SixString7

Hey when I got my 2003 ES300 it would avg about 17 miles to the gallon now I'm down to 13. I havent checked anything, where should I start? I do mostly city driving with a bit of highway combined.

Arsenii

Hello,

Does the car run fine?
Any Check Engine Lights?

Check Engine Live Data, look for Fuel Trims, as well as MAF, A/F and Temperature sensors. Fuel Trims should be as close to 0 as possible, if they are above or below 10%, it is a good reason to start diagnosing the cause of it, here is a good article about Fuel Trims. MAF sensor should read about 3-4.5g/sec, if it is lower, it may indicate a vacuum leak.

A/F sensors should stay close to 3.2-ish volts, without being stuck on that value, try flooring the car from idle while monitoring the A/F sensors, you should see the readouts immediately jump to the Rich side for a split second and then go back their normal readings. As for the temperature sensor, just make that it does show about 80°C after 10-15 minutes of driving.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

SixString7

The car drives great. No obvious issues no check engine lights, no fuel odors. I know the rear struts need replacement but thays about it. Car has plenty of power but im only getting like 220 miles per tank. Trunk is slightly full as well

SixString7

When i do take it for a drive on the free way i get closer to like 27 mpg, its really good on the open road but in town where i use it mostly it just eats gas

Arsenii

Just to be sure, take a look at your tire wear, see that it is even, also look at your rotors, if they are worn out unevenly or have deep grooves in them, your brakes may be jammed a little. With that, the fact that the MPG is normal at the highway likely indicates that the brakes, alignment and the rest of the suspension is not causing the low MPG, if the engine parameters would also end up being fine, it would probably be time to re-evaluate your driving habits and all the stuff you are dragging around in the trunk..

What traffic are you driving in? If you spend most of your trip sitting in a traffic jam, then try finding a different route to your destination, even if it is longer, it will be more forgiving for a car than just sitting around. If the trunk is filled with stuff you rarely use, it may be wise to take it out, it affects the the mileage more than you think, besides the fact that it is not making any favors to the suspension as well.

Hope this helps and best of luck!

djr48312

Check your engine codes. O2's will mess you up the worse. If one of the O2 banks is off it cost me 20% fuel mileage. It could also be the MAF sensor.