Super high fuel consumption! Help!!

[newowner]

Hi I just bought a 2nd hand 3.0l 1998 Camry CSi. I filled up my tank 3/4 full last week, clocked only 133 km, and its now due for refilling again. There is about 1/8th left from the fuel gauge.

I drive predominantly in the city, so there is a lot of stopping and starting, not to mention revving up slopes and stuff near where I live. Is the tyre pressure too low at 33 psi?

Any clue as to what is the problem? Is this normal?

Thanks!

[Guest]

going higher with the pressure might help a bit... is it auto or manual? and remember, its an older V6 so its not going to be super economical.

There are some things you can do to help though;

Higher tire pressure

Give it a service!! - Esp. if you don't know its history, new oil, filters, plugs, etc

Check the oxygen sensor(s) are connected and working

Remove any un-nessicary crap from the car.. more weight = worse fuel economy.

[Kenshin X]

to add on micks post

check the fuel gauge, could be faulty. fill it up again this week and see how u go.

check for leaks (most easily done if u can smell fuel!)

try 35 psi for the pressure

[STYLSH]

Wow that's a very thirsty car. Fill her up completely this time and next time and work out your fuel consumption from that. It could be a broken fuel sensor or gauge.

[VF-X]

Just when I thought I had the worst figure for fuel consumption... What's your tank capacity? You better bring it to a mechanic + service it. It's not normal...

[Hiro]

Fill her up completely this time and next time and work out your fuel consumption from that. It could be a broken fuel sensor or gauge.

Agreed. Basically ignore the fuel gauge and only go on L/100km - ie fill it up to the top of the tank, reset the trip-meter and drive around until the tank is showing near empty, then refill to the top again. Note the number of litres you put in the tank to refill it, then divide by the number of kms you travelled over that time period, then multiply by 100.

Toyota fuel gauges are notoriously unreliable (in older cars) and non-linear (in some newer ones, especially 90s ones). Going off the gauge, my '97 Corolla will do 300km on the first half of a tank, ~100km on the next quarter, and then struggle to get more than 50km on the last quarter before the fuel light starts coming on.

[newowner]

Thanks all. I have just filled it up, and see how it goes. I filled it to the brim at about 56 litres, and will monitor. Thanks again!

[newowner]

I did the calculations, and it is now consuming 19.24litres/100 km. Still fairly poor compared to the should-be-brand-new fresh from the factory consumption at 11.5l/100km.

I know its an old car, and fuel consumption is inevitably higher.

I sent it for a service, and all. But now the 'Check Engine' lights keep on flashing, and the speedometer doesn't work sometime with the 'O/D Off' lights keep on flashing. I should probably get the electronics checked. Will this be a major job? I just want to prepare myself mentally for a huge mechanics bill :-)

[STYLSH]

Your car is running in limp mode probably. Go to a mechanic and get the check engine light code read, can be a small as just replacing a sensor or 2. The code will tell you what is actually wrong.