Horrible Gas Milage!

[RLove]

Dallas reporting here...With 1100 miles on the counter I have never gotten any better than 28mpg. The A/C has been on almost every minute the car has been running, (very hot Summer) and my driving is 100% stop and go city miles. I've tried everything, but nothing ever changes.

The temperature dropped a little this week, (thanks Gustav) so I've driven a lot without the A/C, and we did a 100 mile almost exclusively highway roundtrip evening in pursuit of a very good cheeseburger - but I haven't filled up yet to see if mileage is better.

I didn't buy the car for the mileage, but I'm in agreement with others that if I have to suffer with the quirky transmission I should be seeing more than the 3mpg difference I'm seeing between myself and my friends with new turbocharged MINI Works cars. 0-60 in half the time is only costing them 3mpg?

[blackbeagle]

Even if you have the AC on 100% of the time, if you're only getting high 20's MPG then there's got to be an issue. I don't buy the dealer 'break in period'. You tell me that once you get to 5000, you're going to get 10mpg+ increase? I can't see that happening. Maybe 1-2 mpg increase. That I can see.

After our 3K break in, we saw very little increase in gas mileage. The car seem to run a little smoother but that was it.

I drive 75% city 25% highway

City speed 40-50mph
Hwy speed 60-70mph
AC on 90% of the time (first notch only)
Very little hills
Some stop n go

low end 34-36mpg
hi end 40-45 mpg

[kannonvaggon]

Just got gas this afternoon.
Averaged 46.7 this time.

I must be slipping cuz it was a hair better last tank ....

Our Cabrio got 43 MPG on the very first tank of gas.

Again, if'n I was to see 28 freakin MPG I'd be having a sit-down with the service manager to begin with and figure out what's goin on with me AND with the Smart.
just a thunk

[Macaw]

approaching 7,000mi never seen less than 38mpg. Even 2-up and a/c on.
drive in D most of the time.

Check the tire pressure it does matter...
And what gas are you using? the times I've seen below 40 were with el-cheapo Casey's gas.
Also if you live in a big enough city your gas may be formulated for low emission and not for mpg.

And if it is related to where you live other owners from that dealer should be getting similar mileage so ask any other smart owners you see in the area.

And a possibility if you get gas at the same station every time they might be cheating you with non-calibrated pumps!

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by kannonvaggon

Just got gas this afternoon.
Averaged 46.7 this time.

I must be slipping cuz it was a hair better last tank ....

Our Cabrio got 43 MPG on the very first tank of gas.

Again, if'n I was to see 28 freakin MPG I'd be having a sit-down with the service manager to begin with and figure out what's goin on with me AND with the Smart.
just a thunk

And they will always tell you its your fault so they dont have to do a thing. Thats how its any where I have gotten service. The first thing they do, no matter what the issue is, is blame you.

[unicycle]

When I read these threads, I assume:
1. operator error -- maybe the writer is driving too fast or is one of those people who think the car has to warm up (which would waste gas) before (s)he drives it.
2. poor conditions. Someone from SanFran complained about poor mileage. Hmm. Driving in hilly streets rather than flat hways can do that!
3. other factors such as wrong gas. Using 87 rather than 92ish octane will supposedly rob you of a few mpgs.

I'm lucky in that my commute is almost all flat and that it's 98% hway. I drive less than 60 mph on average and use certain hypermiling tricks other than driving slowly, but they only add a tiny fraction to the mileage I'm getting. You're not going to go from 28 to 48 mpg just by turning off the engine at a red light.

If you do a fair portion of your miles along city streets with lots of red lights, tho, you can expect pretty weak mileage -- somewhere in the nabe of 30 mpg. After all, the car is rated for 31 mpg in the city.

As for turning off the engine at lights: I not only do that, but (when safe) I also roll up to lights with the engine in N and then turn it off (still rolling) when I've hit a point where it's safe to do so. This isn't for all lights, but only the opportunities where I won't accidentally smash into person or car if the trick fails. I don't draft, however -- that's pretty hard to do when the trucks are going 70 and I'm P&G'ing at about 60.

[Karl Roth]

Originally Posted by 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.

Is that why we don't get MHD here?
karl

[spdickey]

Originally Posted by Karl Roth

Is that why we don't get MHD here?
karl

Something to do about making that meet Federal regulations. Time will tell.

[Westfield 11]

Originally Posted by Old smart

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.)

My goodness, you are quite the snob aren't you? Exactly how does such a snotty attitude do anything but make you look like a elitist jerk? I am really sorry that I am not wealthy enough to afford a $150k car so that I could be accepted into your upper class social circle.....NOT!!! BTW, could you ask your butler to please pass the Grey Poupon?

Despite your insulting manners, I was raised to treat everyone with respect so I will respond to your "thoughts", such as they are.

I agree that it could very well be operator error, and that the many others who have posted here with similar complaints could also be "leadfoots". But I am also open to the possibility that there is something else going on too.

If it isn't efficient to keep the revs at 3k then why does the transmission want to keep them even lower? I assume that this car was designed by competent engineers and I also assume that it was extensively tested under all conditions. There must be a reason for the transmission auto-shifting to keep the rpm's below 3k but I will yield to your superior knowledge if you will only tell me where you got your engineering degree and what auto companies you have been working at lately. Otherwise I will drive this car in the manner the manufacturer and it's drivetrain engineers wants me to.

Can I assume that your comment about driving like a "slug" was simply a lame attempt at humor? Because I do seem to get to my destinations, perhaps a moment or two later than the "racers" but I get there. So if you were being serious, I must disagree: driving at a moderate pace will allow me to arrive at any place I choose to go.

[jediknight36]

I get my best mileage by staying under 3k in my matrix. Explain that!