bentleyvtech

Hey guys,

On Friday I went into my local Advance Auto to take advantage of the Mobil 1 Oil & Filter deal, and saw the Mobil 1 0W-20 Advanced Fuel Economy Oil...it stated exceeds 5W-20 (manual calls for). So I went ahead and tried it because of the high gas prices and no price difference with the 5W-20.

I have an '04 TL with 30,000 miles and last changed my oil at roughly 23,000 (fully synthetic). So after the successful oil change friday, I didnt really drive my TL much this weekend..got someone else to DD Filled up at the closest gas station yesterday, getting ready for my commute to work this morning...which is about 25 miles, nearly all highway. So I had about 4-5 miles of city driving...and then 25 mile highway commute on my MID today.

I BARELY reached 30 mpg by the time I got here today...and normally I'd think itd get there quicker with only a couple miles on the MID before hand. AND also it stated 223 miles left until empty and then 2 minutes later it stated >223 miles left until empty.

WTF is up with that? Normally it reads >420 or what not...never >220. My gas gauge is still at FULL and I've only travelled 29 miles. I'm curious to see what is going to happen as I go through this tank of gas, but I was wondering if anyone else had experienced this problem.


This weekend I guess I need to change out the air filter (any recommendations)...and with only 30K, I dont think I really need fuel injector cleaner or any new spark plugs but what is your opinion?


Thanks for your help!

KeithL

You can't trust the mid, the only way to get accurate MPG numbers is to manually calculate each tank. Driving a few miles and relying on the MID is useless, it may be in the ballpark or it may be off.

bentleyvtech

Normally my MID has been fairly accurate...and to be off by 150-200 miles is definitely uncharacteristic. I know for a fact it hasnt acted like this in the past, so Im just trying to see what the problem/cause is.

lusid

My MID is always 1 mpg lower than my calculated results.

I have an excel spreadsheet since nov 06 that I've used and the results are 95% the same each time.

sixsixfour

i also dont trust the MID 100%. i run an excel spreadsheet as well to keep track.

Tripnbeats

yea mine is ALWAYS up n down unless i go really long distances.

Spiritman

Did you feel any difference? When I changed to 0-20 AMSOIL I felt a small improvement in zip! Just wondering......

stillhere153

iTrader: (1)

It isn't due to the oil I tell you this much...

bentleyvtech

I know its probably not due to the oil, its just ironic.

So lets say the MID is off, showing 223 miles til empty on a full tank...but why in the world does it show >223? Normally it only shows the greater than symbol is when you fill up and it has >420...

Tripnbeats

depends on how heavy ur foots been.....keep in mind we have learning multiplex computers that monitor the car from all angles. so its going to give u different results every time u turn it on.

Tripnbeats

i did the 0w20 last month myself and the diff is big for the first 1500 or so miles then it feels ok.....the throttle is much more sensitive and the motor much more responsive but its butter your relying on not syrup....this month im on 10w-30 and the car runs so smooth and the ticking is gone from the motor.

01tl4tl

fuel cleaner and intake manifold seafoam are good to do every 15k miles, and more often for fuel cleaner if you use off brand gas. like every 5000 miles

Eoanou

So is this new oil you went to synthetic, I thought it was a no no to go from synthetic to a conventional oil.

bentleyvtech

I had previously put Mobil 1 Fully Synthetic 5W-20 in and this time I went with Mobil 1 Fully Synthetic 0W-20 - "Advanced Fuel Economy". Right on the label it says "Exceeds 5W-20 Standards."

I really cant tell any difference in pickup....and honestly, I think my gas mileage may have dropped rather than increased. On the tank now, I've gone roughly 85 miles....and 75 of those have been on the highway at 60-65...the other 10 just in the city, but not terrible stop and go. I think in the past I would be seeing 30+ and now its hovering between 27-28 mpg.

I know some of you state that your MID display is often wrong with mpg and miles remaining...but in the past mine has been pretty damn accurate. Finally after driving yesterday, my MID slowly went up from >223 to show 305 or something, so its getting back to normal.