Dejavu - sorry man I should have been more clear - did not mean my rant to appear to be aimed at anyone in particular at all...except for the average Dallas driver : )

If you are getting unusually low mpg there may be something amiss with your car. First things to check is tires inflated to correct pressure per the door sill plate. Then the air filter should be spotless (I take mine out and vacuum it gently once a month or so). Also make sure the MAF is clean and the throttle body is clean - easy 15 minute job. Then once every 3 months or so run a can of techcron fuel system cleaner concentrate (the expensive version of techron not the cheaper diluted version) thru a tank of gas. Also avoid high ethanol gas if you can as it has less energy in it and reduces mpg. At the dealer ask them to check that the wheels spin freely and are not getting hung up by worn wheel bearings and/or sticky pads/brake calipers.

Traffic can also kill mpg - there is major construction around our town right now and my mileage has dropped to 19.2 for tank average from normal 22.4 because of more stop and go driving.

 

No problem jabberwock. I didnt take it that way all LOL. Thanks for the heads up, ill make sure to ask the tech to checka ll that.

 

I think the big MPG'r here are riding highway as in REAL highway where there's no traffic and you're crusing at the set speed. I'm sure no one is driving on a NYC or LA highway, which is more like local roads anywhere else.

Do full local driving (still not NYC driving) I get about 17-18 mpg. On long trips with no traffic I get about 25-26 mpg with wife, 3 kids, and fully loaded trunk. I figure if I'm driving alone with empty trunk, I might squeeze another 1 mpg out of the LS.

 

With reference to the California guy above, all statements can be true. I had a trip from Reno to LA a few years ago, where I filled the tank actually on the entrance ramp and then filled again right after getting off the freeway in LA and averaged just over 29 mpg, both as the LS calculated and by the classic mileage / gallons filled method. I note that the trip involved both Donner Pass and the Grapevine, with the cruise on 80 most of the way. However, I've also had a few days commuting in West LA (almost as bad as Manhattan in NY) and considered myself lucky to get 12 mpg. As noted above, when you're not moving the zero mpg time has to be integrated in!! We've absolutely loved the car since new and I would seriously advise putting in the Sport suspension rear sway bar for anyone that hasn't done so, a really cost effective handling upgrade.

 

I filled up once just above Griffin, GA, and drove to the Groveport, OH, exit on I-270 near Columbus on the same tank. I was amazed...the tank average ran between 26.0 and 27.? the whole way. In GA, TN, and KY, I cruise at 9 over the limit. So that was anywhere from 64 to 79 mph.

This may have been a fluke. Around Atlanta, if I drive REALLY anally, I can squeeze 25 mpg out of it, but I'm just not patient enough to drive like that all the time. Typical is 21-22 mpg.

 

Highway trips should be round-trip for an accurate number unless the trip is all at the same altitude. I see a noticable difference on the route out verses the route back for longer trips as our altitude is 1100 feet and we typically are going uphill or downhill when we leave home. If you're at near S.L. then of course there won't be a difference.

 

Gary
IM a new Lexus owner of an old one 2001LS430. Does that range work if you just put $30.00 in or so.

Or does it work only when you fill up??

 

Im thinking of this mod for my LS. Seems fairly inexpensive at good ol Sewell. I think its time for some research.

Is there a front bar upgrade as well or just rear? Is it significantly thicker than the standard suspension? Have alot of you done this mod and if so, is it noticeable?

 

Highway mileage is pretty good, city is another story.

 

Very much my experience as well. I have gotten city mileage that averaged literally at around 10-13 mpg, yet highway in the high 20s. Night and day.

 

Unfortunately, Dallas has too much traffic for me to get great mileage when i am here. However, I have got some pretty stunning mileage on all highway tanks. I got 29 mpg around Christmas and like the original poster I was not driving 60. So this looks right!

Keep in mind that the engineering for the LS 430 would have been done in the late 1990s. How the Lexus engineers achieved a car with such a smooth ride (without being a boat), a 26 cD, and a then-impressive amount of torque in a small 4.3 liter engine we will never know. Remember what Ford was producing back then? Bahahahaha.....

For what it's worth, I have also managed an unbelievable 22 mpg in a 1997 Toyota Land Cruiser 40th Anniversary edition. I did have to use some "hypermiling" techniques to achieve that.

 

165k on the odo 750 lbs of people 28.3 mpg door to door 120 hwy miles to grammas house at 70 mph.

 

Okay... for those getting more than 27 MPG, how are you figuring this? From the trip computer or actual fill up gallons?

 

I did a 2 day trip last week - 420 miles from DFW to Austin and back - 26.7mpg on QT premium per the car's display - averaged 75mph on relatively crowded but flowing I-35, no cruise control

 

I have never used the trip computer for gas mileage. I always caclulate it at fill up and keep it in a running log. I have gotten up to 28 mpg on a one way stretch, but never actually gotten 27 on a long, round trip. But that is probably dampened somewhat because I don't remove local driving at the trip destination.

I couldn't be happier with my gas mileage.