Mazda5 real-world Mileage numbers

[flcruising]

Just to clarify -

The UTQG treadwear numbers are not life expectancy of the tire. They only correspond to tires from the same company.

I guess you missed my complete sentence.

...they have a horrible UTQG rating compared the manufacturer's other tires.

Treadwear Grade = Life Expectancy Comparison

I still suspect the very soft rubber with your 100% city driving. Hopefully the dealer will help.

 

[twintrbo]

Nope I read what you wrote, I was informing 5for3 about tire grading.

 

[5for3]

Just finished with the dealer and they couldn't find anything wrong with my 5. The service adviser says the decreased mpg's are because of the cold weather and winter blend of fuel. Ooook, what about previous years of getting 21 mpg during same weather conditions, driving conditions and assuming same winter blend of gas? Service advisor couldn't think of any other possisbilities and neither could I, so maybe the tires are to soft and grippy and possibly heavy too....? But 4 mpg difference

 

[twintrbo]

Not sure who said it, but to paraphrase: "When you eliminate all other possibilities, whatever is left must be the truth no matter how strange." You just proved its the tires.........

 

[Sounbwoy]

Gas is not always the same even if you get it from the same place all the time. The only way tires would have that kind of effect is if they were underinflated. Keep your tires inflated and try a different gas station to really see what the difference could be..
I would not recommend inflating to 38PSi as suggested.

 

[flcruising]

I've been running 38psi front + 36psi rear in both of my vehicles for years with no problems. My DD even sees 40 + 38 respectively. Just don't exceed the max cold inflation pressure. BTW, I'd rather damage a tire by hitting a pothole by having my tires overinflated slightly than the wheel by not. There's nothing else to help your rolling resistance than increasing the tire pressure by a few psi.

 

[markuszoom5]

Regarding warmup.

Very short, I only go 4-5 miles round trip sometimes, longer trips are about 20. I know my driving habits kill the mileage but this is how my life is arranged right now. I walk whenever I can but I cant go grocery shopping for the week on foot I did notice the 5 takes an unusually long amount of time to warm up though.

Don't bother waiting too long for warmup. I have 10-15 F temps in Upstate NY in the AM and just turn on the car wait about 60 sec. and start driving my 2010 Mazda 5 AUTO/MAN while keeping RPMs under 2500. I had a 2006 Jetta 5-speed before and that car would not warm up for nothing even while revving it up to 3000 rpm to shift (otherwise it would put strain on engine) during cold driving. Don't know how bad that was for the car but it lasted 5 years. And then I traded it in because I needed something bigger (hence my M5). So, don't wait too long. I am sure cars are made for that these days.

 

[5for3]

Thanks for all the good ideas everyone. I am going on a rare 250 mile round trip to the L.A. area over the weekend and it should be like 80% + freeway. I will inflate tires to 38 psi from the current 34 psi and this should easily yield 25 mpg or better even with suspect poor rolling resistance tires and winter blend gasoline. If not, I will just have to take corners and onramps at higher speeds to burn up these tires quicker and get some LRR tires. Silly idea actually, but just frustrated.

 

[5for3]

I got 29.7 mpg on a round trip to L.A.X. I am happy with that and it's real close to my all time best of 31.1 mpg on a similiar trip a couple years ago.

 

[hurschel]

Here's my Mazda5 real world milage.

 

[flcruising]

I suspect your relatively large mpg fluctuations are either because you aren't topping off, or you aren't draining the fuel tank enough. The further you drain the tank between measurements, the greater accuracy. You are averaging 8.14 gallons each fill-up - which is barely half a tank. Try running your fuel level at least to when the low fuel light comes on because there's still 3 or more gallons left at that point.

 

[Robotazky]

I just took my 5 to Florida on a round trip of about 2,200 miles. Under identical conditions my average ranged from 25 MPG to 34 MPG. It is impossible to use experimental data to conclude fuel economy on these cars. I would only trust a Scangauge.

 

[flcruising]

We have been logging our fill-ups for 6 months now with the iPhone app - GasCubby, and have been consistently 25-28 mpg. We live in a rural area where we travel an interstate to get to anywhere, so we're about 70% highway. I don't understand the fluctuations you received on the road trip. We went to TX last October with an roof mounted cargo carrier and our fuel use fluctuation was never more than 2 mpg.

I don't agree that a Scangauge is more accurate than actual data logging as it's only calculating based on OBD information and not physical measurements.

 

[Robotazky]

We have been logging our fill-ups for 6 months now with the iPhone app - GasCubby, and have been consistently 25-28 mpg. We live in a rural area where we travel an interstate to get to anywhere, so we're about 70% highway. I don't understand the fluctuations you received on the road trip. We went to TX last October with an roof mounted cargo carrier and our fuel use fluctuation was never more than 2 mpg.

I don't agree that a Scangauge is more accurate than actual data logging as it's only calculating based on OBD information and not physical measurements.

Well a Scangauge is consistent. Experimental data on this car is all over the place and not even remotely consistent. As an engineer, I consider the data useless and fraudulent to claim mileage based on results that I observe. Physical measurements are not accurate. The car has had mileage results all over the map since we bought it two years ago. I stand by my assertion that a Scangauge will deliver better results, for me. I am going to buy one soon so I guess I'll find out.

 

[markuszoom5]

Sucky mileage.

I have had my brand-new-purchased 2010 Mazda 5 since october and I am only getting about 20 mpg mostly city. Is that normal. I don't drive like a maniac. Maybe, it's the 10% Ethanol mixture I fill up with.

 

[twintrbo]

Yep, thats normal, and expect to lose about 3 MPG when A/C weather comes around. This vehicle is not very efficient in stop and go driving, I guess the engine is taxed pretty hard moving it from a standstill. Then again, its only rated slightly better by the EPA.

I have had my brand-new-purchased 2010 Mazda 5 since october and I am only getting about 20 mpg mostly city. Is that normal. I don't drive like a maniac. Maybe, it's the 10% Ethanol mixture I fill up with.

 

[flcruising]

Well a Scangauge is consistent. Experimental data on this car is all over the place and not even remotely consistent. As an engineer, I consider the data useless and fraudulent to claim mileage based on results that I observe. Physical measurements are not accurate. The car has had mileage results all over the map since we bought it two years ago. I stand by my assertion that a Scangauge will deliver better results, for me. I am going to buy one soon so I guess I'll find out.

Well, from what I read about the ScanGauge, you enter the fill-up information into it just like I do with the GasCubby, only difference is real-time display to help you adjust you're driving habit. It still calculates (or calibrates) based on physical data, and only as accurate as the data you input. Hope it works out well for you.

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthread.php/scangauge-accuracy-3714.html

 

[twintrbo]

My last tank got 21.25, thats a high for me on a mixed driving tank! I had a few highway trips included so that probably accounts for it but I'm still happy. I had the return trip of a ski trip to Mtn. Creek, NJ, a round trip to Port Washington and a round trip to Tenafly, NJ.

 

[Robotazky]

Our low end on the MPG scale is pretty predictable. Our lowest is 22 MPG, with an average of 22-24 MPG. Our highway APPEARS to be about 27.5-29 MPG, but it's impossible to know with the ridiculous fluctuations that we see in gallons-to-fill.

 

[mpvue]

I have had my brand-new-purchased 2010 Mazda 5 since october and I am only getting about 20 mpg mostly city. Is that normal. I don't drive like a maniac. Maybe, it's the 10% Ethanol mixture I fill up with.

it's very hard to judge your own driving style. you may have some bad habits you aren't aware of.
regardless, local stop and go driving plays havoc w/ mpgs. for us, it's our only car. when I drive to work, it's all hwy, and when my wife has it it's all local all over the place. we get around 21-23 mixed.
I don't calculate it anymore. if I can get more than 300 on a tank, I'm happy.