CVT Mirage owner from Austalia ... not getting rated fuel economy

[rednwhitecooper]

How are you determining how much fuel you're using? The fuel gauge is not accurate.

You need to calculate actual fuel consumed over a distance to get an accurate reading. Fill the tank to full, reset trip odometer, drive car, when fuel is low, fill up to full again. KMs driven vs liters consumed will give you a better idea of fuel consumption.

Or, Fill up, Drive 100 KMs, and fill up and see how many liters you've consumed. I don't like the L/100KMs method of measuring consumption but I would guess that/s what you use in Australia.

[ThreePot]

Can you compare your revs per kph with another Mirage to make sure the CVT is topping out ?
Unlikely, but it's something easy to check.
Also wondering if the compressor is cycling all the time for some reason.

[debburyl]

How are you determining how much fuel you're using? The fuel gauge is not accurate.

You need to calculate actual fuel consumed over a distance to get an accurate reading. Fill the tank to full, reset trip odometer, drive car, when fuel is low, fill up to full again. KMs driven vs liters consumed will give you a better idea of fuel consumption.

Or, Fill up, Drive 100 KMs, and fill up and see how many liters you've consumed. I don't like the L/100KMs method of measuring consumption but I would guess that/s what you use in Australia.

I agree with rednwhitecooper, it depends on your driving conditions. And how you drive? If you are only doing city driving and you have a lead foot your going to use a lot more fuel.but if your light on the pedal and your on the freeway you will get a lot better gas mileage. In the past I had two Ford fiesta,s one 1979 Used and one New 1980.when I bought the 1980 brand new when I drove the new one it got real bad MPG I even took it to the dealer to find out why.it shows that not always do the same car get the. Same MPG. Also the 1980 was new and the 1979 had about 20,000 on it.so wait and see if it changes when youget more mileage on it.

[Jackson]

Hi Jackson,update on my fuel economy has not changed.im still getting way below Klms for what the car was advertised to do...its consistently giving me around 420-430klms per tank just running around local...mitsubishi don't care,there not interested in eliminating problems,so now I just drive the car and not worry about Klms,it ****s me though..if I travel on highway which I have been to sydney to Gold Coast 3 x times now the most I'm getting is 560-580klms per tank..I will never recommend a mirage to anyone....

Sorry! for the delayed response.

I can understand your frustration. I have trialed every single type of fuel you can imagine, from E10 to Unleaded 95 and even 100! which is only sold at 1 service station in Australia. Each time I have trialed a different fuel I put that fuel through at least 2 full tanks. Regardless of what fuel is used, or how economically I drive the car, I end up with the same result. Around 400KM's, but no more than 500KM's.

This led me to believe there was an issue with the on board computer, but Mitsubishi reassured me that by resetting the computer that those issues would be rectified. I believe it has been reset 2-3 times now.

These issues seem to be much more prominent for CVT Mirages as far as I can see. I intend to take my issues further and further with Mitsubishi until I get a result I am satisfied with, but due to commitments that has been put on hold for quite some time.

Tank capacity = 35L - 35 divided by 4, meaning 400 KM's = 8.75L/100KM's. Which actually makes sense considering my average fuel consumption reading hovers around the high 8's mostly. ( This can dramatically lower or spike at times ) The lowest I've ever seen it go was 4.9L/100KM's and the highest being 35.7/100KM's which was obviously incorrect. Both averages were observed after approximately a 20-30 min drive, travelling at the same speed, during similar weather conditions, and without the use of air con.

4.9/100KM's x 7 = 34.3L = 700KM's per tank for a CVT Mirage, according to Australian ratings. ( Obviously this is never going to the case considering different driving situations ) But in saying that, I believe if you're getting close to 300KM's off what the ratings suggest it is quite a big issue.

Seems like I'm going to have to rant and rave to Mitsubishi to see where that gets me. Because I am in no way, shape or form happy with my fuel consumption.

[MetroMPG]

Jackson: I'd be interested to hear what your typical driving is like.

EG:
- trip length
- terrain
- proportion of city stop & go vs. open road
- speed on the open road
- AC use
- eco light usage (do you strive to keep it on while accelerating?)

Also, why not start a fuel log?

Because saying...

"Tank capacity = 35L - 35 divided by 4, meaning 400 KM's = 8.75L/100KM's.

... is not an accurate way to talk about fuel economy, because you never run your tank dry. (How can you be sure you have 0.25L remaining or 5.25L?)

You should be filling your tank TO THE TOP each and every time, getting a fuel receipt and recording your distance traveled since your last fill-up. Log your results / keep all receipts. That's the best way to build an accurate record of your consumption.

Also: have you learned how to use your "B" fuel consumption gauge? You can reset it each fill-up to get a running average of your current tank (unlike the "A" gauge, which resets after 4 hours of inactivity). Valuable driver feedback.

[3dplane]

From a technical standpoint regarding fuel consumption let me throw this out here:

Unless the car has a check engine light on,running like crap and black smoke pouring out the tailpipe there is really no point taking it to the dealer for fuel consumption issues because there is absolutely NOTHING they can do about it! The car is fine!

There is no computer resetting neither! There is simply no such thing! Unless you guys are talking about the fuel consumption/trip computer in which case that is not going to change the vehicle's actual fuel consumption.

In a case when lets say there is something wrong with the CVT and it is stuck in a low ratio or high ratio causing bad fuel consumption,you would know that by the way the the acceleration/ engine RPM behaves and you would have a check engine light and service transmission message or what ever the CVT equipped car has for a driver's information warning/display.

That leaves what? Maybe a combination of less than ideal ambient conditions like terrain,traffic.temperature,wind conditions,tire pressures,short trips,(cold starts) etc. AND (dare I say this?) less than economical driving! It adds up real quickly!

I should add here that a really bad wheel alignment or sticking brakes could cause this too but a simple rolling or coast down test should quickly eliminate these as an issue. Example next time coming to a stop at a sign or red light,pop the trans into neutral at a very slow speed and see if the car rolls free,or acting like the brakes are on.

I have a manual but I have driven a CVT once in city and before I took off I reset the fuel consumption display (A). I had to sit through a red light,then it was 45 MPH driving with one turn interrupting the steady driving. Before I was 5 miles away the display was up at 60 MPGs indicated.

Now this is in Florida fairly good driving conditions at the time plus a real careful right foot. Like I said,it adds up quick!

And finally do not go with what the gauge and the display says. Fill up to full,do your own math using the trip distance for that tank and take at least three tank's averages for an idea of actual fuel consumption!

Cheers!

[wellykids]

The point myself and Jackson are trying to make is,the fuel consumption for this car in Australia is 5.5L/100klms combined avg,yes I know you have to consider road/wet conditions,driver etc...but they are not running anywhere near to the fuel numbers,and Mitsubishi Australia don't care,they just stay nothing wrong with car just your driving..which in my eyes the cars a dud...they have rated the car wrong and a few months ago here in Australia one of the news/investigating programs did tests on a few models with fuel consumption ratings and they were out .the point they were making to Australian public was its costing us more at the petrol station because of cars been rated wrong....and this is what I have been trying to get across since owning the mirage
And just to give you guys an example on my car car alone
Over last few weeks I've been watching petrol gauge
We all agree there are 8 black squares on fuel gauge right?
After filling car to full,1st black square on avg 70-80klms,2nd square 60-70klms(that's a 1/4 of a tank)3rd square 60klms,4th square(1/2 a tank) 50klms,next 1/4 of a tank on avg 90klms,so that's on avg 350-360klms on 3/4 of a tank,now I always take it to the 7th black square disappears,then I fill up and 99%of the time it takes 26-28litres to fill,now that still leaves me with 7-9litres in the tank...

From a technical standpoint regarding fuel consumption let me throw this out here:

Unless the car has a check engine light on,running like crap and black smoke pouring out the tailpipe there is really no point taking it to the dealer for fuel consumption issues because there is absolutely NOTHING they can do about it! The car is fine!

There is no computer resetting neither! There is simply no such thing! Unless you guys are talking about the fuel consumption/trip computer in which case that is not going to change the vehicle's actual fuel consumption.

In a case when lets say there is something wrong with the CVT and it is stuck in a low ratio or high ratio causing bad fuel consumption,you would know that by the way the the acceleration/ engine RPM behaves and you would have a check engine light and service transmission message or what ever the CVT equipped car has for a driver's information warning/display.

That leaves what? Maybe a combination of less than ideal ambient conditions like terrain,traffic.temperature,wind conditions,tire pressures,short trips,(cold starts) etc. AND (dare I say this?) less than economical driving! It adds up real quickly!

I should add here that a really bad wheel alignment or sticking brakes could cause this too but a simple rolling or coast down test should quickly eliminate these as an issue. Example next time coming to a stop at a sign or red light,pop the trans into neutral at a very slow speed and see if the car rolls free,or acting like the brakes are on.

I have a manual but I have driven a CVT once in city and before I took off I reset the fuel consumption display (A). I had to sit through a red light,then it was 45 MPH driving with one turn interrupting the steady driving. Before I was 5 miles away the display was up at 60 MPGs indicated.

Now this is in Florida fairly good driving conditions at the time plus a real careful right foot. Like I said,it adds up quick!

And finally do not go with what the gauge and the display says. Fill up to full,do your own math using the trip distance for that tank and take at least three tank's averages for an idea of actual fuel consumption!

Cheers!

[Jackson]

Jackson: I'd be interested to hear what your typical driving is like.

EG:
- trip length
- terrain
- proportion of city stop & go vs. open road
- speed on the open road
- AC use
- eco light usage (do you strive to keep it on while accelerating?)

Also, why not start a fuel log?

Because saying...



... is not an accurate way to talk about fuel economy, because you never run your tank dry. (How can you be sure you have 0.25L remaining or 5.25L?)

You should be filling your tank TO THE TOP each and every time, getting a fuel receipt and recording your distance traveled since your last fill-up. Log your results / keep all receipts. That's the best way to build an accurate record of your consumption.

Also: have you learned how to use your "B" fuel consumption gauge? You can reset it each fill-up to get a running average of your current tank (unlike the "A" gauge, which resets after 4 hours of inactivity). Valuable driver feedback.

- trip length = 30-40 mins
- terrain - Straight streets/roads, no hills at all.
- proportion of city stop & go vs. open road = Traffic is never bed around my area, so stop & go is minimal.
- speed on the open road - 50-80KM's
- AC use - AC is NEVER turned on!
- eco light usage (do you strive to keep it on while accelerating?) = Keeping the Eco light on is pretty much my #1 priority whilst driving.

Why would I start a fuel log, when I know the KM's I am getting out of each fill up lol.

Actually, I have ran my tank dry twice previously, and filled both tanks to the top with Jerry cans of 92 Unleaded. The same result persisted, around 400KM's out of a tank, driving in a very economical manor.

Recording my exact KM's on a receipt is probably the only thing I haven't done, so I'll get on top of that.

I also reset A and B gauges after each full tank of fuel fill up.

[Jackson]

From a technical standpoint regarding fuel consumption let me throw this out here:

Unless the car has a check engine light on,running like crap and black smoke pouring out the tailpipe there is really no point taking it to the dealer for fuel consumption issues because there is absolutely NOTHING they can do about it! The car is fine!

There is no computer resetting neither! There is simply no such thing! Unless you guys are talking about the fuel consumption/trip computer in which case that is not going to change the vehicle's actual fuel consumption.

In a case when lets say there is something wrong with the CVT and it is stuck in a low ratio or high ratio causing bad fuel consumption,you would know that by the way the the acceleration/ engine RPM behaves and you would have a check engine light and service transmission message or what ever the CVT equipped car has for a driver's information warning/display.

That leaves what? Maybe a combination of less than ideal ambient conditions like terrain,traffic.temperature,wind conditions,tire pressures,short trips,(cold starts) etc. AND (dare I say this?) less than economical driving! It adds up real quickly!

I should add here that a really bad wheel alignment or sticking brakes could cause this too but a simple rolling or coast down test should quickly eliminate these as an issue. Example next time coming to a stop at a sign or red light,pop the trans into neutral at a very slow speed and see if the car rolls free,or acting like the brakes are on.

I have a manual but I have driven a CVT once in city and before I took off I reset the fuel consumption display (A). I had to sit through a red light,then it was 45 MPH driving with one turn interrupting the steady driving. Before I was 5 miles away the display was up at 60 MPGs indicated.

Now this is in Florida fairly good driving conditions at the time plus a real careful right foot. Like I said,it adds up quick!

And finally do not go with what the gauge and the display says. Fill up to full,do your own math using the trip distance for that tank and take at least three tank's averages for an idea of actual fuel consumption!

Cheers!

I'll give the neutral thing a try. But other than that you're just telling me what every fuel conscious driver already knows/puts into play. It's quite frustrating when everyone seems to go to the chorus response saying it's probably an economical driving issue. At the end of the day, I bought a Mirage for fuel efficiency, so in saying that, would assume economical driving isn't the issue here.

[3dplane]

Well guys,it seems like trying to help just ends up getting you guys even more frustrated.

So what do you think is wrong or can be done about this? Because I am totally out of ideas.

The ratings can not be fixed,the car can not be fixed,the dealership could be burned down perhaps but that's not going to do much for the case so what is there left that can be done about this? I just don't know.

BTW starting a fuel log does help because once you see those bars on the graph it makes you want to put a longer bar up there next time.
Just click on some random fuel logs and in most of them you can see the little black dot (the averages) climbing.

But since none of the suggestions seem to help I'm not expecting you guys to do do this.

I'll just say I'm sorry for your bad luck with the fuel economy and I hope a miracle happens that's going to fix it!