Ouch. Car Is Getting About 13 Mpg. What To Replace First?

[ED.]

Gas was put in on Sunday May 17th and I drove it the 19th and 20th on that same tank. On the 21st we loaded the car onto a carrier and now it's down in Aiken, SC with my dad. When I was down in Aiken I was driving it and filled it up and saw the average to be about 13. I figured with driving around the cty and this and that it would be kind of low.

Talked to my dad last night and he said it was at half a tank on 100 miles :o I said to go by Advance Auto and have them code it to see what codes it is throwing.

What to replace first? Plugs, O2's? I will have him check the air filter but that low seems like something bigger. I know it was making an exhaust rattle about a year ago and I was thinking it may need cats. Should that be something to look into as well once it is coded?

Anyone know of a good Toyota/Lexus repairer in SC or Augusta, GA?

Thanks. Ed.

[Bali26]

thermostat stuck open

[jainla]

It could be the O2 sensors. I saw an improvement of 15-20% FE when I replaced the one bad one I had.

[Brett in AK]

Gas was put in on Sunday May 17th and I drove it the 19th and 20th on that same tank. On the 21st we loaded the car onto a carrier and now it's down in Aiken, SC with my dad. When I was down in Aiken I was driving it and filled it up and saw the average to be about 13. I figured with driving around the cty and this and that it would be kind of low.

Talked to my dad last night and he said it was at half a tank on 100 miles :o I said to go by Advance Auto and have them code it to see what codes it is throwing.

What to replace first? Plugs, O2's? I will have him check the air filter but that low seems like something bigger. I know it was making an exhaust rattle about a year ago and I was thinking it may need cats. Should that be something to look into as well once it is coded?

Anyone know of a good Toyota/Lexus repairer in SC or Augusta, GA?

Thanks. Ed.

Ed,

You mentioned having the codes checked, was the service engine light on? Would there be any codes if the light was not on? My guess is the air filter. You also mentioned the rattle in the exhaust, so something must be amiss there as well possibly to the point where it might be restricting exhaust flow which would have a major impact on your mileage.

[jcrome04]

COOLANT TEMP SENSOR!

OEM, parts.com $49.91

[eatingupblacktop]

Talked to my dad last night and he said it was at half a tank on 100 miles :o

Thanks. Ed.

You can't get an accurate picture of your fuel economy by reading the fuel gauge and checking your trip indicator. Do it properly and it may surprise you.

[stroker]

Talked to my dad last night and he said it was at half a tank on 100 miles :o

Thanks. Ed.

You can't get an accurate picture of your fuel economy by reading the fuel gauge and checking your trip indicator. Do it properly and it may surprise you.

What do you consider doing it properly??

[stroker]

Talked to my dad last night and he said it was at half a tank on 100 miles :o

Thanks. Ed.

You can't get an accurate picture of your fuel economy by reading the fuel gauge and checking your trip indicator. Do it properly and it may surprise you.

What do you consider doing it properly??

Ive done it both ways- top off, drive 200 or so miles and refill and using the gauge and trip meter and the difference was between 1 and 2 (maybe 2) MPG!

[Lucky13]

You can't have Advanced Auto (as much as I like them) pull codes on a car that old, sorry.

[eatingupblacktop]

Talked to my dad last night and he said it was at half a tank on 100 miles :o

Thanks. Ed.

You can't get an accurate picture of your fuel economy by reading the fuel gauge and checking your trip indicator. Do it properly and it may surprise you.

What do you consider doing it properly??

Plain & simple or as some like to say, easy peasy ...

1 - fill the tank - do not continue after auto shutoff

2 - zero the trip meter

3 - put on enough miles to get the tank to less than half

4 - go back to the same station - same pump

5 - fill exactly as before

6 - read the trip meter - read the receipt for amount of fuel to fill up

7 - do the math (miles driven/fuel used)

If your numbers still suck ... you've got some work to do.

[jcrome04]

Yes the proper way is as simple as MILES DRIVEN / GALLONS FILLED

( "/" = divide )