How many miles do you drive before the gas light comes on?

[docsmile71]

I've noticed that I've been getting dismal mileage with the OB XT. It's an auto tranny. My wife drives it mostly. It's mostly local stop and go. Very rarely does she floor it. We drive about 200-220 miles, then it's time to fill up again. We usually have to put in about 14-15 gallons at each fill up. That's about 13-16 mpg!!! And that's with break in driving. One of the reasons we got rid of our Q45 was the bad gas mileage. At least that had a V8. Am I doing something wrong here?

[05LegacyGT330Ci]

THat is horrible mileage and I agree this car does get pretty shoddy gas mileage but I usually fill up as soon as it gets to a 1/4 tank becuase once in there it seems to be all gone the next time I start up the car. EDIT: Upps forgot the important number, I get about 210-220 at a 1/4 tank and then 280 when the light will actually come on and it says I have like 50 miles left but the needle is basically already on empty.

[Ken S]

How many miles on your OBXT? How many miles is a typical trip? It will take some miles for the ECU to lean out the fuel mixture as it learns your driving style. The first few tanks, especially if in stop-and-go, will not be good. Also, short driving distances will always hurt your milage. In the mean time, have you tried things to improve the milage: check tire pressure, use the recommended (premium) fuel. To answer your topic question, I usually don't let the needle drop past 1/4 tank before I fill up. It's not a good idea to run your tank close to empty as it increases the risk of pulling in any debris that might have settled at the bottom of your tank. Ken

[docsmile71]

we have about 1200 miles on the car right now. Trips are about 15 miles but mostly local roads. 15 miles take about 45 min with traffic. Tire pressure is ok. We use 93 octane, usually Sunoco, Mobil, Exxon, or Hess. (91 octane if it's at Sunoco). So how many miles are you guys getting before the 1/4 tank mark?

[Ken S]

I get about 260 miles give or take 10 miles due to 1/4 tank eyeballing error. Most of my driving is on highway (70-80mph) and I average about 22-23mpg. In city only driving, my milage will average around 19-20mpg. The best tank I've had so far was 26mpg on a road trip of 100% highway driving (also averaging 80mph). Well, 1200 miles is still very new so you might need to give it more time. It sounds like you are using good gas and tire pressures are okay. How is the oil level? Overfilling increases crankcase effort and reduces gas milage too. Ken

[c_hunter]

Local stop and go will kill you. I get 19-22 in mixed driving biased 70% highway. Depends on how much "fun" I have :-). I am sure I could creep into the 23-24 range if I drove more gently. My light usually comes on at about 270 miles. Used to go to 330 miles in my 02 LL Bean. Craig

[Aerodox]

Try running the 91 octane instead of the 93. Your gas is more resistant to igniting, and causes a delay in timing, at least thats the theory. Heck if your wife never floors it, and it doesn't ping, and since it's winter with cold wet dense air, I'd say use the 89 if it's available.

[Guest JessterCPA]

I try to hit 280-300 before the light comes on, and approx 320 before I fill back up. Had a few tanks where the light came on at 260 and I filed at 280. I have actually gone almost 60 miles with the light on though. Its a wonder how much gas you save when you actually try.

[Flo4Legacy]

Local stop and go is killing the mileage, especially with AT tranny. For that use the XT seems to be a little oversized. The 2.5i would get a better mileage in that case. Of course there is the lack of power compared to the XT, but it seems that it isn't really needed. Also mileage goes extremly down if the according driving style for local traffic is ignored. You don't really need to floor the pedal . maybe it is the opposite - too slow acceleration. The best seems to be a mix between hardly and hard acceleration. Also try to avoid a lot of braking - it is fuel saving to let the car roll out to the next red light (if that is possible).

[nov26_2]

I just finished the break in period and the gas mileage so far is just awful. I think the best so far has been around 18 based on my math, not the computer. I am hoping for some improvement as I get a little further from the breakin. I drive a mix of highway and stop and go. I think the total mileage per tank is 240 and that puts the tank just below 1/4. Thank God I can purchase 93 octane for under $2 per gallon. I'm considering a parttime job to pay for fuel.

[Guest JessterCPA]

nov, Where in NJ are you getting 93 octane for under $2?? The best I can get now is about 2.04-2.05. I have see as high as $2.28. Just across the state line in NY its $2.30.

[Flo4Legacy]

Hmmm, I really can't understand what you guys are complaining about ??? I filled up Legacy 3.0R today - 57.5 litres for EUR 66,02 this are 15.2 gallons for USD 85,-- this means the gas is about USD 5,59 for a gallon. If I do that calculation other way around, I paid EUR 1,15 per litre - in US the price is USD 0,40 per litre. That is 65% cheaper. Hmm, that is what I call a price difference! Beside that, most of our prices are taxes (over 70%). Now you may understand why a lot of people drive diesel engines in Europe.

[docsmile71]

yeah, I guess we can't complain here in the US. Europe and Asia gas prices are totally nuts. I remember driving in Korea and it cost about $40 USD to fill up a Hyundai Elantra. And this was back in 2000 when gas was cheaper.

[agctr]

For me it totally depends if I have been jumping on it or driving it normally, in the city or on the Highway. Normal Driving = 550Km - 600Km Octane 98 Optimax Heavy Driving = 450Km - 500Km Octaine 98 Optimax Adam.