MPG

[Alicia S. Moreno]

I purchased a 2015 Corolla LE Eco last December it has 3000 miles on it, I am only getting 17.5 MPG . This is being verified by dividing the number of miles driven by the gallons needed to fill the tank. I have taken one month totals, so that I could be reasonably sure of my calculations.
Just for information as a senior, I don't drive over the speed limit, no fast starts and stops, no driving pattern that can reduce mi MPG. My previous car was a 10 yo Prius and I would get consistently 55-58 mpg

 

[DTG]

Your calculations are seriously wrong, or there is something seriously wrong with your car or how you drive (and based on your description, you drive fine). I get better mpg than that on my 13-year-old, 3-ton Buick in city driving. I get 30+ or so mpg on my 2014 Corolla LE in city driving.

Do you live in a place with a lot of steep hills?

Given your low mileage, I assume you haven't taken it in for service yet. I would.

 

[jolly]

Something is wrong either with the car or the calculation. My LE Eco gives me between 30+ (city) and 50+ (highway).
Of course if your driving is mostly city, numerous "stop", red lights and heavy traffic may considerably reduce efficiency vs a Prius.
Eco Valvematic shines on highway while an hybrid shines in city.

 

[jolly]

I would also add that constant shorter trips also reduce efficiency.
But your calculation implies that you only get 230 miles per tank...
Or that you had to fill it almost every two weeks. That's odd.

What does the trip computer says ?
They are frequently a bit off but if there is a huge difference between it and your calculation then those are the culprit.

 

[HanSolo]

My bet is that he does a lot of short distance city driving where the car may not get a chance to warm up. If there was something wrong with his car to cause fuel economy that horrendous with normal driving, it would have triggered some sort of check engine light as something is way off. FWIW, my old Fusion Hybrid(one of the very first ones) got 36-40mph on the highway but would consistently get 45+ during rush hour commutes. This is with me driving it normally and not pissing people off like some of the disrespectful hybrid owners do.

 

[Thomas]

Did you have it inspected by a mechanic? (Which is something you should do with any car before you buy it, and if the seller won't let you get it inspected, run away from that car.)

FYI, my 25 year old, 2 ton station wagon with a 5 liter V8 got 20 MPG.

 

[CorollaKid]

I purchased a 2015 Corolla LE Eco last December it has 3000 miles on it, I am only getting 17.5 MPG . This is being verified by dividing the number of miles driven by the gallons needed to fill the tank. I have taken one month totals, so that I could be reasonably sure of my calculations.
Just for information as a senior, I don't drive over the speed limit, no fast starts and stops, no driving pattern that can reduce mi MPG. My previous car was a 10 yo Prius and I would get consistently 55-58 mpg

3,000 miles since last December? Clearly, the majority of your driving must be short, city or town based driving with plenty of stop & go driving involved. I am also guessing a fair amount of time with the engine idling and the car not moving at all.... it's the only way I can see such terrible mileage being possible.

As a comparison, my 2015 Eco is averaging just under 43mpg since I got it 10 weeks ago. In those 10 weeks, I've put over 5,000 miles on the car, mostly highway driving on flat ground.

Can you detail you driving environment and your driving habits? Without knowing either, the mileage is way off the mark.

 

[Alicia S. Moreno]

Yes indeed, my drives are short, less than 5 miles most of the time but idling time is not an issue. The calculations are correct, 285.3 miles driven 16.359 gallons consumed. I don't think my math is wrong.
I live in South Florida, flat as can be.
My daughter has a 2006 Corolla and gets 32-34 in city and she drives as a bat out of hell.
I will schedule an appointment with the dealer.
Thanks for the feed back.\
ASM

 

[Matthew]

Yes indeed, my drives are short, less than 5 miles most of the time but idling time is not an issue. The calculations are correct, 285.3 miles driven 16.359 gallons consumed. I don't think my math is wrong.
I live in South Florida, flat as can be.
My daughter has a 2006 Corolla and gets 32-34 in city and she drives as a bat out of hell.
I will schedule an appointment with the dealer.
Thanks for the feed back.\
ASM

Um, the Corolla only has a 13.2 gallon gas tank. You are way off. Try using an app / website like I use in my signature for tracking your fuel fillups. I have a 2015 Corolla LE Eco and I'm averaging 36 mpg overall, but my first two fillups were pure highway mileage.

 

[jolly]

Um, the Corolla only has a 13.2 gallon gas tank. You are way off.

Well nothing says that it is 16.4 gallons in a single time !
What's of notice is that the 17 mpg does not come from the whole 3000 miles (as I first assumed) but from a 285 miles sampler.
There is no way, with such a small sampler, to conclude that the car always behave like that, that it wasn't some particular conditions, bad gas, etc.
That's why I suggested to look at the computer trip data, as slightly off as they can be, providing that they haven't been reset for a while.
That's probably what the dealer answer will be too at this moment !

 

[rtankersley]

Um, the Corolla only has a 13.2 gallon gas tank. You are way off. Try using an app / website like I use in my signature for tracking your fuel fillups. I have a 2015 Corolla LE Eco and I'm averaging 36 mpg overall, but my first two fillups were pure highway mileage.

For several years I have tracked fuel usage and in my opinion you need to track long term rather than by trip or by tank. I have an Excel spreadsheet that does that by entering in each fill up. The sheet provides MPG for last tank, MPG for last 5 tanks, MPG since beginning. I have also recently found the fuelly web site does a very similar process.

The problems with trying to do one tank MPG has to do with so many variables. 1) temperature of the day 2) the pump cut off mechanism 3) whether the car is sitting level or on an incline 4) several others. Each of these may affect the MPG for that fill-up. Over a long time these variances will tend to level and you can get a better average.

Just my thoughts.

 

[Matthew]

For several years I have tracked fuel usage and in my opinion you need to track long term rather than by trip or by tank. I have an Excel spreadsheet that does that by entering in each fill up. The sheet provides MPG for last tank, MPG for last 5 tanks, MPG since beginning. I have also recently found the fuelly web site does a very similar process.

The problems with trying to do one tank MPG has to do with so many variables. 1) temperature of the day 2) the pump cut off mechanism 3) whether the car is sitting level or on an incline 4) several others. Each of these may affect the MPG for that fill-up. Over a long time these variances will tend to level and you can get a better average.

Just my thoughts.

Very true. It takes quite a few fill ups to get an idea of how your car is doing. So many factors to contribute.

 

[Thomas]

I started a spreadsheet, and the 2015 Corolla tells you average speed, estimate range left, estimated MPG, all of which I've been recording at each fill up. (If you do this as well, be sure to reset the average speed by holding in the display button, similar to resetting the tripometer.)

 

[JayLn]

I purchased a 2015 Corolla LE Eco last December it has 3000 miles on it, I am only getting 17.5 MPG . This is being verified by dividing the number of miles driven by the gallons needed to fill the tank. I have taken one month totals, so that I could be reasonably sure of my calculations.
Just for information as a senior, I don't drive over the speed limit, no fast starts and stops, no driving pattern that can reduce mi MPG. My previous car was a 10 yo Prius and I would get consistently 55-58 mpg

Use "fuel monitor" app this gives you the right mpg compare to the Corolla computer it gives you a little bit over of what you are getting, this app measures your tank capacity and odometer and gas price it will give you the right mpg every fill up, you have to have 2 fill ups to see your your first mpg.

 

[rtankersley]

Very true. It takes quite a few fill ups to get an idea of how your car is doing. So many factors to contribute.

Question. How do you get the Fuelly info into your signature.

 

[rk97]

Very true. It takes quite a few fill ups to get an idea of how your car is doing. So many factors to contribute.

"quite a few" is an understatement. I drive a lot. I fill up at least once a week. My commute to work is currently 39.x miles, and before Thanksgiving, we're moving and it will be 47.x miles. Multiplied by 10 trips to and from work each week ...well, you get the idea.

I've tracked over 12,000 miles since February 27, 2015 and gotten anywhere from 29-38+ mpg. My average is 33.8mpg in mixed driving (I say "mixed" because, although i'm technically on the highway 99% of the time, stop-and-go traffic during the drive home is no different than city driving...) But what I was getting at is that after 12,000 miles, my average is still climbing. In Northeast Ohio, we get a different fuel mixture in the winter months, and we run the AC a lot from June through August when the humidity is 100% (I also wear a suit to work daily, so I'm not going to sit there and sweat...)

Anyway, use fuelly or something similar before freaking out about economy. Fuelly is free. Having the car inspected is expensive. Also check tire pressures. I roll at 35-38. The only 'manual' factor in Fuelly is the percentage of highway versus city driving you do. I also add notes in my fill-ups to remind myself that I had 3 people and 2 coolers full of beer in the car on that 500+ mile trip to Nashville where I "only" got 32 mpg, or that I was driving to Indianapolis and back (no AC on the way there!) for the tank where I netted 38+ mpg.

On my other vehicle, I have separate profiles for everyday driving and towing.

 

[Matthew]

Question. How do you get the Fuelly info into your signature.

on the site in your preferences, there's a badge link that you copy/paste into your forum signature and it will show that. I still need to add a picture of my car to the main profile.

 

[Corolla Cop]

OP that mileage is crazy. I get 45-47 on a regular basis. Sometimes up to 50.

 

[CorollaKid]

I've been getting a little over 42mpg since I brought my 2015 LE Eco home. I have almost 7,000 miles since the end of June - I drive a lot!
So many factors do come into play. I am lucky in that about 80% of my driving is highway and that I live in a very flat area, so I don't have to take a hilly terrain into account (which lowers fuel mileage significantly). I usually run at 65mph on the highway to avoid a speeding ticket and to help sip fuel at a more economical rate....

 

[Matthew]

I drive about 80% highway, 20% city if I use toll roads. 70% highway, 30% city without. It is not completely flat with the driving I do. You can see the MPG fluctuate in my reports. I'm extremely happy getting 36+ MPG. This car is really incredible for the commute.

 

[Floridapizzaman]

Two factors I noticed from the posts......first the lady lives in south Florida. I just did 20k suburban miles of delivery in a 2004 Corolla 1.8L auto that I tracked mileage in for central Florida. My ac is always on which sucks 10 percent fuel mileage right off the top. I kept tight records and got 26.9 mpg in 70-80 degree spring temps and dropped to 23.5 in August sept with Mid 90s and saturation isque humidity levels. Nothing changed except the climate. Secondly, how accurate is fuel consumption being checked? I pupprposely top off the tank right up the filler neck with a flashlight on multiple occasions. I use the same filling station (brand)and pump if available. This is how I am checking my new s. I am just over 25 mpg so far but don't expect to get better until the weather breaks in late October. 17 ish mpg is definitely an eyebrow raiser and needs careful investigation and verification of precise consumption vs distance measurements.

 

[CorollaKid]

Two factors I noticed from the posts......first the lady lives in south Florida. I just did 20k suburban miles of delivery in a 2004 Corolla 1.8L auto that I tracked mileage in for central Florida. My ac is always on which sucks 10 percent fuel mileage right off the top. I kept tight records and got 26.9 mpg in 70-80 degree spring temps and dropped to 23.5 in August sept with Mid 90s and saturation isque humidity levels. Nothing changed except the climate. Secondly, how accurate is fuel consumption being checked? I pupprposely top off the tank right up the filler neck with a flashlight on multiple occasions. I use the same filling station (brand)and pump if available. This is how I am checking my new s. I am just over 25 mpg so far but don't expect to get better until the weather breaks in late October. 17 ish mpg is definitely an eyebrow raiser and needs careful investigation and verification of precise consumption vs distance measurements.

I don't top off the tank... When it clicks and the gas stops flowing, it is done!
I record the gallons to the tenth and the mileage and get on with the day.
Now, I add the info to the Fuelly web site for tracking, too.

 

[rtankersley]

on the site in your preferences, there's a badge link that you copy/paste into your forum signature and it will show that. I still need to add a picture of my car to the main profile.

Thanks Matthew.

 

[CorollaKid]

I have always gotten better than average mpg for any given make & model of car that I have driven over the last 9 years. I think much of it has to do with where I live as it is very flat, not much in the way of city traffic, and I drive mostly highway. I notice a big difference in mpg when I spend more time driving in city/urban settings compared to my typical daily commute. The stop & go is where a hybrid really shines, but on the open highway, the LE Eco is a contender for hybrids and diesels. I once averaged slightly over 46mpg on a long highway trip with the LE Eco.... That's right in hybrid & diesel territory!

 

[CorollaKid]

I love this car! Almost 9,000 miles and averaging OVER the manufacturer's highway rating of 42mpg!

It is comfortable, economical and practical... a great, small family sedan and an awesome commuter vehicle. I drive about 90 mIles a day for work, so the miles really add up quickly.

I am completely satisfied with my Corolla!

 

[darkmatter15]

I have the basic engine L trim with manual and get 40 mpg on the highway

 

[ErickMaga]

I purchased a 2015 Corolla LE Eco last December it has 3000 miles on it, I am only getting 17.5 MPG . This is being verified by dividing the number of miles driven by the gallons needed to fill the tank. I have taken one month totals, so that I could be reasonably sure of my calculations.
Just for information as a senior, I don't drive over the speed limit, no fast starts and stops, no driving pattern that can reduce mi MPG. My previous car was a 10 yo Prius and I would get consistently 55-58 mpg

I drive a Corolla S 2015 ...I have about 10k miles ... I drive pretty fast and I get about 31-33 mph .... Something is wrong or just reset the settings of your mph or update it as it says maybe it'll read differently

 

[ToyBoy]

Erick , driving 31-33 miles per hour (mph) is not fast.

 

[rk97]

So did the OP ever come back and confirm she was calculating her mileage correctly? I don't think I could get my 'rolla below 20 mpg without driving through the parking brake and getting arrested for constantly flooring it from stoplight to stoplight.

 

[ErickMaga]

Erick , driving 31-33 miles per hour (mph) is not fast.

Ment to put MPG * lol mph is what T9 puts it at for me

 

[ToyBoy]

I was just teasing you Erick I`m such a bad ToyBoy