Gas mileage?

[Cody89]

I bought a 2012 Chevy Sonic LTZ & I was wondering what kind of gas mileage ya'll were getting I bought it because the sticker said 25city 35highway it has 13 miles when I bought it and I've put about 400 on it yes I'm averaging 17/19 I don't drive crazy I'm a Sunday driver but if this is the norm I need to take it back & get something else or have em look it over if its not

 

[Swordsmith]

People get a wide range of mpg figures out of their Sonics depending on how they drive them, however, you are scoring really really low.

I have converted my car over to run E85, and I drive it like a madman, jackrabbit starts zooming up to 90+mph in a quarter mile, tearing around at 19mph over the speed limit, pounding the hammer down to pass... and I still get 22-23mph (note that E85 is only about 2/3rds as efficient as 93 octane pump gas).

I can drive the same car, same mods, same fuel, and get 32mpg, just by driving sensibly. I got 44mpg using 93 pump gas back when I first bought the car, pre-mods.

Your car is very new, there are bound to be some break in issues and some learning curve on your part... but I still find it hard to figure how you are getting so extremely poor mpg. Maybe the dealer will let you test drive an identical car, put a couple hundred miles on it driving the same way you are now, see if you get different results?

One possible issue is your DIC; the in car displayed mpg number is very often inaccurate; have you tried filling up, driving, recording the miles traveled, filling up again, same pump same station, and then doing the math?

If you're using 10 gallons between fillups, you should be able to travel 300 miles or more on that, particularly if you aren't driving like I do.

 

[SUPER SONIC BOOM]

Try resetting your average MPG setting in the menu every time you fill up with new fuel. I found out that mine doesn't move as much after I've shut the engine off & let her sit for awhile, like it gets stuck at the last figure it recorded on your previous trip. If I reset it, it quickly changes up & down according to my driving habits while I'm still going, but after a long stop it doesn't seem to work as aggressive anymore, if that makes sense. I don't know if this is normal, but I average pretty good gas mileage nonetheless.

 

[SouthFLSonic]

Try resetting your average MPG setting in the menu every time you fill up with new fuel. I found out that mine doesn't move as much after I've shut the engine off & let her sit for awhile, like it gets stuck at the last figure it recorded on your previous trip. If I reset it, it quickly changes up & down according to my driving habits while I'm still going, but after a long stop it doesn't seem to work as aggressive anymore, if that makes sense. I don't know if this is normal, but I average pretty good gas mileage nonetheless.

The MPG readout is a constant average so if you never reset it it will not move as much or be as accurate, it's not an instant average but a continuous one.

If you never reset it for 10 tanks of fuel you could sit in traffic with AC on for 2 hours and it would not come down much from before because the average is so high at the current readout.

 

[sx sonic]

+1 for resetting the display.

Reset the DIC (MPG readout) next time you start the car and see what your average does.
As mentioned if it hasn't been reset in several hundred miles it will be slow to respond to changes, Because Math. If the MPG avg was terribly low when you picked up the car then it's gonna take a bit to get back up to a decent level.

And for the record hand calculating your fuel mileage is the most accurate method for determining your MPG, the DIC is not 100% accurate.

I reset the DIC and Trip Odo at every fill up and also hand calc my avg (trip miles/gallons put in).

 

[rdss]

I would forget the DIC average MPG and hand calculate each tank. My reading was usually 2.5-3 MPG optimistic anyway.

 

[Cody89]

In not using the DIC Fill up drive and the calculate when I refuel and I use same station each time :-(

 

[Stew]

So you are getting around 200 miles between fill-ups, or possibly a little less than that?

 

[sx sonic]

In not using the DIC Fill up drive and the calculate when I refuel and I use same station each time :-(

Yikes, then those numbers are definitely low.

What's you're driving consist of? short trips, cold weather, stop go, etc?

You're also still in the break in period so you're mpg will come up some but it should still be higher than what you're seeing, barring poor driving conditions.

 

[Cody89]

I drive like a grandma on Sunday lol I do slow starts & stops I never floor it or slam on breaks its going to dealer in morning we'll see what happens

 

[Cody89]

I'm getting 190-210

 

[Swordsmith]

That number is crazy low for gasoline powered grandma driven vehicle. I would be unable to get numbers that low driving Andretti style in my alcohol powered funny car.

If you were reporting mid to high 20's, we'd be talking to you about your exact driving style and habits and so forth, lots of stuff you could be doing wrong that could get you to mid 30s. But teens to low 20s? There's more wrong there than your driving style.

 

[SouthFLSonic]

This is about half of what I get per tank driving like I want to, not like a maniac but not babying it.

 

[Foxbox]

Seems very low.

What is your commute like? I'm assuming no HWY use at all with those MPG numbers.

I drive about 150-175 miles a week. 5-6 miles to work and 5-6 miles back home at about 35-40 MPH. Add in little trips here and there for food and entertainment. I usually don't use the HWY for any more than a few miles.

With all that considered I AVERAGE 28MPG. Even in the winter while factoring in warm up time for each start, I was still averaging 26MPG. Something definitely seems off with your vehicle.

 

[Stew]

Is your car an automatic? If so do you drive with two feet or one?

 

[Cody89]

It's automatic & I got the loaner car today while mine Is in shop I requested the same car as mine 2012 Chevy sonic LTZ & took it to my parents and back so I could visit (4hr drive round trip) & this car averaged 38mpg yet my car on same trip got 19mpg so it has to be something with car hopefully they can fix

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

Hey Cody89,

How did your dealer visit go? Were they able to address your concerns with your gas mileage? Hope to hear back from you.

Amber N.
Chevrolet Customer Care

 

[Turbo Fun]

Please let us know if the shop found anything. I am in the exact same situation and I'm not pleased about it.

 

[Swordsmith]

It's automatic & I got the loaner car today while mine Is in shop I requested the same car as mine 2012 Chevy sonic LTZ & took it to my parents and back so I could visit (4hr drive round trip) & this car averaged 38mpg yet my car on same trip got 19mpg so it has to be something with car hopefully they can fix

This is exactly what I hoped you would manage to do, I'm excited because it is proof positive that it isn't your driving style or something wrong with your model, but rather your car itself. I've seen a lot of people come in here (well, a few, actually, it isn't that common a complaint) saying their car is getting bad MPG while everyone else is not, but you're the first I've seen who can actually prove the problem is in their car.

Now I hope we get some good answers out of your service dept!

 

[Cody89]

They could not Adress my concerns said they could not find anything amiss & told me I need to drive it this weekend. (I'm going to Iowa & back 1600miles) & keep a log of miles traveled everytime I fill up what kinda gas I use how many miles I went on that tank etc... Then come back in next week and discuss it with them because according to them after the car has 2000 miles on it that it will get the mpg it's supposed to... My dads a mechanic & I've never heard that before but I'm willing to do it if it'll fix the problem & get my car looked at seriously