Phillips 66 sells 100% pure gas ... and here it's a few cents cheaper!!

 

The 240 is a heavy, inefficient car. You're not going to get good mileage with it. Spoken from a dealer who specializes in Volvos.

 

Not available out on the left coast here. :-/ Back in the evil MTBE days, Union 76 here was MTBE free, and I'd pay the couple cents/g extra. Now its *all* E10 crap.

 

in its defense, the 240 is not that heavy, considering its size. sure, its not a flimsy toyondasan tin FWD coffin, but its only about 10% heavier empty than a typical compact car, and its roomier than most of its category. when I was tracking milegage in our 240 (for years...) we got a reliable 23-25 mpg most of the time, with an unusual 27mpg if I was high-miling. my '89 Jetta GLI, a similar size car from the same late 80s, got 27-29mpg most of the time, occasionally 31-32. my 96 855T gets ~18mpg zipping around the county here. I've gotten 27mpg on long freeway trips. my 92 745T gets 18-ish all the time.

 

No, you didn't. You just want to think that you did. Volvo quit building the 240 because it could not compete with the efficiency of newer models.

10% heavier is significant.

 

Really?

86 Volvo 240 Sedan curb weight = 3022 lbs.
93 Volvo 850 Sedan curb weight = 3232 lbs.
2011 Toyota Camry curb weight = 3263 lbs.

 

Okay guys so I found this part:

Automatic Over-Drive Solenoid Bypass Kit

Which seems to just bypass any overdrive settings. So how much do you think it would cost me to just have someone install the darn thing?

 

so it keeps you out of overdrive all the time??

I wouldn't do that. I drive volvo's and just leave it in overdrive all the time and they run fine, not sluggish where you need to shift out of overdrive below say 45mph and shift into OD above.

Your going to continue to get less then optimal mpg with it, I would just take the to a shop and have them look at it.

 

All that overdrive does is keep me from being able to go into 4th gear. When would I ever NOT want to go into 4th unless im climbing steep hills?.. which there are none in florida

 

well, to be precise, overdrive *IS* 4th gear. If you're talking about the overdrive lockout button/relay/circuit, then yeah, what you said.

 

wait, what no?? overdrive goes in to 4th, lowering the rpm's and giving you better mileage.

 

read what pierce said. Its the overdrive lockout* that's on when the "up arrow" is on. Meaning I can't go into 4th.

 

and going from memory, my 89 Jetta GLi 16V was 2800 lbs, which is what I used for that 10% number since we owned that and our 87 240 concurrently for a number of years.

 

Okay guys so I found this part:

Automatic Over-Drive Solenoid Bypass Kit

Which seems to just bypass any overdrive settings. So how much do you think it would cost me to just have someone install the darn thing?

This gadget eliminates your ability to switch the overdrive/4th gear on and off by means of the button on the gearshift lever. It essentially bypasses the button, the wiring, and the relay, which is a good thing if your problem is in one of these areas. It would not prevent the transmission from shifting into 4th/overdrive, but would prevent you from downshifting into 3rd when you want to, for whatever reason (downhill engine braking or trailer pulling). Left to it's own devices, the transmission will downshift to third when climbing a hill or when the kickdown is activated, anyway. Could be a legitimate cheap fix. Personally, I like my car to work as it was designed to, or better.

 

that would only work if your OD problem is on the electrical side of things.... personally, I'd rather fix it properly. i'd be probing the OD relay and such with a voltmeter and trying to track it down that way. I think its up behind the center of the dash somewhere, like behind the right of the center air vents, probably p/n 3523804 (or 1347764)

 

That would hold so much more weight if you don't consider that a 1989 Chevrolet Caprice Estate with a 305 gets the same or better mileage than a Volvo 240. I still can't figure out why I only get 16mpg and its driving me crazy. It blows my mind that a fuel injected four cylinder with 3.31 gears and a manual trans is even capable of such horrid fuel mileage.

Keep in mind that I tend to better the typical EPA mileage ratings of all the cars I've owned, except for this one. Its not my driving style.

 

I get 24 mpg summer and 21 mpg winter on my 89 740 . I now have 425K miles on it but have noticed in the past that a bad PCV and vacuum leak lead to poor gas millage. I had to have the speedo rebuilt back at 200K but still works today.