Camry HybridDiscussion area for the Toyota Camry Hybrid. Topics of discussion range from fuel economy, safety, modifications, performance all involving Americas favorite family car, the Toyota Camry.
Hi, I am new to the forum and not sure if any TCH owners have posted something similar, but here it goes....
I have had my TCH since December '06 and up until May '08, I have consistently averaged 38 mpg. Over the past few months, however, I have only managed to average 33-34 mpg, which is rather strange. When I took the vehicle to the dealership, one service consultant told me that my tires needed to be replaced, thus the 5 mpg decrease in fuel economy. However, my tires were and are in good condition, so I took the vehicle a few weeks later to another Toyota dealership and was told my tires were fine, but that I needed to replace an engine air filter. I followed the recommendation and yet, still no improvement.
Recently, I took my TCH to get an oil change and complained about the same issue, only this time, I was told that I needed to pay for the synthetic oil, which is twice the price of the regular oil. I found this to be quite strange being that for a year and a half I maintained high fuel economy on the regular oil. Then, the service consultant continued to give me a bunch of recommendations, which is going to cost me at least several hundred dollars.
The problem I am having with Toyota is that instead of them trying to diagnose the problem, they continue to give me a bunch of costly recommendations that may or may not solve my problem with decreased gas mileage. I always follow the required maintenance schedule and have maintained my same driving habits, so can anyone tell me what might be causing this loss of fuel economy and how might I resolve this issue with the dealership? HELPPP!!!!!
Did the stations in your area start selling 10% ethanol gas in the past few months???
A lot of areas in Florida just started selling ethanol but they are required to post if they are. That alone will sometimes cost a 5 to 10% drop in mileage.
You might consider investing in a Scangauge (google for site). I'm new to the TCH world, but drove a Prius for several years. I had a CAN-View unit installed, which gave me vastly more data than the standard screens. CV is not available for the TCH to my knowledge, but an SG would do almost as well (I have one on order). With more objective data at your disposal, you may be able to solve your mystery. It might be the gas, if you've started getting winter blend. It might be the tires, as they will ultimately degrade internally. It might be a bunch o' things. Hard data will be your best start point.
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2009 Camry Hybrid, Black.
2007 Avalon XLS, Cassis Pearl (that Burgundy color).
2004 Prius Package 9, Black.
Thanks for the input. Actually, the gasoline I have been using (Chevron, Texaco) has the 10% ethanol. Now that you mentioned that, around the time I began seeing the ethanol posted at gas pumps, I began having trouble with my mileage. This past fill-up I went to a BP station, (which I believe doesn't have the 10% ethanol) and currently I am averaging 36.2mpg, a number I have not seen in months. I will continue testing this theory, but it looks like I may have the problem resolved. Thanks again!
tyre wear should increase the mpg on the computer (because the tyre circumference is slightly smaller than when new) so it'll give a false higher reading that actual.
Hmm... is the oil overfilled?
are the tyre pressures correct?
or.. yeah the E10 lol. I should read the last message before I post.
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2010 Prius Technology Package (Cdn)
OEM Cargo Mat, OEM All-Weather Mat, LED ext/int lights, 5000K HID, OEM Fogs, Euro Mudguards
No problem, with the drop in mileage, I lookup the states I will be traveling in to see if they have a requirement to post ethanol content. All states do not have a requirement to disclose this. If they do not, I make sure I have enough gas to make it to a state that is honest and lets the consumer know what they are buying.
Last edited by GeorgiaHybrid; 10-23-2008 at 05:09 PM.
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