i kno this is probably an old topic but i cant stand this anymore. i looked around and the jist of it was, wait for the break in period to be over. i am reaching towards the end of the breakin period (958) and no improvement in mpg. i freakin basicaly babied the car. even the times when i was testing the handling. whenever i was casual drivingand went downhill i put it nuetrual so it would roll better and use less gas. in the city i would drive like a granny(tolerated many middle fingers[sm=sigh.gif]). and nothing i get like 20-21 mpg. i was getting better mileage with the 626. this is some royal bull. i heard that in some cars the breakin period is about 3,000 miles.wtf. i hope this isnt true.

 

In the first place, Mazda doesn't recommend babying the car during break in.My manual is notspecific about a break in period. But they do recommendnot maintaining to a strict speed for long periods, iirc.
As for the problem @ hand, my mileage has never improved but always stayed about the same no matter what I did, or have doneto it. In fact, I sometimes seem to get slightly better mileage running up the revs.
As far as gas mileage goes, this car doesn't act like any other I have owned either.

 

I don't really understand why people are complaining about 20 mpg, that's still good! I don't even really care what my MPG is really, just as long as I don't have to fill up every week or so (My car's tank usually lasts me about 2 weeks if I drive regularly and keep it under 4.5K RPM. Even when I rev it off it's goats.

If the mileage doesn't improve and your bothered by it, get some performance parts for it (ex. Engine management)

 

its a huge deal for me becuase gas is gonna get to about 4 dollars this summer, supposedly. and mazda advertised 30mpg. i dont mind if its a few under but 10 miles is a lot in my opinion. i am about to do an early oil change to see if anything improves. i want at least 25 mpg combined. that would be nice.

 

haha.... the "break in period"
i think i lasted about 200 km's before i opened 'er up

 

If you want to average around 29-30 mpg, you need to have the 3i (2.0L) with a 5-speed stick. That's what I get. Lowest was 27, highest was 35 mpg.

20 mpg average is horrible for a car that small. How are you calculating it?

You should fill up your car to the first click of the pump, reset the trip meter, drive through the gas, then fill at the same station to the first click. Divide the miles driven on the trip meter by the gas you just put in.

 

I'm getting about 24 mpg average for all driving in mine. Yesterday I had the computer well over 30 mpg for the first 80 miles or so. It seemed to like 55-60 mph in 6th just cruising home in traffic. I was impressed because I had three adults in the car so it wasn't empty or anything.

 

I honestly think that a 6 speed transmission is the best and saves you soo much gas when in 6th gear. Your RPM's are seriously in the low 1000's most of the time (inless your on the highway).

The thing is though, 55-60? You must be going down hill for sure... hah

 

im measuring it with the unlocked DIS. i jus want to get my 24 mpg back. i hate filling up every 4 days.

 

Yeah I have a 3 S 5dr. I am very dissapointed on the gas mileage I get. I am actually getting ready to trade my 3 in. I don't want to but I just cannot afford putting gas in it every few days. I need to get something with better gas mileage