Hello all my car has around 209,000 miles on her, and is still running fairly well. I was able to get around 400 miles to a tank of gas, but as of late not so well. The current tank lasted around 310-315, and depends on what type of gas I run in it. I have recently done a tune up on it, plugs wire and pcv valve. But nothing I do seems to help much. I was wondering if replacing my 02 sensor would help? I heard that the top 02 sensor regulates air/fuel consumption? Or something like that. I have a cold air intake, and I am running an MP3 ecu. If anyone has any suggestions it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your help. Chris
Extremely bad gas mileage!!!!! Looking for answers??
- Thread starter vw2p5
- Start date
Not good!
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- 06 Mazda 3 Hatchback GT
I have been using Fuelly since I bought mine. Across all my driving I am averaging about 26-27 MPG. It recently dipped to 23ish, but I think I had a warped rotor so that got swapped out. 400 miles to a tank is a dream for me.
Here is the average for 02 P5's.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/protege5/2002
Here is the average for 02 P5's.
http://www.fuelly.com/car/mazda/protege5/2002
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mazdadude
ZOOOOOOOOOM ZOOOOOOOOOM
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- '16.5 Mazda CX-5 Touring
But how many gallons are you putting in>?
There is a 14.5 Gallon tank in the Protege5, but as you notice, when you fill up your "Empty" tank, you put in around 12.5 gallons instead.
Using 12.5 gallons of fuel at the HWY rating of 31MPG, you get = 387.5 miles
Using 12.5 gallons of fuel at the CITY rating of 25mpg, you get = 312.5 miles
Using 12.5 gallons of fuel driving it like you stole it at 21mpg, you get = 262.5 miles
In addition, the switch to WINTER BLEND Fuels usually takes place around Halloween, which also leads to lower MPG's..
I did not see it mentioned, but also don't forget to check the tire pressures... especially when outside temps drop, which affects the tire pressure.
No check engine light or codes>?
There is a 14.5 Gallon tank in the Protege5, but as you notice, when you fill up your "Empty" tank, you put in around 12.5 gallons instead.
Using 12.5 gallons of fuel at the HWY rating of 31MPG, you get = 387.5 miles
Using 12.5 gallons of fuel at the CITY rating of 25mpg, you get = 312.5 miles
Using 12.5 gallons of fuel driving it like you stole it at 21mpg, you get = 262.5 miles
In addition, the switch to WINTER BLEND Fuels usually takes place around Halloween, which also leads to lower MPG's..
I did not see it mentioned, but also don't forget to check the tire pressures... especially when outside temps drop, which affects the tire pressure.
No check engine light or codes>?
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Yeah no check engine lights on or anything.
I appreciate the brake down of hwy driving vs city driving. That makes a lot of sense to to add air to the tires but other then that everything is pretty decent. Now could I get better mileage if I replace my 02 sensor?
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That is what I have always gotten with it, before and after the engine swap.. Mostly 75mph on the highway.
Although I switched to synthetic gear oil and I'm pretty sure it gave me 1-2 mpg extra.. I'm at a steady 29 average now. Last tank was 9.9 gallons for 296 miles. We'll see how this one does.
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- Mazda P5
I average about 27.5mpg I put in about 12-13 gallons and get about 330-350 a tank.
That's not bad I guess, when I fill my tank I'm usually putting 13 gallons, cause I run her pretty much bone dry. My last fill up I was at around 306 on empty.
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- Mazda P5
I have those times when I get 290 on a tank because I drive it like a maniac.
Today I filled up at about 337 and put in 12.180 gallons. I use 91 octane because I'm running the mp3 ecu.
Today I filled up at about 337 and put in 12.180 gallons. I use 91 octane because I'm running the mp3 ecu.
That's good driving techniques and great gas mileage. Sometimes I do that myself, cruise around town in 5th doing 40mph or so, and sometimes I cruise around in 3rd lol, going the same speed limit. A couple weeks ago I was doing a lot of highway driving and I got around 386 miles to the tank of gas, which was better. But I am still use to getting 400 plus to a tank.
I've got an MP3 ECU in my car also, and I use to run 93, and after a while I said eh, what's the point. Now I just run 87 in her.
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- Mazda P5
I haven't noticed a big drop since I switched ecu's, if I run it til the gas light comes on i get about 25 more miles out of it which best case was 355 miles. Filled up with just over 13 gallons so I still had about 25 ish miles before I ran out completely, meaning I would of got about 380 miles out of the 14.5 gallon tank which = 26.2. So all in all 30 mpg is like the best I can see our cars really having. I drove honda's as my daily for 6 years and they were stock, I'd get 35-38 mpg but they also weighed 400-500 pounds lighter.
So the other day I filled up the tank, put 13 gallons in. I ran the car almost empty, when I filled up again I put 13.48 gallons in. So I actually drove on 13.48 gallons and got 348 miles.. weird I guess, I did some highway driving but mostly city. So my average mpg is about 25 close to 26.. I guess that's okay. I was getting around 400-412 but that was almost all highway. Thanks for everyone's feedback.
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- protege5
I have something over 225k on mine now, and do 98% highway driving. i commute about 110 miles each way to work. This is back country highway cruising at 60mph, no traffic or hills or anything here and only a couple very small towns with 1 stop light in them that i pass through. I don't have a large enough tank to make it 2 days on a tank, so i fill it up every morning. but it is about 225 miles round trip. I average about 7 gallons per day (31-32mpg) in the summer when i use the A/C the entire time. When it cools down like this and i'm not running the A/C i usually average about 6.5 gallons per day (about 34-35mpg). The A/C compressor makes a big difference. I usually fill up at the same gas station, but i've noticed at other gas stations my fuel mileage is worse. 3-4mpg in some cases (there was one i filled up with and only got 27mpg) so i stick with the one i've found to be consistently the best 
also when i take the interstate to work, which is about 15 miles further but 20 minutes faster i also notice a 3-4mpg drop cruising at 70 instead of 60.
also when i take the interstate to work, which is about 15 miles further but 20 minutes faster i also notice a 3-4mpg drop cruising at 70 instead of 60.
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