My Legacy GT V8!

[LegGTLT]

Not to speak for him, but he did mention that his total mileage for one tank (this is when the gas light goes one with about 60+ miles left) was about 210+ for that tank. He was dividing by 15 gallons (what he last put in when the light went on) also to correct for the leftover gas in the tank. Unless his ODO is off... I think the members here nailed the problem pretty well.

[Project84]

i dont know jack-sh!t about late model cars but i know some basics... GUT the exhaust (its a turbo, it needs to let air flow freely), get a K&N filter on there or some kind of high performance air filter, more air = more power, more power through open exhaust = improved gas mileage, also, once a month either run injector cleaner or octane boost in your gas tank to help keep things clean and keep carbon from building up. If i averaged 12-14mpg again i'd just go buy back my '84 camaro with the V8 and get 16mpg...

 

if you've interested in keeping the car and improving life long gas mileage, look into lighter rotating parts, idk about the driveshafts but look into aluminum, lighten the flywheel, lighter wheels, carbon fiber or fiberglass body panels?

[Project84]

if he's running wheels or tires that dont meet factory specs his speedometer and trip... and odo.... will be off. if they are factory wheels, factory tires, at proper psi, they should *should* be accurate.

[GraysonSubaru]

I think i probably average 15 or 16 around town...sometimes lower. Around town kills the display's version of what is average MPG. ON the highway when i went to the steelers/browns game (drove from Knoxville, TN to cleveland), i think we averaged 27ish, but I know in my trips to work -- some highway and some 35-40mph driving, i still only get about 17 or 18. Althought your number seems low, the best way to get a better estimate is to use the old fashioned way of checking MPG -- fill up the tank and reset your trip meter until you get gas again. when you refill, take how many gallons it took to refill and divide the amount of miles by gallons you put back into it.

 

your display might be getting confused or something by the type of driving you do. if you do a lot of stop and go, i can definitely see it being that low... if you ever watch the instant MPG, starting out or going up any hills will usually drop the MPG under 10.

[LIZARD]

Yup, by all the good info in these replies, Prob. MAF + O2 sensor(bad) runnin' too rich. I have AP stage 1, 93 I do 70/30 highway/city 6 days/week, cruise at 80mph and I get on it in city driving as well. Trip OD avg. is pretty steady at 22.5 - 23 ish and that's pretty accurate as I also manually calculate as well. I generally NEVER drive like a granny ('cept when my kids are in the car)When I'm on I-195 (in Germany) I will sometimes exceed 100 mph at strategic points on that highway. The best advice is what has already been said- take it to the dealer with a bit more knowledge now and if they can't satisfy, go to dealer #2. New car, >$25,000, Factory warranty = make it PERFECT!!!! Good luck, I'm sure you'll get resolution.

PS: My GMC plow truck was getting 12-14 WITH the plow engaged.

[subawang]

Don't know if this has been stated before, but try filling up and taking a nice long cruise on the highway. See if you can pull some decent numbers from a 100+ mile cruise. I know this will take some time and money, but its worth a try to see what may be possible issues.

[legacy_y_tu]

............. 20mph-60mph and I averaged 22 mpg. On the way home same distance, 80mph, averaged 18.3 mpg. That sound about right?

 

Well that jibes with what I get 95% of the time.

[NYsFinest]

Well that jibes with what I get 95% of the time.

 

Ok cool, plus the fact I have winter tires on which I've been told hurts gas mileage as well a bit, not sure if thats true or not.

[bdisco]

The dealer tech tried to explain it to me when my inoperative O2 sensor threw no CEL or codes, but I can't recall. One type of failure throws codes and another does not.

 

So we'll get a CEL if our gas cap is not tight, but if our O2 sensor is bad nothing?

 

WRX would light for MAF (didn't like Blitz RAM filter) O2 sensor (HKS Carbon TI) Pony Express MIL Eliminator http://www.ponyexpressperformance.com/wrxmileliminator.html

http://www.ponyexpressperformance.com/pepbuttons/mileliminatorheader1.gif

[LIZARD]

WRX would light for MAF (didn't like Blitz RAM filter) O2 sensor (HKS Carbon TI) Pony Express MIL Eliminator http://www.ponyexpressperformance.com/wrxmileliminator.html

http://www.ponyexpressperformance.com/pepbuttons/mileliminatorheader1.gif

Hmmmm...will this work on LGT?

[MangoGT]

Not to speak for him, but he did mention that his total mileage for one tank (this is when the gas light goes one with about 60+ miles left) was about 210+ for that tank. He was dividing by 15 gallons (what he last put in when the light went on) also to correct for the leftover gas in the tank. Unless his ODO is off... I think the members here nailed the problem pretty well.

 

I usually run it down well past the "30" miles left mark. (It doesn't go below that, does it?)

[LegGTLT]

Ohhhh... it goes to 20 and then ---, at that point I have 30 miles till fill up. I usually put in about 16.5+ each fill up.

[Rely18]

i have similar mileage as the original poster and have noticed a drop in avg mpg on the display by about 2-3 mpg over the last couple months. i don't drive any differently so i attributed it to the colder air.

 

the display reads 18-20 mpg in mixed driving conditions and i calculate it actually about 1-2 mpg below that...

[Brady]

I usually run it down well past the "30" miles left mark. (It doesn't go below that, does it?)

... umm ... depends on how you're driving

 

I've seen it hit "20 miles to empty" before when I was ... how shall I put it? ... beating the car into submission.

[STIJibz]

mpg in the 12-14 range, even in the city, sounds too low unless you're a lead-foot stoplight to stoplight racer. Even my heavily modded LGT gets about 15 mpg around town. On the highway I get about 18-19 mpg.

 

lol yeah...if ur stock 5EAT is gettin less mileage then BOXRPWR's beast, i think we can def. conclude there is something wrong

[SBT]

It will be interesting to see what the dealer says about the mileage. Actual or display computed, staying below 3K on the tachometer (granny driving) should net you at least ~20mpg around town.

 

We're all waiting to hear how it works out for you.

 

SBT

[RangerMan]

i have similar mileage as the original poster and have noticed a drop in avg mpg on the display by about 2-3 mpg over the last couple months. i don't drive any differently so i attributed it to the colder air.

 

the display reads 18-20 mpg in mixed driving conditions and i calculate it actually about 1-2 mpg below that...

 

My bet for this particular situation is winter gas. I always calculate about 1.5 mpg less than what the computer reads. The only time the computer is accurate is on long trips and using the cruise (then it is only reading 0.5mpg high)

[MangoGT]

As of today:

 

174.7 miles so far on this tank. I filled up 15.008 gallons on 01/23. The trip computer has read "30" (miles left) for some time, so let's overestimate and say that I can squeeze another 30 miles out of the tank.

 

That means on 15 gallons, I'm getting 204.7 miles max = 13.64 miles per gallon. The computer says I'm getting 13.2 mpg. (Let's not even take into account that running a tank from full to empty is over 15 gallons...)

 

I put two more gallons in the tank tonight and I have an appointment with the dealer tomorrow. I'll keep you guys posted--thanks so much for the info.

[MangoGT]

UPDATE 02/01/06: I took the car to the dealer today and they insisted that they just needed to "hook her up to the good ol' computer." Of course, they say that nothing is wrong with the car and that 13.6 (calculated) miles/gallon is just due to it being winter and the car only having 8,000 miles on it. I asked the assistant service manager if he checked all of the sensors and their connections individually and he said, "the computer said that everything is A+, 100%." I asked for a print-out of the report, he said that their machine doesn't give print-outs.

 

To make things worse--I took the car in for a 7,500 mile service a few weeks ago and was charged $85 for tire rotate/balance, oil change, and some other bull. A few days later, I received a note from Subaru Program HQ for a "winter service special" for $30. I called the customer service contact at the dealership and she assured me I would be refunded the difference. I asked the service manager about it and he said that the difference was that the coupon didn't list "tire balance" and that accounts for the $50 extra charge.

[geddyup]

I have driven my car 14,000 miles. I beat the living heck out of it.

 

I am stage 2 cobb custom tuned.

 

Having never reset the trip computor and gunning the car all the time even after putting 100 miles on the car I average 21.7

 

21.7 for 14,000 miles

 

Great mpg in my opinion

[MangoGT]

I have driven my car 14,000 miles. I beat the living heck out of it.

 

I am stage 2 cobb custom tuned.

 

Having never reset the trip computor and gunning the car all the time even after putting 100 miles on the car I average 21.7

 

21.7 for 14,000 miles

 

Great mpg in my opinion

 

That sounds awesome. It's amazing to see how fast the fuel gauge drops at 13.6 mpg. It's almost real-time.

[kmurph]

My wife drives the GT 95% of the time and averages around 22mpg in the city/highway...she always complains to me after I drive the car - I knock the Average MPG down to around 15-16...go figure.

 

With that in mind, I get better gas mileage in my other car which has a 3.2L 6 cylinder and 83 more HP....

[MangoGT]

So in terms of getting this fixed, what's the next step after calling Subaru of America?

 

I called today and the CSR told me that she would contact the dealership regarding my problem. She called back and told me that I would need to wait until 10,000 miles before the dealership can take any further action. I asked her if Subaru would pay for my fuel costs during that time, as running 13 mpg/2000 miles can get really pricey with 93 octane.

 

I also asked why I needed to wait 2,000 more miles--did she expect the fuel efficiency to improve? No. She said that after 10,000 miles, they can do a fuel consumption test. I asked if the dealership can perform the test sooner and she said she will get back to me tomorrow.

 

This doesn't look like it's going anywhere--what's the next step?

 

Thanks.

[ilh]

Perhaps you can talk the dealer into letting you do a test drive in a comparable LGT. Do a 5-10 mile loop in that and one in your car and compare mileage after (reset trip odometer). I doubt they'll go for that though unless SOA makes them do it.

 

When my car was in for stalling, the dealer did data log another car on the lot for comparison purposes, but I had nothing to do with that.

[cptaebphd]

So in terms of getting this fixed, what's the next step after calling Subaru of America?

 

I called today and the CSR told me that she would contact the dealership regarding my problem. She called back and told me that I would need to wait until 10,000 miles before the dealership can take any further action. I asked her if Subaru would pay for my fuel costs during that time, as running 13 mpg/2000 miles can get really pricey with 93 octane.

 

I also asked why I needed to wait 2,000 more miles--did she expect the fuel efficiency to improve? No. She said that after 10,000 miles, they can do a fuel consumption test. I asked if the dealership can perform the test sooner and she said she will get back to me tomorrow.

 

This doesn't look like it's going anywhere--what's the next step?

 

Thanks.

I'd tell them to do the fuel consumption test NOW. An extra 2K miles won't do anything and you're concerned that there may be a dangerous fuel leak since the dealer claims the car is functioning properly. How else to explain the ridiculously low mpg? Don't stop calling SOA. Go up their chain until you get a reasonable person with some power -- sounds like you're dealing with a flunky now.