Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums General Troubleshooting Gas being eaten like crazy

my car for the past 2 weeks has been swallowing gas like crazy. i retanked saturday to 3/4 full and now (tuesday)im at almost 0 its on the red line. what can be the problem. this mourning i had 1/4 left i went to school 10 minutes away, then i get bak hom and its on red. what gives?

Do our cars have a reserve?

When the low fuel light goes on, you're supposed to have approx. 2 gallons left in the tank.

I assume the car is running ok? Check your tire pressure too, as underinflated tires really mess up your MPG.

What gas mileage have you been getting?

180 miles on full tank, but thats with heavy acceration.

I've noticed the same thing with my car lately the absolute best I could get was 400km (all highway)on a tank I used to be able to see 550. I got the 2.5 with an auto. I have checked the tire pressure and it's fine on my car and I got a new air filter, fuel filter plugs and wires but Im still not seeing any benefits. any other suggestions

There are so many posible reasons but here are a some that I have heard of. pcv valve, caytlitic convertor, and the timing Btw I get 700km's highway on my ztec, but have talked to one 2.5 owner whom says that they were getting 800kms on the highway. As well don't forget that as the weather get colder the milage for all cars in general gets worse. (figure that one out, at the time of the year you want to spend the least time at the pumps.......) I often get my best tanks of gas on the hottest days of the year!!

it is possible that you coolant temperature sensor has failed and is sending a signal equivilent to cold, which is casuing the computer to run in warm-up mode in which the fuel mixture is enrichened.

It is also possible that the fuel injectors are dirty and not making the proper spray pattern, that can be fixed by a heavy dose of injector cleaner in the gas.

A restrictive exhaust system will casue fuel consumption to increase due to poor exhasut gas scavenging. check the exhasut pipes to see if they have been kincked, perhaps you backed into something and kinked the tailpipe.

Don' forget the simple stuff:
cold ambient causes the tire pressure to drop ~ 1 psi for every 10 degF drop -> lower psi = lower mpg
colder air is more dense, therefore the computer adjusts by putting more fuel in the charge -> more fuel per cycle = lower mpg (maybe, not sure, but it also means more HP!)
i think these cars run a little rich by default until the car warms up, and when it's cold it takes longer to get to operating temp.
They always run a little rich at idle, and the car uses more fuel to idle whan it is cold (see above re: density). that time at 0 mph is a real heavy weight on mpg calcs

EDIT: Wow, I'm really the master of what everbody else said. Maybe one day I'll have something original to post.

lets not forget that he colder temperatures cause the oil temperature to stabilize at a lower temperature, and we all know how temperature play a part in oil viscosity.

I noticed a 2-3 MPG decrease in my SVT between summer and winter.

Check for: 1. holes 2. Neighbor with a hose.