Can anyone give me troubleshooting advice on poor gas mileage? Up until 3 weeks ago, I was getting the standard mpg but now it has dropped to around 16/mpg. At first I thought it was the gas station change I had made so on my next fill-up, I went back to my original gas station but it has decreased even more. The dealership has looked at it and cannot find any error codes or anything. Any suggestions?

 

Has any work been done lately?
When was the last tune up?

 

simple stuff, check the tires, USE THE PROPER OCTANE. Even though you CAN use a lower octane you will get better mileage using the reccomended AND that better economy sets of the 20 cent difference. I understand that things are tough because it is hard to stomach 320 for a gallon of gas but it will b e better than using 3 bucks a gallon and not getting as much

 

Right before this problem was happening, I got my 7,500 mile scheduled maintenance, no other work. After that, the gas mileage has decreased. I mentioned this to the dealership when I took it in for this issue and they said that nothing on their end was touched to create this probelm. I'm monitoring it now and so far, the tank is 1/2 empty with only about 90 some miles on it.

 

Hey guys,

I'm experiencing the same problem as well. I bought a beautiful 2000 Volvo V40 1.9T wagon about 3 months ago with 50K miles on the odometer (it now just turned 52K). The car was well maintained by the fellow I purchased the vehicle from (he's the type that only took it to the dealer for service). Unfortunately, I do not have any record of any major tune up work having been done to it, though I do plan on calling the Volvo dealer where he had the car serviced to see if and/or when it was last tuned up. However, I will say that the car runs well...no signs of misfiring, etc.

For the first two months of ownership, I regularly recorded between 20-21 mpg using 89 to 91 octane gas and with mostly local, around town driving. Now, as I enter my third month of ownership, I have notices a marked and dramatic DECREASE in my fuel economy...I'm getting between 15-16 mpg...17 at best. I have not changed fuels or altered my driving habits/style.

I have notices, since the day I bought the car, a high-pitched whine coming from the back of the car. I took the vehicle to my mechanice (A Volvo specialist with MANY years of experience with Volvos) who advised me that it was NOT unusual for the fuel pump to be somewhat noisy on these cars. However, I read in another thread on this site which discusses the same issue (i.e. sudden drop in fuel economy on the V40/S40) that one member suggests that the fuel pump could be the possible culprit (i.e. it's getting ready to fail).

Anyway, I have to delve into some research to see if/when the car last received a tune up (plugs, wires, fuel and air filters, etc.). Although I can't imaging that a tune up issue would cause the sudden and marked decrease in fuel economy that I'm experiencing....

Lastly, I would also like to mention an odd phenomena I periodically experience with this car that may or may not be related....Isometimes have difficulty re-starting (i.e. mutliple attempts and prolonged engine cranking). When this problem does periodically manifest itself, it's always after I've been driving around for a while running errands...i.e. the engine is warmed up and after I've shut the engine off and thenattempted to restart it.

Well, that's about it. Any ideas, comments or suggestions would be appreciated. I like the car, though it's no BMW 3 series Sport Wagon, I like it just the same. The power is adequate, though nothing to brag about. I do find that, lately, the power seems to be a bit "less adequate" as well...

Thanks in advance,

Mark DiRollo
Norwalk, CT