I know there is a sticky for this, but I'm not looking to find ways to save, I want to find out if my car is normal/what is wrong with it. I have a 97 sunfire 2.2L manual transmission. I don't drive considerably fast, I don't accelerate too fast etc. Lately I have been getting very close to 300 KM/tank (KM not miles) in city driving and if I do ALL highway driving just above 400KM/tank. I find this to be somewhat poor fuel economy. I change the oil regularly. A few months back I changed the distributor cap, the spark plugs, the wires, the PCV valce, and I put in a K&N air filter. I was talking about the poor fuel millage with a buddy the other day, and he noted that my muffler has a ring of black around the tip. To me this indicated unburned carbon, which could be a result of running too rich. I was just wondering if this logic makes sense. Furthermore, I do not know the last time the fuel filter was changed. Also a few months back I started to smell gasoline when I would start the car, but I used an in tank fuel injector cleaner and that remedied the smell. Any suggestions?

Thanks for your help.
J.White

Maybe sedans have larger tanks but in summer i could do as much as 660km per tank and right now whit a leaky injector and in winter i am dooing 550 km /tank.

Forgot to say that i have a 2.2 97 manual sedan 180 000km.

I didn't mention that. Mine is a coupe. I know that I am not getting great millage because I pay about $50 to fill it up. So I was wondering if my observation is relevant. IE the black rings around the muffler tip

Jeffrey M White wrote:A few months back I changed the distributor cap.

Really?? Thats funny cuz its a distributorless ignition.



I would change the fuel filter and run some injector cleaner through it. Also what rpm do you normally cruise at? I try to cruise around 2,000 - 2,500 rpms in my 03' ECO.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edited Thursday, April 03, 2008 7:10 AM

Replace the fuel filter and check your fuel system. It's also important to keep track of exact figures and not go by what your fuel gauge is reading. The capacity of the fuel tank is 59 liters, so make sure you run it really low, like to the point of stalling low, and then fill about 60 liters. Remember that when you fill fuel, the car is now heavier because of the weight of the fuel. Your mileage also depends at your cruising speed and how you shift gears. If you do a lot of highway driving go to the highest gear as soon as you can. In city traffic manual transmissions tend to idle higher than the automatics so you will burn more fuel. If you drive with the windows open, doing so tends to generate drag, which affects fuel economy and this is especially true on the highway or in high speeds. As you can see there are a lot of variables that can affect your mileage. As a rule of thumb for this engine, you should be getting 6.5L per 100 kms highway and between 9.5 and 10L per 100 km in the city. That adds to approx. 700 kms pure highway driving and about 550-600 kms city, but even with these figures I'm probably pushing it.

Not sure that running the tank so low is a great idea when uyou consider the fact that fuel is cooling the fuel pump... and how much a new pump cost....

I cant really answer all of your questions but in the winter when i first bought my 03 2.2 auto coupe, i got around 400 kms a tank, thats bone empty. As it slowly gets warm im getting better mileage, im hitting around 500 if im careful now, hopefully by summer i`ll get 600, then i`ll be happy. The crappy thing is that i do all the driving in the winter when i need the mleage lol

Ya my mistake, I didn't do the distributor cap. I did a tune up on both my sunfire and Metro at the same time. I understand and am aware of proper fuel saving driving techniques. I also know that the Sunfire will be less fuel efficient than my Metro (1 L engine). However, my Sunfire should not get less milage than my father's grand am. I dont drive on highway too often, but when I do, I drive like 105KM/hr in 5th, so thats like what 2500RPM or something. In city driving I normall shift from one gear to the other at around 3,000RPM. I just find that its terrible to get such low milage on this car, especially because most people are saying they get like 600KM/tank. So I'm losing like 50% ish. I know for a fact its not my driving habits. So I will change my fuel filter very soon, but besides that what else is there? I have already used 3 fuel injector cleaners on my last 3 gas station stops. What else should I check into? Fuel injectors, ignition timing etc etc.

Jerome Tremblay wrote:Not sure that running the tank so low is a great idea when uyou consider the fact that fuel is cooling the fuel pump... and how much a new pump cost....

What I meant was doing it once as a benchmark. This, along with monitoring your driving habit, will give you an idea about your actual mileage. And as the previous poster mentioned, given that it's winter and you're in Montreal where winters are particularly brutal, that too has an effect on fuel mileage. It's estimated that during the cold winter your fuel economy will worsen by a good 20%.

I recently changed my fuel filter, and went from using about 8L/100km down to 7L/100km (even hit 6.8 on one tank). This was with similar ambient temperatures, so that shouldn't be a factor.
Each time I fill up I record how far I went and how much gas I put in to fill it, and it's easy to figure out. For example, if I went 480km on 34L, I would divide 34 by 4.8 - which is about 7.1 (yes, I'm using a calculator). That means that I used an average of 7.1L/100km on my last tank (or about 40MPG in Imperial gallons). I never like to take my car much below about 1/4 tank to help keep the fuel pump cool - I've priced new ones, and I've got better things to spend my money on...
Gas needs to be in vapor form to burn properly - and that requires proper pressure in your fuel system. If it's too low, the gas won't spray in a nice mist - more like dribble in large droplets that don't mix well with the air. Try changing the filter before anything else - and you'll probably be pleasantly surprised with the difference in performance and economy. I went about 120,000km on my first one, and then about 90,000 on my second filter - but since I found even the last one was getting quite restrictive, I'm going to try for a shorter interval this time (probably about 50,000). With the price of gas now, it pays for itself rather quickly! I just wish it was a bit more accessible for changing.
On a side note for filter purchase - the last one I ran was produced by a company that sold it inside an orange box. Part of the reason I was changing it was because it was looking incredibly rusty - after only about 2.5 years. My original one looked like new still when I removed it, so this time I decided to spend a couple more dollars and get an AC Delco unit. The last thing I want is that expensive gas pi$$ing all over the ground from a rotted out filter! Gotta love our wonderful Canadian climate!

How hard was it to get the fittings off the line/filter at the 120,000KM mark? I feel as if thats the last time mine was changed and everything looks pretty much rusted in place. I havent tried removing it yet, but I have been sprarying it with WD40 on intervals for the past few days. I really dont want to bust my fuel line.

Try PB-Blaster instead of WD-40. It's much better. On my car the original fuel filter was on at 200,000 kms. It was a bitch to remove because of all the rust but the technician at the dealership was able to get it off without cutting any fuel lines.

On my 97 cavy I could not get the filter off without breaking the lines/fittings.

I bought a kit at autozone for like 20 bucks that put a new line on it and plastic fittings. It just spliced in. It was sorta a pain in the butt.

I had to boil the plastic to make it somewhat bendable, then I had to bend it to what I needed and cool it.

I had a pot of boiling water under the car (transported it from the stove in the house to outside), then blew thru it and got it installed. It seemed to harden in place in seconds.

Now I can change my fuel filter in about 1 min and no tools. I change it every year just to make sure its a non issue.


99 cav 2.2L 212,000 miles
97 cav 2.2L 110,000 miles
91 cav 2.2L 236,000 miles RIP
04 Silverado Z71 Ext.Cab 55,000 miles
01 Suzuki SV650 22,000 miles
97 Arctic Cat ZRT 600 6,000 miles

I had absolutely no trouble with the fittings either time rust-wise. I oil spray the car myself on a regular basis, and always make sure to get the fittings, so I wasn't too surprised. I did however have to soak down the "quick-connect" end with a fair bit of degreaser first to make sure I didn't get any dirt in there. Because I have sprayed around it before, that's why I really didn't expect to see the rust that was present on the last filter. It was only on the lower part that was more exposed. On top, it still looked like new. Since I've sprayed the car so many times, I guess I was a bit lazy the last couple of years and hadn't really concentrated much on that area, since everything else around it still has a pretty good coating.
If you've been soaking it with a penetrating oil for a few days, hopefully it won't cause too much grief. It's the other end that I don't like dealing with...

I just changed it today, so I don't know the actual results. As for changing it, the whole process wasnt too bad. The 16mm bolt on fuel line itself was rusted solid, so I took off the quick connect end, and just used a backup on the 16mm and spun the whole fuel filter with a 21 mm, and vise versa to put it back on. The quick connect didnt pose any problems, because I put in a brand new fuel pump and gas tank less than a year ago. Thanks for your help, hopefully this helps a little bit.