bad fuel economy

[stranger1]

Hi. I'm the owner of a 2006 110 hp 4-speed AT Corolla (European) with an A246E tranny. I've got only 11000 miles on it and no matter how I try I'm not able to do more than 26 mpg, even without air conditioning. I should average 30 mpg combined, 22 in city, 37 on highway, or so Toyota says... I never drive too fast (I average 22 mph!), no city, no highway, I mainly drive uphill/downhill and on the plain through the country. I'm not so pleased with this fuel economy. Do you think it's acceptable or not? Is it possible that there's something wrong with the tranny? Any suggestions on how I could improve it? By the way, I sometimes have some "hunting" between gears going downhill, even with the O/D off. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

[gtscorolla86hatch]

Hi. I'm the owner of a 2006 110 hp 4-speed AT Corolla (European) with an A246E tranny. I've got only 11000 miles on it and no matter how I try I'm not able to do more than 26 mpg, even without air conditioning. I should average 30 mpg combined, 22 in city, 37 on highway, or so Toyota says... I never drive too fast (I average 22 mph!), no city, no highway, I mainly drive uphill/downhill and on the plain through the country. I'm not so pleased with this fuel economy. Do you think it's acceptable or not? Is it possible that there's something wrong with the tranny? Any suggestions on how I could improve it? By the way, I sometimes have some "hunting" between gears going downhill, even with the O/D off. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

i did an experiment with my wifes car she has a 2004 Toyota matrix with the same motor{1zzfe} as your corolla. i drove from Miami, Fl to Tampa, Fl and could not make it on a full tank of gas on regular unleaded than on the way back i used super unleaded i almost made it back all the way but still had to stop for gas before getting home. i than purchased a cold air intake for her car not the shorty air intake the long one that reaches behind the front bumper of the car. the next week i went back to Tampa this time on regular unleaded i made it there with a little under a quarter tank of gas left. know on the way back i used super unleaded and made it with more than a quarter tank of gas also what i did not mention is my average speed was 85 mph on the highway. i think if you invested on getting an cold air intake its worth the money and will save you gas. there not so expensive i bought mine off www.ebay.com

[XR2003]

Hi. I'm the owner of a 2006 110 hp 4-speed AT Corolla (European) with an A246E tranny. I've got only 11000 miles on it and no matter how I try I'm not able to do more than 26 mpg, even without air conditioning. I should average 30 mpg combined, 22 in city, 37 on highway, or so Toyota says... I never drive too fast (I average 22 mph!), no city, no highway, I mainly drive uphill/downhill and on the plain through the country. I'm not so pleased with this fuel economy. Do you think it's acceptable or not? Is it possible that there's something wrong with the tranny? Any suggestions on how I could improve it? By the way, I sometimes have some "hunting" between gears going downhill, even with the O/D off. Is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

Have you kept up on the oil and tranny fluid intervals?

Air filter clean and not clogged?

Have you cleaned the MAF and IACT sensors?

Reset the ECU yet?

22 mph is bad, but keep in mind uphill and downhill driving is a lot of strain on the engine and would therefore decrease your mpgs.

Hunting gears part is designed into the tranny unfortunately.

[stranger1]

Thanks for your suggestions. Maybe I'll try and change the cold air intake. Everything else seems to be in order in my car, I have it serviced regularly. I think the main problem is I drive too much uphill and too slow on winding roads. Do you think I'd save gas if I had a 5 or a 6-speed tranny? Gas price is a problem these days, I live in Europe and now the average price over here is 8.60 dollars or more per gallon... that's one of the reasons only luxury cars have auto trannies here, very different from America. Have you ever experienced the hunting problem going downhill on your cars?

[XR2003]

Thanks for your suggestions. Maybe I'll try and change the cold air intake. Everything else seems to be in order in my car, I have it serviced regularly. I think the main problem is I drive too much uphill and too slow on winding roads. Do you think I'd save gas if I had a 5 or a 6-speed tranny? Gas price is a problem these days, I live in Europe and now the average price over here is 8.60 dollars or more per gallon... that's one of the reasons only luxury cars have auto trannies here, very different from America. Have you ever experienced the hunting problem going downhill on your cars?

yes I have.

I adjust my driving to avoid those situations, but sometimes you just have to live it.

[Snowflake]

Mine is an '06 w/ automatic also and I average about 31mpg as long as I don't lead foot it too much. I'm in Texas near the coast so its mostly flat land here. ...but I have taken my car for a road trip in a much hillier area. My mpg dropped radically...down to 26mpg. When your car is going uphill the engine has to work harder to keep the momentum up. ...and the steeper the hill the harder the engine has to work. The hunting your tranny is doing is perfectly normal. All automatics "hunt" when the shifter is in "D" when the car goes up or down hill. You might try putting it in "1" or "2" to see if that alleviates the problem. btw...your mpg will not be as good with the O/D off but then again I don't think it is meant for use with low gear (1 or 2).