2004 Dodge Neon SXT - poor gas mileage

Unless its hard for you to get to a dealer, I would take it in, this is part of what you're paying for when you buy the car. Understandibly, with a new car, you wouldn't expect wear-out problems with the spark plugs, 02 sensors, etc,. but you might find that something is defective. Some new Chrysler owners ran into problems with defective spark plug wires on their new cars, for example. Also, you might try different gas stations, with the high price of gas, some stations might be selling crappy gas.

SRg

No, the sticker said the car rated 25 mpg on the EPA's simulated city-driving cycle, and 31 mpg on the EPA's simulated highway-driving cycle. This does NOT mean the car "should get" that mileage! The EPA test protocols are slightly more representative of real-world driving conditions than they were in the '70s and '80s, but not much -- there's still a very wide gap between how the EPA computer "drives" the car and how any actual human being does it on actual, real roads.

By all means, have it checked out in case there's something wrong, but don't think that the numbers on the sticker are any kind of indication or guarantee.

DS

Check the tire inflation yourself and don't just assume they are correctly inflated. Cherck the maximum cold inflation rating stamped on the tire sidewall and inflate to somewhere between that setting and the one stamped on the door jamb plaqcard. Too low inflation will destroy your mileage as well as permanently damage your tires.

I assume your trying to get this mileage at 55MPH on the highway. If you are doing any stop and go or doing 75MPH, then your mileage will suffer (but this seems to be too excessive given your numbers).

One last comment and that is that when the engine "breaks in" (10-15K miles) your highway mileage should increase by about 10% from when it is new.

A heavy foot can certainly reduce your mileage by >10 percent. . Bob

with less than 3000m on it, would you expect this motor to be fully broken in yet?

MPG's should start to increase as the rings become fully seated.

How exactly are you measuring the MPG?

Mike

I've got a 2003 SXT with about 10,000 miles on it and I get the same mileage as you. I only drive in the city though.

The wife averaged 29-30MPG (mixed driving) and mid 30's (highway) on a 1997 Neon DOHC "Sport" she used to own.

Today we both average 25-26MPG (mixed) and about 30ish (highway)...her driving a 2003 Stratus 2.7 V6 and me driving a 2004 Sebring 2.7 V6. I would certainly think that a Neon that is 600 pounds lighter than a Stratus/Sebring and with a smaller engine should do better than a V6 Stratus or Sebring.

Here is another kicker. Our 1997 3.3 V6 Grand Caravan averages 19-21 mixed...25-28 highway.

So, there is a problem with your Neon or your wife is driving it very hard. I'd take the car back to the dealer to check it out.

Gasolinequality also varies by region and can affect mileage.

I had a '98 Neon with the 150 hp 2.0 L and an automatic. It never got anywhere near the advertised milage. Milage was right around 23 mpg.

My 2003 gets about the same mileage but is only rated at 132 hp, 2.0 L SOHC, automatic. Did they downgrade the horsepower for the later models ? I've never tried a different gas station, only used the one I've gone to for the last several years. Maybe I should switch and see if it improves my mileage.

Mileage drops about 1.5 mpg with AC on btw.

At one time they had a DOHC 2.0 150 horsepower for the "sport" model and a SOHC

2.0 132 horsepower for the standard highline model. My wife has one of the 1997 sport models wit a 5-speed. She drove it hard and still averaged about 29-30MPG mixed and 36-38 highway.

My 2003 Sebring w/2.7 got about 21-23MPG until it was fully broken in. I get 25MPG now.

Yep -- my '98 R/T got comparable gas mileage. The 5 speed made a huge difference over the 3 speed automatic.

My 2001 R/T gets about 27 mpg mixed, and my wife's '95 Voyager (3.0 L w/ 4 speed auto) gets about 20 mpg, mixed or highway. These are both close enough to the EPA estimates IMHO.

-- Jeff Wieland