2002 Sonata gas mileage

I have been getting only about 18 to 19 mpg on my 2002 Sonata. I
keep my car up to date with needed maintenence. The service man at the
Hyundai dealer told me to buy better gas. Mobile instead of BJs or Tops
where I go now. Would that make a difference. Jim

 

When i had my 2000 Sonata, it would get the same mileage as yours
regardless of gasoline brand. Alot depends on your driving habits and
weight your pulling. Since i lost 42 lbs, ill bet i would have gotton an
additional 1 mpg more !

 

You're an idiot dave

That's the weight of about 5 gallons of gas, and wouldn't have any
fucking effect on your gas mileage, ya stupid fat friggin Xtian asshole

 

If you are driving mainly city stop and go that's probably what you will get
(unless your driving habits have not changed, and you have always had better
mileage). Could it be that you are using the AC more, that would reduce
your mileage by 1-3 MPG depending on highway or city. How many miles do you
have on it? It's possible your air filter needs to be replaced (30k miles),
or your sparkplugs (60k). Other things could be PCV valve, dirty
transmission fluid (Gunk's up and makes shift take longer and more
resistance in tranny, dealer says every 30k, you could probably go 60k), do
you feel the car pulling to one side or another, or vibrating? Could be
alignment, or a bad bearing if you have noise coming from the vehicle.
Other than what I have mentioned I cant think of anything else. Good luck.

 

do you use ac alot or have a lead foot?

 

I'd expect no effect. And definitely don't go to a higher octane. Higher
octanes burn less easily. Your engine's operating system was designed for
87.

 

That's what I get on my 2004 Sonata LX V6 with 7000 miles, driving about
75% city and 25% highway. I have a lead foot and the A/C is always
blasting because I have the automatic climate control set at 68 degrees.
I'd say your mileage is normal. I agree with Hyundaitech, do not use
premium gas. I use the cheapest gas I can find that meets the octane
requirement of the car (87?).

 

Question - I have been hearing that the alcohol in the Sam's gas does
give measurably lower milage. I not sure what the big boys are using
to replace MTBF so I wonder if it is reasonable that the difference in
price is partly that of alcohol vs the other oxygenator additive. Can
anyone else add anything usefull?

 

Our experience with our 2000 Sonata (2.5 V6, 4-speed auto) is that it
gets very good mileage on long highway runs but not so good around
town. We're getting about 20-22 mpg in local suburban driving, but on
our last freeway cruising trip the car delivered just shy of 30 mpg. So
depending on the kind of driving you're doing your mileage might be
normal.