[Spade]

I'm abit upset with the MPG we're getting with our AWD. My wife drives the car and she is getting an ave. of 13.8mpg and she does not have a very heavy foot. Her cruising speed may be up there but her acceration is not that bad.

Anyway, what are you AWD guys getting to a gallon? BTW, 85% of her driving is PA highway. Thanks.

 

[Narg]

Spade, about 3 years ago we bought a new HHR when they first hit the market (seems to be a recurring theme with us... ) It's first 1000 miles had rather bad fuel economy, but now it gets at least rated, and sometimes more. GM engines seem to need a "break in" period to perform best. Treat it nice, and by the book (owners manual) for it's break in period and you'll be pleasently surprised very soon.

The awesome 2.4 liter engine in the HHR had another oddity, that around 2000 miles the engine seemed to gain horsepower too. We've got around 40K miles on the HHR so far, and that little engine is simply amazing. We've also noticed that the DIC seems to read about 5% to 10% lower than what I can manually calculate the fuel economy, which was also noticed by other HHR drivers from an HHR owners forum I used to visit a lot.

The 3.6 liter V6 in the Trav has been in GM's cars for a long time now, so it's well weathered and tested. It should be a top performer for the life of a Traverse. I'd ignore the fuel economy for now, and check it again (after clearing the DIC values) in a few months.

My Trav with only 80 miles on it right now is reading 15.8 mpg on the DIC after resetting it at about 25 miles. That's with a lot of idling as I read manuals and adjusted settings or showed off my new ride. (Love showing off the remote start. makes Toyota owners just drool. he he he he)

 

[rbarrios]

I agree... give that engine some time to break in.
Id say that around 10,000 miles-- youll have a nicely broken in engine.

Some people say dont even bother with a break in-- and drive it like youre going to drive it...
I prefer to break in the vehicle with gentle normal driving.
This is how I did it with my 03 Trailblazer. Im now at 134,000 and the engine still idles smooth. It burns NO oil...
I mean burns no oil.... this Inline 6 in the Trailblazer takes 7 quarts of oil with filter change---- and I drive it 10,000-11,000 miles on regular oil... when the Change oil light comes on- I change oil- and measure what comes out--- I usually remove 6.25-6.75 quarts.
Id like to think it was partly due to my gentle break in- but im very pleased with this engine and MPG.
So--- Id say break it in gently. and wait for mileage to mildly improve.
Your computer may also be learning your driving style...... shift points etc...

 

[Spade]

Thanks guys for your replies. Like I said in another thread I was very pleased to get 19.8mpg on our trip home from Dealware (approx 200+/- mile trip), and the engine only had 51 miles on the clock.

As for braek-in, I'm not a big fan of it. I'm not saying I pound every new engine I come across but to baby it for X amount of miles and then have at it does not make much sense to me. I understand the rings have to seat and all the other things, but to go from one extreme to an other can not be good either. I feel todays engines are very strong and will last 150+ thousand miles if well maintained. And that I do. Time will tell. Thanks again guys.

 

[admin]

Whether you change your driving habits or not, the Lambda engines do seem to need around 3-5000 miles before they start reaching their optimum mileage. Make sure you reset your DIC after each tank and if you're really curious do some hand calculations to test against the computer.

I can't give you an accurate comparison because I have an 07 FWD Acadia. But in ours, we got fairly low MPG at first, but since about 5k, we get right at 17MPG all city, 19.1 mixed (~70% city), and 25 highway @ 60mph.

 

[rbarrios]

Ive known people to complain about the mileage in their cars-- going by the DIC...........
But what they didnt do-- was reset the meter....
so they were getting MPG for the overall life of the car...
I told them to reset the meter-- and then the MPG displayes what they got on that trip...

 

[Spade]

The last time I filled the car the DIC read 13.6mpg and I did the math and it was 13.8mpg. We are very on the ball when it comes to figuring our mpg in all of our vehicle and we do check and reset the tripmeter in our other vehicles and in the Traverse the DIC. With the current tank we are getting average of 14.1mpg with a higher MPH average. With the 13.6/8 mpg Alexis, my wife, was averaging 22/23mph and with this tank she is averaging 28mph with a 14.1mpg. So with that being said, I guess the MPG is going up a bit. Time will tell.

 

[guins]

My gas mileage sucks and I'm not real happy about it. I'm getting an average 15 mpg. I've got about 19 when strictly on the highway. I only have 800 miles on it, so I'm hoping you guys are right and it will improve because this sucks!

 

[intotheoh]

MPG will definitely go up over time. My wife just bought a VW Passat and it got 24mpg, but after we got the first oil changed out it jumped up to 31.

 

[cybergray]

First tank of gas was half highway and half city driving plus using remote start to warm up and I got 19.3 mpg one the DIC. The next tank will be mostly city driving. Note this is winter driving in Minnesota.

 

[Boatwrench]

1st tank was 17.4 mpg on 300 miles - combined city/highway

 

[Narg]

After 1800 miles I've been able to come to this conclusion. GM cars have a dual personality.

Bear with me on this explanation...

My Traverse is the 6th GM product I've purchase for myself in personal use. One thing I've always loved about the GMs, compared to the Toyotas, Hondas and a small Mitsubishi truck I've driven in the past is that when you want to move, they respond and respond with a good punch of speed. I'm a little put off by the accelerator lag of the Traverse, but that's another topic. But, after the gas is on the speed can really take you back. Other vehicles have similar 0 to 60 ratings, but their method is to speed up more gradually and power in later. I prefer the speed sooner. GM cars deliver it that way.

Now, the trade off for this as it seems to me is that if you want to be pedal heavy you'll pay the price in gas usage. My wife drives a lot more gentle than I do. She always gets noticably better gass milage than I do. She even pulled 24 MPG in the old V8 Chevy pickup I used to drive on one trip she made a few years back. I've noticed this with my Traverse. I've I drive (ehem...) like I should I get great milage. If I push the pedal to get that burst of speed a little too often, it drinks it in. I do get the return on my investment for the pedal pushing with that nice satisfying burst of speed. It's just a price to pay.

Anyway, that's my take on it. I still get better milage than my old truck in normal, sometimes pedal heavy, driving like I do day to day. So I'm not displeased at all.

As for numbers so far: I drive pure city on a day to day basis. My old truck got around 14 MPG, the Traverse has been getting around 15 MPG in this mode. I usually saw around 20 MPG in the truck on steady smooth highway driving @ 75 MPH, the Traverse I've been able to get just over 22 MPG.

As another example, my wife's HHR has a very nice powerful inline 4 with rated 22 city, 29 highway. She averages 24 MPG on her DIC with mixed driving. When I get behind the wheel of her HHR, I drive it down to 14 MPG quickly > I can't keep my foot out of that little peppy 4 banger! LOL!

 

[Spade]

^^^ Hey there are times when you have to drive it like you stole it.

We are still not getting great gas mileage. I'm sure the idle time in the morning before my wife goes to work is killing it, but still not the greatest. I dont think we cracked 15mpg with it on everyday driving. On our last trip we hit a whopping 19.2mpg cruising at 70mph. That's not wowing me!!!!! We have 25xx mile on the car too. :eyebrow:

 

[mjm]

We have been averaging 19 mpg in rural america, small town driving. We have an AWD.
I have done a long trip highway (800miles each way) and averaged 22 mpg with driver only (DIC and calculating gas milage the old fashioned way) and then ont the return trip w/ 6 passengers, hitch carrier, FULLY LOADED, still averaged 20 in the DIC and in my own calculations

 

[Spade]

I'll see what happens when the weather breaks and idle time in no longer.

 

[cybergray]

2nd tank full was a killer 13.7 mpg on the DIC. Granted it was below zero many of the days and I noticed that the average speed on the DIC was 23 MPH. I got no place to go but up from here! I will have to say that the remote start having the heated seats come on is great. Even if the air temp in the vehicle is low the heated seats makes all the difference.

 

[OneLove19451981]

I pick mine up on Monday and I will post on here my MPGs. The only thing I can tell you now is that on my way hoem Monday night or first thing Tuesday morning, I am getting a K&N air filter for it. I'm not concerned about the added HP, just the added MPG. I put a K&N in my '03 Pontiac Grand Am 4cyl and it was worth every penny. If you plan on keeping a car for more than 3 or 4 years, buy a K&N. You won't be sorry. My buddy talked me into one when he got one and told me he paid $45 and the cheapo ones were around $15. Do the math. Change the cheap one 3 times and you break even. Change the K&N never and you made money. I think they are guaranteed for 100,000 miles and people claim they last forever as long as you clean them.

 

[duayned]

I am getting a K&N air filter for it. I'm not concerned about the added HP, just the added MPG. I put a K&N in my '03 Pontiac Grand Am 4cyl and it was worth every penny. If you plan on keeping a car for more than 3 or 4 years, buy a K&N. You won't be sorry. I think they are guaranteed for 100,000 miles and people claim they last forever as long as you clean them.

OneLove -- first I've heard of this filter. So it's supposed to boost MPG and/or HP? Sounds mutually exclusive, but you seem to have experience it's worked for you.
Lasting forever sounds good, though the remembering to clean it -- not so much. LOL

 

[Tom E Gunn]

Saturday I filled up at a Shell Station and drove down Hwy 39 50 miles and back 50 miles, filled up at the same pump letting it click off as I did when I filled the first time. The Traverse has 912 miles, the outside temp was 45, the cruise was set at 60, the tires were 36 PSI, the MPG on this controlled test was 26.8

Today 08/04/09 I filled up at the same Shell Station and drove the same route, the Traverse now has 8,194 miles, the out side temp was 74 the cruise was set at 60, the tires were 36 PSI, the MPG on this controlled test was 30.6

Tom

 

[mkaresh]

TrueDelta conducts a real-world gas mileage survey that includes questions on driving style and driving conditions, so people can find the responses that fit the driving they do.

Results for the Traverse here:

Real-world Chevrolet Traverse gas mileage

Not too many, yet. Dozens of others for other Lambdas.