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Not Happy With Fuel Economy On My 7th Generation

By RAV4EVR, November 26, 2007



I have a 5 speed with 30 psi in all tires. (1994)

(with trunk completely full... two small kids.. wife and myself average size)

Highway.. 34.98 MPG

(with only me driving back and forth to work in a small town)

City... 29.00 MPG

I had an eighth generation (2001) 5 speed before and it gave me much better numbers.

My seventh generation is giving me numbers close to my previous 1996 4 cylinder 5 speed Camry.

The camry did highway.. 35mpg... city.. 26mpg.

Does all this make sense?

Could be any number of things - as far as fuel economy for a 5-speed 7th gen - those are about ballpark. Might be differences in fluids and tire pressure/tire construction. On my 2002 Corolla 4-speed - I noticed an immediate 5+ MPG increase by adjusting tire pressures from the recommended 30 PSI to 40 PSI on the OEM Goodyears. Not all tires are the same, some like the extra air, some do not. Might need some experimentation to find what works best with this particular car.

Could be any number of things - as far as fuel economy for a 5-speed 7th gen - those are about ballpark. Might be differences in fluids and tire pressure/tire construction. On my 2002 Corolla 4-speed - I noticed an immediate 5+ MPG increase by adjusting tire pressures from the recommended 30 PSI to 40 PSI on the OEM Goodyears. Not all tires are the same, some like the extra air, some do not. Might need some experimentation to find what works best with this particular car.

What are your numbers?

With 30psi.. I feel every bump.. with 40... I don't know.. Is that recommended? I will check the limit for my particular tires..

All fluids in my car are new.

Those numbers sound correct....especially in cooler weather.

I have a 95 DX with 4 speed auto and 1.8 engine. I have gotten as high as 40 in the summer on a trip all highway. Generally speaking though....33 to 35 MPG in mixed driving conditions.

Jay in MA

I have a 5 speed with 30 psi in all tires. (1994)

 

(with trunk completely full... two small kids.. wife and myself average size)

Highway.. 34.98 MPG

(with only me driving back and forth to work in a small town)

City... 29.00 MPG

I had an eighth generation (2001) 5 speed before and it gave me much better numbers.

My seventh generation is giving me numbers close to my previous 1996 4 cylinder 5 speed Camry.

The camry did highway.. 35mpg... city.. 26mpg.

Does all this make sense?

Could be any number of things - as far as fuel economy for a 5-speed 7th gen - those are about ballpark. Might be differences in fluids and tire pressure/tire construction. On my 2002 Corolla 4-speed - I noticed an immediate 5+ MPG increase by adjusting tire pressures from the recommended 30 PSI to 40 PSI on the OEM Goodyears. Not all tires are the same, some like the extra air, some do not. Might need some experimentation to find what works best with this particular car.

What are your numbers?

With 30psi.. I feel every bump.. with 40... I don't know.. Is that recommended? I will check the limit for my particular tires..

All fluids in my car are new.

TRCar54 makes a good point with the current weather being a potential part in lower fuel economy. Same deal with many places running oxygenated gasoline for the winter time. Less energy content - so you get less MPG.

 

I generally run mid to upper 40 PSI, even touching 50 PSI for tire pressures in my cars - I think I have a post somewhere on here where I list specific pressures. Really helps even out the treadwear on the tires - as these tires tend to wear out quickly on the edges.

EDIT: Found it here. https://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=149935

As for tire pressure - depends on the tires and suspension. Some tires like lower tire pressure, some do not. Since I do more highway driving, the higher pressure makes more sense for me. Most tire specialists recommend adjusting the tire pressures in 2 PSI increments until you find a pressure that works for you comfort, noise, and performance wise. More tire pressure generally will sharpen your steering, keep the tire carcass from distorting at speed, and generally maximizes fuel economy and tire life. There are drawbacks and a limit to how high you can go, too much pressure will cause the tire to wear more in the middle than the edges, reduces absolute traction, and can increase braking distances.

There is no set tire pressure that applies to every car - I like to treat the tires pressure located on the placard and the max cold inflation stamped on the tire itself as numbers to bracket my "correct" tire pressures. I start at max cold inflation (don't worry, tire will not blow up) and bleed the tire down until I get a good compromise in performance. Used to work R&D for a major tire manufacturer - road testing and lab testing almost all aspects of tires. You'd be quite suprised to know what tires are capable and not capable of.

Bikeman982

Sounds about normal to me.

Those numbers sound correct....especially in cooler weather.

I have a 95 DX with 4 speed auto and 1.8 engine. I have gotten as high as 40 in the summer on a trip all highway. Generally speaking though....33 to 35 MPG in mixed driving conditions.

Jay in MA

I will do the tires like fishexpo recommended but if your automatic trans has hit 40mpg.. I should be able to do similar in a manual tranny in winter (well almost winter).

My calculation is all highway. Speed of 75mph. May be 55mpgh will do the difference. How fast did u drive to get that 40mpg ??

Again.. my confusion is more on the previous 2.2L Camry (149k miles) giving me almost same mileage on the highway as my current 1.8L Corolla (79k miles). How can that be normal? I can look better on the road with the same fuel economy. I could have spent my money on a Camry. I have never once complained about a single Toyota ever in my life so there is got to be something else that is pissing me off in my life and I am taking it out on my most beloved Corolla. I hope my car forgives me.

I will play with the tires again today. I wish Corolllas were 1.3L like the east here in USA too... LOL !!!

Actually the Camry with the 2.2L 5SFE is not that far from the 1.8L 7AFE Corolla. I think the Camry was rated 23/31 and the Corolla was 26/34 both with 5-speeds. I've routinely got low 30's, upper 20's with the ECT 4-speed in my Camry. Might just have to drive the car more - as for the mileage, it is pretty low on the Corolla. Maybe pull the plugs and double check the gap / read them.

Bikeman982

The only way to get optimum fuel economy is to have your car in perfect tune, with it running in top shape.

You need to lighten it as much as possible (take out some weight).

Also have the wheels rolling with very little resistance (everything from higher tire pressure to good bearings).

Drive extremely conservatively, easy stops and no sudden starts. Keep the speed around 55MPH on the highway and as steady as possible.

Always drive downhill and have a good tailwind (not always possible).

When you shift, don't waste gas by giving it too much as you get into gear.

Coast down the big hills and use momentum to get up the other side of the valleys.

Maybe this will help.

I was driving 75 to 80MPH in July, AC on, all highway. It was just me and my tiny wife and a couple of bags of luggage. I actually gassed up at 420 miles or so because I was afraid that the gauge was lying. I was also running synthetic oil. I only get those number when driving all highway in the summmer.

I think you will be more accurate with your comparisons if you take the Camry out of the equation and compare only with other like cars. Some things just can't be explained accurately.

Jay in MA

............How fast did u drive to get that 40mpg ??

Again.. my confusion is more on the previous 2.2L Camry (149k miles) giving me almost same mileage on the highway as my current 1.8L Corolla (79k miles).

Some things just can't be explained accurately.

Jay in MA

LOL !!

420 miles (auto trans.) as compared to my 350 miles (manual trans.)in one tank is a cause of big concern for me.

My spark plugs are dealer installed. I will have the gaps checked again. All fluids are fresh... The wheels are free.. No resistance.

I can't think of maintaining the car any better.

My tires were brought to 40psi last night.

I will keep it at 55-60mph next time and see...

Everybody always complains about my slow driving except in this instance (75mpg) because I had to travel 15 hours in one day. Every single car was still over taking me......... I do remember over taking 7 cars in 15 hours not including the 18 wheelers. People were flying. My RPM never exceeds 2500 when accelerating in the city. I do moderately down shift but not extensively and do use the brakes.

My trunk was packed that it wasn't even closing easily so that might have caused the lower numbers.

We had a lengthy conversation a while back on MPGs.

I was slightly off on a few points but you might get some good info from this topic.

<a href="/forums/index.php?...st&p=129562" target="_blank">https://www.corolland.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=129562</a>

 

452 miles, 11.3 gallons = 40MPG on an automatic?

Holy crap... How??

How is the 1995 different than a 1994..? Nothing.

I use synthetic blend [25% synthetic 10w30 / 75% 10w30 conventional]

Engine is clean from the inside.

I do have a 10 gallon tank. Maximum I can go is 11 gallons on FUMES.

I can't think of a single thing now.. I have touched all.. 29MPG city and 35MPG highway is the best I can get in my 5 speed. I will drive without lugguage in a few weeks and see what happens.

Synthetic oil

new Toyota sparks

new toyota air filter

all fresh fluids

new rotors.. free wheels

No sudden acceleration/deceleration

I doubt my recent 40psi will help any.

I have nothing on the car that will make wind resistance.

If you would all excuse me now I am going to request somebody to beat the crap out of me.

PS... What are these guys doing wrong?

http://www.fueleconomy.gov/feg/noframes/10977.shtml

Funny thing is I don't pamper this car. Maybe it just got broken in....

I do run Mobil 1 5W-30 but I also use 15K oil change intervals and Michelin X radials. I now have 215K and just recently changed the plugs. Have never touched any part of the ignition or exhaust system. I got the car with 105K and am unaware of older maintenances performed. I do almost nothing to the car and it now owes me nothing. No oil burning, no sludge, almost original everything. $4000 purchase price, 110K miles driven to date and only minor expected maintenances performed by me. I do occasionally clean the throttle plate area. Have you tried that?

I can probably still sell it for $2K. default_biggrin What a car!!!

Holy crap... How??

Bikeman982

I think you should not drive with a lot of weight in the trunk.

I think you should not drive with a lot of weight in the trunk.

 

Dude... We were going for 7 days.. needed change of clothes... LOL!!!

Yes.. I don't even leave a diaper bag in the trunk if I don't have to.

you're getting the same numbers i do on my auto, and i drive aggressively. try some maintenence items like a new cap/rotor and plug wires. my last tank netted me a dismal 22mpg, but i had let my tires get pretty low and it idled on the injector cleaner machine for almost 2 hours. i'm expecting the next tank to be nearer to my usual 30mpg for my 20 mile round trip commute.

Bikeman982

I think you should not drive with a lot of weight in the trunk.

 

Dude... We were going for 7 days.. needed change of clothes... LOL!!!

Yes.. I don't even leave a diaper bag in the trunk if I don't have to.

Are you going to be near a laundramat (washer/dryer)??

 

 

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