Poor Gas Mileage

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toytundra

New Member
#1
#1
I recently bought 2001 corolla S for my daughter. It has 137000 miles on it and a 4 speed automatic. We have only put gas in it twice but its getting about 20 mpg. It has a clean air filter. I put new Iridium plugs in soon after purchase. It seems to run really well, smooth and powerful. Any ideas why the mileage is terrible.
 
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Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#2
#2
Many people let their vehicles warm up in the winter before driving them. If you are doing this, as the vehicle sits with its engine running, it is getting exactly zero miles to the gallon, which will drastically reduce the average miles per gallon.
 
C

Corolla Boy

New Member
#3
#3
It will help if you clean your intake sensors, throttles,make sure your tire pressure are not too low, and also stuff you leave in the car will kill some gas too. 03 corolla getting about 39-45 avg mpg from west la 90034/ culver city90230 to Gardena CA with/without traffic.
 
T

toytundra

New Member
#4
#4
The car has only been left running to warm it up a couple of times, not long enough to make a huge difference. The car has nothing in it, no extra weight at all and is usually driven with one occupant. I put fuel injector cleaner in it with the first fill up as a preventive measure. The tires are brand new, installed right before I bought the car but I have not checked the pressure. I filled up today for the 3rd time. 22 mpg. I suppose i should use my GPS and check the odometer as well.
 
T

toytundra

New Member
#5
#5
New user, terrible gas mileage with 2001

Hi I am new to this forum and I recently bought 2001 corolla S for my daughter. She is 16 and I was looking for a good, reliable and economical first car. This car actually cost a lot more than some other cars (non toyotas) that I looked at but I thought its a corolla it will get 35 mpg and run forever so I bought it. Now I am regretting the purchase. It has 137000 miles on it and a 4 speed automatic. We have only put gas in it twice but its getting about 20 mpg. It has a clean air filter. I put new Iridium plugs in soon after purchase. It seems to run really well, smooth and powerful. Any ideas why the mileage is terrible?

The car has only been left running to warm it up a couple of times, not long enough to make a huge difference. The car has nothing in it, no extra weight at all and is usually driven with one occupant. I put fuel injector cleaner in it with the first fill up as a preventive measure. The tires are brand new, installed right before I bought the car but I have not checked the pressure. I filled up today for the 3rd time. 22 mpg. I suppose i should use my GPS and check the odometer as well.

The one known problem with the car is that Jiffy Lube told my wife the oil pan drain bolt is stripped. It leaks. I have priced a new oil pan and they are not too expensive. I just need to check into labor prices because it needs to be done on a lift and I dont have one.

I did post this in the year specific part of the forum as well. I just thought it might get more attention here.
 
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Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#6
#6
New tires reduce fuel economy. Having the correct air pressure in the tires is important and can affect fuel economy +/- 10%. Is there any black smoke coming out of the exhaust tailpipe? This would indicate an overly rich condition and this would consume more fuel than needed. Another issue can be a fuel leak.
 
Scott O'Kashan

Scott O'Kashan

Super Moderator
#9
#9
Ethanol in our fuel reduces fuel economy about 10%. The liberal/socialists actually expect us to believe that burning 10% more fuel is, "good for the environment". When 10% more fuel is being purchased for every vehicle in the U.S., this also means of course that the government is collecting 10% more in fuel taxes! This costs the average consumer about $300-$350 more in fuel expenditures per vehicle, per year. That's a serious chunk of change!

When you want to know the truth, follow the money.
 
T

toytundra

New Member
#11
#11
Sorry, I meant to tell you there is no smoke and yes I use ethenol. I live in Indiana where all gas stations have 10% ethenol mixed in with the gas. You cant get it any other way.
 
H

hessmessinc

New Member
#12
#12
Did you figure it out?

I was just curious if you ever figured out what the problem was? I am experiencing the same issue and have changed many of the suggested items.

Thanks
 
keepmoving

keepmoving

New Member
#13
#13
Try doing a compression test to see that the internals are ok. Your MPG issue could be something as simple as an O2 sensor or it could be that the previous owner over-heated the engine and caused internal engine damage.

I had a similar issue with a 22RE and found after spending lots of cash and time on guessing what the problem could be, that the head was bad.

Chances are good that someone else has experienced the same problem and found the solution you are looking for.
 
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