Horrible mpg

[HezWag]

So I have been driving the new to me Mirage for about 2 weeks now and I was getting horrible gas mileage. I couldn’t figure it out. I was reading on here about how so many people were getting excellent gas mileage and thought I got a dud. When I bought the car from my uncle he told me he had one of his employees change the oil. So over the weekend my dad checked the oil to see if it was using any and it turns out it was over full. By a lot. So talked to my uncle who said he didn’t know why, the employee Googled how much oil and put in the “recommended 5 qts”! As soon as we heard that we drained every what he put in and filled it with the synthetic that it needs and the 3 qts it requires and last night on my way to work I got 40mpg. What a huge difference. Before I was lucky to get 30-31. I am so lucky that nothing horrible happened in the last 2 weeks running around with 2 qts too much oil. Now I am excited to see what kind of mpg I get with my long commute. As a side note, I think my uncle needs to take away his employees tool box.

[7milesout]

I wouldn't think adding 2 more quarts would affect the mpg so much. But I believe your experience to be accurate.

Evidently your crankshaft was slapping through an oil pan puddle of oil ... to some degree. Good job finding the problem, and glad you're noticing a sizeable increase in mpg. Keep us posted on your next mpg measurement.

Oh, and if your mpg went up, so should the hp to the tires. With no puddle of oil to splash through, the 3-tapper should now be capable of shredding those front tires!

[inuvik]

Glad you caught that! It's a common error that has been made at many shops and even at Mitsubishi dealers. It could have caused catastrophic engine failure due to oil aeration because of being excessively overfilled.

[Dookaughs]

I'm under the impression its 3.2 quarts!

[inuvik]

I'm under the impression its 3.2 quarts!

It is, but it's better to be 0.2 qt low than 2.0 qt over.

[HezWag]

I knew it is 3.2qt. I was rounding down. Haha It is amazing how different the car seems to be now. Like a totally different car engine. I’m very grateful nothing horrible happened to the engine in the last 2 weeks.

[Mark]

I knew it is 3.2qt. I was rounding down. Haha It is amazing how different the car seems to be now. Like a totally different car engine. IÂ’m very grateful nothing horrible happened to the engine in the last 2 weeks.

The take away from this thread is - "Check your engine oil dipstick every time someone changes your oil."

If someone changed the oil in one of my vehicles, I would check the level before paying the bill. Even when our driver's education cars are serviced, I check the oil level asap.

Unless it is a part of some free offer, I really prefer to change my oil/filter. I like deciding what oil & filter I am using (not that I pay extra for brand name stuff).

On a positive note - a forum member received free oil changes with the purchase of his Mirage. Even though the Mitsubishi dealership itself closed their doors, the dealership owner, who had other brand dealerships, still honored the deal.

Steve received free oil/filter changes every 5,000 miles. Most of those free oil changes were done with conventional 5W30 motor oil and I would assume a basic affordable oil filter @ a Cadillac dealership. In the end, Steve did a couple oil changes himself, but more than 55 of them were done free. He recently sold his Mirage @ 307,435 miles, & I don't recall Steve having any engine issues. He did have A/C & transmission issues to deal with, however.

[HezWag]

You’re absolutely correct about checking every time someone changes the oil. I guess I was lazy because I was assuming it was ok coming from my uncle. Lesson learned that I shouldn’t just assume. I would be willing to bet my uncles employee didn’t use synthetic oil either now that I know the guy didn’t worry about the details. I bet when he googled he didn’t pay attention to what type of car he was reading about. Probably just the first page that popped up. Could have been an outlander or any other Mitsubishi.

[7milesout]

Be glad he didn't accidently read the spec from a Lexus LS 460. Or you would have wound up with 9.2 quarts I think it is.

When I was in college, one of my buddies managed a quickie oil change place. I bet this happens occasionally, but he said a lady came in just blowing clouds of smoke. She said she just checked it and added oil. He said how much. She said til it was full.

I don't blame anyone for making that mistake. You don't know what you don't know, but at least she was trying to take care of her car. Which is more than I can say about a lot of ... people. He was very nice with the same attitude as that, and drained and filled it correctly for free. He warned her that it would continue to smoke for a while, and said it smoked (not as bad) for as far as he could see her drive away.

[HezWag]

Last night on my way to work I was averaging 46mpg. So it is amazing how different the car runs now. My niece named my car Marsha. Well, Marsha is earning her keep lately. I’m very happy with the Mirage and don’t understand all of the negative reviews. A car is a way to get from point a to b and Marsha does that well. I appreciate this forum because I’ve learned a lot and look forward to years of saving gas money!