Poor fuel mileage

Tiny
GIZMONATOR
  • MEMBER
  • 2016 MAZDA CX-3
  • 2.0L
  • 4 CYL
  • 4WD
  • AUTOMATIC
  • 98,000 MILES
The car is having major fuel range issues. Only getting 200 miles or less per full tank. Air conditioner runs during defrost/defog and freezes the lines to the point of no air entering interior vents and wasted. Vents come back to internal air using anything but A/C use. I've replaced spark plugs, coils, air filter, oil change is fresh. No MIL showing through obd2 scan. Nothing at all shows out of ordinary except fuel range. Average MPG is about 25 and has 12 gallon tank, so should be getting at least 350 miles per tank not 200 that I get. Please help.
Friday, January 1st, 2021 AT 6:46 AM

7 Replies

Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
You have two separate issues. First let's get a new post started on the A/C issue because you are most likely low on Freon and the evaporator is freezing which is blocking the air flow. So we need to start a new post on that issue as others will not find the solution to that under this post.

https://www.2carpros.com/questions/new

As for the fuel mileage the leading cause of it is change in driving styles/trips/types of driving. I am going to assume that none of this happened and that you have been doing the same commute but the mileage just dropped.

If this is the case then we need to make sure the tires are inflated properly and confirm you are using 0W-20 oil if you are in the USA/Canada region or 5W-30 if you are anywhere else. The wrong oil will affect this.

If all of that checks out then we need to monitor the o2 sensor data and see if the exhaust is rich. Meaning there is low oxygen in the exhaust and if it is then we may have an injector issue. If they are hanging open it can cause the engine to run rich, decrease fuel mileage and eventually turn the light on but we don't need to wait for that. We can monitor them now with a scan tool and see what the fuel trims are and go from there.

Below is a chart showing what the trims should be. Thanks
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Saturday, January 2nd, 2021 AT 6:27 AM
Tiny
GIZMONATOR
  • MEMBER
  • 4 POSTS
I'll check the freon pressure. I use 0W 20 synthetic oil and top oil filter by Fram. I have an obd2 bluetooth currently monitoring the vehicle. Which PID should I be watching for on the O2 sensor?
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Monday, January 4th, 2021 AT 12:07 AM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
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Okay. That is good. You can monitor the short term fuel trim or the o2 sensor voltage. Both will give us lean or rich information. Just let me know what they are while you driving a steady speed. They are going to change as you give it gas and take it away so we want steady driving to get good numbers on the sensor voltage. The short term will be an average so it won't vary as much.
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Monday, January 4th, 2021 AT 7:04 PM
Tiny
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Short term shows as -7 and no response for o2 sensor. Long term trim shows a steady +24.
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Monday, February 1st, 2021 AT 4:35 AM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
Okay. That is conflicting information so I think that is the issue. What this is telling you is that the long term is saying the exhaust is lean and the PCM should add more fuel. The long term fuel trim is like the overall long term performance of the engine. The short term is what the exhaust is reading at that very moment.

So the short term is telling you that it is rich and the exhaust should go lean to correct this. However, the long term is saying the opposite.

If it were me, I would replace the o2 sensors and then drive it about 150 miles to allow the PCM to relearn the new sensors and track the mileage as you go. I suspect it will get better as you drive.
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Monday, February 1st, 2021 AT 7:59 PM
Tiny
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This is current obd scan.
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021 AT 3:01 AM
Tiny
KASEKENNY
  • MECHANIC
  • 18,907 POSTS
That is your emissions monitor data. Basically that is a snap shot in time. If the long term fuel trim was positive and the short term was staying negative then you have an issue there. The long term fuel trim is a better representation of what is happening because that is a larger picture as it takes a while to change that.
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Tuesday, February 2nd, 2021 AT 6:34 PM

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