Cruising Range is lower than fuel gauge
09-24-12, 02:29 PM
#16
Also keep in mind that your mpg will gradually decrease longer you have the car, due to many different factors other than driving style. As it age, it's performance will decrease just like our bodies do or anything else in life. It'll never stay constant forever.
Tuning the car to optimal level will keep it more constant, but bottom line is all cars will eventually have less mpg than when you had the car new or newer...
Tuning the car to optimal level will keep it more constant, but bottom line is all cars will eventually have less mpg than when you had the car new or newer...
That is not my experience.
My 2004 RX330 AWD average MPG was around 20 MG and steadily rose over time to now where it is at 23MPG, nine years later.
My 1991 Toyota MR2 started out around 26 MPG and rose steadily to around 30 MPG currently.
I do keep my cars tuned and well maintained but as parts wear in, friction is reduced and mileage improves IME.
For example, here is my RX330:
And my 1991 Toyota MR2:
09-26-12, 06:01 AM
#17
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It is not only driving style that can affect the computer- Long periods of idling can affect the range/avg mpg. The other day my avg MPG was 21.2 when I got to the mechanics to drop off my wife's car, I left it idling for about 20 minutes while I talked to my mechanic. When I got back in the car my avg MPG was 20.8. Have you checked the AVG MPG compared to what is used to be when you were getting the higher range figures?
09-26-12, 06:58 AM
#18
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im bemused by this obsession with this arbitrary calculated predictive value ... why do you care at all ?
1) its lousy data... it is based on a previous driving scenario that may or may not have any relevance at all to the current driving scenario.
2) if you say " no...my driving is always the same " then thats your answer right there... if your driving is always the same then you look down and see the gas gage and you say to yourself " gee i have half a tank so i can go another 200 miles " whether its really 197 or 206.3 is meaningless...
you can't have it both ways. if you DON'T always drive the same then the predictive number is meaningless. if you do always drive the same then you already know all the answers and the predictive number is meaningless... and thats giving the predictive number the benefit of the doubt in the first place that it is plus or minus 20 % which i doubt anyway.
you aren't going to the moon where if you get your fuel calculation wrong you die. you are driving on normal roads using normal judgement. if you have 400 mile trip to make and 1/2 a tank of gas, put gas in the car. if you have a 40 mile trip to make and you have half a tank DON'T put fuel in the car and if you have a 200 mile trip and 1/2 a tank, use a bit of planning and don't put yourself on a deserted road at 2am with the nearest gas station 40 miles in either direction...
no dashboard display is going to stop you from being stupid if that is your natural state of affairs.
1) its lousy data... it is based on a previous driving scenario that may or may not have any relevance at all to the current driving scenario.
2) if you say " no...my driving is always the same " then thats your answer right there... if your driving is always the same then you look down and see the gas gage and you say to yourself " gee i have half a tank so i can go another 200 miles " whether its really 197 or 206.3 is meaningless...
you can't have it both ways. if you DON'T always drive the same then the predictive number is meaningless. if you do always drive the same then you already know all the answers and the predictive number is meaningless... and thats giving the predictive number the benefit of the doubt in the first place that it is plus or minus 20 % which i doubt anyway.
you aren't going to the moon where if you get your fuel calculation wrong you die. you are driving on normal roads using normal judgement. if you have 400 mile trip to make and 1/2 a tank of gas, put gas in the car. if you have a 40 mile trip to make and you have half a tank DON'T put fuel in the car and if you have a 200 mile trip and 1/2 a tank, use a bit of planning and don't put yourself on a deserted road at 2am with the nearest gas station 40 miles in either direction...
no dashboard display is going to stop you from being stupid if that is your natural state of affairs.
09-27-12, 06:47 AM
#19
There are Sooooo many variables that affect performance and mileage that asking why a seemingly normal car's mileage changed is almost a waste. For instance, outside of a testing lab on a dyno with strictly controlled conditions, variables include temperature, atmospheric pressure, humidity, weight of the vehicle, actual tire pressure (which also changes as a result of temp), brand of gas, etc etc all affect mileage. And then you throw in how you were driving today. As others have stated, the only true measure of gas mileage is to divide miles driven by actual gas as measured during fill ups. Both of my cars, RX and BMW, have mileage computers that are good estimators but do fall short by around 2 mpg.
09-27-12, 03:00 PM
#20
That pretty much ends this thread
im bemused by this obsession with this arbitrary calculated predictive value ... why do you care at all ?
1) its lousy data... it is based on a previous driving scenario that may or may not have any relevance at all to the current driving scenario.
2) if you say " no...my driving is always the same " then thats your answer right there... if your driving is always the same then you look down and see the gas gage and you say to yourself " gee i have half a tank so i can go another 200 miles " whether its really 197 or 206.3 is meaningless...
you can't have it both ways. if you DON'T always drive the same then the predictive number is meaningless. if you do always drive the same then you already know all the answers and the predictive number is meaningless... and thats giving the predictive number the benefit of the doubt in the first place that it is plus or minus 20 % which i doubt anyway.
you aren't going to the moon where if you get your fuel calculation wrong you die. you are driving on normal roads using normal judgement. if you have 400 mile trip to make and 1/2 a tank of gas, put gas in the car. if you have a 40 mile trip to make and you have half a tank DON'T put fuel in the car and if you have a 200 mile trip and 1/2 a tank, use a bit of planning and don't put yourself on a deserted road at 2am with the nearest gas station 40 miles in either direction...
no dashboard display is going to stop you from being stupid if that is your natural state of affairs.
1) its lousy data... it is based on a previous driving scenario that may or may not have any relevance at all to the current driving scenario.
2) if you say " no...my driving is always the same " then thats your answer right there... if your driving is always the same then you look down and see the gas gage and you say to yourself " gee i have half a tank so i can go another 200 miles " whether its really 197 or 206.3 is meaningless...
you can't have it both ways. if you DON'T always drive the same then the predictive number is meaningless. if you do always drive the same then you already know all the answers and the predictive number is meaningless... and thats giving the predictive number the benefit of the doubt in the first place that it is plus or minus 20 % which i doubt anyway.
you aren't going to the moon where if you get your fuel calculation wrong you die. you are driving on normal roads using normal judgement. if you have 400 mile trip to make and 1/2 a tank of gas, put gas in the car. if you have a 40 mile trip to make and you have half a tank DON'T put fuel in the car and if you have a 200 mile trip and 1/2 a tank, use a bit of planning and don't put yourself on a deserted road at 2am with the nearest gas station 40 miles in either direction...
no dashboard display is going to stop you from being stupid if that is your natural state of affairs.
09-28-12, 12:58 PM
#21
My experience has been the opposite w/o counting brand new experieces.. usually up until about 1-2k miles, mpg reading tends to be off. So example of my Altima, it's been 22-24 mpg about first 1k miles, then settled at 27mpg for long time until recent decline (2-3 years) to 23 mpg.
09-30-12, 10:31 AM
#22
Rookie
Thread Starter
well its the opportunity to do a good test AND get your answer quite specifically. 60 miles is about 16 % of your range. so that suggests that your actual fuel milage should be 16 % lower. thats a meaningful and quantifiable number... about 3 MPG give or take...
so do a real world calculation. fill the tank, drive a couple hundred miles and refill the tank and do the math. if your milage is bad then the car is running rich which is no good at all.. the greater the number of times you run the test, the more accurate the data will be.
also... you might want to be aware that winter milage is often worse than summer milage because the cold start system richens the mixture for longer because the car takes a bit longer to warm up and the formulation of winter fuel is traditionally a lesse fficient blend... but having said that, 16 % , if accurate, is way outside those likely effects. not to mention that its not winter yet...
the water temp gage isn't reading lower than normal is it by any chance ?
so do a real world calculation. fill the tank, drive a couple hundred miles and refill the tank and do the math. if your milage is bad then the car is running rich which is no good at all.. the greater the number of times you run the test, the more accurate the data will be.
also... you might want to be aware that winter milage is often worse than summer milage because the cold start system richens the mixture for longer because the car takes a bit longer to warm up and the formulation of winter fuel is traditionally a lesse fficient blend... but having said that, 16 % , if accurate, is way outside those likely effects. not to mention that its not winter yet...
the water temp gage isn't reading lower than normal is it by any chance ?
09-30-12, 10:50 AM
#23
Rookie
Thread Starter
im bemused by this obsession with this arbitrary calculated predictive value ... why do you care at all ?
1) its lousy data... it is based on a previous driving scenario that may or may not have any relevance at all to the current driving scenario.
2) if you say " no...my driving is always the same " then thats your answer right there... if your driving is always the same then you look down and see the gas gage and you say to yourself " gee i have half a tank so i can go another 200 miles " whether its really 197 or 206.3 is meaningless...
you can't have it both ways. if you DON'T always drive the same then the predictive number is meaningless. if you do always drive the same then you already know all the answers and the predictive number is meaningless... and thats giving the predictive number the benefit of the doubt in the first place that it is plus or minus 20 % which i doubt anyway.
you aren't going to the moon where if you get your fuel calculation wrong you die. you are driving on normal roads using normal judgement. if you have 400 mile trip to make and 1/2 a tank of gas, put gas in the car. if you have a 40 mile trip to make and you have half a tank DON'T put fuel in the car and if you have a 200 mile trip and 1/2 a tank, use a bit of planning and don't put yourself on a deserted road at 2am with the nearest gas station 40 miles in either direction...
no dashboard display is going to stop you from being stupid if that is your natural state of affairs.
1) its lousy data... it is based on a previous driving scenario that may or may not have any relevance at all to the current driving scenario.
2) if you say " no...my driving is always the same " then thats your answer right there... if your driving is always the same then you look down and see the gas gage and you say to yourself " gee i have half a tank so i can go another 200 miles " whether its really 197 or 206.3 is meaningless...
you can't have it both ways. if you DON'T always drive the same then the predictive number is meaningless. if you do always drive the same then you already know all the answers and the predictive number is meaningless... and thats giving the predictive number the benefit of the doubt in the first place that it is plus or minus 20 % which i doubt anyway.
you aren't going to the moon where if you get your fuel calculation wrong you die. you are driving on normal roads using normal judgement. if you have 400 mile trip to make and 1/2 a tank of gas, put gas in the car. if you have a 40 mile trip to make and you have half a tank DON'T put fuel in the car and if you have a 200 mile trip and 1/2 a tank, use a bit of planning and don't put yourself on a deserted road at 2am with the nearest gas station 40 miles in either direction...
no dashboard display is going to stop you from being stupid if that is your natural state of affairs.
09-30-12, 11:15 AM
#24
Consider this a friendly reminder of our forum etiquette.
If you disagree with someone do it in a polite way or turn your computer off and take a walk before posting a response. We are all here because we love our cars and wish to help others with our experiences. We don't have to agree with each other but we do have to show some respect and decorum in this forum.
@ 99magma
There is also the possibility that your car's ECU may benefit from a reset. Our cars learn our driving styles and perhaps puling the circuit breaker to the ECU for a few seconds will reset it and allow it to re-learn your driving style.
If you disagree with someone do it in a polite way or turn your computer off and take a walk before posting a response. We are all here because we love our cars and wish to help others with our experiences. We don't have to agree with each other but we do have to show some respect and decorum in this forum.
@ 99magma
There is also the possibility that your car's ECU may benefit from a reset. Our cars learn our driving styles and perhaps puling the circuit breaker to the ECU for a few seconds will reset it and allow it to re-learn your driving style.
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