New Car Mileage ?

Engines "break in" very quickly these days, but your mileage may improve a bit as they loosen up.

You should check your actual mileage, not depend upon the dash indicator.

Fill the tank totally full before you start a trip, and then write down you mileage. After a couple hundred miles, fill it again as completely as possible and write the mileage. Your average mileage is, of course, miles driven divided by fuel consumed.

If your actual mileage is significantly different from the EPA figures, you can talk to the dealer. But these EPA figures are NOT necessarily representative of what you will get, and if the dealer finds nothing wrong with your car, you have no case.

Many of the manufacturers recommend the fuel economy be examined only after 5 or more tanks of fuel to allow for bearkin. The ECM is also "learning" the operation of the vehicle and many of the mechanical components other than the engine limber up a bit. You may also want to check the tire pressures. It is not unusual for them to be a bit on the low side without the sensor warning you. Use the recommendations in the owners manual or the decal if you have no good reason for deviating from them and only then on the recommendation of a knowledgeable dealer or tire manufacturer. Not everyone who works for a tire store or car dealer knows as much as they should about tires.

Lugnut

Also the way they determine the mileage (or they use to) is different than acutal driving which usually inflates the #'s. I do remember hearing that they are going to do a more "realistic" way of testing the mileage, but I don't know if they've started using it yet.

Yes, new engines still increase in efficiency as they break in. But you'll likely never hit those window-sticker numbers. Read the fine print- they're for COMPARISON ONLY, and are not necessarily representative of real-world economy. They've refined the testing procedure to make it more accurate than it used to be, but its still just a simulation of real-world driving conditions.

My father always manages to get a MPG or two *above* the highway ratings on most of his cars. I've never been able to do that, though, and usually see 1-2 mpg below both the city and highway ratings.

The MPG number displayed on the dash may be either an average or a instantaneous value. If it is an average it will only change gradually when you are on the road. If it's an instant value it should vary widely from under 10mpg when accelerating to 99.99 mpg when going downhill with the throttle closed.

From your description I suspect it is an averaging meter. Some cars have both so check the owners manual to see if it can be changed. At the very least reset the meter every time you fill up..