I have gotten truly abysmal fuel economy on my 2003 tl-s still even though I've got 3500miles of use. In city driving I'm getting between 17-18mpg and through strictly highway driving I only get 24mpg.... I know about not revving the engine and keeping a/c off to conserve fuel which I do... is anyone else having this problem? I'm wondering if the overly hot and humid weather we're experiencing currently in DC has anything to do with this... thanks for the input

 

Our weather here in Florida is probably a little worse than yours, I run the AC all the time and get on it a few times a week and I get 24.5 mpg out of almost every tank. I drive about 70% highway miles. On a recent trip I got 29-30 mpg on the highway.

 

phatratpak I don't think your car is quite broken in yet .
Wait untill you get 15,000-20,000 miles & a few oil changes it should get better. Kramer our weather has been awful hot even hotter than some Florida temps the past week. We have been around 95- 100 degrees for about 6 days. The heat index makes it feel like 105-110. Its been hotter here than the last 5years.

 

Keep a close eye on the air pressure in your tires. Low air pressure is both dangerous and co$tly.

 

Try 34 lbs in your fronts and 32 in the rears, fill it up with premium and drive up 270 to Frederick and back with the cruise on 65 or so. The weather will be better this week; you should get 27 or 28 and will get more as you break in. Synthetic oil will add one or alittle more. Some guys go with more tire pressure but 34 and 32 works for me. At 15K miles you should see 31 or 32mpg on trips. Our 5th gear is what gives us that.

 

I try to keep tabs on my tire pressure, supposed to check once a month? but I will keep in my mind that my car is still new... thank you..

 

I am constantly upshifting to get better fuel economy and turning off the a/c to conserve but alas it doesn't seem to help...

 

when i bought my car 9 monthes ago, I had such sh!tty gas mileage. Now it's getting better and better. Even with the ac on all the time, b/c of this crazy temperature spikes...

 

I live in DC area, and I can say that my car was getting good mileage until sometime in May. That's about the time I hit about 15k, coincidentally. I suddenly went from getting 23 mpg mixed hiway/city, to only 20 or 21. I use the climate control in auto mode, so the car runs the A/C as it sees fit. Anyway, it was a very sudden drop-off, which made me wonder if they changed the gas around here. I changed the air filter, checked the tires, and I'm still getting lower mpg.

My last road trip was in June, and I got 30-31 on I-66/I-81 between DC and NC (driving 70mph+)

Not sure what to make of the change in local mixed-driving mpg...

 

Are they using oxygenated fuels (will say ethanol or MTBE on the pump) in the DC area? If so, that will cost 10-15% loss of mileage over "normal" gasoline.

I get 20 in town, stop-and-go, AC always on. About 26-27 on road trips (including some back roads).

 

Just put it in D5 and you should be fine. I use sportshift for the opposite reason - racing.