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Gas Mileage

25K views 38 replies 20 participants last post by  Czechman 
#1 ·
What kind of gas mileage are you guys getting with your cars ? I have a 2006 Malibu LT with a 4 cylinder. I just got it this month and checked to see how how much better this car is compared to my 1998 Malibu with a 4 cylinder. To my surprise,the '98 was better. The '98 got between 24-27 mpg. The '06 is getting 21.9 mpg. I thought the newer car would be better. Guess I was wrong.
 
#9 ·
I bought the car locally from a guy I didn't know.

I live in a rural area and have been driving about 25 miles per day round trip to work plus a little bit of stop and go driving mixed in.

The figures I gave are from actual tank fill calculations. I filled the tank, drove it until the low fuel light came on, then filled it back up. Then I did the math. Miles traveled / gallons used.

I only checked it with one tank full. Since I'm not driving too far this week, I haven't check it a second time yet.

Also, the DIC says I'm getting about 24 mpg. And the car has 98,000 miles on it and runs fine.
 
#4 ·
I have an '06 Maxx with the 3.5 v6 that gets about 27 with my wife driving it (rarely above 60mph) and when we took it on a long distance trip last fall got right at 32 keeping it at the posetd speed limits (75mph is what Kansas allows). That was calulated, the DIC said it was higher, but it has always shown higher. Sounds like either something isn't right with your car, or your driving habits aren't condusive to fuel efficiency.

Like MalibuKen said, what's the story on the car....that will help us help you figure out what's up.

Although, it's been a few years, I had a GM vehicle that got better mileage with a V6 than the same vehicle with a 4 cylinder, comparably equipped and doing the same job.
 
#6 ·
'05 LS 3.5 V6 with around 150k miles.

I average 36mpg and if I'm pushing it I can squeeze 40 mpg out of it.
Now those are the displayed DIC numbers and real mpg is probably 1 or 2 lower.

Inland you may want to get your car checked out, a bad O2 sensor, low air pressure in your tires or the wheels being out of alignment can hurt your mpg pretty bad.
 
#11 ·
The 25 miles are flat land doing 60-65mph with 2-3 stops each way. While going 60 mph for a few miles straight, the DIC still never reads better than 25 mpg.

I didn't expect to see 30 mpg with this car. But I would like to at least see 27 mpg on the highway.

Someone mentioned checking the O2 sensor. Wouldn't I get a check engine light if that was a problem?
 
#13 ·
I didn't expect to see 30 mpg with this car.
I'm not familiar with that specific model but I think you probably should.

Some who have better information than I should be along shortly.

A ~$150 shop visit might be in order to check basic maintenance items......air filter, plugs, etc. Sometimes codes are set that won't trigger the Check Engine light too.

Which DIC display are you watching......the average one or the "instant" one ??
 
#12 ·
Not necessarily. It could be marginal. One thing I've done with the kid's Cavaliers, the Malibu and my Colorado is clean the throttle body. To do it properly, it needs to come off and I don't know whether the throttle body in your car is a hard wired or drive by wire type. My Colorado and Malibu are drive by wire, and the Cavaliers have a cable that actually runs from the pedal to the thottle body.

The drive by wire are easier to remove. I do it every 30,000 miles.
 
#14 ·
The estimated fuel economy of the 2006 Chevrolet Malibu with the 2.2L, four cylinder engine with the four speed automatic transmission is 21mpg city, 29mpg highway and 24mpg combined.

If you have not done so already, check your air filter to be sure it is clean. Be sure you have the proper amount of air in the tires. Do you have extra cargo in the trunk that could be adding to the weight of the vehicle? These are a few things to figure in that can have an effect on the fuel economy.

Michelle, Chevrolet Customer Service
 
#16 ·
Just got another full tank of gas today and I check my MPG again. I was surprised to find that I was getting 25.1 mpg. this time around. Hopefully that first reading was a fluke and I can get more readings in the 25 mpg range.

When I filled up this time, I decided to try 89 octane to see if that helps out or not.If not, I'll switch back to 87.
 
#18 ·
I suspect you are unfamiliar with the operation of the DIC. There is no "instant" fuel mileage display, only average econ. Have you reset this number?

While cruising the highway at 60-65mph, cycle the display to "Econ" and then press and hold the reset button for a couple of seconds. This will erase the display's fuel economy history and start indicating your current mileage. As time goes on it indicates the gas mileage since the last reset.
 
#20 · (Edited)
06 Maxx 3.5 and I get 23-24 mpg average. I have little bit of a heavy foot. My radio says my average is around 25. The 4 speed automatics is what kills these cars.
 
#21 ·
I reset the DIC as was suggested and now it's reading well into the thirties. I'll do another actual mileage calculation next week when I get gas again. I haven't been driving the car much so I'm getting two weeks out of a tank.
 
#37 ·
The EPA adjusts the numbers down for the window sticker rating to be more realistic. Their actual test numbers are only used for an automakers CAFE score. (See the difference between ratings done before 2008 and after.)
 
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#29 ·
Define "horrible". And how do you drive it? "I only have to drive 1/4 mile to the mail box and back to get my mail" == If you get double digit, you're lucky. "I drive 75 miles each way at 70 MPH non-stop" == You ought to see 25MPG or more - make it a 55MPH run, and you may push 30MPG.

I've gotten 30 in the 'Bu, before the motor self-destructed (see below!) I was down to 24 due to cylinder 6 not working.

RwP
 
#31 ·
At posted speeds plus about 5 mph (75 in a 70, etc.) my V6 3.6 gets 26-29, and at a cruise controlled 60 mph I was able to go over 500 miles and get 36.4 mpg in November 2011.

In town I get 18-20 year 'round.

Driving style, speed, conditions - can you spend a little time defining "horrible" and how you get it?
 
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