Horrible Gas Milage!

[MD85255]

I've have almost 1000 miles on my car now, but I'm averaging 25-28mpg. I called the dealership and the service dept told me I need to break it in for another couple thousand miles. Grante I'm in Arizona where we're running our a/c constantly right now...I still don't feel that my gas milage is even close to what others are getting.

I've been using the paddleshifter and I'm not an aggressive driver (not in the Smartcar anyway).

Anyone else experiencing the same in hot climate? Should I be concerned?

[Old smart]

Unfortunately, there is a short period right at the beginning of an engine's life to do an effective break-in, at least as far as pistons and cylinders are concerned.

[Bum-bling-B]

About what speeds are you running?

How often do you leave the car idling with the A/C on?

Do you sit at traffic lights often?

You can take the most conservative driver and turn out horrible mileage if the car is left idling at lights most of the time. Take any other car and see if it will get EPA. Besides hybrids that shut off at lights - ever wonder why they do that? HUGE MPG killer. I drive spiritedly and still turn out decent mileage because I shut down at most lights that I know I'll be waiting 1.5 - 5 minutes at.

Just like your dealer said - 3k isn't a magic # the MPG spikes up dramatically but it's where I've seen quite a few other Smarts start to break in.

[MD85255]

Originally Posted by Bum-bling-B

About what speeds are you running?

How often do you leave the car idling with the A/C on?

Do you sit at traffic lights often?

I drive spiritedly and still turn out decent mileage because I shut down at most lights that I know I'll be waiting 1.5 - 5 minutes at.

Just like your dealer said - 3k isn't a magic # the MPG spikes up dramatically but it's where I've seen quite a few other Smarts start to break in.

Because I drive around mostly on streets instead of freeways, my drive does primarily being stop & go. However, I noticed that even when I've done quite a bit of freeway driving the milage isn't much better.

Just curious, what did your mean by shut down at most lights? Do you actually cut the engine off at lights or go into neutral?

I know 25mpg is still better than most cars, but some SUV's are getting better than my Smart.

[smartest]

I would suggest you contact your dealer about a soft wear adjustment . The car should be doing better than that and I would not shut my car off at stop lights, thats ridiculous.

[CruisingAZ]

Originally Posted by smartest

I would not shut my car off at stop lights, thats ridiculous.

Not to mention unsafe and in many places illegal.

[Westfield 11]

I have posted many times here about similar mileage on our two cabrios, one in LA and one in Tucson. Neither can break 30 mpg. We drive very conservatively, but refuse to fool around with hypermileing tricks like shutting off the engine or drafting trucks and the like. Silly me, I expect to get decent mpg by just driving it in Auto and trying to keep the rpm's under 3k. IIRC we have 3700 and 2800 miles respectively on our cars with no improvement, if anything it's gotten a bit worse: in early summer we could get as good as 32mpg. We don't take 3 mile trips, most are at least 10 to 15 miles and in 107 degree heat like today, your car warms up quickly in city traffic and stays hot all day long. I can't think that it goes back into cold start mode again after being parked in 107 degree sunshine for a few hours. Some here will say it's all your fault since you must be driving like a drag racer, others will say that the a/c will be to blame for the loss of economy, but who knows?

If I am gonna pay the price of crappy mpg for a cute little microcar at least give me the option of a real automatic!!

[umwelt]

My SMART averaged 34 MPG on the first tank, it has been around 39 - 42 on all subsequent fill-ups. I am at 1500 miles right now.

I only shut my car off at long lights or when stuck in traffic on the highway. this cuts down on emissions and saves gas. This was mandatory in India and London, not sure about the safety issues involved.

[JPaul]

Originally Posted by smartest

I would not shut my car off at stop lights, thats ridiculous.

Originally Posted by CruisingAZ

Not to mention unsafe and in many places illegal.

And we wonder why "mhd" wasn't meant for US? Yet!

[Old smart]

Originally Posted by Westfield 11

I have posted many times here about similar mileage on our two cabrios ... I expect to get decent mpg by just driving it in Auto and trying to keep the rpm's under 3k. ... Some here will say it's all your fault since you must be driving like a drag racer ...

First thought: If you are husbanding two smarts with similar crummy mileage, I have to think there is operator-error involved.

Second thought: Keeping a small displacement engine under 3k isn't an efficient thing to do, and not good for the engine either.

Third thought: And driving like a slug gets you nowhere!

I'm a bit surprised that one who touts being a "knock-off Lotus Eleven" owner doesn't know about these things.

(From an ex-"real Lotus Eleven LM" piloto.)