So you had the AC on, passengers, you do over 70 mph, and you expect to not be getting such shit gas mileage?

Your supposed to get 35MPG Highway when you do the speed limit (around 60mph) If you do 65, you waste 15% more gas then if you do 55, so if your doing 70 with the AC on (which uses 10-15% of engine power), with like 250 extra pounds, your probably getting 30% worse gas mileage then your supposed to be getting.

I get about 35pmg and i drive alone, no ac, just radio blasting and i do 65 on the highways. I also make sure i dont have anything i dont need with me in my car, like dead weight.

 

I was doing "the speed limit." The speed limit is 70mph on I5 at least in my area. Also there is no way the AC uses 10-15% more engine power. The alternator is an 80 amp alternator. At full load that is. 80amps x 12 volts = 960 watts. 1HP = ~748 watts. so I'm using up at most ~1.2HP. Thats about 1/100th of the stock engines power of 115hp. But obviously I'm not using the engine on full trottle and RPM's, so I'm never using near 115hp. But assuming that I use 30hp on average (city and highway combined) that still translates to roughly 3% more gas usage. 10-15% more fuel consumption with the AC would only be possible when idling.

There is a thread about gas milage for Gen 2 camrys and most people claim to get around 30mpg @ 70mph with AC. I expected to get in the mid-high 20's with the two passengers.

What I want to know, is how I can improve this? My guess is that the fuel filter is clogged up a bit (but I don't even know where the darn thing is). any other suggestions?

 

Actually the car is rated to do around 60, not 70, so reguardless of whether you did the speed limit or not, you werent getting the MPG that you thought.

 

Even with those factors, 20mpg is way too low.

Here's something to think about: I once went on a 8000km highway trip with my Gen2, packing roughly 1000lbs of stuff in the car. Despite averaging 60-70mph and exceeding the load limit by 100lbs, my mileage didn't drop below 30mpg.

These days, I'm getting 29.9mpg in city driving, with AC on and off randomly, empty car, and not making any effort to save gas. It could also use a tune-up.

So: Something's wrong with your car. Spark plugs cost about $10-15 for a set of four. Do not use Bosch plugs. NGKs work well in these engines.

 

Something is wrong. I can squeeze at least 20 mpg in my Cressida driving around town with the A/C on full blast and constant stop and goes. Try your air filter, tire pressure, etc. The simple things first.

 

@84Cressida, as stated in my first post the air filter and tire pressure are fine. That I checked before I drove the thing.

I've probably asked this question 5 times now on this forum, but have not gotten a single answer. Where is the fuel filter located in the engine compartment?

Also, how much do spark plugs cost usually?

 

There may be nothing wrong with the car. If the tires are properly inflated and the air filter clean, I'd just live with it. Admittedly your MPG is way low, but some vehicles of the same make and model have differing results for whatever reason. I wish I had your car payment.

I don't know where the fuel filter is located, but I'll attach a link from Autozone. Spark plugs are less than $5 each.

http://www.autozone.com/shopping/repairGuide.htm?pageId=0900c15280073f40

 

If you're not able to find the fuel filter on the car, are you really competent enough to change it?
Follow the fuel lines from under the car to the engine...the fuel filter is on the driver's side under the air filter housing attached to the sidewall. It will take two wrenches to get it off, I believe a 17mm and 14mm in tandem as not to bend the metal fuel lines.

 

make sure the cat is not blocked up, mine on my 89 is

 

The fuel filter can be a pain to remove. Be very careful not to strip the nut or bend any lines.

What checks have you done on your emissions system so far?

Check that your cold start system is working properly. If the cold start injector is leaking or if the cold start timer switch (I'm guessing a 3SFE engine?) is sending the wrong signal you might be dumping fuel into the system all the time.

Kep

 

Geez, 20MPG is pretty low. Only time I got near the low 20's was when I didn't have a second gear on my Gen1 because of an electrical issue with the tranny.

Odd question to ask, but is O/D enabled while you drive? If you got an LE trim, what is the rev on highway speeds?

 

I enabeled O/D when I was on the freeway going over 55mph. I'm going to try driving slower and see how big of a difference it makes. I'm also going to try running some restore, to try and gain compression.

 

fuel filter is in the engine compartment below the air filter box you will need to remove the box to get to the fuel filter. after that check plugs and wires.

 

Leave O/D on all the time. Also be aware the obvious, an older vehicle with wear and tear isn't going to perform as well, hence 20mpg. You'll probably gain 3+ mpg leaving the O/D on all the time.

 

Even a high milage Camry can still get at lease 25mpg on highway if it is half decent in shape for a 4cyl. My Camry with a horrible front end (It goes through tires every 20K) still can sqeeze out around 26+ mpg for city/freeway.

Hell, if I was getting 20mpg out of a 4cyl for my driving, I'd be happy to exchange it for a V6/I6 with the same gas miles.

Still, I think it could use some basic tune up parts. I bet the fuel filter is pretty dirty and is contributing to the low MPG. After the basic tune up parts are replace, we'll see how much better it'll be.

 

Im surpised anyone gets much over 30 MPG. Ive had my camry for 4 years and never went over 30 MPG no matter what type of driving im doing or tune ups or anything. Only 100K on my camry but still its 20 years old now.

20 however is low and there is obiviously something causing it.

if anyones interested theres a good site goole U.S. gas mileage with tons of all car info. Camrys have a wide spectrum of mileage ranges even within the same motors and same years ive never understood but around 25 seems to be what that site says is the average.

 

Maybe I should replace my wires too. Never have in 20 years but car does not miss. It runs out well.

I have been wonderin about the Oxygen sensor as well. Ive never changed it either. I know maintenece scehdule calls for it but Ive been to chincy in the past thinkin it wouldnt make any difference

I maybe need to rethink my chincyness especially since gas is $4.20 now.

 

I get about 430 miles on each tank fill up

 

oxygen sensors is another one people forget to replace on these cars. I replaced mine after 194,000 miles miles and noticed a slight bump in economy. Next up is clean the egr valve and a good old fashioned OIL CHANGE

 

When I bought my 1990 Camry 4cylender I was getting 20mpg, so I changed the plugs, air filter, and flushed the tranny. That bumped my mpg up to 23. I wasn't satisfied with that so I took it further and bought a new fuel filter and oxygen sensor which bumped it up to 30mpg.

 

Just got back from the auto store $35 for Oxygen sensor and $15 fpr fuel Filter. Ive never changed either. I guess I didnt chage the Oxygen sensor cause Ive always figured the check egine light woulf tell me if its bad and the fuel filter I guess I figured the car would quit running ifit got glogged.

Oh well $50 anit much nowadys. Just over 10 gallons of gas and even a sight increase in fuel economy could ressult in hundreds of dollars savings over say 20k or 30k miles

 

Well the oxygen sensor is hands down the easiest to change it can be done in literally 5 minutes on the first try. I think all you need is a 12 or 13 MM socket wrench and a cold engine :] and its right in front of the engine when you open the hood. The fuel filter is a little more involved but isnt hard to do

 

Well before I go replacing things, I've changed my driving habits a lot on this tank at least to see what kind of mileage increase I'll get. I've been doing 55mph on the freeway, and accelerating slower, and gliding whenever possible. Judging from my fuel meter, I'll likely get 25MPG+ this tank

I also ran fuel cleaner through one tank of gas, and just added "RESTORE." I think I'm already feeling a little more responsiveness from the engine. My spark plug wires look great, but I'll borrow my neighbors spark plug wrench to take a look at the actual plugs then go from there.

How much would it cost to pay a mechanic to replace the fuel filter, spark plugs, etc? I've never owned a car before (just a yamaha 125cc scooter). Where are some of the cheaper "well known" places to get your car worked on?

I know I could do the plugs myself, and the air sensor, but I don't know about the fuel filter...

 

Yea i was definitley wrong about my earlier posts. Of course doing excess speeds, carrying extra weight, and using the ac constantly can ruin gas mileage but not 10mpg of a loss. Theres definitley something going on other.

 

Exactly my thinking. 10mpg loss is too much. I was expecting to get about 25-28MPG on my last tank, when I was driving 70ish and carrying two passengers with the AC on. But I do look forward to increasing my gas mileage. My goal although very far away at the moment, will be 50MPG. Your probably laughing now, but I plan to do some major mods. I plan to install an HHO generator within the next couple of weeks (should give me a 50% boost in MPG) then also do a few aero mods.

 

HHO generator? If you're meaning those hydrogen / water to gas kind of retrofits.. I wouldn't bother. I think the only place where people accept those as real is "as seen on tv" both gassavers.org and ecomodders have never proved its efficiency

 

Hey aych, yes I'm talking about the HHO generator. I have done 100's of hours of research and I KNOW it works. It might be difficult to increase my MPG by 60% with a generator, but it is very possible. Most people get at least a 20% increase. I'd say 30-40% is about average. Look on youtube, there are 100's of videos, of people that have tried it and are getting amazing results. There are guys driving trucks that use to get 20MPG and are now getting 40MPG...

Infact, it is possible to run a car completely off water. Google Stan Meyer. He was killed for his invention. He invented a generator that was 1700% efficient. Meaning it put out 17x times as much energy as it consumed. He was using a special type of electrolysis to split the water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. He was using special frequencies to aid in the splitting of the water molecules not just electricity. You might ask why we are not running our cars off water. And that is because Stan Meyers was poisoned for his invention, most likely by oil companies. He died a few years ago.