I have a 2005 Scion tc with an automatic transmission bought used six monthes ago. It barely gets 20mpg which seems low. A trusted mechanic checked it out and can’t find any reason for it to be this low. Does anyone have any experience with this model or any suggestions to improve?
That is a bit low for that car. I would expect maybe 22-25.
What kind of driving conditions (city highway, what speed etc.)? What kind of driver are you? You little old grand mother will likely get much better mileage than you do. try driving like her.
According to http://www.fueleconomy.gov 20 mpg is the corrected EPA rating for city driving. If you’re doing mainly highway driving, that is somewhat low.
Are you in a cold area that gets the winter mix of gasoline? Do you warm your car up before driving? These can both reduce your fuel economy. You should see an improvement in the summer if that’s the case.
That’s too low. Something is definitely wrong, unless it’s all city mileage…is it?.
My tC, an automatic tranny version which I bought new in 2005 and currently has about 78,000 miles on it, gets about 25 to 26 mpg combined…during the winter. And that’s with an occasional romping. Okay, a regular romping. In really cold weather, like zero to 20 degrees spells, it gets about 24 to 25 combined.
Feel your wheels when you stop. Is one hot? It’s possible that you’re dragging a brake. A mechanic could check the heck out of the engine and miss that. Just an idea.
I just had another idea. Scion uses an intelligent variable valve system that I believe alters the timing, duration, and rise of the valves by somehow using the oil pressure as a hydraulic fluid to deactivate the low speed cam and activate a high speed cam with different shaped lobes. I’m not sure exactly how it works, but I’m guessing that there’s some way of testing the system using vacuum readings.
This would take some research, but there it is as an idea for a road to go down.
If your driving city/town mainly and hard on the throttle its about right. My coworker has one who lives in Boston and that is what she gets.