The gas light comes on earlier. It doesnt wait til your on bone empty. You may have had another 20-25 miles still left to go on so your numbers wont be accurate
Well 220 miles on 18 gals is 12.3 mpg , but the way you drive can lower this. You could also need a tune up, which might improve gas mileage too.
Since your car is a 1997 you might desire to upgrade to a newer car which gets better gas mileage. I thought I should upgrade soon but damn, I have an old 2001 Tiburon which gets like 24 city and 29 highway.
Maybe you drive uphill a lot. Maybe your tires don't have enough air in them. Maybe the stoplights in your town have you wasting gas waiting for a green. Maybe you have a lot of heavy stuff in the trunk. Maybe you aren't driving on the EPA test track. There are myriad reasons why real-world mpg is different from what they put on the sticker 17 years ago. The car is old and gas is different today.
a 97 engine is worn is why.
& inflate tires hi to limit; get align & bal.
whats your engine temp running at, and are you gutting it, and do you have a cel light on? been through this with lil sis's 97 lesabre. got the bugs out, rebuilt the engine, trans quit lmao, big bro cant afford her a new trans, so she can save or do without.
My gas light just came on at 220 miles, I expect to get 250 miles on $45 worth of gas or 18 gallons.
The car is rated between 17 - 19 in the city (which is what I drive in all the time) however, 250 / 18 = 14 MPG!
My last car a 95 Century cost $35 to fill up and I got to 225 and was a 16 gallon tank, what gives? What am I not getting to the estimated MPG mark?
