Is 21 miles per gallon normal for a 90 Camry 4 cylander?

All highway and only 21 mpg?? Or a mixture with 21 mpg overall? If all highway, that is low for a 4 cylinder.

When was the last time the vehicle had a service interval (i.e. spark plugs, air filter, etc).

You might also run a bottle of Chevron Fuel Injection cleaner through the system and see if that helps.

No not normal mine gets 28-36. you need work, Check tiimng, O2 sensor, sticking brakes, Tune it up ,plugs wires , air filter etc, Change engine, trans, and differential fluid use Mobil synthetics . I did all this at once earlier this year and went up 9 mpg. Retarded timing can nock you down 3 mpg easily.

Doing a compression test will help determine engine condition.

It was about 95% highway. I just had the fuel injection cleaned, thought that would make a difference. I had the spark plugs and air filter checked as well.

The car drives extremely smooth. Wouldn't I notice if the timing was off? One thing I do notice is that is has a somewhat slow acceleration, like I have something heavy in the trunk. What can that mean?

Drives slow ? replace plugs and filter and check it out and tune it up, you have alot of areas to start on. Its a combination of neglect, retarded timing you will not notice, just less power, but it is more than that or it would not be so low

I had a similar problem with my 93 2.2L until I found out the gas tank was leaking. It took a while to diagnose because there was no gas on the ground. The dirt was acting as a sponge. After I had the tank and the filler neck redone, fuel consomption got normal. Have yours checked.

JP

snipped-for-privacy@dodgeit.com wrote:

How about a new fuel filter too while your doing stuff. How did you have the injectors cleaned? A bottle of stuff in the tank? I agree a compression test is needed on a motor that old. Could be valves are worn or at least need adjusting. How about a plugged up Cat Converter?

It means your car has lost performance. If the engine is smooth, then nasties like one cylinder down on compression is unlikely. Retarded or lack of advance in the ignition will not show up as a rough engine ime unless it is grossly out. You do get a lower idle speed,..but the ECU maybe compensating for that by advancing idle-speed control. This last bit is a guess on my part.

Check the aircleaner is clean.

If the injectors or fuel system were out to lunch,..you'd expect hard-starting and a less than smooth operation.

Ignition base timing and/or incorrect advance under dynamic load -problems can produce the symptoms you have. A timing light check is enough to at least see if the basics are happening here. Hookup an inductive coupled TLight (they have a slide operated coupler which is hooked around No 1 ignition lead. You then push a link into Te1 and E1 of the diagnostic-socket. The base idle speed increases for 5 secs than settles down to 10 degrees adv. Once the link is removed the advance should be between 13 and 22 degrees.

If the above is OK,...consider if the exhaust is restriction-free. Loose baffles can come adrift and cause restriction,..tho some accompaning noise should also be present.

Jason

I think I'll check for a gas leak. My wife said that everytime I come home she smells gas on my clothes. I just figured that her sense of smell was hypersensitive because she was pregnant because I can't smell it.

Hello Josh,

I don't think so, to get that mileage you would SEE a puddle on the ground. The gas mileage my 6 got 20-22 mixed city/highway, 26 straight hiway (75 mph) my 4 cylinder gets 27-29 in the same service), 31 straight hiway @ 76.5 avg with 80 miles mixed city/hiway. I have a 2004

Ben

Not necessarily... Read my post below. JP

The gas mileage my 6 got 20-22 mixed city/highway, 26 straight

He has a 4 getting 21, not 27-29. My 90 4 cil got 22 last year till a complete tune up and synthetic oil in everything then I got 28-36. 4 cil are sensitive , his car was obviously not maintained, every little change helps,.

But since he Looked at the plugs and put in the old ones he is to cheap to do things right. Plugs even replacing at 20000 m will make a diference, all little things add up, he just needs to spend some money and tune up the car

I'd be skeptical of 36 mpg claims. I find most tend to over shoot the actual mpg.

My 2000 Camry after a tune up including new plug and wires got at its highest 28 mpg (26 to 27 most often). Keep an eye on tire inflation as well. AC was off. I could probably get it a little higher if I was easier on it. Morning is stop and go and evening driving is highway

My 90 Camry had the infamous fuel filler leak also and would smell of gas. Dont recall it hurting mileage tho...

That's terrible mileage and does indicate something wrong. My 91 4-cyl, got it in '98 with 98k on it. For the next 70K miles it got 35+ per gallon, but I put in the next hotter plug and ran 93 octane. Before that it was 33 mpg. Today it's got 276,6xx miles on it, uses oil, and still gets 30-32mpg with standard plugs and 93 octane. (I've replaced the transmission and right front wheel bearing.)

We recently picked up a trade-in @ a local Honda dealer. Older couple wanted a new Accord so traded in their rough-running '91 4-cyl with 67K miles on it. For $3K I couldn't resist. It also gets 30+ hwy. Any of them should.

Collin