Why my car is more fuel-consuming than I expected?

[Adam0419]

My year 2000 Aspire spent 18.30 L on 196.25 kms, which is much higher than I supposed before. Why? What should I do with it?

[TominMO]

My year 2000 Aspire spent 18.30 L on 196.25 kms, which is much higher than I supposed before. Why? What should I do with it?

Easy things to check:
1. dirty air filter
2. old spark plugs; also distributor cap, rotor and plug wires
3. are you driving aggressively and in the city?
4. is tire pressure correct?
5. does it seem to have the power it should? maybe the timing belt has slipped

Could be a combination of these, or some other issues too. But start here.

[batstiva]

25 mpgs does seem a bit low. Is it auto, or manual? I think TominMo has given you a pretty good list of ideas to start working on.

[Adam0419]

Easy things to check:
1. dirty air filter
2. old spark plugs; also distributor cap, rotor and plug wires
3. are you driving aggressively and in the city?
4. is tire pressure correct?
5. does it seem to have the power it should? maybe the timing belt has slipped

Could be a combination of these, or some other issues too. But start here.

Thank you! My friend's already examined for me and he said the air filter is really dirty which need to be changed.
Tire and timing belt are old. I am just waiting, maybe after new year the prices will be better.
As for distributor cap and rotor wires, I don't know what they are and I am going to find out from wikipediA.

[TominMO]

A very dirty air filter will make a big difference in gas mileage, so maybe that is the only problem. I once bought a Honda CRX with 42,000 miles, and it had very bad gas mileage. When I inspected the air filter, it was very dirty and clogged. It was probably the original one fromthe factory! When I replaced it, gas mileage went up a lot.

[Adam0419]

25 mpgs does seem a bit low. Is it auto, or manual? I think TominMo has given you a pretty good list of ideas to start working on.

My car is manual. And what is 25 mpgs?

[Adam0419]

A very dirty air filter will make a big difference in gas mileage, so maybe that is the only problem. I once bought a Honda CRX with 42,000 miles, and it had very bad gas mileage. When I inspected the air filter, it was very dirty and clogged. It was probably the original one fromthe factory! When I replaced it, gas mileage went up a lot.

Thank you. And my car's exhaust fume isn't clean. My friend thinks the engine maybe worn out. That will be a serious problem.:shaking:

[marinepolice03]

My car is manual. And what is 25 mpgs?

25 Miles Per Gallon

[JPT]

10.63 km/l

[FestYboy]

undoubtedly, the engine has never seen a tune-up. start there (air filter, sparkplugs, wires, cap, rotor, oil change, and fuel system cleaner in the tank) then properly set the tire pressure and check that you rear wheels aren't draging (should easily turn in the air).

also find an auto shop and talk to one of the older guys there (that work IN the shop). as your aspire is slightly different than ours, there may be some odditys about it that we're not aware of.

[MONSOON]

Tire and timing belt are old. I am just waiting, maybe after new year the prices will be better.
As for distributor cap and rotor wires, I don't know what they are and I am going to find out from wikipediA.

My suggestion after reading this is before you buy anything, buy yourself a Service manual for that particular year Aspire. Itll save you loads of typing here asking "Whats this?" and "How do I do that?"
You should be able to pick one up fairly reasonably on Ebay.

[FestYboy]

^ x 10!

[batstiva]

My car is manual. And what is 25 mpgs?

25 miles per gallon. I just converted your numbers to numbers we are more familiar with here in the states. Sounds to me like it's just due for a tune up. Grab a manual, some tools, and have at it.

[WmWatt]

That's 9.34l/100km. My carb'd '89 uses 6.24l/100km city driving but I'm very fuel conscious. I drive to save fuel, not to save time.

I'd start by chemically cleaning out the engine, wiping off the ignition system,
cleaning and gapping the spark plugs, then checking the
idle speed, timing, and compression. A cheap hand held vacuum guage can show
engine problems (see the "sticky" article at the top of the forum page). With something
like this you have the luxury of taking your time.

[Zanzer]

Something else I [personally] would add to the tune-up list is a new 02 sensor. It's cheap and easy to replace on these cars and will help the computer maintain the correct air fuel mixture which will help out with the fuel mileage. An 02 sensor loses efficiency with mileage, so a sensor that has 100k on it is kind of like "the death by 1000 cuts" since it's not operating at it's full potential. The new one I installed on my 93 was only $20 so it will pay for itself pretty fast. Just a thought.

Also, as Monsoon said; get a manual. The first thing I buy when I get a vehicle I'm not familiar with is a service manual. It will save you alot of time and money...especially if you break something that has to be removed with a special sequence, procedure or tool.