Horrible Gas Milage!

[gmasters]

Jim, I to have a scan gauge from the first couple of weeks after getting the car, I have a cab so if drive with the top down and windows down on the interstate I can tell that mpg isnt that great when you get past 45 mph with the wind drag.
put people who dont have a scan running in the car dont see how any time the car is not moving drops there mpg on a daily trip log. I can get 45 from a 16 mile 8 stop light trip on speed of 45-50, but you catch those damn lights red its 35...
as I posted in the past, people waste the most gas at mc donalds, bank, even getting gas at my own gas station when they leave the damn car running.
I drive some part of every day with the top down and yes its dropping miles but I LOOK COOL.....LOL

oh ya we have another white one on order

Originally Posted by jro6803

My experience is that two obvious things adversely affect my mileage: traffic and using the A/C.

My commute is 2.7 miles each way and is the bulk of my 3,000 miles thus far. There are 7 traffic signals from my home to my office. Using my scan gauge as a guide, if I hit most of the lights green in the morning (less traffic) I can achieve nearly 50 MPG average for the trip. If I hit most of the lights red the MPG is in the high teens / low 20's.

Heavy use of A/C exacts a 5 to 8 MPG penalty in our hot Louisiana summer. My lifetime cummulative MPG is 36.98: best tank was 43 and worse tank was 29

Jim

[nprsmart]

Originally Posted by smartie

2. On weekends I do much shorter trips, and my mileage is often more like 34 MPG, and my friend's Prius is little better. Using the Scangauge I see that I have to drive approx 2.5 miles for the engine coolant to reach operating temperature (from 75 deg ambient temp). During this warm-up period the gas mileage is not good, i.e. 30 MPG average to the 2.5 mile point. The oil seems to reach full operating temp after about 5 Miles. Once the car is fully warmed, I get better than 50 MPG driving at 55 MPH.

With any car short trips result in really bad gas mileage. So it really does not matter what car you drive if you have a really short commute. OK you get bad mileage, but the overall cost is small since the distance is small.

If I had a 2 mile commute, I would cycle my bicycle

My commute is right at 1 mile, but since I'm frequently making trips from the office during the day, bike riding to work doesn't always make any sense. That and the A/C are definitely killing my mileage, but it still rocks compared to my Silverado pickup.

[Mister Ed]

My mileage is horrible, usually about 28 mpg around town. I drove to San Marcos (115 miles) Sunday on the 10 and 15 freeways. My mileage was 38, and that's going at between 55 and 60 mph. I spoke with smart before I left complaining about my mileage, and they told me to keep accurate records of the freeway mileage. I asked if it doesn't improve by 2000 miles (I now have 1414) what should I do? I asked him what he would do. He said bring it in because something is wrong. I already had it in for three days at about 500 miles, and they said all is well, and that it must be the break-in period.
My other question about mileage to him was that the pure weighs about 1800 pounds, and the cabrio (which I have) weighs in at 2315. I said that it seems obvious to me that the mileage on a cabrio would be less. He had no answer, but agreed to contact smart HQ for me. I am beginning to think that the poor mileage is due to the fact that I have a heavier car and use A/C most of the time.
Any thoughts anyone?

[Westfield 11]

Most here will say that it is all your own fault for driving to fast or taking too short trips or using the a/c or driving with the top down. But there is such a wide variation in economy figures that I suspect something more subtle, perhaps with the ECU. Some folks get outstanding mileage, others like you and me struggle to break 30mpg. I just don't think it can be explained away so easily.

Remember, bottom line is that according to the general consensus of opinion here the smart car is absolutely perfect the way it is and any troubles one might have are invariably operator error. It's a bit frustrating to be always told that the car is wonderful, but you aren't.

[Kermit]

It could even be YOUR conditions. In my old Insight I only used to get around 65mpg per tank on average and I had the guru of all mileage gurus tell me it was my driving.

Later on I drove my same way I always drove but in a different state and easily got 70mpg over a few tanks. Conditions (road construction, wind, traffic) all play a huge factor though though I stand behind the thought that the #1 factor for bad mileage is behind the steering wheel in the driver seat.

[RussBarnes]

While I think your mileage is very substandard I do agree that there are several MPG factors that seem to be more sensitive on our smarts'. I have never dropped below 39, but have been times that I have been real soft on the "go" pedal and still been below my best recorded fill-ups. I do calculate every tankful, just like I do on my other drivers.

For me the following seem to have had the greatest impact:

* Speed - when I drive 75 - 80 on the interstate, one day a week to work, I consistently get about 41 avg and if I just drive my normal 300+ miles around home I am 42-43.

* AC - in TN the AC has been on 100% since June and that dropped me 2-3 mpg.

* Hills - my dealer is in East Tennessee and there are a lot of hills on the interstate between here and there. Having to keep up with traffic
conditions means no less than 65 or be run over by the 18 - wheelers, so that is where I run and those times I am low 40's.

* Loads - that hasn't impacted me much that I can tell. I carry a spare, jack, tools, car cover and my 200# all the time and my wife (can't
share her weight or I won't be a poster). I have stripped it all out but me and didn't see much change.

I wonder if the CA fuel blend isn't impacting you? I know the ethanhol here drops our milage big time, but maybe your blend is worse on this tiny motor?

I think that if I were driving in Iowa (flat), 55 and under, no AC, on real premimum that I would consistently be in the 50 mpg area.

[rawlus®]

smart estimates MPG of 33/40 for city/highway.
how exactly is 38mpg "terrible"?

tracking mileage for the first few tanks is sorta fun - especially if you're coming from something that wasn't very efficient at all to the smart.

tracking every tank over the life of the car seems to me to be more than a bit obsessive.

i cannot think of ANY car model that gets the same MPG figures tank to tank, vehicle to vehicle. can you?

there is so much more to experience in life than worrying about whether you're doing better on MPG than someone else. in all likelihood, you made the easiest change you could already by getting a smart and you're now getting better mileage than before. what remains are either greater changes for smaller gains or gains that cannot be realize despite changes. neither are worth worrying about IMHO. enjoy life and enjoy the car and try not to get too wrapped up in the MPG infinite loop. it isn't worth the aggravation really.

[jediknight36]

Originally Posted by rawlus®

smart estimates MPG of 33/40 for city/highway.
how exactly is 38mpg "terrible"?

tracking mileage for the first few tanks is sorta fun - especially if you're coming from something that wasn't very efficient at all to the smart.

tracking every tank over the life of the car seems to me to be more than a bit obsessive.

i cannot think of ANY car model that gets the same MPG figures tank to tank, vehicle to vehicle. can you?

there is so much more to experience in life than worrying about whether you're doing better on MPG than someone else. in all likelihood, you made the easiest change you could already by getting a smart and you're now getting better mileage than before. what remains are either greater changes for smaller gains or gains that cannot be realize despite changes. neither are worth worrying about IMHO. enjoy life and enjoy the car and try not to get too wrapped up in the MPG infinite loop. it isn't worth the aggravation really.

I dont know. The fact that such a small vehicle was rated that low on the MPG scale when my car, twice the size of the smart, was rated 35MPG and I get 30 out of it.

Depending on what you bought it for, rwalus is right, or could be very wrong. But compaire it to others in your area and then see.

[smartHHO]

Ok, since I have nothing better to do at work right now, I have been reading the smart manuel, and I don't know where the one lady posted, but here is why she gets bad milage.

She said she drove 2 miles to work. Here is what the smart manuel says that LOWERS fuel econmy.

Fuel Consumption is also increased by driving in cold weather, in stop-and-go traffic, on short trips, and in hilly areas.

so, sounds like she should get a bike when it is nice weather and ride to work. Not using gas, poluting and getting some excercise. I would kill for just 2 miles to work. I would even enflate my kid's mountain bike tires and ride to work.

[Kermit]

Hi jedi - is that the NEW EPA averages or the OLD EPA averages?

That being said I've mentioned before that I got similar MPGS with my old Matrix. That's not someone spouting off that I get xx mpgs and I never really calculated it. I was very very OCDish about my mileage logs just like I am with my Smart.

The Smart is what it is. Super styling on a "city car" which is a subjective topic. I personally use mine as a secondary highway cruiser on which I put a 100 miles per day.

Every person is going to have different MPG's as every person's route/conditions are different for the most part. Hopefully if you think you have a problem you can go out with someone who has the same car and go on a caravan to see if you end up with similar mileage which even then will probably be different.