06cobalt8974

okay. i have a cobalt LS 2006... i am having like a gas problem. i fill my tank and then it feels like my car is just sucking gas. a full tank gets me about 200 miles or less. liek i'm goin thru a full tank in liek 2.5 days. and i'm not even beatin on it. idk wtf the problem is. the dealer tells me they cant find the problem. maybe someone might be able to tell me

brickerenator

some suggestions

1. Your gas station is using a winter mix, they add stuff to prevent the gas from gelling when it gets cold, this lowers your mpg

2. How hard are you driving the car? The harder you drive, the less mpg you get

06cobalt8974

i'm drivin it like a normal driver. i dont beat on it cuz if i beat on it a full tank lasts me 2 days. so i been slowin it down and shyt..

afireinside7710

colder weather, more power, lower MPG

krispy

whats the DIC say for mileage and what have you hand calculated out?

06cobalt8974

it says around like 23 24 around. but i feel liek i should be gettin more. i go to school and back home and its onyl 15 or less min drive there and then back. and i work 5 mins from my house and i feel like my car is just suckin all my gas.... idk how i only go about 2 days with a full tank. it should last me abotu 4 days.

afireinside7710

yeah that is bad. In my 07 LS going to and from work (25 miles round trip, 5 days a week) on the freeway and some driving during the weekend, i get about 2 WEEKS out of my tank. Maybe you should take it in.

is your driving alot of city/stop and go?

rnjmur

In my SS/SC I usually get about 280 before the low fuel light comes on (in the winter) which is around 25 - 26 MPG. Your LS should be able to do at least that, and should be better. How many miles do you have on the car? Have you checked for any leaks in the fuel system? Have you changed the fuel filter? Have you noticed any changes in performance?

glen229

iTrader: (4)

i get 27 all the time..

krispy

hmm, 23 would be ~276 w/ a 12 gal tank

in a base model I would think you would get better, have you changed out your ail filter recently?

PhantomSS

lucky u, i get 25-28 mpg hiway.
21ish city

rnjmur

The Cobalt has a 13 gallon tank. If I fill up right when the low fuel light comes on the car takes about 11 gallons.

280 miles / 11 gallons = 25.45 MPG

-NOTE: The Low fuel light comes on once you drop below 50 miles to empty. Depending on the MPG calculation of the computer, this could mean you have anywhere from 1.25 ~ 2.5 gallons of gas remaining in the tank, or higher or lower, depending on what kind of MPG you are getting.

06cobalt8974

i have 36,000 miles on the car. and i have changed the air filter... i think i gotta change the fuel filter. i've taken it to 2 dealers and they freakin tell me everytime that there is nothign wrong and that the car is fine. then how the F is my car fine if a full tank lasts me 2 days... i hate the freakin dealers

HackAbuse

lol.


You can complain when you get 16mpg city/hwy and you have to put 93 octane in your car.

rnjmur

Get a hand calculated MPG and post it up.

Also, do you sit in alot of traffic and/or idle alot? Have you been letting your car warm up for a long time in the mornings? Those things can really kill your gas mileage as well.

Adirondack_Cobalt

What does the car feel like on acceleration? Does it stutter, stumble, cough, wheeze or buck? Do you idle much? Is your trip stop and go? Is it an automatic transmission? Do you smell brakes after you drive it? Do you speak english because the faux ghetto **** gets on my nerves... but that's not what we're here for.

poor mileage could be a millieu of things... it could be the place where you normally got gas got a bad batch (which I have seen happen), it could be a caliper or shoe hanging up, parking brake sticking. It could be the lockup torque converter not engaging properly... I mean, poor economy this time of year is normal for most cars. My SS usually goes from 33 on the highway to a steady 28-29mpg as soon as snow starts to fly.
As a test, try this:
Run the tank as empty as you dare.
Fill it with a good, premium grade gas (93 octane here... others might just has 91 or 92)... I mean a station with shiny new tanks, shiny new pumps... a good reputable gas brand name. Personally, I fill up with Sunoco when I can.
When you fill up, add a can of Techron Fuel system additive. (it seemed to work for my work/snow beater Lumina)
Reset your trip odometer on the DIC
Run the car as you normally drive see what happens.
Now, once you run the car to the same spot where you filled up, refill the car and measure your mileage versus the DIC. See if it was any better. If not, you do not have a fuel issue quality issue.

outtamymind

all those short trips don't help your gas mileage either.

06cobalt8974

alright...thanks guys... i really appreciate it...

aterminatorz

You may have answered your own question. Short trips=worse mpg because the car is starting(uses lot of gas), idles shortly when starting and parking/stopping (0 mpg). Likely stop at several stop signs and traffic lights (again 0 mpg). You can't expect to get very good mpg with very short trips. Also, when your car first starts up your mpg will be bad because the engine, oil, etc is cold and does not operate efficiently.

You said you get 23 or 24 mpg? That's good what's the problem?

Start paying with a charge card at the pump and write your car's mileage on the receipt that prints out and start calculating your mpg by hand. If you get a single digit answer definitely take your car in something is likely wrong.

Oh by the way, running your fog lights, turning the heat up with full speed fan, rear defroster on, and blaring your stereo all at the same time will hurt your gas mileage too.

jschatte

are you warming your car up before you drive it? cause idling = 0MPG so that sucks up alot of gas.

outtamymind

umm how does your stereo and fog lights hurt your gas mileage?

HackAbuse

Load on the alternator and extra weight...

outtamymind

i still don't see how that would affect your gas mileage significantly though. key word significantly

HackAbuse

Trust me, they cause quite a bit more drag than you'd imagine.

with 2000w RMS on my old cobalt, when bass notes hit, the sudden drag would decrease the RPMs at idle significantly, almost causing the car to stall.

and weight DEFINITELY effects mileage.

outtamymind

i understand the weight part but a factory system shouldn't affect your gas mileage that much. now i agree that if you go and put an aftermarket sound system in thats hitting those notes then yes it would affect it but not a stock system i wouldn't think