Subaru - Forester :: 2004 - Gas Mileage Sudden Drop
Feb 5, 2013
I have a 2004 Subaru Forrester with a 2.5L engine (non-turbo) and about 137,000 miles. I usually get just a bit more than 300 miles on a tank of gas. About 3 weeks ago, I took the car for a major tune up (and they also replaced a valve cover around the spark plugs area). After the tune up, the car was running great and I was still getting about 300 miles to the tank. Within the last 10 days, I noticed that the gas mileage on the car has decreased - I am now getting closer to 250 miles per tank. The mechanic rechecked the fuel lines and test drove the car two days ago but did not see any signs of leaks. The weather was near freezing for about a week but has warmed up again to the 40's. My driving habits have not changed and I am driving the car the same way as before. I am stumped as to why the gas mileage would drop that much. What might be happening?
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My '05 Prius has been going strong with just passing the 200k mark recently. However about 2-3 weeks ago after I replaced the PCV valve, I started getting really bad gas mileage. I'm talking about getting an average of 45 mpg in city/highway combo down to 30 mpg. Filled up my tank twice from empty so I'm pretty sure it's not just bad gas. Highway driving does slightly better than city.
Today I noticed that my acceleration from stop is just absolutely terrible. The car responds really slow and sluggish and takes a while for it to realize I want to go. Low speed doesn't get good mileage at all. It seems I get normal mileage at almost 65 mph, not sure why.
I don't think the 100 degree weather we are having here in Texas is causing THAT much of an effect because last year and two years ago during 100 degrees, gas mileage was normal. What to check? I searched and most talk about cold weather. I have a relatively new 12V gel battery so I doubt it is that but I can try disconnecting it.
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I have an 08 2.0T and it just suddenly had a huge drop in gas mileage. I recently had new tires put on and an oil change (about 35k miles). getting closer to 40k miles now and wondering what could be causing this. Usually I get about 30-33 mpg easy on the highway. Now I'm getting 24-26 mpg. Already checked the tire pressures. they're to spec. no gas leaks from what i can see.
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I commuted to LA 2-3x a week. The mileage on my car is now at 90k. I have had an average of 40 mpg since new, but suddenly it began to drop. We took it to our local Toyota dealer and was told it was most likely a cable that needed to be cleaned. That was $160. It didn't work.
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I was driving up a hill today at about 30 mph with .9 miles remaining showing on my EV battery meter when all of a sudden it drops to 0 EV miles remaining and shows only 2 of the battery level bars (which is very very low), and the engine of course turns on. What happened?
I promise I did not push the EV power bar over its threshold. I monitor that like a hawk. I also know for a fact that it jumped from .9 to 0, because I watch that part like a hawk. This part of the trip is near the end of my drive home and I've done it about 50 times so far with no issues. With .9 miles left at that point on the hill I have always been able to make it to my driveway with .4 or .5 remaining, so this is very odd.
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My 03 (129k miles, 2.7 AWD) is up to date on all maint (this summer saw new timing belt etc., transmission service) and oil is current. Spark plugs are due at 131k. Air filter is new, tire pressure maintained at 30-32psi.
MPG has consistently been ~20, slightly more on trips. October 27 to November 26 was 19.8 mpg. Putting on brand new snows (General Altimax Arctic) knocked it down to 17.5 mpg for the next ~250 miles. However, since early December it's dropped again to 13 mpg!
Mechanic just checked for brake drag (none - rotating one wheel turns all 3 others easily); no pulling, rolls well in Neutral. No engine symptoms (missing, bucking) or CEL lights. Power seems a little diminished (for instance, it takes longer to shift during acceleration sequence).
I will add my Lucas Oil gas treatment just in case it may be injectors. My mechanic says he has seen MPG suffer from certain gas brands (and I do wonder if the tank fillup after which the MPG dropped had something to do with it).
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I am using a 2012 Prius and I was running around 23KMpL average. For sometime I am seeing my mileage around 17 - 18 KMpL. What could be the reasons for this ?
The only change happened in between is that I had a accident which I had to replace the front buffer.
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Why all of a sudden the mileage indicator on my 2012 suddenly dropped about 5 miles/gallon, both highway and around town? The car has only 9000 miles on it. Has there been a service bulletin regarding the "Eco'" mode? Having the "Eco" mode on or off doesn't seem to make a difference.
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All of a sudden my fuel consumption dropped from 28mpg as read from the computer display in the dash, to 21mpg. This was not a gradual drop, it was at 28mpg one day and 21mpg the next day. There is no service light on, do these cars produce codes that don't trigger the service light?
A few months ago the vehicle was getting stuck in various gears and lunging, this was from battery corrosion dripping down and eating away at the transaxle range sensor. I cleaned up the battery and replaced the range sensor and the vehicle was driveable again. It re-learned the shift timing and seemed to be ok, then about a month ago it seemed to be forgetting the learned shift positions after sitting over night, I replaced the battery, thinking it was in a marginal state where it would forget the program while sitting. The shifting is still hard sometimes but this seems to have worked but, now my mileage is horrible.
I thought I'd just change out the oxygen and air flow sensors but, then looked at how much they cost now, and realized this would be some costly trial and error. Is there a methodical way to troubleshoot this issue, any way to pull the sensors and measure them?
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I just bought this car for my daughter. It's in very good shape; runs like a top. But the gas mileage is a lousy 20 mpg. All of my trips are local (no stop and go stuff as we live in the country). A buddy of mine with the same car and similar driving habits says she gets 25-28 mpg. So far I have changed the oil, oil filter and air filter.This can't be the best I can expect, can it?!
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I've got a 2009 Subaru Impreza Outback Sport. I went in to a Jiffy-Lube type of place for an oil change, they showed me I had a dirty air filter and I had them change it. I went in averaging around 25 mpg (between high 24's and mid 25's), and after I left, I began averaging around 20 mpg, it currently reads 19.5. I went back to see if they had installed it incorrectly or left plastic packaging on it or something, but all seemed okay.
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Our 2007 Prius had previously been averaging high 40s MPG but the past few weeks has dropped to around 38 and won't move much higher... we are using the A/C a little more than the past few months but not on full constantly or anything like that... first time I've seen MPG this low since we've owned the car (20 months).
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I have a 2007 RX350, now at 110K miles, bought at 80K miles. I recently notice a sudden drop in mpg about 5K miles back (it might happen before that but I did not notice). Previously, the car gets around 25MPG on average, now it can only get 21 - 21.5 mpg, my range of a full tank drops around 60 miles. My route of driving everyday is pretty much the same. I have tried to change gas branch, using fuel system cleaner (Chevron Techron), check tire pressure but no luck.
What might be happening with the car that makes this significant drop in mpg?
I changed power steering rack and pinion at a dealer also about 5k miles back and at that point I had a dispute with a service consultant there. He made me drive back and forth a couple times without telling me that the part hadn't arrived yet (the car was on extended warranty). I then emailed directly to his boss. After that he treated me really well: gave me a most recent model loaner car for a week and did not charge for gas, and waived the deductible. Now I notice the MPG drop so I kind of link with this event and put him in doubt . Well, I'm not sure if he could do anything to the car since he's not the technician but still ... Can a guy put something to a car to reduce its fuel efficiency?
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I replaced my 12V battery yesterday with the Optima yellow top. immediately after, my gas mileage dropped to about 16 mpg.
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Drive a 2004 Ford F150 4.6L V8 EXT CAB. It has 71,000 miles on it. Truck runs great, doesn't stall or miss and idles good but my gas mileage lately has been very bad. Oil, air filter and fuel filter have been changed. What could cause this?
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I've had my 2007 Driftwood Pearl Package 2 Touring a little more than a year now. I had been getting 42-46 MPG every tank until I filled up my gas tank today.
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Well I work overnight security and I'm able to watch movies in my car or be on my laptop at work but I ruined my battery( didn't have the car engine on) and now that my battery is dying I noticed huge drop in gas mileage .
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I have a 2004 Subaru Forester xs and the a/c goes out intermittently. I was told I need a new compressor clutch and that the whole compressor assembly will have to be replaced. I contacted another mechanic and he said that he would fix just the clutch but I should replace the whole thing. So, what do I HAVE to do? Are these prices in line? Can I get used parts or discounted parts?
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My 2004 Forester (73000 miles) with 5-speed manual, is sometimes hard shifting into gears. The Subaru agency says that there's 'not much left' on the clutch and I need a new clutch @ $1300. Does hard shifting , no clutch slipping, indicate new clutch is necessary?
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After smelling a bit of a "hot oil smell" on and off for several weeks and culminating in a getting smoke from the engine at the end of a mountain road, we took our 2004 Subaru Forrester (147,500) to the trusted mechanic. We were told that it needs head gaskets in both banks.
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2004 Forester does not always start when gear shift shows it is in park. Happens intermittently. Lights, radio come on (battery is OK), but nothing else happens. Car will start after shifting in and out of park and trying again. Have replaced and tightened bushings. Gear shift now moves easily. Mechanic is suggesting a new starter.
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