Fuel 'Economy' Terrible
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Fuel 'Economy' Terrible
I recently got a new 2014 GS 350 F Sport and I put around 600 miles on it. I have filled up twice and on each tank of gas, I calculated around 18 mpg. I do a lot of driving around town and I leave it on 'ECO' mode. Shouldn't I be getting better fuel economy?
#2
Instructor
I think your rims and tires are robbing you of mpg. Some people on this forum are like you and get terrible mpg while others are getting great mpgs. I own a 2014 GS350 rwd luxury package with 18inch rims on michelin primac mxm4 tires and i get 20 city 28hwy and 25 combined. I cant get gs to get any lower than 20mpg average even when i take her to the race track.
My cousin owns a 2013 GS350 rwd Fsport with rear wheel steering with 19 inch Fsport rims and he cannot get his average mpg to go past 19mpg combined. For comparisons he gets 16 mpg city, 23 mpg hwy and 19 mpg average combined.
I suspect it has something to do with either the suspension or tires and wheels. I will be upgrading to 19inch and wider aftermarket tires and rims and will let you know if i get a change in my MPGs.
My cousin owns a 2013 GS350 rwd Fsport with rear wheel steering with 19 inch Fsport rims and he cannot get his average mpg to go past 19mpg combined. For comparisons he gets 16 mpg city, 23 mpg hwy and 19 mpg average combined.
I suspect it has something to do with either the suspension or tires and wheels. I will be upgrading to 19inch and wider aftermarket tires and rims and will let you know if i get a change in my MPGs.
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I think your rims and tires are robbing you of mpg. Some people on this forum are like you and get terrible mpg while others are getting great mpgs. I own a 2014 GS350 rwd luxury package with 18inch rims on michelin primac mxm4 tires and i get 20 city 28hwy and 25 combined. I cant get gs to get any lower than 20mpg average even when i take her to the race track.
My cousin owns a 2013 GS350 rwd Fsport with rear wheel steering with 19 inch Fsport rims and he cannot get his average mpg to go past 19mpg combined. For comparisons he gets 16 mpg city, 23 mpg hwy and 19 mpg average combined.
I suspect it has something to do with either the suspension or tires and wheels. I will be upgrading to 19inch and wider aftermarket tires and rims and will let you know if i get a change in my MPGs.
My cousin owns a 2013 GS350 rwd Fsport with rear wheel steering with 19 inch Fsport rims and he cannot get his average mpg to go past 19mpg combined. For comparisons he gets 16 mpg city, 23 mpg hwy and 19 mpg average combined.
I suspect it has something to do with either the suspension or tires and wheels. I will be upgrading to 19inch and wider aftermarket tires and rims and will let you know if i get a change in my MPGs.
#4
Lexus Test Driver
Standard is 18 or 19 in mixed city driving. I get 25+ on long highway trips. Did you look at the window sticker before you bought it? Should have listed EPA estimates.
#6
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Be glad you don't have the AWD F-Sport model - in primarily city driving (70% city, 30% highway), I average around 16-17mpg - on the highway if I'm lucky I get 20-21mpg. I never get the advertised 19mpg city, 21mpg combined, 26mpg highway. I drive in ECO mode most of the time.
I have to baby the car all the time (and by baby it, I mean stay under 2000 rpms from a stop / red light). If I don't - mpg is even worse. When I drive like this - Civics, Corollas, and even Priuses are faster than me
Tire pressure is at the recommended 34psi front, 35psi rear.
I've previously owned Acuras that exceeded their EPA estimates on a regular basis without having to baby the car - so I figured I should be able to get the EPA advertised estimate or better with the GS.
I love the car, but I wouldn't mind if the car was a little less thirsty.
I have to baby the car all the time (and by baby it, I mean stay under 2000 rpms from a stop / red light). If I don't - mpg is even worse. When I drive like this - Civics, Corollas, and even Priuses are faster than me
Tire pressure is at the recommended 34psi front, 35psi rear.
I've previously owned Acuras that exceeded their EPA estimates on a regular basis without having to baby the car - so I figured I should be able to get the EPA advertised estimate or better with the GS.
I love the car, but I wouldn't mind if the car was a little less thirsty.
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Be glad you don't have the AWD F-Sport model - in primarily city driving (70% city, 30% highway), I average around 16-17mpg - on the highway if I'm lucky I get 20-21mpg. I never get the advertised 19mpg city, 21mpg combined, 26mpg highway. I drive in ECO mode most of the time.
I have to baby the car all the time (and by baby it, I mean stay under 2000 rpms from a stop / red light). If I don't - mpg is even worse. When I drive like this - Civics, Corollas, and even Priuses are faster than me
Tire pressure is at the recommended 34psi front, 35psi rear.
I've previously owned Acuras that exceeded their EPA estimates on a regular basis without having to baby the car - so I figured I should be able to get the EPA advertised estimate or better with the GS.
I love the car, but I wouldn't mind if the car was a little less thirsty.
I have to baby the car all the time (and by baby it, I mean stay under 2000 rpms from a stop / red light). If I don't - mpg is even worse. When I drive like this - Civics, Corollas, and even Priuses are faster than me
Tire pressure is at the recommended 34psi front, 35psi rear.
I've previously owned Acuras that exceeded their EPA estimates on a regular basis without having to baby the car - so I figured I should be able to get the EPA advertised estimate or better with the GS.
I love the car, but I wouldn't mind if the car was a little less thirsty.
This car is fantastic but the 6th gear is not very good for highway cruiising - they need to adjust ratio etc..
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#8
I'd love to know how y'all really drive. My wife gets 18 in 100% city driving. I've seen over 31 cruising at 75 for quite a few miles. I drove the car 350 miles one week when my wife was on vacation and averaged 26 for the week. That included driving from the suburbs to downtown Houston and back five days in rush hour traffic.
And no, the wheels are not the problem. It would take heavy duty truck wheels and tires to make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. A magazine actually tested various wheel/tire packages once and the difference in economy was less than 1 mpg.
And no, the wheels are not the problem. It would take heavy duty truck wheels and tires to make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. A magazine actually tested various wheel/tire packages once and the difference in economy was less than 1 mpg.
#9
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I'd love to know how y'all really drive. My wife gets 18 in 100% city driving. I've seen over 31 cruising at 75 for quite a few miles. I drove the car 350 miles one week when my wife was on vacation and averaged 26 for the week. That included driving from the suburbs to downtown Houston and back five days in rush hour traffic.
And no, the wheels are not the problem. It would take heavy duty truck wheels and tires to make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. A magazine actually tested various wheel/tire packages once and the difference in economy was less than 1 mpg.
And no, the wheels are not the problem. It would take heavy duty truck wheels and tires to make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. A magazine actually tested various wheel/tire packages once and the difference in economy was less than 1 mpg.
#10
Driver
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I'd love to know how y'all really drive. My wife gets 18 in 100% city driving. I've seen over 31 cruising at 75 for quite a few miles. I drove the car 350 miles one week when my wife was on vacation and averaged 26 for the week. That included driving from the suburbs to downtown Houston and back five days in rush hour traffic.
And no, the wheels are not the problem. It would take heavy duty truck wheels and tires to make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. A magazine actually tested various wheel/tire packages once and the difference in economy was less than 1 mpg.
And no, the wheels are not the problem. It would take heavy duty truck wheels and tires to make a noticeable difference in gas mileage. A magazine actually tested various wheel/tire packages once and the difference in economy was less than 1 mpg.
I'm not a hypermiler or anything - but I am definitely not flooring the car at every light. Like I said, I usually try to keep the GS under 2000 rpms and accelerate slowly so I can get better gas mileage. Once I'm moving though - I probably am not doing all the things a hypermiler would do (allow the car to slow down going uphill, off the gas to coast downhill, etc) - but for comparison's sake - I had a 2011 ES350 with almost the same engine, was putting Regular 87 octane gas in (recommended by Lexus) and averaged 25mpg with the same commute. With a 2003 TL-S that was 12 years old, had nearly 100k miles and probably was in bad need of a tune up (the car idled really rough when cold) I was able to get around 19mpg on the same commute - and that is without worrying at all about gas mileage. Highway, the ES would get 30mpg or better with no problem and the TL would do 28-30mpg too. When the TL was new, I was able to get closer to 21-22mpg with the same commute.
BTW- My wife's MDX will regularly get 23mpg in mixed driving and 28mpg highway!
TLX SH-AWD owners are reporting significantly better mileage than the GS AWD too - so its not like it is impossible.
Granted both of the cars I've previously owned are FWD not AWD, and they both weigh a lot less than the GS - so those are both contributing factors - but I'm just hoping the 2016 refresh brings a more efficient engine. Again - I really like the GS, but gas mileage is definitely not a strong suit.
It is interesting that F-Sport owners seem to get worse gas mileage than Luxury owners though - its possible that the demographic of F-Sport owners just tend to drive more aggressively and thus get worse mileage - but I'm curious if something else could also be having a negative impact ... Maybe a combination of wheels, different bumper and different ECU tuning?
#11
Lexus Test Driver
I average about 18/26 mpg in my '14 F Sport. I'm pretty sure I could achieve about 2mpg more if I used Eco mood and would let up on the right pedal but I can't do that I do overall find this car to be difficult to achieve 19/29.
#12
I own a 2013 AWD Luxury 6 sp with 18' tires, my gas milage is similair to AL13NV8D3R.
Avg around town 19.5 - 21 mpg, on the highway at 70-74 mph I get 28.5 avg, my best being 30.5 mpg, though not very often.
I am not a "light jumper" type of driver driver and yes I do play with it sometimes of course then things are a different matter as to mpg.
I would play a little more often, but the wife does not like it while in the car
I would suggest an experiment. Take the car out on the highway and get up to speed, set the cruise on flat highway if possible to 70 mph .... then reset average mpg indicator and and see how you do with mpg over 15 minutes of driving. If you wait on the avg mpg meter to catch up without resetting, especially on short drives, most likely not going to happen. It takes a fair amount of time for it react, it does not just jump from 18 to 25 in a couple of minutes. This has been my experience observed with all the Lexus we have owned. Hopeful your not all hills and such.
Just a humble suggestion
Avg around town 19.5 - 21 mpg, on the highway at 70-74 mph I get 28.5 avg, my best being 30.5 mpg, though not very often.
I am not a "light jumper" type of driver driver and yes I do play with it sometimes of course then things are a different matter as to mpg.
I would play a little more often, but the wife does not like it while in the car
I would suggest an experiment. Take the car out on the highway and get up to speed, set the cruise on flat highway if possible to 70 mph .... then reset average mpg indicator and and see how you do with mpg over 15 minutes of driving. If you wait on the avg mpg meter to catch up without resetting, especially on short drives, most likely not going to happen. It takes a fair amount of time for it react, it does not just jump from 18 to 25 in a couple of minutes. This has been my experience observed with all the Lexus we have owned. Hopeful your not all hills and such.
Just a humble suggestion