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Help!! Low Mpg & Lemon Law Buyback

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Old 09-22-2003 | 10:54 PM
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Help!! Low Mpg & Lemon Law Buyback

To anyone that have any knowledge about lemon laws...

I am getting 13 MPG and when they are advertising 18/24 miles per gallon. Can I ask for a lemon law buy back?

I haven;t been pushing the car, I only have about 800 miles on it. But I dun think it will make that HUGE difference between 18/24

I mean this is way off, do you think I can ask for a lemon law buy back..

of course I will let them try to fix the problem, but i am sure its out of their hands.. I think the problem lyies in the ECU..

Thanks
Old 09-22-2003 | 11:07 PM
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The lemon buyback is only applicable if the car has been in for repairs multiple times without the problem being solved. The number of times varies on state law, if I remember correctly.
Old 09-22-2003 | 11:20 PM
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so do my car apply for the lemon law... its not performing what its suppose to perform.. which means somethign is wrong wiht the car right?

Whatever the problem it is, they can;t deny the fact that the car is not what it is. So does that qualify me for the lemon law?
Old 09-22-2003 | 11:25 PM
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I think that would be more of a x28 vs MNAO

Can you say lawyer?
Old 09-22-2003 | 11:26 PM
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Once again, the lemon law applies when you have taken the car in several times without the problem being solved.
Old 09-22-2003 | 11:41 PM
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In a word: no.

You can have them run diagnostics on it, but if they don't detect anything wrong they'll send you on your way. Particularly since this is not considered a safety issue, low MPG is probably not going to be regarded under the lemon law. Generally it seems to be applied to defects that keep the vehicle from actually running or causes a safety issue.

Not performing to what is listed on the sticker seems more related to false advertising. That's a new can of worms.
Old 09-23-2003 | 12:10 AM
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Someone with more knowledge correct me, but I was under the impression the advertised MPG numbers on the sticker are only AVERAGES OF SIMILAR VEHICLES. I think it even says that on the sticker unless I'm mistaken. It doesn't say your car will get this mileage, just that similar cars with this set-up achieve a certain range. Thusly, since my 95 honda civic advertised 29mpg and I'm getting upwards of 42mpg on the interstate should I pay honda more money?
Old 09-23-2003 | 12:42 AM
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alright, thanks guys...

cause I have been reading the Road and Track and they say they are getting about 19 miles per gallon. And if mine can do that, doesn't that mean that there is a defect?

not safety issues, but there is still a defect.. I dun get it.. why wouldn;t it work..


I think I am repeating myself hah..
Old 09-23-2003 | 01:12 AM
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My advice would be that if you a really concerned about it, bring it to the dealer. I've been getting about 17mpg, driving in the city and occasionally letting the car loose. No complaints here.
Old 09-23-2003 | 01:38 AM
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17 mpg.. I will die for that...

I avhe been getting 12.5 mpg so far...

a little pushing sometimes, just a little...... seldom go redline..... so sad.. I love my car but the gas price is killing me


anyone.. does it matter why type of fuel I put in. Some poeple say the get better engine performance when they put in 87 octane

and does it matter what gas companies I go to? Are all of them the same... is Uncle John's Gas Station's 93 Octane as good as Mobile?
Old 09-23-2003 | 07:39 AM
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Bring it to the dealer. Let them drive it and see what milage they get. I don' think the lemon law is only for safety issues, but rather any problem that can't be fixed. If the dealer thinks your mileage is a problem then they should try to fix it. Maybe you have low compression in a rotor, maybe a fuel injector is faulty. I drive mine about how you say you drive yours and I get anywhere from 17 to 21. I bet you have some problem with your car.

I had an Eagle Talon that put out hot air into the foot well no matter how the temp was set. I brought it in several times and they could not find the problem. I mentioned the lemon law and they said gives us one more try. They had the car for several days and must have pulled the whole dash apart. They found a valve, or other part I forget which, that was installed backwards at the factory. After that the car worked perfectly. My point is the dealer didn't want a lemon buy back on their hands so they put the effort into fixing the problem. I suspect after you bring yours in several times for the same complaint they may try to swap the engine rather than give you your money back.
Old 09-23-2003 | 08:44 AM
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Re: Help!! Low Mpg & Lemon Law Buyback

Originally posted by x28
To anyone that have any knowledge about lemon laws...

I am getting 13 MPG and when they are advertising 18/24 miles per gallon. Can I ask for a lemon law buy back?

I haven;t been pushing the car, I only have about 800 miles on it. But I dun think it will make that HUGE difference between 18/24

I mean this is way off, do you think I can ask for a lemon law buy back..

of course I will let them try to fix the problem, but i am sure its out of their hands.. I think the problem lyies in the ECU..

Thanks
What's your mileage, color and options.. maybe you can get a quick sale here in this forum, or on e-bay.

What about the buy back option? Did you miss that or sign off on the maintenance?

Also, when your dealing with federal auto laws, you should be talking to the US Department of Transport. Taking any advice for such items off this forum is a total waste of time. You need real legal advice, not off the cuff info and opinions.

good luck
Old 09-23-2003 | 11:35 AM
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The color is winning blue

with 851 miles on it

full option other then the navigation... the package that comes with the leather.

I live in Boston

so if anyone is ineterested
haha
Old 09-23-2003 | 12:19 PM
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Just a thought - is there anyone else you could trust to drive it for 30 miles or so and see if they get a similar mileage to you? It scares me that you are getting such a low mpg - given the price of fuel in the UK
Old 09-23-2003 | 12:27 PM
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call your respective State's Attorney General Customer protection division and ask?
Old 09-23-2003 | 02:07 PM
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X28 please read past threads...all your questions will be answerd if you "LOOK" harder at thread topics.

And I would have to say your low miles per gallon is on you. Because I am getting 18+ mpg on my city driving. SO I am getting what I was told as far as mpg go.
Old 09-23-2003 | 02:46 PM
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I think you should take it back to the dealer, because some people get 20+ mpg no matter how they drive :\.
Old 09-24-2003 | 05:49 AM
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When did you buy thye car ? Mazda is already agreed to buy it back. You can't lemon it on gas mileage. I can take any car an run the hell out of it and get less then the EPA est. I have been getting 20 MPG in mixed driving. If you are getting 13 you must running if very hard or the chip is defective. Try resetting it. Disconnect the battery cable and wait a few minutes. Run a tankful through driving like a little old lady and see what you get.
Old 09-24-2003 | 08:40 AM
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You can't lemon law ANY car by complaining about it, you have to take it back to the dealer, have them try to fix it, I believe if they can't get the problem resolved after something like 3 tries , THEN you may be elligable for lemon law buyback..
Old 09-24-2003 | 11:23 AM
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why don't you tell us about your normal driving habits...

Do you let the car idle for long amounts of time?

What rpm do you normally shift at?

Are you actually calculating the fuel milage by how much you put in it or just going by what the gas guage is saying?

If you were cruising at 35mph on a country road, what gear would you probably be in?

If you were cruising at 25 mph on a city road, what gear would you be in?

If you were cruising at 50mph on a highway, what gear would you be in?
Old 09-24-2003 | 12:36 PM
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Personally, I don't think driving habits are the problem, it seems to me that the people who get 18-21mpg get it regardless of how they drive, I'm convinced something is wrong with the 13mpg cars, but instead of complaining on message boards, or trying to get something for nothing, i.e. lawsuits, they should take their car back to the dealer and have them investigate and try to fix the problem, if they can't get it fixed, sure, try to do the lemon law thing..
I'm sure it'll take time and you'll have to do some argueing to get the dealer to fix the problem, but I think they will make it right, either through a mazda recall or just at the dealer level.
Old 09-24-2003 | 02:23 PM
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Thanks a lot guys, I will try out what you guys said and see what happens.

One question, if you use 87 octane does it hurt the engine more? I heard it eats up the oyxgen sensors or seomthign liek that.
Old 09-24-2003 | 02:38 PM
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from what i read in other threads people's millage improves as they drive more. during the breakin period everyone was getting low milage, not as low as you are complaining about, but still 14-15 mpg. what i found was people were saying they got better millage after 2000 miles... thought some peopel are complaining about still getting low aroudn 14-15 after the 2000 miles. my suggestions, bring the car back to the dealer every other weekend either until the car is fixed or you are elligable for lemon law. though honestly why would you wanna get rid of such a nice car. just keep harassing your dealer, and keep driving measuring your mpg everytime you fillup (setup odo to 0 after fillup, then when fillup again take miles and divide but number of gallons you put in and set odo to 0 again and repeat) as far as putting 87 in your car i'm curious myself... some peopel complained about pinging when going to high revs but if the car is rateed for 87 shouldn't it be fine.
Old 09-24-2003 | 04:24 PM
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The problem with me going back to the dealer is, they keep saying that's how the car is suppose to be. They kept telling me, well the only thing we are going to do is to connect the comptuer to your ECU and see if there is a problem.

I mean if you Engine light doesn;t flash, it means that the car is normal.

After he says that, I dun know how to argue him.

darn it...
Old 09-24-2003 | 04:47 PM
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That's what I figured. If the dealer doesn't see anything pop up in a diagnostic there's really nothing they can/will do. However, a mileage log would be a good thing to keep as it will give you evidence of poor mileage. But keep harping on the dealer anyway, as that's the only way anything can be done about it.


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