# MPG loss



## Luigi (Jun 16, 2013)

I think there was a thread about this a while ago but I couldn't find it so I'm starting this one. What kind of MPG loss has everyone been seeing now that winter is here? 
For me my commute drive went from 36 to 30. Not too bad really since I only drive 8 miles each way. I just made a 580 mile trip though, which last time I got 51,and this time driving the same route, I got 41. That's a 20% MPG drop. I am using fuel additives and a k&n drop in, both new since last trip, kinda surprising to see such a drastic change. I was expecting more like 10-15%

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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

~5% loss

-22f temps

no additives

studded tires

snow covered roads


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## Jorday (Jul 30, 2013)

Mine is definitely down now that it's winter. maybe 10% or so. I can tell that on the same trips it isn't as good compared to summer. When it was warm out I could pretty easily get into the low 60s mpg on one of my routine trips, and it gets more like mid 50s on that same trip now that it's winter. That said, I've adjusted my driving habits and routes a little bit, aired up my tires a little more, changed to full synthetic oil, and I'm actually getting better mileage than I was in the summer. My driving is almost all highway. During the summer I usually averaged 47-48 when I filled up and only hit 50 mpg once for a tank. With the changes I've made I've averaged 52 on back to back tanks of fuel despite it being winter now. Adjusting my routes and slowing down some have probably helped the most. If the tires are not at least close to the max inflation of 51 psi it makes a big enough difference that I can notice it. The colder weather lowers tire pressure some, and most people probably don't add any air. If you're running 35-38 like most people probably are, you will probably gain several mpg by increasing to 51 psi. I couldn't average 50 on my work commute running 38 psi, but as soon as I aired it was no problem. I recently changed to mobil 1 ESP 5W-30 oil. I don't know that the oil really makes a difference while cruising, but I definitely think it helps the cars mileage during warm up from a cold start. I pay very close attention to my fuel economy during all conditions, and the driving time from a cold startup to when the engine is fully warmed up really hurts you. The difference I notice from the oil is that it doesn't seem to do quite as poorly while it's warming up now. To minimize warm up time, either keep the heater off until the engine is warmed up, or run the heater fan speed on low. If you turn the fan on high right away it will pull all the heat out of the engine causing longer warm up time. If you turn the heater on high right out of the gate, it can easily take the engine two or three times as long to warm up, or more in certain conditions.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

Jorday said:


> To minimize warm up time, either keep the heater off until the engine is warmed up, or run the heater fan speed on low. If you turn the fan on high right away it will pull all the heat out of the engine causing longer warm up time. If you turn the heater on high right out of the gate, it can easily take the engine two or three times as long to warm up, or more in certain conditions.


the electric heater is there for a reason


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## Jorday (Jul 30, 2013)

The electric heater definitely helps get some heat into the car, but if you don't keep the fan speed down it still pulls all the heat out of the engine via the heater core.


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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

I would say its the short trips and longer warm up times that really hurt MPG in the winter, diesel or gas. 

When its below 15F outside it seems to take my 1.4T 10-15minutes to fully warm up, in the summer its like 5 minutes tops. Learned last winter to leave fan speed low(1 or 2) for the first 6-8minutes of driving to let the engine build enough heat, otherwise seems to extend warm up times. 

In the summer with my 1LT automatic I average 37MPG, winter 30MPG. I also use remote start every day in the winter, at least long enough to kick the car off high idle.


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## vwgtiglx (Jun 13, 2013)

Jorday said:


> The electric heater definitely helps get some heat into the car, but if you don't keep the fan speed down it still pulls all the heat out of the engine via the heater core.


The electric heater comes on if you turn the heat all the way to MAX. You can put the FAN on any setting you want to affect the warm-up time.


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## Vetterin (Mar 27, 2011)

-2 mpg due to gas, -4 to -5 mpg due to gas and snow tires.


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## titanman2789 (Oct 27, 2013)

Talk about mpg loss... I'm taking a little rest from my road trip at the moment. My avg mpg for the trip it 36 mpg. This is all highway at 78-80 except for slower road work and thru town speed limits. I usually average 38-40 on a normal tank that includes highway and city driving. 

It's been incredibly windy on this trip though. Wind chill advisory everywhere. Currently in grand forks, weather.com says 14 mph winds. This is in town though. On the open road the winds are gusting at least 30 mph and driving straight into it. My last 20 minutes of highway driving I was getting an abysmal 25-27 mpg at 78 mph. 

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## Jorday (Jul 30, 2013)

vwgtiglx said:


> The electric heater comes on if you turn the heat all the way to MAX. You can put the FAN on any setting you want to affect the warm-up time.


Yes, I understand that turning the temperature setting to max is what turns it on, but I'm just saying if you don't keep the fan speed low it will increase engine warmup time. 



titanman2789 said:


> Talk about mpg loss... I'm taking a little rest from my road trip at the moment. My avg mpg for the trip it 36 mpg. This is all highway at 78-80 except for slower road work and thru town speed limits. I usually average 38-40 on a normal tank that includes highway and city driving.
> 
> It's been incredibly windy on this trip though. Wind chill advisory everywhere. Currently in grand forks, weather.com says 14 mph winds. This is in town though. On the open road the winds are gusting at least 30 mph and driving straight into it. My last 20 minutes of highway driving I was getting an abysmal 25-27 mpg at 78 mph.
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


Yeah, I've noticed in my car that a strong headwind right in the teeth easily hurts the mileage by 10 mpg or more.


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## Mohawkbear (Dec 9, 2013)

I have the 2LT turbo, and I have to say I don't get as good of gas mileage as what is being recorded here. Is there a safe way to boost what I'm getting? I'm routinely only getting 31-32 highway, with my cruise control set at 70. By the way, I'm new here, how do I post a new thread or topic?

Thanks all!


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## trevor_geiger (Nov 29, 2012)

I was getting 33-36mpgs in the summer and now since winter started I'm getting 26-30mpgs lol.


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## revjpeterson (Oct 2, 2013)

The first two tanks on my Diesel were approaching 50mpg. On the third tank, when the winter fuel came in, I dropped to 41, and as the weather gets colder, I see it drop even more. Most tanks are around 38, but I made a 350 mile (95% or more highway) round trip today in sub-zero weather, and only averaged 36mpg. The car took nearly 40 miles to reach operating temperature, and it would lose up to a quarter of the gauge in temp just coasting to and waiting for a stop light. That might have had something to do with it.


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## tmath11 (Feb 18, 2013)

I haven't read through everyone's posts so sorry if this has been said already or is a little too obvious, but make sure your tire pressure is still up where you want it. Mine dropped from 37 to 30psi from summer to winter. I get at least 3mpg better on my average at 37psi.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Mohawkbear said:


> I have the 2LT turbo, and I have to say I don't get as good of gas mileage as what is being recorded here. Is there a safe way to boost what I'm getting? I'm routinely only getting 31-32 highway, with my cruise control set at 70. By the way, I'm new here, how do I post a new thread or topic?
> 
> Thanks all!


Fuel Economy


Black button that says + Post New Thread


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

tmath11 said:


> I haven't read through everyone's posts so sorry if this has been said already or is a little too obvious, but make sure your tire pressure is still up where you want it. Mine dropped from 37 to 30psi from summer to winter. I get at least 3mpg better on my average at 37psi.


You need to check your cold tire pressures at least once a month (don't depend on the TPMS) and every time there is a major temperature change. 30 PSI cold is well below the door placard for the Cruze CDT.


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## Jorday (Jul 30, 2013)

Yep, 30 psi would reduce your mileage significantly. The door says 38 psi, and even running 38 will hurt you several mpg compared to running the max pressure.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

Here's a nice 100% highway run this morning. 25F avg temp. Highway with some snow on it 50% of the way. No additives, giant eagle get go diesel. Tires at 45psi all around. This is from Erie to Greensburg PA. Up one hill down the other, repeat.










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## Boog8302 (Sep 6, 2013)

When I bought my car in Sept I was seeing 40-42 mpg. Now that winter has hit I am seeing between 32-36. Depends on how heavy my steel toe decides to be.


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

revjpeterson said:


> The first two tanks on my Diesel were approaching 50mpg. On the third tank, when the winter fuel came in, I dropped to 41, and as the weather gets colder, I see it drop even more. Most tanks are around 38, but I made a 350 mile (95% or more highway) round trip today in sub-zero weather, and only averaged 36mpg. The car took nearly 40 miles to reach operating temperature, and it would lose up to a quarter of the gauge in temp just coasting to and waiting for a stop light. That might have had something to do with it.



Sounds like blocking off the radiator would be in my future with those kinds of temps. Thats the only negative with the honey comb grill, the VW is easy to block off with pipe insulation....2 seconds to install and remove...


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

The CDT has the active lower shutter just like the ECOs. Frequently in the winter my ECO MT will leave the lower shutters closed even when I come to a stop.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

obermd said:


> The CDT has the active lower shutter just like the ECOs. Frequently in the winter my ECO MT will leave the lower shutters closed even when I come to a stop.


Yes on top of the small grille opening. This is how much air the radiator gets when I see 30 and below temps. That bottom is closed and full of snow. 

View attachment 46497


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## Luigi (Jun 16, 2013)

My tire pressure is at 46. On my return trip I am going to try without fuel additives and see if it makes a difference. Will post the results Friday. 

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## VtTD (Nov 5, 2013)

Anybody use the "manual" mode to warm the engine quicker? I tried it yesterday to keep the RPMs around or a little above 2000 until I got to the interstate (about 5 miles or so). I'm not sure if the extra diesel it uses negates the quicker warm up time, or if it's all that safe to keep the engine up at those RPMs consistently before it warms up.


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## Jorday (Jul 30, 2013)

obermd said:


> The CDT has the active lower shutter just like the ECOs. Frequently in the winter my ECO MT will leave the lower shutters closed even when I come to a stop.


Mine have been closed every time I have looked at them for weeks now.


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## Luigi (Jun 16, 2013)

Luigi said:


> My tire pressure is at 46. On my return trip I am going to try without fuel additives and see if it makes a difference. Will post the results Friday.
> 
> Sent from AutoGuide.com Free App


On the return trip, I did take a different route, but my average speed was higher and I used no additives. Average was 45mpg. Strangely though, the first 100 miles was about 48 MPG. 

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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

Jorday said:


> Mine have been closed every time I have looked at them for weeks now.


Yeah that's normal. I park in a 68*F heated garage at times and they stay closed when I start up and drive to the exit. Stop and go city in 14*F weather they still stay closed for me when I reach the store. If the car doesn't need cooling then they never open again. 


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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

It would be nice for the diesel if the whole grill were to function in this manner. I'm sure the only reason they don't is because of fear of malfunction (especially in the summer). If the whole grill would stay close the car would reach operating temp in half the time and economy would improve across the board as well...

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## DieselMan33 (Oct 13, 2013)

Filled up 3 weeks ago and that tank was 40mpg. Just filled up today and it is down to 32mpg. It has been pretty cold here and I have been letting her warm up with the remote start.


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## boraz (Aug 29, 2013)

my mpg is goin up cuz of the slower speeds on the icy roads


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

DieselMan33 said:


> Filled up 3 weeks ago and that tank was 40mpg. Just filled up today and it is down to 32mpg. It has been pretty cold here and I have been letting her warm up with the remote start.


This shouldn't surprise you. When the car is sitting and idling it gets 0 MPG.


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## Merc6 (Jun 8, 2013)

obermd said:


> This shouldn't surprise you. When the car is sitting and idling it gets 0 MPG.


Yep, switch to mpg game and watch the left number fall just sitting at a traffic light for a few minutes. 










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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

So, I took the advice on this forum to add air to my tires. I now run at 41PSI (vs. the 35 that the tire shop had put in my snows) and now I have improved to less than a 5% loss, compared to 10-12% loss. I am running Michelin X-Ice tires which are LRR and as quiet as the factory tires, but amazing in the snow.


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## 14cruze1.4 (Oct 7, 2013)

my car is still being broken in but im averaging 28 consistantly on all my fill ups since new. I havent tried for extreme fuel mileage or anything. just kinda drive it like i always drive any vehicle im in.


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## 14cruze1.4 (Oct 7, 2013)

Merc6 said:


> Yep, switch to mpg game and watch the left number fall just sitting at a traffic light for a few minutes.
> 
> View attachment 52289
> 
> ...



Is the MPG game only an eco thing? Im pretty sure but figured id ask.


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## diesel (Jun 8, 2013)

14cruze1.4 said:


> Is the MPG game only an eco thing? Im pretty sure but figured id ask.


It's on the diesels. Welcome to the diesel forum


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## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

It's on all the ECO trims. I'm thinking this thread needs to be moved to the Fuel Economy forum as the seasonal (Winter) loss of fuel economy is endemic to all Cruzen.


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## Luigi (Jun 16, 2013)

obermd said:


> It's on all the ECO trims. I'm thinking this thread needs to be moved to the Fuel Economy forum as the seasonal (Winter) loss of fuel economy is endemic to all Cruzen.


But my question was diesel specific. I have a diesel, I want to know how other diesels are losing MPG. Don't care about gas. 

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## 14cruze1.4 (Oct 7, 2013)

Luigi said:


> But my question was diesel specific. I have a diesel, I want to know how other diesels are losing MPG. Don't care about gas.
> 
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I apologize for that, I was looking in the active topics listings and didnt even notice this was under the "diesel" cruzes. But just like gasoline they put additives in the diesel to keep it from geling and solidifying so it hurts the fuel economy and becasue of the warm up period the engines dont run as efficiently untill completely warmed up.


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## VtTD (Nov 5, 2013)

14cruze1.4 said:


> I apologize for that, I was looking in the active topics listings and didnt even notice this was under the "diesel" cruzes. But just like gasoline they put additives in the diesel to keep it from geling and solidifying so it hurts the fuel economy and becasue of the warm up period the engines dont run as efficiently untill completely warmed up.


Yeah, gasoline or diesel you get hit with the increased warm up period for sure. Diesel takes longer to warm, so it would be a bigger hit there I would assume. 

FYI, I drive 30-35 miles each way to work. All but 5 or 6 of that or so is interstate. I averaged 34 MPG to work today temps around -10F to -20F along the drive. To put the warm up time MPG hit into perspective, I did 480 miles the other day, 99% interstate. Averaged 42-46 depending on if you believe the computer or the pump. Going by the computer, 42. Temps 0F to 15F above for most of the driving so it was a little warmer, but the car was already warmed up for most of that 480 miles. 41 MPG (according to the computer) for the same 25 or so mile stretch that is in my commute normally except this time the car was fully warmed up driving it. Temp during that 25 mile stretch was +0 to +2F


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## Luigi (Jun 16, 2013)

I understand the hit from warmup and stuff, but why am I seeing 15-20% drop even on a 580 mile trip. The highest gad mileage was achieved during the first 50 miles both ways. 

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## titanman2789 (Oct 27, 2013)

Took my Cruze on a 2500 mile round trip to Canada. I averaged 35.8 mpg on the computer. It was a little disappointing. As I turned north on I-29 in -10f temps and a strong north wind I saw my mpg drop to 25-30 mpg after filling with 50/50 blended #1/#2 diesel. Returning I started out in -30f temps that warmed up while driving. It started at ~30 mpg but as temperatures warmed up to 20f the mileage increased up to 40. 

I've found that in temperatures below 0 Fahrenheit the Cruze diesel will not maintain operating temperature unless driving. Parked or idle I've watched the temp gauge drop in really low temps. Perhaps the Cruze diesel is constantly using more fuel at these types of temps. 

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## spacedout (Dec 7, 2010)

titanman2789 said:


> I've found that in temperatures below 0 Fahrenheit the Cruze diesel will not maintain operating temperature unless driving. Parked or idle I've watched the temp gauge drop in really low temps. Perhaps the Cruze diesel is constantly using more fuel at these types of temps.


The 1.4T will also not warm up further or start cooling off when idling when really cold, even at 20F. I also notice a drastic increase in fuel used below this temperature. If I leave my fan speed low on my heater it seems to hold its heat better when idling, I usually just kick up the fan speed once I hit 180-230F engine temp.


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## titanman2789 (Oct 27, 2013)

The highest I like to put my fan speed is 4/6. Sure the engine might hold heat better at lower fan speed but it's difficult to do that when it's 10f or colder outside. Not that it's a bad thing, obviously our engines are more than adequately cooled. 

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## KpaxFAQ (Sep 1, 2013)

I'm going to work on something to cover the remaining opening for the radiator and see if it helps.


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