Had my 5000kms service today. Made mention that I thought the gas mileage was poor. Service rep said that it would get better after 20,000kms. He said the engine break-in takes that long but he also said the gas mileage will improve incrementally until then.

Two questions:
1) Is that a load of bull?
2) If not a load of bull, would that be because of the lighter weight 5W-20 oil?

 

dealerships do this to get out of servicing your vehicle. My 1997 Dodge Neon ATX had better fuel economy than my 2000 Neon. I'm using the same fuel, same oil, same driving conditions. I don't know what could be doing it.

 

They are 2 different cars. They are tuned different.

 

True. I don't remember the type of mileage my car got when new. I babied it a lot when new so I probably got good mileage. Just track it for awhile. Write down miles or kilometers...whatever you go by and how much fuel you use when you fill up to see where your car stands. If its very bad I would probably talk to the dealer about it. Gas mileage is a affected by lots of things so who knows what it could be.

 

LowSlowNeon,
Unfortunately I'm a bit **** when it comes to gas mileage. [&:] I track it pretty closely. I'm getting about 37mpg(Can) when I'm driving but when my wife is driving she gets around 33-34mpg(Can). The difference being the city driving as she does a more of it. I'm pretty much driving highway. I would think that a car that is rated for 48mpg(Can) should still be in the 40's on the highway. OK, maybe I'm expecting too much but I know people with other car brands that are getting within 10% of their car's gas mileage rating and some have even exceeded their rating. Now that could be subjective "figuring" [:-] Maybe it's time Transport Canada and the USA equivalent should find a better rating system.

The only reason I have a concern is I bought the car to replace my truck and I want it to be at least double what my truck was getting, which was 21-22mpg(Can) and costing me between $350 and $400 per month on gas just to drive to work. With a rating of 48mpg(Can) I expected the SX 2.0 would be around the 42-44mpg(Can). Including the van my wife drives most of the time (we take turns depending on who will be putting on more mileage) we were paying between $650 and $700/month just on gas. I think were ahead now but I want more!!

 

The milage rating that the factory gives is under ideal conditions. Perfect gas, best altitude, not getting into the gas at all. You don't sound like you are too far off.

 

Casper,
Your right I'm not too far off. Any thoughts on the 20,000kms (12,000 miles) break-in distance? Being 44yrs old, I can remember cars needing a lot less break-in mileage...however cars are built a lot better than they used to....thank goodness!!