[vtec]

I am averaging 17-18 mpg in the city year round in my 2003 4 cyl Outback wagon. I have 7000 miles, and I drive it conservatively. I can't seem to get the 22 mpg that is advertised on the window sticker. How long is the break in period to see good numbers?

 

[bheinz57]

Check out another thread in the Problems section. Same discussion, same problem. Maybe that can help you out a little. Brian

 

[Kevin]

This seems to be a problem as of late with many Outback owners with both the 2.5L and 3.0L engines. A few things to take into consideration is winter gas which will lower your mileage, winter weather alone will lower your MPG, and city driving will as well. Has this been a problem for your Outback for a while now? I can see how it will get lower MPG in the winter but if its been this way for a while now it could be an issue that needs to be addressed to your dealership.

We had a big thread about this same issue here last week, check this out for more insight to why your Outback would be getting lower MPG:

Poor MPG in Outback

 

[vtec]

I started out getting 16 mpg when I first purchased it in January '03 and have increased to 18 mpg in Jan '04. There is nothing in the cargo compartment to add unnecessary weight and lower mileage.

 

[karasek]

I've been keeping track of gas mileage on my used 2000 2.5L since I've had it. Average so far is 22.5 mpg. I've ranged from 18.7 mpg to 26.6 mpg. Of course this is going off the horribly inaccurate over estimating trip meter, so you can subtract about a 1 mpg from those figures. Returned from a trip over the weekend and I decided to compare the trip meter again with the GPS. Same results as my last trip, a little over 3% error.

 

[Jondalar]

3.0R Premium

Well only done 400km so far but averaged 22 MPG over the weekend driving in 110F heat with aircon working hard, mix of city and highway driving but probably 70% highway

 

[macroman]

i get around 19mpg on my 00 legacy L wagon, i think that's not pretty good..

 

[Jondalar]

OK my overall average 1000 miles is 19MPG (US), this is about 70% city driving (stop start crawl) 30% highway. I expect this to improve as the motor is still very new. It's definitely not as good as I'd like it to be but as I said, it should improve when the motor loosens up.

 

[kestonh]

I'm going to fill my 7th tank tonight. I've been consistently averaging 26.2 - 26.8 mpg. 80% interstate (cruising way too fast) 17%, mountain roads 3% in town driving. I assume it will get better as the engine gets broken in.

 

[The_Lizard]

I wish I could log fuel consumption on a closed 10-mile course - once while driving aggresively, and once driving for efficiency - just to see what the difference would be.

 

[Jondalar]

I wish I could log fuel consumption on a closed 10-mile course - once while driving aggresively, and once driving for efficiency - just to see what the difference would be.

I guess you could do this if you found a very quiet section of road and drove it twice, resetting the trip computer at the start of each. I guess you'd have to trust the trip computer, but it would at least give you a subjective idea. I get the feeling that the new 3.0R engine gets pretty thirsty if you let it rev, which it loves to do.

Cheers,
Karl

 

[SHO Type U]

what's the gas mileage of the Outbacks in genereal? the 4 cyl and 6cyl?

 

[Baja Turbo]

I guess you could do this if you found a very quiet section of road and drove it twice, resetting the trip computer at the start of each. I guess you'd have to trust the trip computer, but it would at least give you a subjective idea. I get the feeling that the new 3.0R engine gets pretty thirsty if you let it rev, which it loves to do.

Cheers,
Karl

Do you have to run premium fuel?What is the mileage for the 3.0R on the window sticker?I thought the new model was suppose to have better mileage.

 

[Jondalar]

Yes you have to run Premium fuel in the 3.0R and yes it does have better gas mileage than the previous H6, I can tell you the mileage from the sticker but it's probably irrelevant to USA as it's Australian and our fuel is different and the government standard tested to is also different. Fuel rating is 95RON, Fuel Consumption (ADR81/01) 10.9 L / 100km which is 21.6 MPG US. This is mix of city and highway driving to some government standard.

 

[chrispy]

My 2000 OBW gets 26-30mpg on average - all types of driving.

 

[Jondalar]

Chrispy is that US MPG? sounds incredibly good, even if it's Imperial MPG...

 

[kestonh]

My last tank averaged 27.8mpg. This tank was 80% highway, 20% city street and backroad.

It seems to be slowly getting better. Maybe I'll break the 28mpg mark one of these days

 

[CR_TurboGuy]

I average around 20-22 mostly city driving, although it went down to around 18 over the winter, but I'm sure remote start didn't help that any. This is a 2.2 w/ 197k on it.


--Josh

 

[Scooby]

factors..

First of all are you checking your tire pressures regularly like once a week . check when cold and adjust to door jam specs for front and rear.

fluids check : keep all levels to spec. Try synthetic oils in engine/drivetrain. less friction means more power/ increasing mpg.

driving style : are a ricky racer or grandpa? grandpa gets more mpg!Use your cruise!

altitude/temperature:
cooler air charge is better for atomization of fuel. colder air is denser and means more power hence better mileage and power. Sea level is best the air is denser . High altitude air is thinner= less power/poor mpg. At 10,000ft it's harder to breathe for you and your car (unless your sherpa and have a yak)so if your in colorado not much you can do .

roof racks/weight: more surface area = more resistance/less aerodynamics poor fuel economy. Too much weight say a five hundred lbs. will reduce economy.

engine break in : that varies my '03 has 10,000miles and is improving slightly(mostly with torque/powerband)

I am averaging about 22city/26highway I have changed all oils to synthetic too.

 

[pnx-r]

To get better fuel efficiency, this is what I do..

I change the pull the spark plugs make sure they're all burning nice and hot. If not, non sufficient spark will cause less power output causing the engine to waste fuel. Next I pull out my air filter and clean it with compressed air. Then I clean out the throttle body to allow more airflow.

Other key things that I keep in mind is that, on OBD2 equipped vehicles, running higher octane gas will help with fuel economy because the knock sensor will compensate timing for the higher octane fuel. Another thing, I try to drive around 55-60 mph only if possible because fuel efficiency on vehicles is, from what I know, designed to work best at that speed.

*** Just my thoughts..