Gas Mileage?

I have 2001 corolla ce with 67K odd. I do regular oil change. My car gives around 24mpg. I drive only from home to office on local roads with 45 mPH speed. CAn anybody let me if this mileage is OK? Do i need to get my car inpsected?? Please help.

That sounds low, but not unreasonable.

Most cars are designed for optimal fuel performance at 55 MPH.

The consumption also depends on the type of driving you do, whether it is all highway, city roads, or a combination.

If there are a lot of stop and go during your drive, the mileage may be lower than a steady speed.

I have 2001 corolla ce with 67K odd. I do regular oil change. My car gives around 24mpg. I drive only from home to office on local roads with 45 mPH speed. CAn anybody let me if this mileage is OK? Do i need to get my car inpsected?? Please help.

Does it appear to be consuming more gas than usual??

 

That sounds low, but not unreasonable.

Most cars are designed for optimal fuel performance at 55 MPH.

The consumption also depends on the type of driving you do, whether it is all highway, city roads, or a combination.

If there are a lot of stop and go during your drive, the mileage may be lower than a steady speed.

I think how optimal a car is going to be at 55 MPH is going to depend on it's final gear ratio and a cars drag coefficient.

I still have a 92 turbo car that was built during the 55MPH ara and our 05 Corolla (both cars 5sp) has a lower 5th gear cruising RPM. I think the newer corolla's can go at least 65MPH without loosing HWY fuel economy. 5th gear is pretty darn tall in our Corolla.

That might do it - 6-7 stops over a span of 3 miles or so - that is a lot of time not really moving too much, typical city/metropolitan kind of setting. Hopefully the rest of the commute is fairly uneventful and lengthy. If you commute includes this stop of go for 3 miles and does not total more than about 10 miles, for a one way commute. That will really kill your fuel economy.

As for driving styles - depends on the road conditions and commute. Some tend to be all gas and all brake (think diving in heavy traffic / gridlock for hours on end). This will equal some terrible gas mileage, as you don't really cover that much distance over a given time. Essentially just idling in place. Some tend to be easy, laid back drivers - smooth take offs from a standstill, anticipate stops in advance, more time coasting than heavy acceleration. These tend to give the best fuel economy numbers - but not always possible given certain driving areas (do this in major metropolitan area, and other drivers "will" drive you off the road).

A 1.6L in a 2001 Corolla CE? This is a North American car? Only ones that are a 1.6L on a newer Corolla are all overseas. Should be a 1.8L 1ZZ-FE engine with VVT-i, if it is a North American variant. The 7th gen had the 1.6L with a 3-speed auto. I don't want to give you advice that may not work for your area and your vehicle. If it is a 2001 model year on a 1.8L 1ZZ-FE VVT-i engine - then you probably are OK, tuneup-wise, sparkplugs are good to 120K miles, COP ignition (Coil On Plug) - no wires, distributorless system, no timing belt to replace, valvetrain noted to be pretty tough, just needs routine fluid and filter changes at regular intervals. At 67K miles - if you haven't already done so - probably a good idea to have the transmission and cooling system drained and refilled with fresh fluids. If you get ambitious - a very good idea to replace fluids in the powersteering and brakes (these tend to get overlooked, but are vitally important to your car and your safety).

Depending on how comfortable you feel under the hood of the car - first things I would check would be the air filter and tire pressures. If you don't remember changing the air filter - go ahead and just replace it, they are pretty inexpensive compared to other parts. Even one that is slightly loaded up with debris and fine dirt will rob your engine of good air flow. Tire pressures depends on your driving route - if the roads are in good shape and you drive pretty smoothly - you can safely increase tire pressure and gain better steering feedback and improved fuel economy. The tire placard inside the car indicates the recommened tire pressure to be 30PSI. Most people find that they can bump it up without any negative issues. If you ask the guys that routinely get high fuel economy numbers - many have gone with low rolling resistance tires with very high tire pressures. Some run as high as 50PSI - 55PSI on some tires. There is no "one" perfect tire pressure - 30PSI is a good compromise for smooth ride and good tire life. My suggestion is to increase air pressure 2PSI until you reach a pressure that starts to have negative issues (ie. reduced traction, harsh ride). Use the 30PSI as a starting point and the max cold tire inflation, stamped on the tire itself, as the upper limit (usually 44PSI to 51PSI).

If that all checks OK - you might try cleaning the MAF sensor that is in your airbox and throttle body itself. Just search the forum for links to a DIY for cleaning a MAF sensor - as a dirty sensor will adversely affect fuel economy, idle quality, and general engine performance - same goes for a dirty throttle body. Also one of those items that gets overlooked as part of a comprehensive maintenance regime.

Thanks for those valuable check points. Regarding air filter, during my last oil change visit, my mechanic told me that during my next oil change visit, it needs to be changed. i wd also ask him to clean the throttle body. letz see this might help increase the average.

fish you had mentioned that you have seen corollas with 14-18mpg.i am one of those lucky ones!! my way to work is approx 6miles long and there is about 20 lights stop and go.

 

i notice that in summer it will go to 25mpg. do you think that i am exaggerating with my problems?

95 dx auto with 200k km CDN car (relatively well taken care of)

It has been mentioned that gas composition changes during the different seasons and that may explain MPG difference.

fish you had mentioned that you have seen corollas with 14-18mpg.i am one of those lucky ones!! my way to work is approx 6miles long and there is about 20 lights stop and go.

 

i notice that in summer it will go to 25mpg. do you think that i am exaggerating with my problems?

95 dx auto with 200k km CDN car (relatively well taken care of)

Honestly, I would say that your short commute is your biggest problem.

I used to drive a dodge dakota back and forth to work. When I lived 6 blocks from work (unfortunately having to cross a major highway or I would've walked), I averaged 7-9mpg. On the last highway trip, I got 18mpg. That's a huge difference, and the only real difference is that 7-9mpg was all city and short trips, and 18mpg was all interstate/highways. When I first got that truck I actually got 22mpg once.

My corolla has a running average of 35.14mpg in the past 12 months. That's 24,487.8 miles, 696.949 gallons. It has peaked at 42mpg, and gotten as poor as 31mpg. Most of that is due to driving conditions.

good luck,

jim

I have the same problem with my 1990 Corolla with 162,000 miles. It has a 4A-FE with a brand-new timing belt, distributor cap and rotor, air filter, spark plug and spark plug wires, and the ignition timing is at 10 degrees BTDC. I don't know whether it's the cold weather, but all of a sudden instead of about 30-32 miles per gallon, I'm getting about 21-22 miles per gallon. Any ideas of what I can do?

Every third tank or so, I put Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the fuel, so I'm pretty sure that my fuel system is pretty clean.

that is exactly my car right there, changed all of the above and that is the issue. I think that my ride to work, being short and brutal with lights is the main issue,a nd FISH and BKmn had mentioned and reminded me that on our CDN gas stations they put up to 10% ethanol (which proably means that it has 10% ethanol). that will screw up your economy right there.

I can not wait for my 28mpg in summer............

i will try to figure out which gas station has 100% gas with 0 additives such as ethanol

I have the same problem with my 1990 Corolla with 162,000 miles. It has a 4A-FE with a brand-new timing belt, distributor cap and rotor, air filter, spark plug and spark plug wires, and the ignition timing is at 10 degrees BTDC. I don't know whether it's the cold weather, but all of a sudden instead of about 30-32 miles per gallon, I'm getting about 21-22 miles per gallon. Any ideas of what I can do?

Every third tank or so, I put Lucas fuel injector cleaner in the fuel, so I'm pretty sure that my fuel system is pretty clean.

that is exactly my car right there, changed all of the above and that is the issue. I think that my ride to work, being short and brutal with lights is the main issue,a nd FISH and BKmn had mentioned and reminded me that on our CDN gas stations they put up to 10% ethanol (which proably means that it has 10% ethanol). that will screw up your economy right there.

 

I can not wait for my 28mpg in summer............

 

i will try to figure out which gas station has 100% gas with 0 additives such as ethanol

Maybe they all use ethanol??

maybe in california