2005 Elantra -- AAAAAUUGH!!

OK, I have an Elantra GLS 5-speed hatchback with about 800 miles on it so far. It is a great looking, running, and handling car with plenty of amenities. It has it all over Corolla, Civic, Focus, and the like except for one thing -- the gas mileage SUCKS!!!

And I absolutely baby this car -- no jackrabbit starts, all the highway driving done between 55-65 mph. The EPA highway estimate for the Elantra is 34mpg, and I haven't even broken 27mpg yet. Every car I have owned in the last 20 years has done FAR better than its EPA estimate; even my 1990 Grand Marquis got 26mpg on the highway, with its

5-liter engine!

What am I doing wrong??

Please, somebody tell me the mileage will get way better after the engine is broken in. PLEASE!!!

Joe

Reply to
jsherman
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Relax and give it a chance to break in!

My '04 started out getting upper 20's for the first tank or two, but the mileage increased as it broke in, pretty rapidly at first, then more gradually. My car now has 23K miles on it and it's getting the best mileage it ever has. I now see 34-36 mpg at 65 mph on the highway and typically average between 32 and 34 overall, per tank. I've seen as high as 38 on a one-way trip recently.

A good idea to boost mileage a bit is to change to synthetic oil in both the engine and transmission. I run 5W-30 in the engine and Redline MT-90 in the trans (you MUST use a GL-4 oil like MT-90 in the Hyundai trans). I switched the engine oil at 7500 miles and the trans oil at 10K. If you live up north, you'll notice big difference in the winter, as the engine will turn over easier and the transmission won't feel like it's full of molasses.

The suggested tire pressures (30/30) are a joke and the consensus among Elantra enthusiasts is to run somewhere around 36/32 front/rear. The car handles better, you get better tire wear and it should improve gas mileage, too.

If you're interested in getting the most from your GT, check out the Elantra GT club and ElantraXD sites. You'll find lots of tips and modifications there. Probably the best of the lot is to replace the stock rear sway bar with the 19mm bar from the Tiburon GT. It DRAMATICALLY improves the Elantra's handling.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

I concur with Brian. 3000 miles on my 05 GT and I tracked my mileage from day 1. Started out at avg 23 and highway 28. Average has gone up from 23 to 27 (mixed driving) and latest pure highway was 33. Not a Toyota, but I knew that when I bought it. Keep the faith; it will improve.

Reply to
elantra05newbie

I concur with Brian. 3000 miles on my 05 GT and I tracked my mileage from day 1. Started out at avg 23 and highway 28. Average has gone up from 23 to 27 (mixed driving) and latest pure highway was 33. Not a Toyota, but I knew that when I bought it. Keep the faith; it will improve.

Reply to
elantra05newbie

Thanx, Brian :-).

Were you saying that you first changed to synthetic engine oil at 7500 miles, or is that the interval you use? Do you have an auto tranny?

Also, on the sway bar issue, is that something that a novice mechanic like myself could tackle? Could it possibly void the warranty?

Can you tell me where the other Elantra sites are?

joe

Brian Nystrom wrote:

Reply to
jsherman

Both.

No, it's a manual. BTW, the autos seem to get substantially lower mileage, despite having pretty similar EPA ratings.

Absolutely, it's an easy job. IIRC, it took me all of half an hour.

No. The sway bar won't cause wear on any other parts. Besides, unless a mechanic knows it's on there, it's pretty unlikely they'd even notice.

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IMO the Elantra GT Club is the better of the two sites, but they're both useful.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

I would bet that yours will continue to improve too, though it depends heavily on your driving habits.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Thanks for the encouragement. I got a boost today when I filled up. My last tank got 30mpg combined (two-thirds highway and one-third city driving), so it is definitely getting better.

Joe

Reply to
jsherman

Thanks, Brian.

J.

Reply to
jsherman
2005 Elantra GT Hatch Sulev Automatic epa 24/32. Just did a 3 day vacation loop from nyc to Hershey,Lancaster,Maryland & back. Mixed driving mainly highway but some nasty tie-up and a bunch of site seeing. just over 600 miles...31MPG for the trip, interstate was 75mph with A/C on
Reply to
Andrew Cripps

jsherman scribbled out on 8/22/2005 8:49 PM:

Yep, the mileage will improve. We just finished a 2200 mile roundtrip to GenCon and averaged about 33 mpg at 70-75 mph. If we drop the speed to 65 mph, our Elantra easily gets 34-36 mpg.

-Dan

2004 Elantra GT
Reply to
dan
2005 GLS automatic, about 4,000 miles. Started at about 27 mpg. Now just over 30 mpg.
Reply to
Diarmud387

I have a 2001 Elanta with 120,000 miles on it. Since the car is new I averaged 29 miles to the gallon, city and highway combined. Average speed on the highway is 70-80 miles per hour and I put my foot into when leaving the stop sign or traffic light. All and all not a bad car for the money.

Reply to
Bain

That's nice to know. My 2001 Elantra has only 32000 miles so there is quite a way to go. BTW did you receive a letter from Hyundai with regard to the manifold may have cracks, Taking mine in on Tuesday for free inspection.

Reply to
irwell

mine cracked after the bumper to bumper was up. it cost 1200.00 cdn to replace it. so it will stay cracked. next spring I will be putting a better exhaust system on the car for the same money.

Reply to
Bain

I have an 03 elantra 5 speed. I'm lucky if I get 30 mpg. It's the only thing about this car I don't like. I'm not sure if they had to sacrifice fuel economy to get a couple of extra horses or what, but don't expect much. Marc

Reply to
Marc J. Algeri

If that's all you're getting, it's either a function of the conditions you drive in or the way you drive, or both. Other people with the same car report mileage in the mid-30's.

Reply to
Brian Nystrom

I have a 2005 Elantra GT with 9500 miles on it. I, like yourself, drive very easily and conservative. I am lucky if I get 27+ mpg. This is with about 75+ percent hwy driving. I also had a 2001 Elantra GLS which was very similiar to my 2005 GT. I think the highest I ever got is around 30.5 mpg - same commute as where my 2005 takes me. The car had 35K miles before I traded it in in 2003. I may be the gasoline blend here in southern CA.

Good luck

Reply to
Shawn P. Miller

It's an automatic, isn't it? Your car's still breaking in and the mileage should continue to improve for a while. A LOT depends on what the other 25% of your driving is like. If it's stop & go, downtown or traffic jam driving, it's going to kill your mileage, especially if you leave the car idling at lights. Perhaps the gas does have something to do with it, but I find it difficult to believe that could account for

7-8 mpg.
Reply to
Brian Nystrom

Reply to
Edward Hayes

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