why does my MPG suck...

[Ludercrz]

Avg. MPG values for the CRZ on Fuelly.com is between 29.7 and 40.

my current Avg. MPG is 26.7
(more accurately cus i'm canadien it's 8.8L/100km)


do i not use Econ mode enough?

i normally stay in Normal mode unless im cruising constantly, then i switch to econ to save. if there's too much stop and go i find the econ mode doesn't have enough "pep" to take off after a stop.

and I don't use sport mode cus it's winter and I don't want to end up in a Ditch lol.

I just really don't get it. Some people get close to 40 mpg and I assume those people are running in 100% econ mode? how can you live with the constant turtle lol.

[tsh]

The mode you use has not much impact really. All it does is allow you to be more sensitive with the throttle. (Maybe more impact with the CVT, I don't know).

What you need to experiment with is being gentle with the throttle and watching the real-time MPG. For example, on a flat road at 30/40 mph, you ought to be able to achieve 60MPG (I get 75 UK MPG sometimes). Give it just enough throttle to avoid loosing speed. When you accelerate, experiment with being a bit more gentle, and take maybe 30 sec to go from 40 to 50 rather than just mashing it because you can.
I'm on 6.6 l/100 at the moment. The other thing to mention is that cold weather/cold starts has a significant impact. It's possible to go from a 50mpg average over 100 miles down to 45 mph with only a few miles of bad driving too. (run the numbers to see how much at 20mpg you need)

[ErikTheRed]

Originally Posted by tsh

The mode you use has not much impact really. All it does is allow you to be more sensitive with the throttle. (Maybe more impact with the CVT, I don't know).

What you need to experiment with is being gentle with the throttle and watching the real-time MPG. For example, on a flat road at 30/40 mph, you ought to be able to achieve 60MPG (I get 75 UK MPG sometimes). Give it just enough throttle to avoid loosing speed. When you accelerate, experiment with being a bit more gentle, and take maybe 30 sec to go from 40 to 50 rather than just mashing it because you can.
I'm on 6.6 l/100 at the moment. The other thing to mention is that cold weather/cold starts has a significant impact. It's possible to go from a 50mpg average over 100 miles down to 45 mph with only a few miles of bad driving too. (run the numbers to see how much at 20mpg you need)

Also, how long are your commutes? I have a 25 mile commute to work each way and being gentle on the pedal and coasting when possible really helps a lot with my mpgs. But I find that my short commutes around my neighborhood to run errands really kills the mpg regardless of what mode I am in.

[TCroly]

The fuel economy you achieve is both driver dependent and condition dependent. and very little effect is found using the mode button.

What I would like to see is one of the high gas mileage champs of these message boards, like awptickes, dgh1981, Dio, kernk, Kilo Delta, Ol'Man Driver, tersai, twohondas bschirm, crzsuzuka, gomarlins3, susuking, who are consistently getting more than 40 mpg coach the OP to see how much he can improve his mileage. Or better yet this board's all time fuel economy champion swat49833 who is regularly exceeding 50 mpg.

As for conditions, and your mention that you are in Canada and in snow, I know that many have reported about 10 to 15% lower fuel economy in the extreme cold weather.

For me, I have never seen a fuel economy result of less than 32 mpg in my CRZ or Honda Fit. So I cannot even imagine what you have to do to get 26.7 MPG.

[CRZin702]

I drive almost always on Normal, with the occasional Sport mode if I'm in a spot where I need a accelerate quickly, and I'm averaging 39 to 41 mpg. But in Vegas, the roads and freeways are mostly flat, so I think the terrain has a lot to do with your mpg. If there were more slopes/hills and I had to go uphill more, my mpg's would tank...

[atteSmythe]

IMO, the easiest thing you can do for fuel economy in any car is to look at how much you're using the brake pedal. Every day, I see people on the road who seem to think that they always have to have their foot on one or the other pedal at all times. I'm not saying this is you, of course, but I always try to remember that the brakes just turn my fuel into heat. (Yeah, we get regenerative braking, but any time the pads are engaged, this will be true)

I get about 37.5 mpg combined, running exclusively in Normal mode. But I'm relatively light on the accelerator, and I keep an eye on traffic so that if it looks like everyone's stomping on the brakes only to accelerate a moment later, I just coast up and keep going the same speed. I try to anticipate red lights, and if I ever see a light change up in front of me, I stop accelerating immediately, rather than braking when I get near the line of cars.

Putting more distance between you and the car ahead of you lets you average out their speed more, rather than having to react immediately every time they tap the brakes because they're following the guy in front of them too closely. The goal is to run the same average speed as the car in front of you (same time to destination) without requiring as much of the accelerate/decelerate cycle. And, when you do have to, to have enough space to work that you can decelerate without using the brake as much. When possible, I try to watch the lights of the cars 2-3 up from me, in addition to the car I'm following.

[91CRXTC]

i like my low mpg at 32.7 right now, spend most the time in normal driving like its in sport,lol almost like normal more then sport mode.

[Ludercrz]

Originally Posted by 91CRXTC

i like my low mpg at 32.7 right now, spend most the time in normal driving like its in sport,lol almost like normal more then sport mode.

i'd be happy with 30 lol.

ya my commutes are only a few kilometers. according to google maps it's exactly 6 Km and takes about 10-12 mins depending on the lights. (all city, no highway)

i find this quicker, but I COULD also take the highway (which would make less stops) which on Google maps says the distance is 9km and also takes 12mins.

so all and all I just need to be nicer to my pedals and prevent heavy accelerations?

[socal_crz]

At first when I got the car, I was very careful, but then after a bit I was just driving around with out a care for my mpg. I then decided to really watch my mileage and try to improve where I could. It will take some time to raise my overall average, but it is going up.

I've been running on ECON mode all the time. Living in Southern California, the weather is good. I have a relatively short commute of 13 miles, of that about 2 is on streets. On the freeway I also have a pretty big hill getting to work, but then coast down it on the way back, only to have a hill to get up to the house. My MPG averages around 40-42 on the commutes, but when I get on streets, it goes down a bit. I was averaging around 48.1 on a long trip, even with some hills, so yes, the mileage can be had.

I've been running on cruise control and using the acc/dec button to adjust speed, and try to gauge traffic to cut braking down, but as best as I try, I need to brake a few times because of drivers who just cut right in front of you to get off freeway. I've also tried easing my way up to speed, and watching the meter, it works nicely.

Have fun finding the way to higher mileage, and if you find a tip, I'd like to hear about it.

[dr61]

6 km trips kill fuel economy in ANY IC powered vehicle. Your motor is barely getting up to normal coolant temperature and your engine oil temperature will NEVER get up to normal in 6 km from a cold start.

Consider another way to work (walk, ride bike, public transportation) for that distance. Save the car for longer trips.