First time here..

05 AWD RX 330 1600 mi. Gas mileage seems to be dropping from first week. Using either 87 or 89 octane. Initial mileage achieved rated 18 mpg /city and 24 mpg hwy. Since then mileage has dropped to about 16 city and 20-21hwy. Comments/suggestions, please.
Tks,
picman

 

Give it more time to break in and to give you more data - the highway score will improve.
Using 87 octane, I get about 23 highway and 16 city.

 

I have close to 1500 miles on my Rx330 and yes the average MPG seems to be decreasing! It used to be 23mpg. Mixed city/freeway. What gives??

I use 89 octane.

 

I thought we were suppose to use 91 octane? I thought it said that in the manual, am I wrong?

 

My manual says 87 octane or higher.

 

The manual says "Octane 87 or higher. Octane 91 recommended"

 

Manual says select no less than 87 and recommends 91 for "higher performance".

 

For those who respond to RX330 AWD "AVG. MPG" - please also include % of local/city driving vs. highway, thanks. ~ ex. 80% local/city = ___ AVG. MPG

 

I don't get very good gas mileage either, but it is an SUV. It gets better than my Explorer. I average about 17MPG, mostly city/some highway. I use 93 octane premium. Usually Shell or BP.

 

You may wnat to try running higher octane. In my '03 GS300 when I run regular I average 17.2 mpg, it shoots up to 20.4 on premium. I haven't done the math but I'm at the gas station less often.......

 

Could states be switching to less fuel efficient gas for emmisions reasons now? OT- RX300-My mileage has stayed about the same, 21-22 mixed, but not strictly a highway trip.

 

If you are going by the trip computer, your "city" mileage may be "distorted" by extended periods of idling.

I often sit for ten to twenty minutes two or three times a day with the engine running while I make telephone calls, change schedules, and enter notes in the sales database on my laptop. I usually keep the engine on to supply heat or AC - also for security (windows up) in some areas. When I do this, the engine is consuming a small amount of fuel, but going nowhere, it reduces the overall calculated mileage rapidly.

While this calculation is completely accurate, it makes my driving mileage look terrible! When you fill your tank, keep notes of any times that you stop but leave the engine running for more than a minute or two. You may find that your city mileage is pretty good, it's that "sitting" mileage that's bad!

 

Check your tire pressure! I had 38psi when I picked up my car from the dealer. Took it down to 30psi and now i'm getting 22mpg (mixed city and highway). I use the middle grade gas from shell.

 

while we are on this topic, i have a question also about gas mileage.

When you guys fill your tank up, what does the distane until empty read on your display ( I cant think of the exact terminology)? When I first bought the SUV it reads 255, then it dropped to 227 now its at 244. This number would NOT be dependent on the type of gas I use (ie 89 vs 93 octane). I usually drive a mix of city/highway with city driving being about 75% of my driving time. Forgot to mention that I have about 2300 miles on it so far. ('05 RX330 AWD)

 

Mine's usually right around 330 miles until empty or slightly higher.