mt_100

I have an 04 five door with only 29,000 miles on it and am seeing horrible mileage as well. Over the last ten fill-ups I calculate mileage and average only 13-17 miles per gallon.

My average tank gets me about 180 - 210 miles and a 12 or so gallon fill-up.

I have called the dealer, two actually, and both tell me that unless there is a check engine light coming on there is nothing they will do. Needless to say I am extremely upset, to the point of swearing off Mazda and getting rid of the car.

Is there anyone out there that can help with some advice? I live in western Michigan and really don't know where to turn on this.

major error

On my '07 3 GTS, I average about 21mpg in mixed-use driving. I haven't been driving it much because of the crappy weather lately, so it hasn't even hit 5000 miles yet >_>

Roddimus Prime

In my 2006 MS6 It's advertised as 19/25 and I have been getting 21.6 pretty consistantly with random spurts of speed (a few jumps a day). I guess all in all I'm pretty happy with it.

friggin turbo sucks though.

mkyboyiah

mileage gets better after the first year or 12,000 miles. the engine is broken in at that point

dentinger

get synthetic oil at your next oil change.... it cost more, but i found that it lubricated my engine way better, and i have barely even seen the needle move since i got it done on friday... and ive been starting to shifter at higher rpms (3500) again

Chibana

It's been my experience that very few cars get anywhere near what they're listed for in city driving due to the horribly unrealistic EPA test routines for determining mileage. This will be changing, if I remember correctly, for the 2008 model year, when the new testing procedures go into effect. In highway driving, however, I tend to get a bit better than the sticker rating. With my 3 in its current config (quite a bit done to it, including a lighter flywheel and 5% taller fifth gear), I get 35-37 mpg during my work commute (in warm weather), which is 170 miles of almost entirely expressway driving. I set my cruise control for 70 mph, which doesn't really affect drive time much (if I drive faster, I just catch up to left lane bandits and have to slow down, anyway, reducing my average speed so the difference in time is only a few minutes each way, and the drive is far less stressful at 70 mph).

I did notice that my city mileage improved a bit after the flywheel install, but since I never do mostly city driving on a tank of gas, it's hard to say how much. What I can say is that the mileage I get after a weekend is significantly better now than it was before. However, I also started driving a bit more mildly at the same time.

I calculate my mileage for every fillup, so I have pretty good data on my car's mileage for 85,000 miles and 2.5 years.

donnie

i have an 04 5 door s model with aftermarket exaust and k&n cold air intake. i get about 25/28 mpg. ive been loking for an external fuel filter to change and i cant find one. the dummy at the local mazda place said um my computer dosent tell me if it has one or not?????? that would be pretty stupid if it dosent. am i blind?

k1uhf

My wife drives our 05 3 5 door around town, soccer mom trips, and the average is about 27.5, lowest is 25.5 and best about 32.5 (80 mph on the highway). Does have a 5 speed and my wife is easy on the brakes.

Tell her to coast to a stop instead of racing to the stop sign.

lukasz70

my GF has an 06 mazda 3 gt auto and also has terrible milage, the info read out says 11.5L/100km, which is not true cause she never gets 400km/tank. 11.5L/100km is about 20mpg which even if it were true would still be better then what she really gets.

Mazda said there is nothing wrong with the car and paid for her tank the time she came in. the sales person even admitted that sometimes they have some mazdas with really terrible fuel milage!

my brother has an 05 sport, 5spd, and get about 450-500 per tank! its the same engine, and a heavier car!! alot of highway driving, but his average speed is about 140km on the highway!.

My Gf sister has a 06 mazda6 2.3. again same engine, heavier car, and she get much better fuel milage!

so it really isn't dependent on the way you drive, yes the driver can influence these numbers, but my GF is a new driver, not aggresive, there is just something wrong with that car!.

VAspeed3

In my experience with many cars I've owned, it really is about how you drive it as long as the maintenance is done, tires inflated properly, etc.

My MS3 got 24 to 26 on the highway when I first got it, but after around 10,000 miles the mileage went up because of break-in or warmer weather or both. Now I get 28 to 29MPG on the highway, and can do even better if I stay off the Interstate and run 60MPH instead of 80 MPH. I'm averaging 27.5 now with some city driving and some occasional rocket imitations.

A car that consistently uses 20% more fuel than it should is either being driven hard ( or lots of cold-engine short trips) or has something wrong with it. "Something wrong" could be that you hammered it during break-in and screwed up the cylinder walls or rings -- there are lots of things, but the CEL usually picks up sensor defects.

k1uhf

Only about 4000 miles now and my MS3 has been averaging about 24 mpg. 21 to 27 mostly in cold weather.

I do notice something really weird. My MS3 does not coast or roll anywhere near as far or fast down hill in neutral as my other Mazda 3 5 door or the Volvo I had. I did notice that it got better in that respect when I switched from the stock Summer tires to Michelin Alpin snow tires on 17" rims??

Does the limited slip, stiff suspension and tires make it not roll as well? Whatever makes it roll like the brakes are on has to gobble up the gas. I expected that at a steady highway speed it would be at least as good as my non turbo 5 door but it isn't.

VAspeed3

That is interesting, because my MS3 coasted very well because the brakes did not drag at all on the original pads. I had to replace the fronts late last summer (beware, they are stupid expensive at around $250/set just for the pads) with some cheap pads, and now they drag noticeably when I roll up to a stop. Recenty had to replace the slave cylinder - it is the first I've ever had to fail - and that seemed to reduce the dragging some, but not all of it.

You might try to tell if the dragging is worse right after harder braking but eases off a little after you've sat for a few seconds off the brakes. Maybe the calipers are not floating the way they should -- that would manifest in the inside pad (I think)wearing a lot faster than the outside.

08GTHatch

I average 26.2mpg on mixed driving. 2.3L, stick shift.

In pure highway, I can get over 30mpg, averaging 70mph or so.

sheilclan

I recently purchased an '04 Mazda 3 Sport 5 speed. I was pretty disappointed with the mileage however I happened to check the air filter and I think the person before me never changed the air filter. I was averaging 22 - 24 mpg in the city and it has jumped to almost 29mpg after changing the filter and yes I measure my mileage by how many gallons I put in versus the mileage recorded on my odometer.

k1uhf

I have a 2006 3 5 door (2.3liter manual) and a 2009 Speed 3.

I get better mileage than my wife does with her non turbo! 25.19 mpg accurate 10K mile average, Winter Summer. If I drive the 3 5 door on a 75 - 80 mph trip I will get 34 and get 27+ around town.

The main trick besides keeping the tires inflated on the high side is to never step on the brakes! All that kinetic energy is lost! Just tell her to watch ahead and if it looks like she has to slow down let off the gas, don't run up on the cars in front and hit the brakes, coast to a stop.