18 mpg around town....is this OK?
 

I drive my 05 s60 2.5T around town mostly. Most trips are short. Once a week I go 40 miles on the freeway. I am getting pretty low mpg (about 18). I am guessing this is probably what I should expect from my driving pattern, but wondered if anyone else could confirm.

What (apart from short trips) could cause low mpg. And yes - the tires are at pressure!

Thanks

Short trips and frequent stops whether they are lights or signs will keep the mpg low. I have a 35mph speed limit on my daily drive. If I can, I will drive 38+ because I know the car will upshift into a higher gear = better mileage. Aside from changing how you drive or where you drive all you can do is make sure the car is in optimal condition.

Has it been a while since the spark plugs were replaced? It's something like every 2 years that they should be replaced. It doesn't hurt to clean the MAF sensor either. I clean mine twice a year just to be safe (I have an oiled air filter = more crud). And just make sure your air filter isn't nasty. Be sure to get out for some spirited driving once in a while. Too much low-rpm driving will build up carbon in the engine.

Thanks for the suggestions. The plugs are new, but I could check the gaps on them. Where is the MAF sensor? I'll check the airfilter too.

You are right about spirited driving, I need to get it out on the open road and give it a good run!

The MAF is on the intake right after the air filter housing. It has a plug of wires connected to it. Philips screwdriver should work.

I drive a 2004 s60 2.5t, and when I'm driving conservatively I get about 18 mpg around town. On the freeway I get about 23mpg. It was 100 degrees yesterday, and I was driving around town and was getting 14.

I just drove my 05 2.5T on a 250 mile trip with the AC on, averaging 72 mph and got 30.2 mpg. This was all Freeway driving and I used the cruise control as much as possible. The drive was a combination of flat and two small mountain passes between my house and the SF Bay area. I absolutely keep up on maint. and try to only burn Chevron premium gas. My car currently has 34k miles on it.

That's pretty good mileage! I also burn only premium - although it is from a "mystery brand" store which might be my problem!

Sounds about right. I have a T5 now, and I average 17.8

Yeah, sounds normal. '01 T5 here and I do mostly city driving and I'm at 23.1 avg and dropping.

With my Non-Turbo s60 in the city of Fort Lauderdale with the A/C on 100% of the time I'm averaging 26.5 mpg. 123k miles on it too.

I thought you change the plugs at 60,000?

I should add that mine breathes a little easier due to a high flow cat and two dynomax race mufflers, run 245 tires and I have a lead foot, so I use a little more fuel than normal.

04 S60 R average 24.1
96 850 n/a average 25.2
Mixed city and open road.Use only premium gasoline.
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04 S60 R
96 850 n/a
97 Suzuki Sidekick

You're right. It is listed on the maintenance chart to change them at 60K (Volvo dealer Platinum). I also know that a lot of people will replace copper plugs about every 2 years or 30K miles. Just personal preference I guess. I checked my Iridium plugs after 2 years and they still look good. No noticeable wear on the electrodes.

To the original poster, 18 mpg around town isn't terrible. And certainly, everyone's definition of city driving differs. I can tell you that I get 29 mpg city but I consider any roads below 50 mph to be "city". Its more like the outskirts of city.

Thanks for responses. The plugs are new - I had them replaced when I bought the car 4 months ago. The air filter is clean and new. But I might pull the plugs and check that they were gapped correctly.