I was hoping someone could give me some answers or advice concerning the gas mileage of my 8. I bought it last november, and the gas mileage then was 12 miles per gallon. I read up on all the problems and the advice that it will get better as the engine breaks in etc. etc. well here i am a year later and the last five fill ups ive gotten between 11-13 miles per gallon. This is mostly city driving with some high way, but i took out my sticker for the 8 when i bought it and the advertised gas mileage was 18 city -25 highway. Is this what everyone is experiencing or is my car a lemon. Also is anyone else has experienced numbers this low, what did they do..what can the dealership do..try me out with a new 8 because mine is just a lemon or..? i dont expect to get amazing gas mileage w this car but those numbers aren't justifiable. Background info is it is an automatic..ive had it for 12 months and it has all recalls including a re-flash. Also, becasue of the constant mileage watching recently ive been driving the car like an old lady, with very rarely going above 4,00o rpms to get an accurate reading. Please help with any info on how mazda will handle this when i present them with this information in the upcoming weeks or anything i can do to improve mileage. Also, is anyone else getting these numbers??
thanks a lot for you help
adam

 

yes i am getting these numbers. Esp when it is colder i get around 12. But in the summer i get around 18. I do 90% city driving in chicago. Its normal as others have the problem of gas mileage. i noticed, if i drive hard, my numbers dont really change too much, so what the heck.

 

It looks like i'm on my worst tank yet... I've got 110 miles on the tank and have 1/4 tank left. I might just get 10 mpg out of this one.

I don't care anymore. Its fun to drive. Maybe gas prices will come down.

 

The gas mileage has been a major complaint with all RX8 owners. Mine gets roughly 13 miles to the gallon if I am lucky, and on the highway I will be lucky if I hit 15-16. If car manufactures could be fined for the false estimations I think we would get farther. My mustang I use to own got better mileage than this car, and it moved also. I have had the worse experience in owning the RX8 than any other car. I promised myself the next car will be from an American named car like Ford or Chev, i.e. Mustang or Corvette.

The hourse power sucks for torque, and dealerships are completely stupid for selling a vehicle with high performance summer tires in locations that have "snow".

When I bought my RX8 I had it for two days before it went into the shop for 5 weeks. Of course I couldn't get a refund or different car.

I like the high speeds especially on the way to Montana and the look of the car, but damn the rest sucks.

 

This is the type of stuff that FREAKS me out about the RX8. I can take 18/24 but these horrible 12-13 are completely unacceptable to me. I've made a choice, I'll most likely get the 8 and PRAY that I can get the 18/24 that the EPA got...if not, I'll be sending letters to Mazda every week about the fuel economy.

 

i appreciate everyones comments but to be honest i was really hoping everyone else was doing better in the mileage count. I hoped mine was just defective and i could go from there..this is worse news..is there any solution anyone has..i guess just raise hell with mazda through letters and phone calls..

also i agree with you evolution..im trying to stay positive with my 8 here..cuz i love its looks and almost everything about it at the surface..but so far in my first year with the car ive had the gas mileage issues (11 mpg), engine shutting off on me in the winter (while driving), and i quite often i have the break squeeking problem i've seen mentioned on the boards..not to mention driving in snow is close to impossible.. mazda really has some work to do .

 

I think most people are doing better, but at the same time it seems there are a heck of a lot more that are getting the mileage you are than there are people getting anywhere near what the EPA came up with (if there actually even is someone getting 18/24).

 

Well if I drive like a maniac I get 17, like a gramma (3K shifting) I get around 22.

 

You see Ike, some people do get it....THANK YOU SHAOLIN...thank you...LOL

 

I too live in Chicago and 95% of my driving is stop and go city driving. My car has 1600 miles on it, bought it 9/30/04. The build date is 7/03, yes an early car. I am now getting around 18-19 mpg. The car has been fine. If you are worried about gas mileage then GET ANOTHER CAR!! This is my second rotary, the first was a 93 RX-7, yes highly modified and it got around 10 mpg. If you are expecting gas mileage like a Honda you need to move on. Check out the gas mileage that owners of G35's, EVO's, etc are getting, it ain't great folks. So decide whats important to you and go with it. I got rid of my daily driver, 4 cylinder Honda Accord that honestly didnt get that much better gas mileage than this 8. But I chose to get something lively, and fun to drive for a daily driver. My other car is Porsche 930 turbo, wanna talk about bad gas mileage?!? and its my weekend/toy car. It is now tucked away for winter. Yes i bought winter rims/tires for the 8 because I knew it came with summer tires and yes I live where it snows. Guess what, the RX-8 isnt the only car that comes with summer tires and it doesnt matter where you live as far as what the manufacturer is going to equip it with. If you dont like your 8's people then sell them and move on but god stop the damn belly aching. <off the soap box now>

 

And what will that accomplish? The way you continually post how worried you are about the 8's fuel economy, I think you need to look at something else.


xridlebox2: You are definitely getting the very low end of the mileage scale... most of us see 15-17 city, 20+ highway. The worst I've ever seen is 13.x mpg on a day of 10+ autocross runs @ 9000RPM. After a year of 95% city driving I'm averaging 16.2mpg, and I have a very heavy right foot. I would ask the dealer to check your plugs for fouling, cat being clogged, and/or O2 sensor for screwed up readings. Did you by any chance ever flood it?

 

Well put! Chicago is in da house! :D

 

As mentioned in previous posts the government not the manufacture sets the milage figures. I get about 13 also but I have read dozens of posts where there are many getting much better milage then this. it seems there as a wide difference from one owner to another and many of the ones getting bad milage drive conservatively while others that get decent milage drive aggressively. My previous car was a Pontiac Bonneville SSEI with supercharger weighing 1000 pounds more then the RX8 and it got better milage. I don't care what milage I get I wil still love this car, but if a solution can be found for those of us that are getting worse milage then others It would be great. I take my car in tomorrow to be seen by a tech who just returned from Mazda school last week. He is going to drive the car while monitoring it with the computer. At least that is what they tell me. Maybe they will find something. Also they are supposed to let me know if they will paint my rusty rotors. I would do it myself but I physical problems which keep me from removing the tires. I got flamed in another thread for not wanting to wash my car myself but I guess no one considers that not eveyone has that capability. I hate it when someone jumps to a conclusion without knowing the situation. Ignorance = contempt prior to investigation. A lot of flaming goes on in these forums and I just chalk it up to imaturity.

 

Just another data point (and my big #2 post) -- I get 13.5 mpg all the time. Pseudo city driving. Its a manual with 3700 miles.

 

amen Brother!

 

You will not be able to get anywhere with your post. I know it's nice to know if others are doing better/worse in the MPG issue, but from what I've seen there is just too much variance. I think it's interesting, though, that the two ranges of mileage are always 11-13, and 16.x-19. I NEVER see 14-15 range. It really makes me think there is a commonality here that has not been found or explored. I really wonder if someone were to take one of these newer engines with crappy mileage, and change out the seals, both side and apical, and if that would change something. The other thing to check is the AFR in front of the cat. Are the cars that have such bad mileage consistently richer than those getting better mileage?

Whatever the case, I think Mazda should pay close attention to the problem at hand, and do something about it. I know the government sets the mileage from tests, but what if they had gotten one of the low end mileage cars? Mazda's sales would certainly not be where they are now with the car. How would 10 city and 13 hwy look on a small 3000 lb sports car? NOBODY would buy unless they just had to have the 8.

 

so I too like everyone else hated the gas mileage i was getting...then i took a 3 hour trip doing about 75 the whole way, and my mileage was slightly better (15/mpg)...but on the way back, i was hitting 22... YAAY for me...and ever since then i average between 17-21 MPG with 85% city driving, and when i take trips on the highway, i average 20-23 (keeping it at 71 or lower) and 17-20 driving faster...just my experience.

 

Lets try this one more time. If your car gets 10-12 miles per gallon in any form of normal driving (not an open track event). then your car is defective. It needs to be fixed. It is broken. You don't have to live with a defective product, you have a warranty. Just because Mazda did not swear in writing that you would get EPA mileage it doesn't mean that you have to accept this defect. My impression from reading this forum is that most people get EPA or better.

Just return it to the dealer until you can use the lemon law in your state to take action. Do not accept the dealer's explanation that everything is working correctly. If everything was working correctly then you would be getting the EPA mileage just like most others with the identical car do.

And forget the "it's a sports car" excuse. There is nothing inherent about a sports car that means bad fuel mileage. Besides does this mean that the majority of owners don't really have sports cars because they do get EPA mileage?

The bottom line is that no one should accept this defect any more than they have accepted the other defects that have shown up. Mazda has taken steps to resolve most of these. This is a common occurance when any new model is introduced.

Don't write letters. Take your car to the dealer just like you would for any other repair. If your turn signals didn't work you wouldn't write a letter would you? Of course not, you would take the car back until the repair was done correctly.

 

I agree. If poor mileage is "completely unacceptable" as you say, don't get an RX-8. There's many cars in this class and price range with better mileage. Here's Consumer Report's overall mileage for cars in its "sporty cars" category:

Mini Cooper Base 30
Toyota Celica GT-S 28
Acura RSX Type-S 26
Honda Civic Si 25
Volkswagen New Beetle Turbo S 25
Nissan 350Z Touring 22
Chrysler Crossfire 22
Hyundai Tiburon GT (V6) 22
Subaru Impreza WRX 21
Audi S4 20
Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution 20
Subaru Impreza WRX STi 20
BMW M3 19
Mazda RX-8 18
Pontiac GTO 17
Cadillac CTS-V 17

 

On my first tank from the dealership, I got probably like 12 mpg, which tremendously freaked me out. They filled it with 76, not sure what grade. Used Chevron mostly during the breakin period and got a steady 15 mpg, and after breakin switched to Shell Vpower and get a steady 16mpg with mixed city/hwy and mixed grannying/WOT. It's a fun car to drive no doubt, but man it's scary having to watch that needle drop a line like every 10 minutes of driving I do.

 

I agree - I can get 10mpg in my 8 but I have to try (ie: track or extremely hard driving). I usually get 18-19mpg and if I go 100% highway (like a trip to LA and back with light traffic (yah, like that happens very often )) then I can crack 20-22mpg.

If you get 10-12mpg all the time then you should be petitioning mazda and your dealer to find and fix whatever the problem is that's causing your bad mileage.

My car is an early build (May '03) and has 19k miles on it. The mileage has been fairly constand and was marginally worse when it had less miles on it.

Simon

 

GR8,

Let me further explain, If a Mazda dealership was ignoring my complaint about 10-13mpg then I would send letters to Mazda so they could figure out the problem…then move on to the media to see if they would pay attention to me. Why, CAUSE 10-13 IS REDICULUS considering the EPA stated 18/24. Why do some people do not understand this, really is beyond me. I’ll bet if Motor Trend or any other major mag got 10-13 they would be contacting Mazda about this ASAP.

Hay, are you buying the car for me? No, so let me complain all I want about a car with such a small engine getting mileage of a V10 500HP engine. Spending over $20,000 on car is an important decision and I AINT getting nor keeping a RX8 that gets 10-13mpg. I’m tired of hearing that comment, sorry I’m a little upset, but some people here…let me stop there…

Forgive them…some people are just jerks…

AMEN!!!! AMEN!!!! This is what I’m saying, THANK GOD for someone who understands this!!!

Yes, the EPA could be wrong but I’ll only accept 17/23…and no less. Why, cause I know I’m not going to run the RX8 into the ground and I expect the listed EPA number to be at least 94% right. Am I asking for too much? The truth, that’s all I want…nothing less.



AMEN! I agree with ya…

If Mazda listed a 2004 car that made 238HP (I understand HP does not = fuel economy or vise versa) and got 12/18 I think they would have sold about 10 RX8’s. Plain and simple…they would be selling a product that was not the fastest, cheapest, or most efficient. Then, if those numbers (which I think really come from problem cars), the RX8 would be a horrible purchase.

I think most people that say they do not care about fuel economy or use the excuse that “Hay…it’s a sports car…” must have a money tree at home. I always go for the best bang for the buck and the RX8 seems to fit that perfectly…getting 17/23 at least, but if I was supposed to accept the 12/18…then I could not (think of my family) make such a stupid decision as to buy a car that would just make me hate it because it got VIPER type fuel economy with Honda accord type power.

If fuel economy did not matter…we would not see it discussed so much or have EMS on more and more cars.

Sorry for the rant…just tired of hearing the ol…

“It’s a sports car…”
“Don’t expect to see anything near 18/24…”

and so on…and so on…

The RX8 is a heck of a sports car, but If I thought the 12/18 was the norm...I would not even consider buying one. Sure, 1-2 mpg does not make a huge impact...but 6mpg off the city listed 18...is significant!

 

I understand your concern completely, and I think it's legitimate. Many people have gotten less than EPA mileage on the car, and I don't think anyone here could promise you that your actual experience will be within 94% of EPA mileage (i.e. 17/23). It depends on a lot of factors, including how you drive, how well you maintain your car, and your particular car. It sounds like you're seeking assurance that you won't be unhappy, and we can't give it to you. If 17/23 is your bottom line, there's other cars in this class that are more likely to satisfy your demand.

Before you start your letter-writing campaign, you might want to keep in mind that the fuel economy rating comes from the EPA, not Mazda, so technically, Mazda isn't promising you anything.

Demanding 17/23 and spelling out the dire consequences to the RX-8 Club if you don't get it unfortunately don't change the reality of the situation.

 

Just FYI--my AT averages 16-17 mpg in the city (almost all short trips of 1-5 miles), and around 22-23 on the highway. I've got 6k on the odometer, build date was 6/03. So far driving has been in relative mild weather, but will be experiencing winter driving soon (on Blizzaks) and will keep the mileage data.

 

Whether Mazda is responsible for the EPA is not the issue. The fact is that most people get above 16 mpg. Many of these say they drive aggressively. Many of those who claim to get 10-13mpg also say they drive conservatively including myself. Obviously unless they are all lying there is a problem with some of the cars. If this cannot be resolved then fine, however it is Mazda’s responsibility to try to resolve it and to check these cars out. There could be additional problems down the line if in fact there is a mechanical or computer problem that exists. I took my RX8 in 3 weeks ago and requested it be checked out. They set an appointment 2 weeks later and changed the oil but said they could not check the car out because the Technician was away at Mazda School. The made a new appointment for today. I showed up today after setting aside other responsibilities and was told there was no technician available. They did not set another appointment date as of yet but said they will get back to me. All I want is for them to run diagnostics and check the car out. If they cannot resolve the mileage issue so be it. I still am enthralled and will continue to drive it and will not consider another car. It would be nice however to find that there is a problem that might be resolved and the mileage increased. I thought this forum was a place to discuss issues about the RX8 and such. Whenever anyone makes any statement regarding a problem with their car there seems to be a group of people who immediately jump on them. Do these people work for Mazda? Do they own Mazda stock? What is it? Discussing issues with the RX8 will not change the fact it is a great car. It is a great car but not a perfect car and no 2 cars off the assembly line are the same. That is why there are warranties and service departments.