2010 XLE V6 Camry 12-16 MPG issue

[rabbit75]

UPDATE- car has 95 miles with less than 2 1/2 slashes of gas left. UltraGauge is showing 14.8 mpg and dash is showing 15 mpg. UG shows 55 miles left till empty while the dash cruise range is showing 65 which I already know is wrong around 15 miles or so. This is from 8.574 gallons at empty line and fuel light active. This is with readings of 1500-2000 rpms off UG and nothing over 30-35 miles per hour gliding on downhill and feathering the accelerator pedal lightly when needed and coasting pretty much. So did 8 miles since yesterday. Checked the oil filter is bleach white, amount of oil is fine 2nd nob on the dipstick, oxygen sensors were clean, no soot in both the mufflers or white fumes. No leaking valves or fluids under the car. Going to drive on I-95 (55mph speed limit)for 20-40 miles tomorrow and see what those results bring.

[Draigflag]

I think you should change your car. That kind of economy in this day and age is shocking. I dont think its even possible to buy a new car in the UK that does less than 40 MPG these days.

[ryan66flying]

Rabbit, Here's my two cents. If you baby the engine and only drive 3 miles to work.. You have a ton of carbon buildup leading to poor mpg and poor running engine. Go out once the temps are in the norm and run the rpms up a bit and run a tank or 2 of Seafoam throught the tank. Really works great on cleaning fuel injectors and valves.

[rabbit75]

Thanks Ryan for the advice, I'm hoping your right on this. I been getting that as a solution but the dealership goes and tells me fuel injector issues would come up on my engine light and they tried to make me accept 12-16 mpg is normal. Should I just use REG 87, PLUS 89, or 91-94 Premium from shell when I flush it out with seafoam? Also people at my work been suggesting Chevron with techron fuel cleaner works well. I'm hoping it's just this because It's not easy waiting 18 years from your first car that got through tough times with and find that your next car is looking good but giving you crap performance. I will try the fuel injector cleaner solution as soon as I can. Just hard to believe a 25.584 mile car that was driven from NJ to Washington DC hwy miles has so much MPG issues (saw some of the previous owners commutes in the nav destination history). I hope this is all I need to fix my MPG problem because I haven't been able to sleep right since 2/20/2013.

[rabbit75]

Seems someone out there had a similar experience as me but on a 2009 V6 Camry.

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/dir.../.ef7f8e9/1087

-Seem this person never found a solution though.

1088 of 1181 Camry Mileage by cupid1

Dec 19, 2010 (4:10 pm)

Hi Friends I bought 2009 Toyota camry XLE 3.5L ,V6 and it has 15000 miles on it few months ago.I recently started checking my car fuel consumption. It has given 15 miles per gallon in the city( its a mixed I drove more on the highways also). I showed it to the showroom, they checked and said nothing is wrong. I filled the tank and today i checked it again ,it dropped to 14 miles per gallon ( this time I drove 40% of my trip on highways) I don't know what to do. Please help me.

[dtwjr]

This is an excellent piece on how the driver effects MPG. http://www.lexus.com/articles/2006/2/20060206_9.pdf

[ryan66flying]

I purchased a new car about 8 years ago. It was a 4 banger 115HP and should have gotten about 25-30mpg. I never got over 15! Took it in many times and their "diagnostics" run around and even went on road trips with the guy driving and still got 16mpg! Remember this is a brand new car and they wouldn't do **** for me. Had to sell it for a loss. Picked up another new car with 180hpand got 25mpg!! So I feel you here. Oh, and my engine light was never on.. Don't believe the dealer on that.

Chevron with techron is the best fuel you can buy! Techron is a valve and injector cleaner. The higher octane you buy, the more techron is in it (We have family who works for fuel distributors). Seafoam is a everything engine cleaner.. Valves, rings, injectors, fuel pumps.

Once you got a bottle of seafoam in the tank, (you could do 89) get the rpms up to help dislodge any carbon. What's your redline at in your car?

Keep in mind, when your cleaning your engine with Seafoam or an extra bottle of Techron, you will prob get worse Mpg, as its clearing it out until you put another tank of fresh fuel in.

Have you had your air and fuel filter checked/replaced??? Both can cause mpg issues.

[rabbit75]

Red line on RPM is at 6,500 mark. According to the carfax they changed the airfilter and oil and confirmed with me over the phone they were done. I checked it myself with my coworkers and it was bleach white. As for the fuel filter don't think I have access to it. All fluids were changed to full and no leaks on valves or engine according to 3 coworkers one being a previous mechanic. But yeah I hope it's just a cleaning issue because I just put down $6200 on this $19,999 car and can't afford taking a trade in loss on the car it would set me back $8000-$10,000 at least since I'll only get around $17,000 on trade in value and have to fork over 8% tax and difference on a new car. I just don't understand how Toyota can let something like this pass a 160 point inspection. I set a driving appointment a week in advance then come to the dealership and seems staged that the sales person asked the mechanic to fill her up for a test drive and he didn't. It was on empty and only got to drive on Route 130 Hwy around 1 light less than a mile of travel. Then they let me drive that day and finish my downpayment later because I wasn't planning to buy on 2/20/2013 but on 2/28/2013 since I didn't get my old totaled car picked up yet and direct deposit from allstate accident.

[rabbit75]

ok fuel update-3/31/2013-4/10/2013 121.2 miles on trip with 5 miles cruise range left which I doubt I had that much left. Trip miles was 121.2 miles on 8.574 gallons 26525-26646 OM readings. Comes out to be 14.135 miles for $30 of gas @$3.499 from Shell REG 87 for 11 days of driving. Darn my old car would of lasted 2 weeks and hit 176 miles getting 20.5 miles per gallon. Miss my 95 Camry should of salvaged it. Saving my receipts and print outs of bank statements and backing up my photos. I have a feeling this car is a lemon. By the time I run this gas down and get a full tank to flush out the tank with seafoam and nothing comes out of it I'm going to have to find a couple of mechanics to check this out.

[dtwjr]

I too miss my 95 Camry. Still the best car I've ever owned, and like you I regret not salvaging it.

Never, never ever trust a car saleman, especially a sales manager. All they want is to make a sale. They will say anything to close a deal right now. When I deal with them I am always prepared to walk out on a deal if something doesn't go the way I want. Even minor things.

I'm not sure what the problem with you new Camry is, but if it's making you this crazy you should get rid of it as soon as you reasonably can for your own peice of mind. I started to feel that way about my 06 Accord, but I've changed my mind now. But my mileage at it's worst was much better than what you are getting.

I find the best thing for me in tracking this data is to keep it simple. Full tanks, hwy vs city (purely subjective) and basic MPG are my main focuses. I completely ignore the odometer reading and only use the trip meter. It's nice to stretch a tank for a period of time but really, I use what I use and getting the most MPG out of what I use is the key for me.

I get heart broken when I read entries on fuelly from Europe and see what horrible mileage American cars really get.