Lost MPG in My Newly Aquired Focus [Q]

[zlmitchell]

Hello,

I currently own two 2008 Ford Focus's, one is Blue with an Automatic Transmission and one is Black is a Manual transmission.

So I have just acquired the Black 2008 Focus SES with Manual Transmission used and noticed that the MPG is low, 28MPG normal driving when my other focus the doing the same amount of driving gets 35+ MPG.

I was wondering if anyone had any idea's I brought this up to the dealer from which I acquired it, and they responded, "We cant find anything wrong with it" and "The advertised mileage is not often achieved." Also they gave me a rental... 2009 Focus which I achieved 38 MPG over 2 tanks of gas. So in my opinion there must be something wrong with my Black Focus.

So does anyone have any ideas of what I can do to fix/check for some problems that may be causing this?

P.S. I have tried Seafoam treatment in the gas no effect.

[Sponsor]

[iminhell]

Tires and driver mod will be 80% of the reason.

[zlmitchell]

Originally Posted by iminhell

Tires and driver mod will be 80% of the reason.

My tires are 16" Nankang NS-II All seasons and I assume what you mean by a driver mod is learn to drive... yea... lets assume that is not the reason.

[WiscoGTI]

He doesn't mean learn to drive. He means everyone drives differently and that plays a huge role.

For example, same car, 2008 Focus, a 16 year old will probably get less MPG's than a 40 year old. Driving the manual, you may get on it more often without noticing than when you drive the auto. I know I drive differently in autos than when driving stick.

Sent from my man cannon via FF Mobile.

[rambleon84]

Since its a new car to you.. have you changed all the fluids and filters? (oil, fuel, air ect..)

Also, how are you shifting? If driven modestly, the manual should be getting better mpg than the auto. If you are shifting late and taking it to redline each gear, then it obviously will hurt your mpg.

[zlmitchell]

Originally Posted by rambleon84

Since its a new car to you.. have you changed all the fluids and filters? (oil, fuel, air ect..)

Also, how are you shifting? If driven modestly, the manual should be getting better mpg than the auto. If you are shifting late and taking it to redline each gear, then it obviously will hurt your mpg.

The oil was changed before I bought it, now 1700 miles ago, as was the air filter.

The fuel filter and spark plugs are the only thing I can think of to look at changing still.

As for your third question I am very modest, always shifting at around 2-2.5k RPM.

[zlmitchell]

Also I work in a rural area so its not like i have to shift all the time, I maybe shift all the way to fifth once and then steady at 55 till i get to work in 10 miles then done. There is not a lot of problems that could be had with that. Like I said before I know its not me.

[WiscoGTI]

Well, difference in tires could be playing a factor.

Also try cleaning your MAF. That might help. As well as the throttle body. Changing out your o2 sensors could help. Make sure your flex pipe isn't leaking or anything.

^Those are all issues I've run into that have killed MPG's. But other than that, every car is different. Some will exceed expectations while others fail to reach the minimum. Most likely, that's the problem imo.

Sent from my man cannon via FF Mobile.

[rambleon84]

Originally Posted by zlmitchell

Also I work in a rural area so its not like i have to shift all the time, I maybe shift all the way to fifth once and then steady at 55 till i get to work in 10 miles then done. There is not a lot of problems that could be had with that. Like I said before I know its not me.

Yeah if you are cruising in 5th gear at 55, you should be getting great mpg's...

[zlmitchell]

Originally Posted by WiscoGTI

Well, difference in tires could be playing a factor.

Also try cleaning your MAF. That might help. As well as the throttle body. Changing out your o2 sensors could help. Make sure your flex pipe isn't leaking or anything.

^Those are all issues I've run into that have killed MPG's. But other than that, every car is different. Some will exceed expectations while others fail to reach the minimum. Most likely, that's the problem imo.

Sent from my man cannon via FF Mobile.

Thanks, I will look into what you suggested. Though the O2 sensors are a little out of my price range atm. Hopefully i can get the MPG's back in the respectable range prior to replacing them.