and 25-28 in the summer so the drop really shouldnt be that bad. It gets pretty cold here in PA too. With the list that he gave you, Id start with plugs(easy n cheap) and the air filter.

lakersfan1 · Post by **lakersfan1** » March 15th, 2006, 12:01 pm

My K8 used to get 22MPG pretty much all year.

With my KL, I'm getting anywhere from 19-22 MPG.

92MX3black · Post by **92MX3black** » March 15th, 2006, 8:36 pm

Thanks a lot. Relating to what jschrauwen said. They were talking about the search function (BB) and i just wanted to say before i posted this i searched v6 performance/technical and didnt really find anything specifcally to what i was asking. In case i have any questions like that in the future i was wondering if any one can help me find this search function a little faster. Thanks for all the help so far!!!

twoie · Post by **twoie** » March 15th, 2006, 9:14 pm

good luck!!!! sometimes I search till my eyes feel like they're bleeding. If people don't asign their threads with a reasonable heading, then you get a bunch of non-related topics. However, the more I use it the smarter I seem to become regarding what info I place into my parameters for the search. Always start specific and gradually broden your search. This is what I've found to be the best approach.

Twoie