ES350Bob

My engine seems to be getting worse and since I had noticed the clacking noise now even present at hot, I believe I see it in MPG display too though admit I may be just misinterpreting the displays.

Right now here are my mpg display readings:

Tank avg. mpg= 13.6

Avg. mpg=17.3


If I understand the displays right, the tank avg. is the average mpg for the tank since last refueled and the avg. mpg is as though a reflection of the last 5 or 10 minutes of driving or during that entire driving period of start of car to turn off of car.

I had noticed all along I did not seem to get anywhere near the mpg on the sticker for city driving but now it seems worse. Like before the tank avg. might say 16.6 or 16.8 as example but I didn't check that too often as I am now. In the past if I had driven on a highway even faster I noticed the tank avg. might say 18.2 or 18.6 or so.

I drive semi residential for about a 1/2 mile, speeds up to 30 or 35 and then 40 to 45 on a 4 lane road. I don't get stuck in traffic like a commuter would but there are a couple of traffic lights in my usual travel habits and sometimes they are red.

Anyone see similar in their mpg displays or notice their display may not be the most accurate for forming an opinion on mpg one way or another?

Or with an engine with a valve problem is this part of what you would see if it is getting worse as in real low lower speed gas mpg., better mpg perhaps at higher speeds in travels?

psp

Bob, just for comparison sake I have never reset the Avg MPG. After 5000 mi mine is at 25.7 and my tank MPG is usually right around the same. I drive in a combination of suburban and highway, some stop and go. My daily commute is 12 miles each way. I use 91 gas. I do not do many jack-rabbit starts, don't have a lead foot, and really do not punch it very often. (It's a luxury car and I drive it like one).

IMHO, either you are using cheap gas, you drive like a lead foot maniac, the mpg thingy is out of calibration, or your engine is f'ed -- I think it's the latter. After reading several of your posts the Toyota Gods either do not like you or you have bad karma or something. You might want to check the calibration of the trip computer too. (You know: Set your car at 60, time for 60 seconds and see if you go one mile. If it is right, fill the car and calculate the MPG yourself.)

Why are you still driving this thing?

ES350Bob

Pete,
I use 93 octane gas, don't drive like a lead foot, or have rapid take off. I think I drive similar to you, drive it like a luxury car.

As for any Karma aspect that might be in play, I don't have bad Karma, but I do notice people at times seeeking to add to their own by attempting to pull one over on me and in the end it fails miserably for them each and every time. So far anyway.

As for why still in it: The best reason I can give you is that there is a huge difference between being forced to get a new car regardless of reason and when one has developed a desire or new car fever as a result of seeing one in an ad or on the road. One is gotta go do it because of...fill in the blank.....and the other is want to go do it about a car that has caught your interest as this car originally did.

PsychDoc

First off, the "Ave. MPG" is a measure of mpg since it was last reset by you. As the "tank average" tells me info. on mpg since last fill up I have never reset the "ave. mpg." In over 5000 of city and highway driving (about equal as I live in NYC and commute out to Long Island where I work) I've averaged 22.9 mpg.

Not bad considering my ES 300 was only giving me about 17mpg in the same conditions. The way I look at it, I'm getting a 40% discount on my gas expenditures.

Especially good now that I'm routinely using 89 octane gas. The car runs perfectly on this. No need whatsoever for 91 octane.

MD350

I have almost 3000 miles on mine. Consistantly averaging between 25 and 28 mpg with a mix of highway and stop and go traffic. Bob, I agree with the comment above. Calculate your mpg manually on your next tank of gas. If you are still in the teens, your engine does seem to be ****ed. I don't think I can get mine in the teens if I tried.

Mako1

I now have 1600 miles and have not set the mpg, I am averaging 23.8 mostly around town type of driving with the commuter time traffic. I use 91 octane and do have a heavy foot although never "punch it". In my previous car, Nissan 350Z (17.1mpg) I found that computer generated calculations were in error and lower than actual MPG's. On my next fill up I will get the milage and perform manual calculations and will report back, it may be a week or so.....

Macklin

Bob, dude, I am now weeping for you! Things are going from bad to worse. Let's hope it's a computer issue and not your engine taking a dump. Like MD350 said, I couldn't get down into the teens if I tried. Although my tank mpg reading is always optimistic by a mile or two, by my calculations I am averaging around 26 mpg. That's 60/40 highway/city with an occassional smile grabbing ***** to the wall burst.

theredkid

My 1 month old es350 is approaching its 2k miles mark now. My last long trip on NY thruway averages about 33mpg on highway. With mixed local and highway, I get about 23mpg. Both read from the tank average.

ES350Bob

Psych...: I had reset Avg. the other day, did not realize to reset each time I drive to keep a better track. I think you are on to something just paying attention to the tank avg. though.

Mack...: When I reset Avg. the first thing I thought was it was optimistic, instead of adding zero in reverse for about 35 feet more or less when I backed out after resetting it, it registered 4.5 MPG in reverse at stop before I shifted it into drive so it doesn't care whether it's coming or going, it's registering something...then now built up over days of driving to it's current 17.3.

MD...: I will try calculating and also wait for Mako's and compare calculating results.

There...: thanks for letting me know, that 33 is real good highway.

---It seems way low in general though compared to the above responses so far but it might be mostly due to the displays not working right though the engine is in the spotlight for sure. I'll be refueling soon and will reset the avg too and just let it run like I have been and see in a few days or week what is what.

PsychDoc

If I were you I'd reset the "ave. mpg" once and then never again. That way you'll know what your car is getting over a long period of time. Like I said, the "tank ave. mpg" gives you a tank by tank idea of what's going on.

dreyfus

If you reset the avg. mpg meter when you fill up then you should get the same reading as the tank avg. mpg meter since they're both starting from the same point.

I always reset my Trip A odometer when I fill up so I can compare my manual mpg calculations versus the tank average meter. I'm finding my tank average meter is 1/2 to 1 mpg optimistic.

I like to reset the avg. mpg meter to measure shorter intervals of driving, such as my mpg to work, or to a given store, or while driving on a long stretch of highway. I also like to see how high I can get it - for example getting 91 mpg coasting down a nearby hill.

But it's the tank avg. mpg that really counts, since that is what you're paying for whenever you fill up.

Macklin

Exactly! Although my computer is even more optimistic than that.

I use Trip A for gas mileage and Trip B for oil changes.

cocopops

iTrader: (1)

Same thing as Macklin for me. I never reset my Avg Mpg readings. I am getting 24-25mpg for avg MPG and 26-27 for tank MPG. It really depends on my driving condition (which is 30/70 local/fwy). I have abt 850miles on my odo right now (dont drive the es350 a lot, avg 250-300 a month). Though I believe my mpg should improve once the engine is fully broken in. I am going to go to LV next week so I hope I can break in the engine at that time.

wanderer99

13,500kms and I'm consistently getting using a full tank:
Hwy only - 7.8L\100kms (30.1 mpg)
City\Hwy - 9.5L\100kms (24.8 mpg)
Worst Ever - 10.5L\100kms (22.4 mpg)

My 'worst ever' result was early in the engines life and was nearly 100% City. My Hwy driving is nearly always 80mph with the Cruise on. My City driving is pretty relaxed with the engine rarely going above 2500rpms. Maybe 3000 occasionally, but nothing really higher. If I do 65-70 MPH on the Highway I can get to 7.2L 32-33mpg pretty easily.

If you drive in a similar manner to me Bob, and get your quoted MPG then something is wrong. If you ignore the computer and do the manual calculation when filling up, do you get the same as what your computer says?

13.6 MPG = 17.3 L\100kms.
17.3 MPG = 13.6 L\100kms.
To convert between Miles and Kms go here

Both of those numbers seem insane to me.

toneman

I take it you change your oil at "odd" intervals? Me--I change every 5K miles, from 0...meaning, when the odometer reading is a multiple of 5K...thus, no need for me to use a trip meter to remind me at what mileage interval to change the oil.

Alternately--couldn't you just use the Maintenance Reminder feature in the nav to alert you as to when you need to change the oil--assuming that your car has nav to begin with?