Horrible Gas Milage!

[RLove]

I think a lot of the posts were directed in response to my poor mileage. In answer to the suggestions:

• I keep the tire pressure exactly on the prescribed amount
• I drive the speed limit, don't jackrabbit start, and try to drive as smoothly as possible - which is difficult for me coming from the MINI and the Audi TT, which both begged to be driven.
• I feed the car nothing less than Top Tier 93 octane
• My city speeds are between 30 and 45, and my commute is 2.7 miles each way with 4 stoplights.

I could take it to the dealer, but since I'm only 3mpg under the city mileage rating I just guess they'd say with the air on all the time, I'm right on target. Like I said, I didn't buy it for the mileage - so, I'm not really driven to drive clear into town, do without my car, and then just get excuses anyway.

Just disappointed. Thanks for the suggestions anyway.

[ronstaug]

Maybe this will help re. MPG. My Passion just hit 1000 miles after owning it since 6/27. I only use supreme gas & have a heavy foot. Sometimes I shift with paddles, other times with floor shift, most of the time I just leave in automatic. We live on barrier island off coast of N.E. Fl. where A/C is always used. I am now filling up & stopping when the 1st of 2nd click comes, was over filling in beginning & engine didn't like that (was getting some vapor lock). I called up my Smart Car dealer up in Jax inquiring about air pressure for tires/they said I could put 2, max 3 lbs of pressure over the numbers listed on door jam (29 front, 36 back). So I took them to 32 & 39. Had to take that 100 mile round trip up to dealer yesterday to have a minor glitch in radio fixed & got stuck in some pretty heavy traffic while driving around their regional mall. Prior to this, I was getting high 20's to mid 30's MPG. I got 44.6 yesterday and drove a bit over 70 mph on the interstate on the way up & back. I don't know whether it was the break in period or the extra air in the tires. Soooo, experiment a bit & give it some time. Good luck. Ron

[Fredvon4]

I did NOT take the time to slog through every post so sorry if this is already though of:

Both RLove and the fellows out in Tucson have something in common that should be considered.

Clean Air Blend fuels...I can attest quite definitivley that those fuel blends are horrible and rob performance considerably. All of my vehicles loose performance, power, and MPG when ever I am forced to use the crap.

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

I did NOT take the time to slog through every post so sorry if this is already though of:

Both RLove and the fellows out in Tucson have something in common that should be considered.

Clean Air Blend fuels...I can attest quite definitivley that those fuel blends are horrible and rob performance considerably. All of my vehicles loose performance, power, and MPG when ever I am forced to use the crap.

You mean those with ethanol in them. What gas would you recomend, at least around here?

[SuperGeek]

Originally Posted by RLove

• My city speeds are between 30 and 45, and my commute is 2.7 miles each way with 4 stoplights.

My money's on this. 2.7 miles isn't enough to heat up the engine to optimum temp. 4 stoplights in 2.7 miles is a lot of stop and go, brake and gas pedal work. My commute is 4.4 miles each way and sometimes I get 27-30mpg, sometimes I get 37-40mpg... if I leave work at exactly 5:05pm I get 20mpg (avg speed 11mph) and still get home at the same time as if I leave at 5:20pm, in which case I get 35-40mpg coming home (average speed 26mph). Measure your average speed, if you can't average 20+MPH on a commute, due to traffic, then your mileage will suffer.

Traffic is horrible, and I can guarantee that if you're idling a lot of the time, you'll notice a big hit to MPG. The smart idles at about 0.19gal/hr with fan and AC off. Add AC, fan at level 1, you'll idle at 0.26gal/hr. Fan to speed 2-4 and your idle RPMs increase by 100 and you're using 0.35gal/hr. I can almost guarantee any 4 cylinder non hybrid car eats more gas idling. Their drivers may save gas by getting up to speed faster and keeping average speed up.

There are only 3 cylinders, so in some cases it's best to get up to the optimum 45-50MPH speed as fast as possible, especially if that means you meet a green light instead of a red one. The smart doesn't save much gas by staying under 40MPH.

[Fredvon4]

jedi

Up your way the cost to get way out of town for good fuel will negate the benifit... accept that you live in the Dallas Metroplex and will Always get the crap clean air fuel. You MPG will or should be below average as reported by all the folks here from all over the country. You also have (like me) more days per year where A/C is not an option.... My Lil Bugger Farnsworth takes a significant 4 MPG hit when I run the A/C....just the way it is

I remain sane about my 34~36 MPG because I get to contrast against my F350 with 11.7~13,4 MPG for the same commute...thus I am real happy with the sub 40MPG of my smart

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by Fredvon4

jedi

Up your way the cost to get way out of town for good fuel will negate the benifit... accept that you live in the Dallas Metroplex and will Always get the crap clean air fuel. You MPG will or should be below average as reported by all the folks here from all over the country. You also have (like me) more days per year where A/C is not an option.... My Lil Bugger Farnsworth takes a significant 4 MPG hit when I run the A/C....just the way it is

I remain sane about my 34~36 MPG because I get to contrast against my F350 with 11.7~13,4 MPG for the same commute...thus I am real happy with the sub 40MPG of my smart

So... no brands that might be around here? Not good. Is it the ethanol?

[hgtan]

We got our smart since feb and been averaging 38mpg (combined city and hwy); this is using Premium 91 octane. Tried using mid-grade 89 octane a couple of times, and the mpg drop to about 32mpg ... so even if the experts are saying, the octane does not affect mpg, we are sticking with the recommendation. so far, our best was 42.5mpg on a 90% hwy trip.

[Fredvon4]

No not all of the crap fuel is because of ethanol... in fact by definition all of us using 93 octane fuels are getting a fuel already that has the octane point raised by adding ethanol blends... the reformulated fuels are NOT just described by some label on the pump claiming 10 or 15 % ethanol


The Dallas–Fort Worth nonattainment area voluntarily opted into the RFG Program. This four-county area includes Collin, Dallas, Denton, and Tarrant counties.
RFG used in these counties in the summer months may not exceed a Reid vapor pressure (RVP) of 6.8 pounds per square inch. Summertime conventional gasoline in other areas of Texas may have a RVP as high as 8.7 psi. RFG used in these counties in the winter months may have the same RVP as conventional gasoline, which can be as high as 11.5 psi.

Oxygenated fuel is conventional gasoline that has been blended with an oxygenate to achieve a certain concentration of oxygen in the fuel by weight.


RFG is a formulation of gasoline that has lower amounts of certain chemical compounds that contribute to the formation of ozone and air toxins. It does not evaporate as readily as conventional gasoline during the summer months. It may contain oxygenates, which increase the combustion efficiency of gasoline and reduce carbon monoxide emissions

[anthony94114]

21-23 here in hilly San Francisco. It's embarrassing. BUT it's still better by a f-e-w mpgs than my huge Saab which gets about 17 here.. however it's pretty un-great. If the parking wasn't so rockin, I'd love it less.

MHD would be amazing. But for some insane reason, we ain't gettin it. I fully concede that in San Francisco, with all the epic hills and poorly times signal lights you can't expect much from anything. I had a rental Prius here for 2 weeks and never cleared better than 28.. then took it to LA and got something like 48. So it goes.