bad mileage

[chevyguy93]

I dont exactly know what mileage i'm getting, but i have an 03 GT, and when i first bought it up until a few weeks ago, its been getting great mileage. its got around 130k km's on it. Recently, i've really noticed my gas gauge going down faster than usual. I've also noticed that I dont have as much horse power as I used to. Its slower at accelerating. What could be causing this? I thought maybe i got bad gas, but i've refilled atleast 3 times since then. Any ideas?

[Burtnette]

Have you noticed any other things acting weird with the car?

[chevyguy93]

yes. one thing (i think its unrelated) is electrical. when i start the car, all the lights are dim for a few seconds, as if the alternator hasnt kicked in. then it kicks in and everything brightens up and works correctly. also, when at idle, you can sometimes feel the engine shaking a bit, and the rpms bounce a little.

[robnoxiousauto]

you might have a slow oxygen sensor have you had a chance to check them ? What is you're fuel trim you want it to be as close to 0 for long term under most load conditions. or if that car uses block learn and intigrator you want the intigrator to be as close to 128 as possible. Also does you're car seem to have a slight or loud rattle coming from the catylitic converter? Some times the catalyst will come loose causeing high exhaust back pressure which of course will cause higher than normal gas mileage as well as a lack of power and a poor idle. last but no least does you're car use a maff sensor ? do you have a k & n style air filter ? if you do the oil from the k & n can cause the maff sensor to have innacurate readings. the oil will act like an insulator cause a rich condition at low throttle postions and a lean contition at high throttle positions. if any of this stuff does not work do not hesitate to e mail me directly at [email protected]

[eippermx]

Originally Posted by chevyguy93

I dont exactly know what mileage i'm getting, but i have an 03 GT, and when i first bought it up until a few weeks ago, its been getting great mileage. its got around 130k km's on it. Recently, i've really noticed my gas gauge going down faster than usual. I've also noticed that I dont have as much horse power as I used to. Its slower at accelerating. What could be causing this? I thought maybe i got bad gas, but i've refilled atleast 3 times since then. Any ideas?

Didn't see anything in your post about the air filter. Have you swapped it for a new one?

[chevyguy93]

sorry. i've got the k&n drop in style filter. theres also a noise coming from the front drivers side wheel. it sounds as if the tire is rubbing against something when i listen closely. it makes a "woosh woosh woosh" sound if you go slow. but the tire isnt obstructed. I'm not sure what that could be.

[tblake]

next time you drive it. When you get out, feel all the wheels. Check to see if they all are the same temperature. If one is very hot, you might have a dragging caliper. This could be the cause of your bad gas milage issue.

[chevyguy93]

Okay, hey. That might explain something. Everytime i clean my rims from brake dust, the front drivers side rim gets covered in no time. After a short drive, they would all look clean, but the front drivers side looks horribly dirty. So if it is a caliper issue, do i resolve it with just changing to new brake pads? or do the caliper also.

[richtazz]

The caliper slide bolts may be stuck in the bracket, not allowing the caliper to release. Just changing the pads will not cure the issue, but you may just need to free up the slides, so a caliper change may not be needed either. Also inspect the brake hose that goes from the frame to the caliper. As they age, they can collapse internally, thus not allowing the fluid to return and keeping the caliper engaged.

[zaifulzin]

did you try to change/swap your airfilter. Lacked of oxygen 1 of the factor is caused by airfilter.

[cmhj2000]

From my experience the excessive brake dust is telling and should be addressed ASAP.