Legacy MPG takes a dive
Larry Venick
Filters, Platinum Plugs.)
We drove down to Florida at Christmas and got over 400 miles on a tank of
gas. Last week I drove back and forth to work (60 miles total, 45 hwy) and
was shocked to see the gas guage drop a 1/4 tank. Just today the gas
light came on w/265 miles on the Odometer (granted it was half city) A
little quick math gives me (approx) 20 mpg.
20 mpg for a 4 cyl (non-Outback)???
This car does have "California" emissions system (even though I'm in Jersey)
Any ideas about how to bring this back up would be greatley appreciated.
Thanks.
LV
Hallraker
vehicle. :)
-Matt
"Larry Venick" <LVe...@home.com> wrote in message
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Larry Venick
good.
"Hallraker" <arn...@nospam.home.com> wrote in message
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Hallraker
mileage due to a faulty oxygen sensor. Not a big deal, it's better than a
set of head gaskets. Might want to look into the oxygen sensor, although it
would seem odd for a car that new to have one go bad already, but hey. :)
Try changing your fuel perhaps? I always used to run regular through my
last car, purchased at the cheapest gas station available. That car had
full digital instrumentation, and the "overall fuel economy" was extremely
accurate. I usually got 19-20 MPG, but when my favorite gas station closed,
I went elsewhere and within a few weeks was getting 15-17 MPG off of the
same grade of gasoline. In desperation, I tried a different gas station and
within 2 tanks I was back at 19-20, occasionally hitting 21 or even 22 MPG
if I did mainly rural and highway driving. :)
Other than that, I don't know. I'm more of a computer expert than a car
expert, so I hope I helped a little at least. :)
-Matt
"Larry Venick" <LVe...@home.com> wrote in message
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Janet Washburn
a Legacy L wagon, '97, 5-speed and my mileage seems to be going down every
time I make a point to calculate it. When I first got it in June I had a
tune-up done and I think I got 23 mpg once and last time I calculated it I
only got 20! Oh, it has 64K on it. The car itself is in great shape; it
even smells new inside still.
I've owned it since last June and I keep dinkin' around with how I drive
it - RPM-wise. My former car was an '87 Honda and there is just no
comparison - try as I might. The last Subaru I owned was an '83 and that
poor car couldn't get out of its own way. At least my '97 has some get-up
and go.
Can I really need an O2 sensor replacement? Is that normal? How long do
they last? How much do they cost?
Janet
"Larry Venick" <LVe...@home.com> wrote in message
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Daniel Katz
Has the weather been the same during your trip and the last week or so? I
have a 96 Legacy and if I fuel it up when the car is warm I can go for about
400 miles on a tank, but when the weather is cold and my wife does short
drives to workshe gets about 230-250 miles to a tank. Also, do a series of
tests to see what you get (say three tanks) during your work drives. Then,
do a series of tests on long highway drives. I find quite a lot of
variability these days. I can get as high as 27-28mpg (on snow tires, on
the highway, when it is very cold outside) to a low of 21-22mpg from short
drives (8 miles) to work. During the summer I see about 2mpg improvement
(M&S tires too) on both ends.
Dani
96 Legacy Brighton 5spd
92k miles
Larry Venick <LVe...@home.com> wrote in message
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Whoozat
sensor malfunction. The obvious common factor is 'short trip, cold weather',
and winter-blend gas should not account for such a drop. For the reason that
Subaru has a unique and complicated four-wheel driving system, I'm inclined
to suggest it has something to do with 'drag' from the system. Also, does
not seem to be universal as far as all four-wheel syatems go; even other
Subarus. It is well known that grease and lubricants become more viscous at
lower temperatures, so I'm going to go out-on-a-limb and say the lube oil
(and seals) in the drive-train create unneccesary drag that leads to the
crappy mileage. It would not surprise me to find out that this very same
problem is linked to another thread in this NG about the objectionable smell
that some have attributed to drive-line lubricant dripping on hot exhaust.
It could also have something to do with the ATF's viscosity curve or,
perhaps the problem only occurs in manual trannys which could point to the
gear oil. In any case I'm betting it's a lube-oil or grease related phenom
and it'll go away by itself in June!
"Janet Washburn" <kay...@libertybay.com> wrote in message
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Todd H.
> Also, does not seem to be universal as far as all four-wheel syatems
> go; even other Subarus. It is well known that grease and lubricants
> become more viscous at lower temperatures, so I'm going to go
> out-on-a-limb and say the lube oil (and seals) in the drive-train
> create unneccesary drag that leads to the crappy mileage.
While the drag inherent to the AWD system design should be entirely
reflected in EPA estimates, what you raise about fluid viscosity at
reduced temperatures is very compelling.
Undoubtedly, an AWD system has more couplings that are
lubricated/coupled by temperature-dependent goo than a non-AWD system.
Indeed, it would make great sense that cold weather and short trips
(which fail to heat the drivetrain lubricants to a solid operating
temparture) would have a far more substantial impact on fuel economy
than cold/trip length would on a conventional transaxle.
--
Todd H.
2001 Legacy Outback Wagon, 2.5L H-4
Chicago, IL
Whoozat
gearlube applications, it seems obvious that Subaru would have specified one
with a satisfactory low-high viscosity range. What do they specify in the
manual for the center, fore and aft differentials, for example? I don't see
it in my manual.
"Todd H." <sub...@toddh.net> wrote in message
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Randy Legault
what's up. I get the same kind of mileage probs as you.
See the chart at http://members.home.com/2-randy
I am about to try O2 Sensor and also suspect a change of tranny oil to synth
might help.
Randy.
"Daniel Katz" <dankatzNO...@adelphia.net> wrote in message
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John Kaufmann
wrote:
> ... it would make great sense that cold weather and short trips
> (which fail to heat the drivetrain lubricants to a solid operating
> temparture) would have a far more substantial impact on fuel economy
> [for AWD] than cold/trip length would on a conventional transaxle.
Probably true. Good observation.
Joel Shortlidge
dealer said it was oxygenated fuel.
Joel