New to the boards, new to Mazda...actually new to any vehicle of the Eastern persuasion. Without a long story the spouse had to give up her love for 5 speeds due to recent back issues. While looking for a replacement a P5 scooted by and she thought, cute, practical, looks like it would be great on gas. Soon found an 03 automatic, low miles 63K, records indicated it was due for 60K service. Bought it, had 60K service performed but we are astonished at the horrible mileage we have been experiencing. It has been 20-22 mpg before and after the service. Did a search here only to find folks getting well up to 400 miles per tank...hence this post. Where do I look to resolve this? We have been thinking of just selling it and getting another VR6 VW as it was getting far better numbers in town and on the highway and providing a bit more performance. Our first choice is to get the Mazda squared away...any suggestions? Would a faulty O2 sensor throw a CEL or not? TIA, and we look forward to enjoying this little wagon.
Hello...and fuel mileage wow!
- Thread starter quaudi
- Start date
dannyxcarr
Member
- :
- 2003 Protege5
bad O2 definitely throws the CEL. i know because i'm currently experiencing that issue. even with the bad O2, i still get far better than 20-22 mpg. however being that i'm new to mazdas myself, i couldn't really tell you what else to check... there is a little voice in the back of my head that is telling me cat, but if they cat were clogged i would imagine you'd be bogging down pretty bad. sorry i couldn't be more helpful.
The thing is, if any of your emmisions equipment wasn't functioning properly, you would know because you would have a CEL. Who did the 60k mile tune-up? Plugs/wires, fuel injectors, intake system/filter, oil change and all the typical things will affect gas mileage... Are you sure the techinician changed the air filter and swapped new spark plugs and all these types of things?
You don't need anything more than 89 with that ECU & motor.
You don't need anything more than 89 with that ECU & motor.
dannyxcarr
Member
- :
- 2003 Protege5
i'm averaging about 30 mpg on 89 in town. and that's with a bad pre-cat and O2 sensor... personally the first thing i would do is go to o'reilly or advance autoparts (i hate autozone), get yourself a can of seafoam, new plugs, and wires. that's about all i got.
Hello Cincinnati, I'm here also. I took it to the same indie shop I have been going to for 25 years. Only work on imports and have never had an issue or a take back problem. They performed all the prescribed work, I did my own oil. Looks like they used Denso Iridium plugs, did not change wires, replaced air filter and I had them flush the brake system.
I typically avg about 27-29 mpg with a lot of city driving and I drive it pretty hard also...
rustychops41
Member
- :
- 2007 Mazda 3s HB
I was averaging about 24 MPG in town when I lived in Fresno, and then about 29 MPG when I moved to Las Vegas. The difference? Vegas, despite heavy traffic volume, has wonderfully synchronized traffic signals on most major streets. The green lights are long, as are the reds too, but once moving you tend to stay moving along at 40-45 MPH. Freeway mileage was about 33-34 in both towns, but this was an automatic PR5. By comparison my 2007 2.3L MZ3 (5-speed MT)gets about 25-26 in town and 32 highway, but well worth the extra ponies.
If they disconnected the battery during the servicing it could take a bit for the ECU to relearn your driving style. This would throw off your first tank, but after that you should be fine.
Something else to check is if your rear brakes are sticking at all. My fuel economy was going down and it turned out to be a sticking rear caliper.
If I just drive around town I tend to get 550 or so KM till the light goes on, so about 350 miles. I also don't tend to baby it around town, so I;m sure I could do better.
Something else to check is if your rear brakes are sticking at all. My fuel economy was going down and it turned out to be a sticking rear caliper.
If I just drive around town I tend to get 550 or so KM till the light goes on, so about 350 miles. I also don't tend to baby it around town, so I;m sure I could do better.
Hi Our P5 has gotten 30-34 mpg almost from day one, and got better when I put in a KN air filter. I have found the mileage is down a bunch as of late but I have the rear wheel bearings on there way out.
I am driving a 5 speed and don't baby it. Are you at sea level or at altitude as I did notice a difference when we moved into the interior for a couple of years.
I am driving a 5 speed and don't baby it. Are you at sea level or at altitude as I did notice a difference when we moved into the interior for a couple of years.
Most posts are giving mpg for a 5 speed. An automatic will get lower mpg in city driving than a 5 speed. My 02 P5 automatic usually gets 22-26 mpg for city driving, I live in a small city. It did about the same when I purchased it new. The only time I have gone over 400 miles on a tank was on highway trips.
On extended trips (NC-CO and WA) I get 30-34 depending on speed and altitude. 75 mph hurts fuel mpg and so does ethanol fuel. Higher altitudes will normally help mpg.
Before doing anything I would take the car on a highway trip long enough to use a tank of fuel. If you are getting 29-32 mpg it's probably normal. The automatic car turns around 3k rpm at around 67-68 mph. It's shifting pattern is programed for performance rather than high mpg. In city driving where speeds are less than 35-40 the transmission torque converter isn't locked up and that hurts mpg. Frequent changes in speed also prevents the torque converter from locking up.
In short, there is usually a penalty in mpg when moving from a stick shift to an automatic.
Clifton
On extended trips (NC-CO and WA) I get 30-34 depending on speed and altitude. 75 mph hurts fuel mpg and so does ethanol fuel. Higher altitudes will normally help mpg.
Before doing anything I would take the car on a highway trip long enough to use a tank of fuel. If you are getting 29-32 mpg it's probably normal. The automatic car turns around 3k rpm at around 67-68 mph. It's shifting pattern is programed for performance rather than high mpg. In city driving where speeds are less than 35-40 the transmission torque converter isn't locked up and that hurts mpg. Frequent changes in speed also prevents the torque converter from locking up.
In short, there is usually a penalty in mpg when moving from a stick shift to an automatic.
Clifton
Last edited:
justanothermp5
Banned
- :
- Rust Bucket
average mileage per tank for me is right around 360-380
i drive normal, shifting at like 3k maybe a little higher....and ethanol has nothing to do with bad gas mileage, if anything it should increase ur mileage
but to the OP maybe u should try some fuel system cleaner next fill up,
oil change, air filter change, tire pressure, outside temp, all of those can affect fuel mileage
i drive normal, shifting at like 3k maybe a little higher....and ethanol has nothing to do with bad gas mileage, if anything it should increase ur mileage
but to the OP maybe u should try some fuel system cleaner next fill up,
oil change, air filter change, tire pressure, outside temp, all of those can affect fuel mileage
ganzhimself
Member
- :
- 2012 Mazda 3 Skyactiv Hatch
I drive my 03 with the auto sport stick tranny and I get on average 24-28 MPG in my mixed daily driving. Highway mileage varies, 27-33 MPG depending on the conditions. Now that I have snow tires on the car, the mileage has dropped slightly, but the trade-off for safety is worth it. You could just have some horrible tires that have a ton of rolling resistance.
- :
- -- 03 P5 / 23 CX-5 --
Mine's 03 sport auto. I have pretty much gotten 25-26 mpg of mixed mostly freeway driving from 70-75mph in 60 mile round trips to work & back forever, with or without AC & 10% ethanol crap gas 87 or 89 octane in a predominently hot climate from 0-150 ft sea lvl.
- :
- Protege5 2003
My wife has been driving ours lately, and she doesn't even get 20mpg. That's because all of her (round) trips are really, really short, at low speed, on city streets. Pick up the kids at school, total distance, maybe 1 mile. Drive to the store and back, 1.5 miles. Take a kid to the Doctor, 2 miles. She does try to chain her trips together, but nothing can change the fact that most of her destinations are really close to home, and the car spends most of its time running cold and open loop.
I have had my P5 for about 2 months now (03/auto) and I am averaging about 26-27 combined. My normal trip to work is about 20 miles with only about 5 miles of freeway thrown in the middle.
Granted I also live in the PNW and we have what would be considered extreme terrain with all the hills. Also many places are starting to switch over to winterized fuel so you will see a drop.
I don't baby it or drive it hard. I just drive. You can always take it to a shop and have them pull the codes just to see if anything is wrong. Oil viscosity can affect the mileage as well as air pressure, habits, drive distances, brakes and other parts.
Granted I also live in the PNW and we have what would be considered extreme terrain with all the hills. Also many places are starting to switch over to winterized fuel so you will see a drop.
I don't baby it or drive it hard. I just drive. You can always take it to a shop and have them pull the codes just to see if anything is wrong. Oil viscosity can affect the mileage as well as air pressure, habits, drive distances, brakes and other parts.
When I first got my P5 it didn't get as good as MPG as I would have expected from a 2.0L 5sped, I also had CEL issues for lean combustion & poor idle quality. I cleaned the EGR valve (there is a good post here for that), replaced O2 sensor and also cleaned the MAP sensor. Mileage improved significantly and CEL problems were solved. Now avg 32 mpg with a high of 37 mpg with some minor hypermiling techniques.
